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On 27 March, Blackpink ’s Lisa Manoban turned 24. It would be easy to assume her mountain of gifts from Celine and and personalised cake from MAC added up to the perfect birthday, but Lisa admitted that for her, something was missing.
Addressing her 48.9 million followers, Lisa explained that she wasn’t able to spend her birthday with her family – an experience that will strike a chord with so many. As Lisa is based in Seoul but her family are from Thailand, travel restrictions prevented them from getting together to mark her special day. It’s a bittersweet feeling that will be familiar to many of her fans, not least her fellow Aries signs among them, who are marking their second birthday in lockdown.
From Publisher: British Vogue
INDIO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 12: (L-R) Singer Rose of BLACKPINK performs onstage during the 2019 … [+] Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 12, 2019 in Indio, California. (Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images for Coachella)
As “On The Ground” debuts on the Hot 100, Rosé makes history as just the fifth solo South Korean musician to appear on the most competitive songs ranking in the U.S. It’s still relatively uncommon for new acts from the Asian nation to rack up enough streams and sales in a single week to make their way to the list, and Rosé is in excellent company with this win.
The first South Korean solo musician to chart a hit on the Hot 100 was Psy, who remains the musician with the most placements (when excluding groups, that is). His viral sensation “Gangnam Style” brought K-pop to new heights on the ranking in 2012 and introduced countless millions to the style. It remains one of the highest-ranking efforts by an artist from that part of the world, as it peaked at No. 2.
Psy would go on to place four more tracks on the Hot 100 over the next several years, and he is still the South Korean soloist with the most hits on the tally.
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The only two other South Korean musicians who have landed on the Hot 100 solo are members of the band BTS, and they benefited greatly from the immense popularity of the boy band.
In 2019, J-Hope recruited Latin/pop singer Becky G for “Chicken Noodle Soup,” which rose as high as No. 81. Last year, his bandmate Suga, using his moniker Agust D, stepped up a little higher. His solo cut “Daechwita” peaked at No. 76 in June 2020.
“On The Ground” was released as a double single, with “Gone” appearing on the two-track collection Rosé titled R . The latter cut was also a strong seller in America in its introductory week, but it didn’t perform quite well enough to reach the Hot 100.
These two songs may be just the first taste of solo music from Rosé, and she could soon make history again with more music on her own, which may very well climb even higher.
Here’s How the BLACKPINK Members Supported Rosé Ahead of Her Solo Debut
Rosé is one of the main vocalists of K-pop group BLACKPINK. Many people often know her for her work in the group, but she recently debuted as a solo artist.
This is Rosé’s first time working on an album by herself, and taking on such a feat can be nerve-wracking for some people. Fortunately, Rosé’s fellow BLACKPINK members were there to support her.
In an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music , Rosé revealed that she had been wanting to release her own solo music “for a very, very long time.” In fact, she recorded her first solo song in the studio about three years ago
Olivia Rodrigo parks “Drivers License” (Interscope) at the U.K. chart summit for an eighth week while Architects win a nailbiting chart race as For Those That Wish To Exist (Epitaph) bows at No. 1 on the national albums survey.
Architects, the Brighton metalcore outfit, bag their first leader and first Top 10 entry with their ninth studio album.
For Those ends the week just 550 combined sales ahead of Maximo Park’s Nature Always Wins (Prolifica), which had led all albums at the halfway stage. Until now, Architects’ chart best was a No. 15 for 2016’s All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us .
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Architects lead an all-new Top 5 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart as West London rapper Digga D earns a new career chart peak with Made In The Pyrex (CGM), new at No. 3. It’s the most streamed release of the week, the OCC reports.
Also, rock legend Alice Cooper sees his latest LP Detroit Stories (Ear Music) start at No. 4, his highest-charting effort since 1991’s Hey Stoopid , which also peaked at No. 4, while Lucy Spraggan’s sixth album Choices (Cooking Vinyl) starts at No. 5. It’s the British indie singer-songwriter’s highest-charting record to date.
The White Stripes ’ just miss out on a fourth Top Ten as the Detroit rock pair’s career retrospective Greatest Hits starts at No. 12.
