The Carters have it all — wealth, influence, critical cred — but they've never stopped chasing the approval of exclusive institutions like the Grammys. At this point, who are they fighting for?
With less than 10 days until the release of her new album, Cowboy Carter, the multiple Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter discusses the moment that inspired her to delve into country music.
Brittany feels like we've entered a new phase of celebrity oligarchy; new celebrity business enterprises are popping up daily, and we can't seem to get away from it all. But is this new? Brittany invites culture journalists Bobby Finger and Lindsey Weber to discuss how the notion of celebrity is changing, and what it means for us.
Then, we turn to Hayao Miyazaki, the legendary animator-director whose latest film, The Boy and the Heron, is a frontrunner at this year's Academy Awards. Brittany is joined by Jessica Neibel, Senior Exhibitions Curator at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, to unpack the life lessons Miyazaki's films offer, from the unreliability of adults to the messages of resilience rooted in Miyazaki's own postwar childhood.
If you have 10 minutes, please do the team at It's Been a Minute a huge favor by taking a short, anonymous survey about the show at npr.org/ibamsurvey. Tell us what you like and how we could improve the show!
An Oklahoma country station made news this week when it briefly refused to play a Beyoncé song. It's a resonant tale for the Black and women musicians who have tried to crack the format for decades.
A fan said he emailed KYKC in Oklahoma and was told KYKC doesn't play Beyoncé, as it is a country radio station. The station said it did not yet have access to the song.
Beyoncé teased, confirmed and dropped new music in the span of less than an hour during Sunday's Super Bowl. She released two songs, Texas Hold 'Em" and "16 carriages," promising more in March.
On Sunday, Jay-Z accepted an honorary Grammy by taking gentle aim at the awards' failure to support Black musicians. "We want y'all to get it right — at least get it close to right" he said.
Girl spending was one of the most powerful economic forces in 2023. Taylor Swift and Beyoncé concerts boosted local and national economies. World leaders begged Taylor Swift to come and perform.
On Dec. 13, 2013, Beyoncé fans got a holiday gift no one expected. A decade later, the artistic and economic impact of her fifth album is still reverberating.
Es Devlin says that stadiums are designed for competition and combat. So her job, whether she's designing for Beyoncé, Super Bowl Halftime, or The Olympics, is to achieve intimacy on a massive scale.
Jon Hetherington, 34, couldn't fly to Seattle to see Beyoncé on her Renaissance World Tour because his wheelchair was too tall. However, he was invited to see her Dallas show.
This summer, three women at the peak of their powers lead a spectacular pop culture revival. Barbie, Beyoncé and Taylor Swift shattered records and created a communal economy of irrational exuberance.
