I am so excited for the first Kiara’s Court AMA! Sharing this today because y’all should already know that next week is all about Cowboy Carter. Without further ado, let’s get into the questions from members of The Jury!
But first, Bob Watch!
So we have this cute braided bob from this girl on Tiktok. Gigi Hadid slaying. Syndey Sweeney crossing over to bob land. Muni Long's cunty bob. Hate her outfit tho.... Lizzo at the Vanity Fair Oscar's after party. Grace Kuhlenschmidt's cute new bob. Blizzy's cute little bob. Florence Pugh's cunty bob at the Oscars. and finally Nikki Blonsky from the movie Hairspray's new cunty bob.
Who do you think is in the running for “the next Beyoncé”? Do you subscribe to that at all since Beyoncé is obviously still very much working? Thots overall?
The topic of who is the next Beyoncé is a little tired since Beyoncé is the Beyoncé of our time. But let’s take Cowboy Carter out of the equation. I think the obvious answer is Blue Ivy. I think she has everything she needs and more to continue her mother’s legacy if she wants to. The only thing is we will probably have to wait a while before we see a full music career1. But let’s take the entire family out of the equation……
To be honest, I am not sure if I believe that anyone has the range yet. There are plenty of people who can sing and dance at the same time. Some are Bree Runway, Tinashe, and Victoria Monet. But, I am not sure if I have seen anyone have the range in terms of having the eras be as deep in history, context, research, and impact. Beyoncé takes a long time between albums because she does her homework. I don’t know if I believe that anyone’s work even compares to any of Beyoncé’s albums. No one has released a visual that I believe to be that deep and rich at all.
In my eyes, no one is investing time in music videos anymore which I think is unfortunate. Many times, music videos are my favorite part of music. My dream job is actually to be a music video director or work in music supervision for movies and TV shows. I don’t know if I think we have any pop or just music juggernaut like we had in the past like Beyoncé, Gaga, hell even Lana Del Rey. So to answer your question, no. I don’t think anyone we have currently is in the running to be the next Beyoncé. Someone who I do think has the range to be our #1 pop girl is Charli XCX. I think she is the best modern-day pop star we have at the moment. But that is a conversation for another day.
Thanks, Michael!
Jack Hannon, Author of My Life on the A-List 🎞
Would you say you subscribe to any particular belief system at this time in your life? I’ve started to lose interest/conviction with astrological examination and am interested in how other people feel! xx
I’m pretty sure you know this but for the other Jury members, I was raised Southern Baptist. I would say at this point, I don’t connect to the actual teachings of Christianity but I do still connect to the culture. I love Gospel music and church choirs. Other than that, I don’t care about church. I do, however, believe that there has to be some kind of mastermind or something keeping the universe in order.
So I think at this point in my life, I am agnostic. I don’t believe that a person is sitting on a throne deciding what happens with all of our lives. More so I think I believe that there is a mathematical force (web) that connects us all (lol). There are too many coincidences in this world for things to just be happening by chance. I believe that there is some sort of innate synergy of the universe and you just have to know how to tap into it.
We joke about Selena but I do think my actual beliefs are more in line with believing that the universe is its own being and ultimately it decides what happens somehow. I mean every action has an equal and opposite reaction. To me, that is some freaky deaky shit. The fact that there are things that are just true tells me that there is some thought put into the way things work. I just don’t know who or what decided it.
My main issue with organized religion is that most of it is used as a scare tactic and a means of control rather than truly helping anyone. The Bible has been translated so many times that what we are reading is just a glorified telephone game version. People have edited what is said to fit their agendas. Some books were left out and I am supposed to take what the bible says literally? I also feel like the “God” that people are talking about and praying to in the Bible and other holy books isn’t the only god and maybe isn’t even a God at all. He has done some pretty fucked up and questionable shit for me to ever respect him no shade. I feel like the “God” that people are talking about within the bible is an intergalactic tyrant who colonized Earth and made the people there worship him. Rather than the end all be all being within the universe.