Over on the Official U.K. Singles Chart , Rodrigo’s keeps motoring with her global hit. It’s the most streamed song of the week, with 5.1 million plays, and it’s now ruled the weekly chart for two months.
Finally, Joel Corry , David Guetta and Raye bag this week’s highest new entry with their new club collaboration “BED” (Asylum/Perfect Havoc). It’s new at No. 20.
From Publisher: Billboard
Many things are taking place:
Olivia Rodrigo Talks Being In The Studio With Conan Gray – Capital
After Olivia Rodrigo shared an Instagram Story of herself in the studio with Conan Gray, the ‘drivers license’ singer spoke about what went down.
The whole world is eagerly awaiting for new music from Olivia Rodrigo , after her debut single, ‘drivers license’, spent three weeks at the top of The Official Big Top 40 .
Recently, the High School Musical: The Musical: The Series actor shared an Instagram Story showing herself in the studio with Conan Gray, so we had to get to the bottom of it.
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conan g.???? olivia rodrigo and conan gray were in the studio together i repeat olivia rodrigo and conan gray were in the studio together pic.twitter.com/RHtTc6IhNw
Speaking to Capital Breakfast with Roman Kemp , Olivia said “Conan’s a friend of mine, and the guy who produces most of my music produces most of his.
“We’re just pals and I think he’s so brilliant,” she said, as she neither confirmed nor denied rumours of an upcoming collaboration.
Conan Gray seemingly sent Olivia a message, claiming she’d left pistachios in the studio, to which Olivia jokingly told Capital that “Pistachios are my studio food of choice.
“If you ever catch me in the studio, I’m probably eating pistachios, and so I just left some on the piano the other day, and [Conan] was like ‘Did you, like, leave these here?!'”
Talking of collaborations, Olivia said she was (obviously) open to working with Taylor Swift, after the pair have been praising and supporting each other and their music.
In other words, this is a shit-talking record about ending your drama and owning your awesome. Its combination of drill austerity with bounce energy achieves, to my ears, a pretty neat trick: Cardi has produced a joyous drill song—which sounds oxymoronic, even borderline impossible, yet she makes it work. When she launched with “Bodak Yellow” four years ago, Cardi was a rousing, bruisingly feminist , take-no-shit newcomer, and her breakthrough hit was all menace. “Up” has the same fierceness and braggadocio, but it somehow sounds, well … up —a kind of 2021 sequel to Mary J. Blige’s spartan 2001 party jam, the Dr. Dre–produced “ Family Affair .”If there’s one thing Cardi B is going to do on a Monday morning, it’s tell you exactly what’s on her mind. And this time, it was all about hair.
On Mar. 29, the rapper shared a series of tweets, comments, and photos of her natural hair via Instagram. The first was a screenshot of the star explaining how her ethnic heritage has nothing to do with her texture, after fans commented that the only reason Cardi has long hair is because she’s a Latinx woman. She also added photos that showed off the diversity of her ‘fro.
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In the caption, she revealed that she will be coming out with a haircare line and further explained that race and ethnicity are two separate things.
“This year I will be coming out with a hairline that I been working on at home for my hair and my daughters however, I think is time for people to educate themselves on nationality, race and ethnicity,” Cardi wrote. “Being Hispanic/Latina don’t make your hair long, don’t make your skin light or don’t make your face features slim specially Latin countries from the Caribbean islands.”
“Dna have something to do with your hair not your nationality but guess what you can always maintain your hair,” she continued. “And one more things not everyone that speaks Spanish is Mexican.”
Cardi has yet to share what exactly will be included in her haircare collection, however since she’s been testing them at home and on her daughter, there’s a good chance they’re all-natural.
From Publisher: InStyle
And here’s another article:
Cardi B Was ‘Nervous’ Over Meeting Kylie Jenner
Why Cardi B’s “Up” is No. 1. on the Billboard Hot 100.
Just over a week later, right on schedule, Cardi B has a new No. 1 song. Her combination Chicago drill–plus–NOLA bounce jam is the biggest song in our itching-to-be-vaccinated, ready-to-party nation. Who’s feeling “Up”? Apparently, we all are.
