Welcome back to The High Low!
It’s been a minute, but we said we’d return in 2026, so… Ta-da! We back!
For anyone that’s new: we’re just two women who have day jobs (full-time) and families (full-time), but also online addictions (overtime). So stick around as we navigate everything we come across that’s worth mentioning, whether we’re loving it or just reacting to it. We have varied interests that range from high-brow fine art projects to low-brow reality TV trash.
As of late, given the state of the world (namely the dumpster fire that is the U.S. right now), we’ve been balancing our media consumption between resources to help and stay informed, and immersing ourselves in lighter fare — namely, reality TV. Read on for a snippet of some highlights.
✨And read to the end to discover a new boy band that’s unlike any other boy band.
Grammy Winners Want ICE Out!
At the 68th Annual Grammy Awards, an evening traditionally reserved for music celebration and glamorous fashion became, for many artists, a platform for moral urgency and political expression. Bad Bunny’s historic win of Album of the Year (making him the first Latin artist to earn this top prize) was the sweet cherry on top of a night filled with artists voicing their support for immigrants and denouncing the actions of ICE. During her winner’s speech for Best R&B Performance, Kehlani simply said, “F*ck ICE.” And Bad Bunny himself didn’t mince words, saying, “ICE out.”
Billie Eilish had one of the best mic-drop moments of the night when she took home Song of the Year and started her speech by pointing out that “no one is illegal on stolen land.” Olivia Dean, who won Best New Artist, took the opportunity to say, “I'm up here as a granddaughter of an immigrant. I wouldn't be here — I'm a product of bravery, and I think those people deserve to be celebrated.”
Of course, there were also others who steered clear of politics. This includes Jelly Roll, who won Best Contemporary Country Album, who opted not to share his feelings about the current political chaos plaguing the country, and played the ignorant card instead. And then there’s Pharrell Williams who accepted the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award and decided his “global impact” would be about making sure everyone’s hard at work, working the live-long day away, never not working for the man. His exact words: “Never stop working. Stop doing anything else but working…If you do what you love every day, you’ll get paid for free.” (This is an especially interesting statement from Williams who is currently being sued by his former production partner Chad Hugo for unpaid royalties, and has previously been accused of stealing album profits from Kelis.)
‘The Traitors’ Makes Murrrder Fun
The Traitors (Photo by: Peacock)
Despite all the bold-faced lies, deception, and “murdering” going on, The Traitors is an absolute delight to watch. Sure, there’s anxiety-inducing pressure faced by the chosen traitors to keep their identity a secret (not to mention the guilt!), but when you’ve got Alan Carr as your cloaked “villain” parading about, it’s really all good fun.
Both the US and UK (and Celebrity UK) versions serve as my feel-good shows to calm my nerves and crack a smile on my tired-of-unprecedented-moments-in-history face. It’s like how some people listen to a true crime podcast or watch an episode of SVU to wind down for the night. Me? I snuggle up and await murrrder. And now there’s going to be even more of it!
Besides getting a normie edition of the US show, which was announced last year, The Traitors is turning into a live experience, moving from screen to stage. Set to open in Covent Garden, London, next year, The Traitors: Live Experience will give the public the opportunity to see how well they fare in the game.
My one question: how good will the salmon be?
🧊 Mixed-media artist Isabelle Brourman was at an ICE protest in Minneapolis, live sketching the chaos, when an agent suddenly fired a shot at her, completely unprovoked. Luckily, Brourman held her drawing board up to block the bullet and there’s footage that captures the whole thing.
😢 Artist Phil Buehler has unveiled a colossal art installation in Brooklyn featuring the names of over 18,000 children killed in Gaza between October 2023 and July 2025. The 50-foot-long, 10-foot-tall piece titled Wall of Tears pays homage to the innocent lives lost to Israel’s attacks.
🧶 Vintage looms are given new(ish) life thanks to artist Pam Connelly’s ingenious craftwork. The artist weaves old family photos on vintage potholders looms, turning two relics of yesteryear into a new, merged object.
🪦 RIP Catherine O’Hara. The legendary comedic actor’s passing was a shock, to say the least. She was iconic in every role she ever played, and always the funniest person on screen. Take a look back at some of Catherine O’Hara’s greatest moments.
@mrgrandeofficial this is a message for punxsutawney phil. you have 6 weeks to respond. #groundhogsday #punxsutawneyphil
🧁 Prue Leith announced she’s leaving The Great British Bake Off after serving as a judge for 400 challenges. In her place, Nigella Lawson has been announced as the new judge, which she is apparently “a teeny bit frightened about.” We’ll miss Prue, her colorful glasses, and her expertise, but we’re also looking forward to hearing how Nigella says microwave now.
💄 It’s happening — we’re finally getting an America’s Next Top Model documentary. Set to premiere on Netflix on February 16, the trailer shows some iconic moments that were definitely created in a very toxic environment. It also shows Tyra blaming us (the audience) for all the problematic things that happened on the show. We seriously can’t wait to watch this one!
🏒 A Heated Rivalry look-alike contest took place in NYC, and our doppelgänger Ilya and Shane have been crowned. Time to celebrate at the cottage!
🤖 We have another AI singer on the loose… or do we? (We’re pretty sure it’s AI.) Meet Sienna Rose, the music account that claims to be a real singer-songwriter. She/it even puts out carefully worded posts on social media to deflect the AI claims, except there’s never an explicit “I am not AI” anywhere to be found.
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✨ Thank you for reading to the end. As promised, here is a new boy band that’s unlike any other boy band.
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