So I’m not sure if this answered your question but yeah I believe in the science of the universe. I also think I believe in the afterlife but not in the way that people think of it now. What I believe is probably more in line with reincarnation but that is a whole other topic. Ultimately I believe in Karma. If you are good to people, that energy will come back to you. So that is how I try to live my life.
Hope this helps! xx
Do you know of any book clubs? I’ve read 13 so far this year and I need to yap about em
Unfortunately, I do not. However, you should start your own! I don’t do book clubs because I need to be able to read at my own pace. BUUUTT I do love the app Storygraph and they have this feature called “Buddy Reads”. You and however many friends all read the same book and can leave comments. The comments are hidden based on where you are in the book. So every time you read, you update your progress and you can leave a comment. Me and my friends have done it and they’re super fun and allow everyone to read at their own pace. That may be worth trying out until you find a solid book club. But I think if you really want that in-person community you may have to start it yourself, friend!
I'd love to hear you talk about growing up in Arkansas/the South and how that experience shapes (or doesn't shape) your perspective on pop culture !!
This is an interesting question because I don’t think growing up in Arkansas has anything to do with my perspective on Pop Culture at all. I mean besides me knowing all the famous people from Arkansas. I often get tired of talking about Arkansas with non Arkansans because people act like it’s on another planet and not just a normal state. I feel like Arkansas didn’t have a shape in my perspective on pop culture besides knowing that most things in pop culture were not going to come from there.
One thing that shaped me by being from Arkansas was the creatives that I know from there. Some of the most creative and smart people I know are from Arkansas. My theater teacher growing up always used to say that “limitation breeds creativity.” I think because there wasn’t much to do in Arkansas, that allowed for the arts scene there to be so deep and rich. Arkansas has a lot of history and some very smart and notable people come from there. So I think in a way I think of Arkansas as an underdog. People think that the South is a place so different from the North. However, having lived in both places for a significant amount of time, I can tell you that the North is just the South with a mask on. Most places outside of major cities look just like Arkansas and have many of the same types of people. But the South is the only place that gets the redneck rep. It’s really interesting. Not to say that you think any of these things about Arkansas but I kind of just needed to rant lol.
Either way to answer your question I think my perspective on pop culture came from my own interest in it. Most people I knew growing up didn’t care about it as much as I did. Hell, most of them still don’t lol. It’s just something that I’ve always been tuned into. I was always the girl who was too obsessed with Beyonce or Award Shows or whatever. So I think it all just came from me. I am a southern girl at heart so I will always have a love for southern culture and the people. But I have never really thought about how that plays into my relationship with pop culture. Thanks for asking though!
Top three women who don’t have a bob but should?
Ariana Grande - I think it would be really cute honestly
Rihanna - It’s been too long since she had the good girl gone bad boob and I fear we need it back
You! - If you haven’t had a bob I think everyone should try it at least once
Would you ever have a podcast? I think you would have a really great/funny podcast!
I actually already had a podcast a few years ago with one of my best friends, Austin. It was called Pop Daydreams and you can still listen to it wherever you listen to podcasts. I also planned an entire podcast with my friend Stella where we would watch and react to all of the Marvel movies but that never happened lol. But to answer your question, I think I could have a podcast that was just me but I would want a co-host. I like talking to people and having someone to bounce off of and react to. I have talked to one of my friends about podcasting but it’s not something I am focusing on right now. I know how much work goes into it and it’s not something that I want to just half-ass. I like the idea of having some sort of advice podcast or advice segment (kind of like what I’m doing right now) but I’m not sure.
It is definitely something that I want to iron out and develop further before just jumping in like last time. Also, my issue is I HATE editing it. I would need to edit the audio and video and that’s a lot. So I would need to hire someone to do that for me which is extra money and time. So it’s just a lot. But it is something I am thinking about and want to do down the line. There are just a lot of moving parts. I have thought about calling it “another pop culture podcast” because of how saturated the market is. But in reality, it would probably be called Kiara’s Court if it was just me. Or a completely new thing if it was with someone else. So final answer, stay tuned!