For the record, the woman born Belcalis Almánzar wasn’t sweating this at all. Cardi B was very happy with her then–No. 2 hit. The week of its debut, she tweeted thanks to her fans for giving her the highest solo debut for a female rapper since Lauryn Hill dropped “Doo Wop (That Thing)” in 1998 . The key word in that stat is “solo”; “Up” is just Cardi, no duet or featured performers. She even said in her tweet that she’d “over succeeded”—you can’t fake that kind of Zen. Call me naïve, but the fact that she threw no shade Olivia Rodrigo’s way really indicates she would’ve been content if “Up” had gone no higher than the runner-up slot.
Sanya Malhotra who has been on a spree to promote her film Pagglait, during an episode of ‘Dance Deewane’, revealed that she was rejected in a dance reality show audition by the show’s judge Dharmesh six years ago.
Dharmesh in response too, “I think when you left, you left with a lot of courage that ‘Mujhe ab karke dikhana hai’.
The film stars Sanya Malhotra, Shruti Sharma, Ashutosh Rana and Raghubir Yadav in lead roles. Other cast members of the film include Sayani Gupta, Sheeba Chaddha, Natasha Rastogi, Rajesh Tailang, Meghna Malik, Jameel Khan, Chetan Sharma, Ananya Khare, and Bhupesh Pandya.
The shooting of the film started back in 2019. Production was delayed owing to the coronavirus pandemic. The soundtrack of the film is composed by Arijit Singh. The film features approximately 20 plus songs, most of which have been sung by Arijit Singh.
Get the latest entertainment news from India & around the world. Now follow your favourite television celebs and telly updates. Republic World is your one-stop destination for trending Bollywood news . Tune in today to stay updated with all the latest news and headlines from the world of entertainment.
From Publisher: Republic World
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Sanya Malhotra kickstarts 2021 on a busy note, to work with two major production houses
Mumbai: Actress Sanya Malhotra is all geared up to kickstart the new year on a busy note at work, adding that 2020 turned out to be professionally fulfilling.
In 2020, two of her films — “Ludo” and “Shakuntala Devi” — released on OTT. “I feel absolutely blessed to have a professionally fulfilling 2020, with film releases and announcements. The unprecedented year of 2020 has been one of the most exhilarating journeys for me, to say the least. I’m glad that both of my films, ‘Shakuntala Devi’ and ‘Ludo’, were released, and received immense love from the audience,” said Sanya.
“In 2021 too, I will be working with two major production houses, (Dharma and Red Chillies Entertainment), and have three releases in the pipeline. I couldn’t be more grateful to have gotten the opportunity. I will be embarking upon the journey of 2021 on a working note, prepping and shooting for my upcoming films,” she added.
From Publisher: filmfare.com
Working on Shakuntala Devi has been a very fulfilling experience” – Sanya Malhotra | Filmfare.com
Actress Sanya Malhotra has really stunned the audience with her astounding characters in her films. This time around, she is all set to wow the audience with her role in Shakuntala Devi, where the actress will play the role of Shakuntala Devi’s daughter, Anupama Banerji.
Talking about her upcoming film Sanya said, “Working on Shakuntala Devi has been a very fulfilling experience. Being a part of such a talented cast and crew was very special – especially since this one explored a mother-daughter equation.”
She further added, “Not something we see very much of in Bollywood. I, of course shared a lovely chemistry with Vidya ma’am. Similarly, I was also fortunate to spend a lot of time with Jisshu who plays my father in the film”. Shakuntala Devi stars Vidya Balan in the lead and Sanya plays her daughter. Amit Sadh too plays a crucial role in the film. Shakuntala Devi releases on July 31, 2020.
She also shared a TikTok of herself—and her abs—dancing outside of the pool to “Astronaut in the Ocean” by Masked Wolf. When you’re hot and you know it, show it:
A second source revealed that Lopez appreciated Rodriguez going the distance for them, literally. “It was important to Jennifer that Alex stepped up in a public way and showed his level of commitment to her with a trip to see her while working,” the second source said. “Jennifer appreciates big gestures like these.” Generally, that source added, “Things between the two of them are heading in the right direction.”
