While midterms reign on for UW–Madison students, pop culture has been calm and quiet since the election. Some celebrities have deleted their Twitter accounts, some pop culture figures are apparently getting hired to be government officials, and others are seemingly minding their own business. 

Whether it be through a new lookalike competition or drama in the K-Pop scene, there's always new pop culture news for you. 

Lookalike competitions crop up across the world

As the weather approaches the winter season, celebrity lookalike competitions have become a trend in New York. It started with a Timothée Chalamet lookalike competition in New York, and since then, there has been a Jeremy Allen White one in Chicago and a Harry Styles one in London. Most recently, there was a Paul Mescal competition in Ireland. 

Which celebrity is next? What about esteemed female celebrities, like Adele or Lady Gaga? 

A source tells me there may be a lookalike competition in Madison soon… Watch out, UW students.

Fans express concern for Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo 

As they promote their upcoming film Wicked, costars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo have faced concern from fans. Most of these fans seem concerned about the two actors' health, commenting on their apparent weight loss. 

Fans have also found humor in the actors' deep connection to each other, as the two have been seen becoming emotional during interviews. 

Will Ariana and Cynthia respond to their fans? Is it the fans' business? Who really knows… 

Ex-RIIZE member prepares for solo debut

SM Entertainment, a famous K-Pop company, announced that Seunghan, former RIIZE member, is preparing to make a solo debut in 2025. Now, Seunghan recently came back from his hiatus, was removed from RIIZE, returned to RIIZE and was kicked out again. One could say RIIZE fans have been going through an emotional rollercoaster with whether or not Seunghan will be rejoining RIIZE. 

Fans speculate that this is SM's attempt at appeasing fans who are upset about Seunghan's removal. Let's be real; it definitely is. Seunghan left RIIZE after a bunch of Korean RIIZE fans became upset at him returning to the group… causing his removal… 

Fans also quickly noticed that SM used a photo that was presumably from a RIIZE group photo shoot for the announcement of his solo.  

Jake Paul wins boxing match versus Mike Tyson

Mike Tyson, professional boxer, recently boxed Jake Paul, boxer and YouTuber. This match caused Drake to lose $335,000, allegedly, from betting that Mike would win. 

Now, this match was huge news because the pair had originally scheduled to box each other years ago, but Mike had to cancel it due to an injury. But, the event certainly happened. 

Tori Kelly sang the National Anthem, there were other boxing matches before it, and Mike and Jake fought each other in eight two-minute rounds. This also marked the first ever live-streamed match on Netflix. 

To many people's surprise, Jake Paul won. As someone who mostly watched this live from a bar, wasn't there supposed to be more punches? I don't know a lot about boxing, though. 

People were not quick to forget that fans shouldn't root for Mike Tyson just because they dislike Jake Paul, as Mike Tyson was convicted in 1992 on rape charges. I suppose this doesn't matter to viewers anymore since the boxers and Netflix have their money, and fans have their proclaimed winner. 

John Krasinski is named the sexiest man alive

John Krasinski, best known for his roles in The Office and A Quiet Place, has been named the PEOPLE Magazine's sexiest man alive of 2024. Every year, they pick the sexiest man alive and ten other men they find attractive. 

Last year's sexiest man alive was Patrick Demsey, most known for his role in Grey's Anatomy. 

Apparently, the award is decided by a number of considerations, including editorial input, a candidate's activism, willingness to participate and female celebrities' opinions. 

The Boyz member Sunwoo is hospitalized after a stalker assaulted him

K-Pop boy group The Boyz member Kim Sunwoo recently was attacked by a stalker fan on November 9. The rapper and songwriter was on his way home when a sasaeng (obsessive fan) attacked him. The sasaeng was apparently hiding in his apartment's emergency stairwell and has since been arrested on trespassing and assault charges. There were multiple assaults, both to Sunwoo and his staff. 

Sunwoo and the staff went to the hospital, and his agency announced that they are taking legal action against the sasaeng. 

Additionally, there were other acts that threatened the safety of Sunwoo and other The Boyz members. According to their agency, vehicles were tagged with location trackers and tires were slashed. 

2025 Grammy nominations

The 2025 Grammy nominations have been released! The Grammys will occur on February 2. Many hit songs and artists made it to the list; here are some ones I am looking forward to (and my prediction):

Record of the year

• Now and Then – The Beatles
• TEXAS HOLD ‘EM – Beyoncé
• Espresso – Sabrina Carpenter
• 360 – Charli xcx
• Birds of a Feather – Billie Eilish
• Not Like Us – Kendrick Lamar
• Good Luck, Babe! – Chappell Roan
• Fortnight – Taylor Swift, Post Malone

My Prediction: I think Beyoncé or Kendrick Lamar will take home this record.

Album of the year

• New Blue Sun – André 3000
• COWBOY CARTER – Beyoncé
• Short n' Sweet – Sabrina Carpenter
• BRAT – Charli xcx
• Djesse Vol. 4 – Jacob Collier
• HIT ME HARD AND SOFT – Billie Eilish
• The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess – Chappell Roan
• THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT – Taylor Swift

My Prediction: I could see Billie or Chappell getting this one. Realistically, though, it'll probably go to Taylor.

Best new artist

• Benson Boone
• Sabrina Carpenter
• Doechii
• Khruangbin
• Raye
• Chappell Roan
• Shaboozey
• Teddy Swims

My Prediction: Chappell Roan. Sabrina Carpenter would be the other obvious choice, though.

My recent media enjoyments:

• Arcane
• A Little To The Left (video game)