I Think We All EGOT ⭐️
extracurricular reads, a return to discotheque, and cinema on demand
Welcome, to hyperfix’d - a low-stakes publication where I share everything and anything I’m excited about, with anyone who will listen. Rounding up the best new music, pop culture moments, and artistic achievements of the week, is this week’s hyperfix’d:
75th Emmy Awards 🌟
Once again, I have found myself all consumed and invested in awards season, riding the high of my self-declared publicist era. Following a six-month delay amidst industry strikes and negotiations, the 75th Emmy Awards were broadcast this week, honoring the biggest and brightest of last year’s television season. Seemingly knowing that the ceremony was airing on my birthday (an ideal situation for me), the television academy knew exactly what needed to be done, as a new class of hollywood talent was lovingly celebrated.
Ayo Edebiri began her long-awaited journey to EGOT, taking home the night’s first award for her outstanding performance in The Bear to unanimous delight. Quinta Brunson fulfilled the very online to multi-Emmy winning pipeline for her beloved performance in Abbott Elementary. Jessica Williams stunned in my favorite dress of the night. James Marsden … the character actor (and man) you are! The women of White Lotus turned heads as they cheered for Jen Coolidge, who thanked her ‘evil gays.’ Trevor Noah looked dashing until I remembered he was cleared off Dua Lipa’s roster after just one date. Kieran Culkin and Pedro Pascal were silly! Beef creator Lee Sung Jin swept the limited series category, penning several moving speeches. Niecy Nash-Betts thanked herself and reminded us all that a little self-gratitude goes a long way.
Most importantly the 75th Emmy Awards blessed us with a moment in history … a new EGOT! Elton John, whose musical contributions to film and television know no bounds, finally cemented his Big Four status with an Emmy for Best Live Variety Special for Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium, becoming the nineteenth person to officially secure the prestige title. As someone who thinks about the concept of EGOT far too much in their day-to-day, the impressive feat of securing an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony personally signifies a level of hard work, persistence, and delusion that I strongly believe we all hold in our lives. EGOT is a state of mind, a limitless imagination, and a loving reminder that time creating art will always be time well spent. Victoria Justice once said we all sing, and if we trust in ourselves hard enough, I truly believe, we all EGOT 🌟
Here’s where you can watch this year’s award-winning television:
Abbott Elementary, streaming on Hulu, with new episodes returning on February 7
Daily Show With Trevor Noah, streaming on Paramount+ and Comedy Central
Succession, streaming on Max
The White Lotus, streaming on Max
Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium, streaming on Disney+
Yes, And, Ariana Grande 🎧
The entire internet has beat me to a punchline about Ariana Grande’s venture into theatrical improv, and yet I can’t help but completely fall in love with her new single, Yes, And? more with every listen. Following a three-year musical hiatus, the pop star has orchestrated yet another conversation-worthy comeback with her upbeat dance track, hailing a bygone era of house and disco greats (interpolating1 Madonna’s Vogue), mixed with a signature touch of pop femininity.
Yes, And? is the first single off Ariana’s forthcoming album, Eternal Sunshine.
Tembe Denton-Hurst is a beauty and culture writer for The Strategist and New York Magazine, and author of Homebodies, one of my favorite reads of recent years. A self-proclaimed ‘writer that loves to read,’ Denton-Hurst joins the substack community with her literature and essay-focused newsletter, Extracurricular. Her first writeup features a lovingly annotated bibliography of her favorite formative media and literature, from Jane Austen and Audre Lorde to Zora Neale Hurston and Gina Prince-Bythewood 🤍
Mubi 💻
I recently joined Mubi, a global streaming platform and distributor spotlighting the best of independent cinema, with an exclusive streaming library of countless films by emerging and established filmmakers. The platform features a multitude of acclaimed international and independent marvels from recent years, many of which didn’t receive a widespread release in cinemas, from Ira Sachs’ Passages and Sebastián Silva’s Rotting In The Sun, to Molly Manning Walker’s How To Have Sex and Park Chan-wook’s Decision To Leave.
Mubi memberships begin at $14.99 a month, with a seven-day free trial available for first-time users.
I write the word interpolating with confidence because I learned about it in the music theory component of my BFA - a degree I forget I have until someone mentions the interpolation of Vogue in Ariana Grande’s new breakout single.