From Publisher: ELLE
Not to change the topic here:
Recalled: That Time Jennifer Lopez Did a Triathlon – Triathlete
How a potential Jennifer Lopez, Alex Rodriguez split would be a ‘business divorce,’
“Even though the parties are not legally married, it’s still nonetheless a divorce — a business divorce,” explained Leslie Barbara, chair of the divorce and family law group at Davidoff Hutcher & Citron.
So how would a “business divorce” impact the star’s lucrative finances? According to New York City-based divorce lawyer and author Dror Bikel, the couple would still be able to keep their investments in both Hims and Hers and Super Coffee — even if they ultimately chose to separate.
However, if they do decide to divest and untangle their assets altogether, they would be “subject to the same shareholder agreement that everyone else has,” which typically includes the initial investment plus any appreciation.
Their real estate would be handled slightly different, although the likelihood is that they entered into an operating agreement at the time of the sale. For context, an operating agreement is a contract that outlines each party’s ownership, rights and responsibilities.
“It’s very common and both of these individuals are savvy financially, so that’s most likely the case,” Bikel explained.
And since they’re not married, dividing up their assets “is very easy — they have contracts and operating agreements that will speak to all of this. There are no issues with children or equitable distribution, no issues of child or spousal support and, in terms of investments, nothing will be too impacted,” he surmised.
Davidoff Hutcher’s Barbara echoed those thoughts, saying that “the most basic thing for any divorce is identifying, evaluating and dividing assets,” she said.
“The big question here is do all of these shared entities survive?” Barbara asked, adding that the couple has options should they choose to split such as dissolving some or all of their assets or even buying the other party out.
Both Lopez and Rodriguez are worth millions of dollars on their own, with Lopez’s net worth last estimated at $400 million, whereas Rodriguez sits at about $350 million.
Jennifer Lopez Wore a White Suit Without a Shirt
Jennifer Lopez is a woman of many talents, which include wearing the color white and wistfully staring into a distance that is probably filled with bored-looking people wearing face shields.
The multi-hyphenate is just the latest celebrity to hop on the extremely popular no-shirt blazer trend . I mean, if the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that clothing is optional. Skip the shirt; skip the bra (just not the face mask, please).
From Publisher: InStyle
The 62-year-old singer shared a carousel of pics to Instagram on Sunday, March 28 that show her wearing black lingerie consisting of underwear, a strappy bra and a vintage biker cap. In the caption, she referenced the alter ego she had explored in her 2019 album Madame X , although she did not specify when the shots were taken.
“And Now For A Moment of Self Reflection…Madame,” Madonna captioned the post.
The images spurred reactions from plenty of famous pals, including Snoop Dogg , who commented, “I need u [heart-with-sparkles emojis]. Hit. Guy.” He added a film-projector emoji, along with a variety of others.
Asia Argento wrote, “You’re so stunning,” adding a heart-with-arrow emoji. And Kelly Ripa simply replied with five fire emojis.
This is not the first time this month that Madonna’s Instagram presence has made headlines. In a recent TikTok video that went viral, Australian user Amelia Goldie accused the star of allegedly photoshopping her face onto Amelia’s photo and posting it to Instagram way back in 2015.
“When Madonna posts a photo of herself to IG to promote her album but its actually your body (I’m not joking),” the TikTok user wrote in the video. The clip compared Madonna’s Instagram post from 2015 to a photo of Amelia, and the bodies and outfits appear identical.
The “Take a Bow” singer has not addressed the claims from the TikTok video about the May 2015 post. At the time, Madonna had captioned the pic, “I look Kewl…”
From Publisher: E! Online
This may worth something:
Rita Ora Dishes on Her ‘Awkward’ Encounter with Madonna | PEOPLE.com
During Tuesday’s episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon , the “Bang” artist revealed that her first encounter with Madonna was a little “awkward” after host Jimmy Fallon asked Ora if she had ever felt starstruck when meeting one of her favorite celebrities.
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The British singer explained that her moment with Madonna, 62, came early in her career while she was doing a clothing line campaign for the “Vogue” singer.
The “Body on Me” songstress then said she was so in awe of meeting Madonna that she “had to go and breathe in the bathroom” before the experience.
RELATED GALLERY: Stars Who Have Gotten Embarrassingly Starstruck by Meeting Their Favorite Celebrities
Speaking with Mariah Carey for Interview magazine’s March 2021 issue , Cardi B told the singer she still gets “shy” around other celebs.
