What’s Hot? 19/02
Is everyone excited for a jam-packed weekend of doing absolutely nothing? Fear not, we’ve got some activities for you: analysing the newest emojis, watching hot wax videos, dumping photos, watching celeb videos and fighting to free Britney. Let’s go ➡️
Apple has released the latest round of emojis, and as ever, we cannot wait to see which will be instantly sexualised, which will be misused by our mums, and which emojis we have already created on the Fever Slack channel.
So, here’s a snapshot of what’s new:
Syringe emoji 2.0 – replacing the blood inside is a clear liquid, because more and more of us are using the emoji to discuss COVID 19, as it’s apparently faster to search for this emoji than type ‘vaccine’.
Couple representation – more couple emojis will be offered with the opportunity to mix and match skin tones, perfect for those in interracial relationships! If you’re looking for an interracial relationship, please message me a resume via Twitter (@ylachuu) – in your cover letter, please include your favourite supermarket, your favourite Oceans film, and your favourite pasta shape, all with arguments on why they are the best.
Exhaling face: A lovely addition which we can only assume will replace terms such as “phew” and “what a relief!” I imagine that if we had this emoji many moons ago, it’s what my mum would have replied when I told her I got into University.
The trend we didn’t need: Hot Wax
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: A lot of the content that gets huge amounts of engagement on social, is like watching a car crash. We simply cannot resist a tragedy (when was the last time a friend asked you to watch Othello and you said no?? Right??)
Well, this fact was further confirmed last week when the hot wax videos took off on TikTok. These videos showed resin covering peoples faces, mouths and necks, before being removed. Scary and satisfying – a content creator sweet spot.
However, there have been warnings from the British Association of Dermatologists (BAD, lol), discouraging this behaviour as it’s potentially super dangerous and can stop you breathing.
BAD say its bad guys. Stop it.
The one to upload: A photo dump
Have you seen more and more ‘Insta dumps’ lately? People posting a carousel of images called “Walking around London”, “From last summer”, “Few from around the house.” The images shared aren’t your usual picture-perfect Instas. There’s no editing, often the shot is a sort of boring street with some nice lighting, or a tasty looking meal on crap crockery, or a picture of a group of friends in the park which the poster must have taken, because they’re not in the shot.
It’s reminiscent of a Facebook album – a collection of barely related photos that aren’t aesthetic enough to stand alone on your feed, but have enough meaning that you’re inclined to share them. At a time where we have less opportunity to post (fewer birthday nights out, dinners, holidays), the Insta-dump is a nice reminder that everyone else’s lives are us mundane as ours right now – but that doesn’t mean we can’t find beauty in the everyday. (Ew did I just write that? So cheesy)
The one to watch: Facebook takes on Cameo
If you’re not familiar with Cameo, it is AMAZING. Essentially, you pay celebrities to record messages for you, your friends, or your family. It blew up this past year as more celebs joined the platform, after realising it was a great way to make money from their lockdown locations.
The range of talent is unbelievable – from Snoop Dog (last I checked he was $750 a go, but now it appears he is inundated with requests and taking time to catch up) to Captain Lee from Below Deck (last I checked he was $80 but oh my god he is also crazy busy? What the hell is going on?)
Last year my friends purchased a video from Antony Costa – arguably the lead vocalist in boy band Blue – asking him to sing our friend’s name over and over for the low price of £30. He now has it as his ring tone.
Anyway, the news this week is that Facebook is developing ‘Super’, its own celebrity shout-out app, which will also include celeb live-streams. Since Cameo is more service based than an entertainment platform, we think it’ll be tricky for Facebook to steal its place in the market, unless it undercuts on price. (We NEVER THOUGHT we would say that last sentence in “What’s Hot?”)
The one to actually physically literally watch: Framing Britney Spears
This entire blog is named after a noughties QUEEN who shaped our lives, so it should be no shock that a certain Pop Princess also made the people of Fever who they are today. What’s truly hot this week is trying to #FREEBRITNEY, and if you don’t know, you’ve clearly not watched the doc. We were lucky enough to work with Sky Documentaries and NOW TV this week to launch ‘Framing Britney Spears’ in the UK (and secured 320 pieces of coverage in the process).
This weekend, watch the doc, fight for Britney, and unfollow Justin.