If you were to move to a new city where you:
1. DON’T know anyone
2. DON’T have any social connections (e.g., your friend from HS has a friend in that city)
3. ONLY have coworkers 15+ years older than you….
How would you try to meet people? How would you make connections when you’re alone with no support? Where would you seek out comfort? How would you develop a new social life?
So I actually did do this when I first moved to NYC from Arkansas. I only knew one person but I wasn’t that close to them but we were friends. So I was forced to start completely from scratch. Granted, I did come to NYC for college so it was a little easier to make friends at my school. Honestly, I would say to go to a coffee shop or bar near you and start going to events there. I made one of my good friends by going to a chess night at a coffee shop. I don’t even care about chess! I just went one day because I was craving to play chess for some reason.
But it doesn’t have to be that niche. I’m not sure where you live but there are definitely some bars or coffee shops that have weekly trivia near you. Also, there is the app meet-up. I have not personally used it but I have heard of people using it to meet people within their specific interests and they have enjoyed it.
Another easy way to make a friend is to find someone that you think looks cool and compliment them. They may receive it well and strike up a conversation. I have had many people come up and compliment me and then we started a friendship from there. People love flattery! But moving to a different place is really hard and I empathize with you. But if you are willing to put yourself out of your comfort zone just a little bit I bet you will have at least one friend. You also have to believe that you will make a friend when you go out. Maybe just make the goal to make one friend every time you go somewhere. Then one day you will look up and you will have a few new friends! Then eventually you’ll meet their friends and then your network will grow! Hope this helps!
If you made a sitcom what would it be about and would you star in it like a reba moment?
I have thought about writing and starring in a sitcom many times in my life because I am a Leo and funny things always happen to me. I would make it set in college and be based on a lot of the shenanigans that happened during my freshman year of college. My best friends and I (who met on Floor 13 of Maria’s Tower of Pace University) have talked about this many times. I think there is a huge lack of sitcoms set in college for some reason. It is a really interesting place to explore because you still have the school element but people can drink and have sex without it being about minors. I would love to star in it but I think by the time it gets made I may be too old. However, I still get carded all the time so maybe not.
Some of the things that happened during my freshman year on floor 13 that would make it in the show:
The ceiling falling because two boys put trash up there only to discover that there was trash already up there from the year before
A girl went “missing” for a day and everyone thought something had happened to her and got the school and our RA involved but in reality, she was just walking around the city and ignoring everyone’s calls
Two people snuck a huge Christmas tree into their dorm but never put it up because it was not allowed. No one ever found out.
Our RA slept with a student on the floor. He also got fired but not for that.
There was a fight at 5 am that I witnessed and two of the girls had to move floors with only 2 weeks left in the year
So yeah there is an entire list of things that happened but I think that’s what I would do. I also know that Joe and Andrew from Good Children are making a Good Children show and I would love to be in that show. Even though I have PTSD from acting and don’t know them personally lol.
Gabby
Do you have a Rooster update?
Gabby actually asked me this in person last night but I am putting it in here because I am sure some of you are curious. But Sigh. For those of you that don’t know. My neighbor has a rooster that wakes me up every night.
So I did make a complaint to 311 and of course, nothing happened. Unfortunately I still don’t have confirmation of where the rooster is coming from. I do believe one day I will see this rooster’s downfall but today is not that day.
Well, that was fun! I think I am going to do this from time to time because I love leaning into the whole judge bit. If you have a question to ask leave it in the comments! I will go in and answer them there <3 See you next week for all of my thoughts on Cowboy Carter!
Although in my dreams she has a whip my hair my hair moment and releases when she is a child.
i would edit your podcast for non money related repayment