From Publisher: PEOPLE.com
TikToker slams Madonna for using her picture for promotion
Social media users are criticizing Madonna after the singing sensation was accused of using photo editing software to edit her head onto another woman’s body.
Talking to Buzzfeed, a TikToker said that the singing sensation Photoshopped her head onto her body without seeking her permission.
Daily Star reported that the singer might have edited the photo to promote her comeback album “Rebel Heart” in 2015.
Sharing the picture on social media, Madonna had written, “I look Kewl…… #rebelheart [sic],” with a red heart emoji.
TikToker Amelia Goldie said she tried to approach the singer via Instagram but received no response.
5 Things You May Not Know About Madonna’s First Hit Ballad, “Crazy For You” – Biography
Madonna, however, was a little-known artist when she signed on to sing “Crazy for You.”
Miley Cyrus and Yungblud were spotted together at the Rainbow Bar & Grill in West Hollywood on Thursday
A source tells PEOPLE that Cyrus and Yungblud — whose real name is Dominic Harrison — are “just friends” and were spending time with a group of pals.
RELATED: Miley Cyrus Remembers Hannah Montana on 15th Anniversary of Show’s Premiere: ‘The Greatest Gift’
Cyrus’ outing with the British singer came about the same week that the singer celebrated the 15th anniversary of Hannah Montana and shared memories from her career-launching show.
On Wednesday, Cyrus penned a love letter to her breakout character, who shot her to fame when the show made its debut on the Disney Channel in 2006.
In the letter, Cyrus goes on to share her journey from singing “I Love Rock ‘N Roll” in a friend’s Nashville kitchen to Hollywood — and the highs and lows that came along with it.
She also thanked her family, both on-screen and off, including her dad and costar Billy Ray Cyrus , mom Tish , maternal grandmother Loretta and her siblings.
“I experienced falling in love for the first time in those years. Embarrassingly started my period in a pair of white capris of course on the day a ‘cute guy’ was cast + asked to have lunch with me. Instead I spent it in the bathroom with my mom sobbing + scrambling to find a pair of fresh denim,” Cyrus added. “I gained so many friends over the 6 years spent onset. Emily Osment, Mitchel Musso + Jason Earles became my family. I was seeing them more than my own. Well besides my dad who I drove to work with everyday until my mom let me buy a Prius. Which then I was only 15 with a permit so my co-pilot was my grandmother ‘Mammie’ who ran my fan club MileyWorld out of the dressing room kitchen I shared with my dad.”
From Publisher: PEOPLE.com
In case you are keeping track:
Miley Cyrus Releases ‘Angels Like You’
During her roughly 90-minute pre-game concert — which included surprise appearances by Billy Idol and Joan Jett — Cyrus repeatedly thanked health care and frontline workers in the audience and watching at home for all they had done during the global pandemic. “All of us have a purpose,” she said at one point. ” My purpose is to sing on stage … but my purpose can never be achieved without you — you are essential.”
Cyrus recently signed a new recording deal with Columbia Records after a three-album run on RCA Records; both labels are owned by Sony Music. A source close to the matter told Billboard that the signing came after Columbia chairman/CEO Ron Perry personally courted Cyrus, who released her well-received seventh studio album, Plastic Hearts, on RCA in November.
Getting by with the help of her friends! Ellie Goulding revealed that Miss Eugenie and Katy Perry have been two of her biggest supporters amid her first pregnancy.
The “Love Me Like You Do” singer has turned to Eugenie , 31, who welcomed her first child , son August, with husband Jack Brooksbank , last month, for guidance on pregnancy ups and downs.
“She’s been a great friend throughout this,” Goulding said of the Eugenie. “We’ve talked a lot about pregnancy, and she’s been inspirational because she just takes everything in her stride.”
The British singer noted that Perry, 36, who shares 7-month-old daughter Daisy with Orlando Bloom , has “been great too” throughout the whole process.
“And my manager has gone through her pregnancy with me, along with both our families and friends from home who have had babies,” Goulding, who is married to art dealer Caspar Jopling , added. “It just brings everyone closer together.”
