Names and faces
Jay-Z, Harry Styles, Kendrick Lamar, U2 and Chris Stapleton were just some of the artists responsible for Barack Obama’s favorite songs of the year. The former president shared an eclectic list of his favorite songs and books of 2017 Sunday on his Facebook page, including JayZ’s “Family Feud” and Styles’ “Sign of the Times.” The 22-song list also singled out Lamar’s “Humble,” U2’s “Ordinary Love (Extraordinary Mix)” and Stapleton’s “Millionaire.” Obama wrote that he wanted to continue the tradition he started during his presidency of sharing his reading and playlists. His books list includes Grant, by Ron Chernow; Exit West, by Moshin Hamid; Anything is Possible, by Elizabeth Strout; and Amy Goldstein’s Janesville: An American Story. Obama also gave a bonus shout-out to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s Coach Wooden and Me.
Minutes after Mariah Carey’s New Year’s Eve performance went off without any obvious glitches, she gave a short interview to Ryan Seacrest, host of the night’s festivities for Dick Clark Productions. “Oh, I’m feeling a lot better than last year, when I had to get my own police escort to walk away,” Carey said, after Seacrest asked how she was feeling. After the ball dropped at midnight, she was seen onstage on the ABC telecast, singing along with Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York,” which was blaring over speakers. A year earlier, Carey had technical difficulties during a live performance of her hit song “Emotions.” She stopped singing, paced the stage and told the audience to finish the lyrics for her. This time, both Carey and the network pulled out every stop to make sure there was no repeat. Carey personally sound-checked the performance hours in advance. There was minimal choreography, as she stayed in mostly one spot onstage during a frigid New York City night. She started a two-song set with “Vision of Love,” her first single, from 1990. In a made-for-television act of pop culture redemption, Carey’s performance made it to the finish line, except for the desire for hot tea. “Happy New Year!” Carey said, addressing the crowd. “Just want to take a sip of tea if they’ll let me. They told me there would be tea. Oh! It’s a disaster. OK. Well, we’ll just have to rough it. I’m going to be just like everybody else with no hot tea. But we’re going to try and do this one for you.” In subzero wind chill, who could blame her? After she finished her 1993 song “Hero,” the camera went back to Seacrest. “And that is why she is Mariah Carey,” Seacrest said.