Goulding also explained her reasoning behind announcing her pregnancy last month, at the 30-week mark, saying, “I needed time to get my head around it. I needed that space to process what was happening.”
The “Close to Me” singer, who learned she is expecting baby No. 1 with Jopling, 29, in August 2020, admitted she was able to keep the news under wraps amid the coronavirus pandemic lockdown by wearing her husband’s big coats .
Once the couple moved into a new house, she said, “It felt like we had these proper roots, and it was the right moment to say something.”
Goulding announced that she was having her first child on February 23, telling Vogue , “The thought of getting pregnant didn’t seem like it could be a reality. Becoming pregnant kind of made me feel human. I want a better word than womanly, [but] I have curves I’ve never had before. I’m enjoying it. My husband’s enjoying it.”
From Publisher: Us Weekly
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Orlando Bloom Says He’s Eating a “90 Percent Plant-Based” Diet
Convincing your significant other to change their diet and drop animal products is typically one of the biggest hurdles, but singer Katy Perry’s plant-based journey must’ve inspired a change in fiancé and actor Orlando Bloom. The Pirates of the Caribbean star announced that he is eating a mostly plant-based diet during an interview with The Sunday Times . He supported this decision claiming that cows are beautiful, following in the footsteps of his fiancé’s decision to leave animal products out of their diets.
“I’m 90 percent plant-based, so I’ll only eat a really good piece of red meat maybe once a month,” Bloom said. I sometimes look at a cow and think, ’That’s the most beautiful thing ever.’”
The celebrity explained his daily routine during the interviewing, saying that his schedule is “quite L.A.” Bloom begins his day Buddhist chanting and spending quality time with his daughter, Daisy. The actor shared that his meals often contain no animal products, and his transition to a plant-based diet is happening seamlessly.
“I like to earn my breakfast so I’ll just have some green powders that I mix with brain octane oil, a collagen powder for my hair and nails, and some protein,” Bloom said.
Even though this is the first time the actor confirmed his plant-based diet, it’s not the first time he’s publicly talked about enjoying meatless meals. The Lord of the Rings actor posted on his Instagram in 2019 that Burger King’s Impossible Whopper is a road trip necessity, championing the fast-food restaurants’ plant-based patty.
Many popular anime series exist, but Dragon Ball Z has been able to become a massive part of pop culture and help open up Western audiences to more shonen anime series. Dragon Ball Z’s structure and characters aren’t complex, but that hasn’t stopped Goku from becoming a highly influential anime protagonist.
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The Dragon Ball franchise chronicles Goku’s growth into one of the universe’s strongest fighters, but there was a time when he wasn’t always the best, and it’s possible that he wouldn’t turn out to be the series’ Legendary Super Saiyan that Frieza fears. Goku’s transformation is a beautiful moment that comes as a surprise, but there are also plenty of hints that Goku was always set to be the one who accomplishes this milestone.
There are some mixed conceptions on what sort of attitude a Super Saiyan should embody. The majority of the Saiyan race is aggressive and utilitarian, but Goku’s time on Earth has domesticated him and given him a cheerful disposition. It requires some kind of painful trigger to transform into a Super Saiyan for the first time, but it’s important that Goku is someone who isn’t purely filled with rage at all times. He’s a balanced individual, which makes him able to handle the strength of a Super Saiyan with benevolence and not just become a weapon of destruction.
Another detail that’s important in claiming a coveted status or role is if the public will think that it’s been earned or if it’s some lucky circumstance. Goku is someone who takes fighting and training more seriously than anything else, and he consistently tries to better himself by training under the tutelage of Master Roshi and King Kai in major capacities .
Goku even spends time with Korin as a child and gets taught valuable lessons. All of these individuals have acclaimed reputations, and Goku’s time with them makes his graduation to Super Saiyan feel like a natural progression.
The Saiyan Saga depicts a simpler time in the series when turning into a Super Saiyan isn’t the solution for everything. Before this point, Goku’s biggest trick is the powerful Spirit Bomb technique that he learns from King Kai. This technique requires Goku to receive donations of energy from the world around him. This is a major ask and this figure needs to be trustworthy and pure enough to successfully wield such an ability. The fact that Goku masters the Spirit Bomb speaks to his special nature and why he’s just as worthy to be the Legendary Super Saiyan.
The Dragon Ball Z movies are a mixed bag, especially some of the earlier titles, but Lord Slug features an interesting moment for Goku that’s a significant nod towards his future Super Saiyan status. Goku’s battle against a Super Namek triggers a Pseudo Super Saiyan transformation where he embodies the same power, but with a red aura. Curiously, Lord Slug predates the first Super Saiyan episode of Dragon Ball Z by two months and it’s a major hint of what’s to come. This form was meant to represent a regular Super Saiyan, but the standard look hadn’t yet been established.
Prophetic dreams can quickly turn into self-fulfilling prophecies, which makes them risky to directly pursue. One big factor that drives Frieza forward and led to the destruction of Planet Vegeta in the first place is the tyrant’s fear of an apocryphal figure known as the Legendary Super Saiyan. On Namek, Frieza feels threatened by the prospect that Goku might be this special Saiyan, and he works hard to directly discourage him on the matter. On some level, this treatment does push Goku far enough to become a Super Saiyan for the first time, making Frieza partly responsible.
With WrestleMania just weeks away, the biggest wrestling show of the year underwent major changes during SmackDown on Friday night. That included the addition of three new matches as well as a huge change to one of the most anticipated bouts of the two-night event.
Much of the night revolved around the fallout from this past Sunday’s Fastlane event, where Daniel Bryan forced universal champion Roman Reigns to tap out — albeit while the referee was knocked out. Edge, who was in the role of special enforcer, snapped and attacked Bryan and Reigns with a chair, allowing Reigns to exit Fastlane still as champion. But, as was expected, Bryan was not ready to leave SmackDown without addressing the situation, and his feelings that he’d done more than enough to earn another shot at the championship.
CBS Sports was with you all night, bringing you recaps and highlights of all the action from the ThunderDome.
Edge and Reigns took issue with Pearce’s handling of the situation throughout the night, including Reigns threatening Pearce and telling him he would not wrestle both nights of WrestleMania. This eventually led Edge to confront Reigns backstage and tell him to use his stroke or else Edge may be able to beat Bryan and not Reigns to win the title.
Pearce, Bryan, Edge and Reigns all came to the ring to end the night. Pearce said every man’s points were valid and that Reigns was correct and would only defend his title one time at WrestleMania. Which meant that it would be a triple threat match at WrestleMania, inserting Bryan into the match officially. This led all three men to brawl before Edge was the last man standing after hitting both men with a steel chair. Bryan was able to escape the room before Edge could hit a con-chair-to as Edge attacked WWE officials.
There couldn’t have been a much better build to an announcement everyone knew was coming. Edge has snapped as his opportunity has been invaded by Bryan, Reigns has finally not been able to manipulate every step of a process to his advantage and Bryan got what he wanted — but continues to pay a steep price. It’s a deceptively simple story, but that’s often the best thing for professional wrestling. Grade: A-
From Publisher: CBSSports.com
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WWE SmackDown results, recap, grades: Shocking contender determined for Roman Reigns’ universal
WWE promised a contender for Roman Reigns’ title at Royal Rumble would be determined in a gauntlet match on Friday night’s episode of SmackDown. While a few options in the match seemed like obvious options to face Reigns at the end of the match, the winner would come from seemingly out of nowhere when WWE official Adam Pearce won the match.
Pearce was entered into the match by Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman as payback for Pearce’s actions in booking a match between Jey Uso and Kevin Owens one week prior. In the end, Reigns and Uso made sure Pearce would win, lining him up to face the consequences of going against the wishes of The Tribal Chief at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event.
CBS Sports was with you all night, bringing you results and highlights of all the action. Read on for everything you need to know coming out of SmackDown.
Adam Pearce def. Rey Mysterio, Sami Zayn, King Corbin, Daniel Bryan and Shinsuke Nakamura to earn a universal title shot at the Royal Rumble. Mysterio and Zayn started the match, with Mysterio quickly eliminating Zayn with a frog splash after a lengthy tirade by Zayn about having to be one of the first two in the match. Mysterio was bounced from the match when Nakamura locked him in an armbar.
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