Pop Media Cult Part Deux

Yes, I know, my Title for May is my worst metaphor yet!  I'm going to keep this month as brief as possible.  And it turns out that "brief" may be relative LOL:

Here is a recap of the recap to date:

Hiatus Direction 2016 - Preamble: Birth Love and Death
Hiatus Direction 2016 - January Part 1 - Freddie Reign
Hiatus Direction 2016 - January Part 2 - Into the Wilderness
Hiatus Direction 2016 - February Part 1 - Secret Love Song #1 Louelle
Hiatus Direction 2016 - February Part 2 - Secret Love Song #2 Cheriam 
Hiatus Direction 1016 - March & April - Silent Sprint

So let's begin:

Hiatus Direction 2016 - Come What May


Liam In Paris

One of the reasons that this May recap is lengthy is that I am starting out with Cheriam again. 

Liam and Cheryl did a number of gorgeous high profile red carpet appearances during the month of May,   They went to both Paris of The Global Gift Gala (in which Cheryl was an honoree) and an event in Cannes the Chopard Trophee, in association with Cheryl and L'Oreal.





<---5.9.16,  The Paris Global Gift Gala - I'm sorry, haters, but they are a very attractive couple.  And there is no debate about that.  And he looks at her like she's his world.


And again in Cannes

 <---  5.12.16, Again they are just plain smoking HOT!

But I'm sad to report a couple of things going on regarding this couple from the fandom's POV.

1.  The hate was fast and it was furious.  The 1D fandom hating on a 1D girlfriend isn't unusual, but the nastiness they unleashed on Cheryl's IG, and even on Liam's IG when he mentioned her - was rank vicious.  The two words that trolls liked to use against Cheryl were (and continue to be...)  Grandma and Ziam.  (Yes, people still ship Ziam as though it is real... ::eye roll::)

2.  Even as early as May, pregnancy rumours were very prevalent.  Of course she wasn't actually pregnant... yet.  (oops, Spoiler Alert!)

pssst - a couple of pictures were the basis for the original rumors:

 <--- People started speculating about the shape of her belly in this gorgeous but tight dress.  And about her hand on her belly at the Paris airport.  The people doing that speculation were of course wrong... at that particular time.  ;)

Finally on the subject of Cheriam...

  <--- That is the way he looks at her! ::::thunk:::  Haters can bite me.



Harry's Haircut

Another reason why this May post is relatively long is... Harry got a haircut.

Harry was MIA for most of May, and would generally remain so for the rest of the year.  But on May 6, the big, earth shattering news broke:  Harry Styles had cut his hair.   This shocking turn of events had been anticipated by the reality based portion of the fandom, the fans who understood the inevitability of the haircut.  Remember the news that broke in March that Harry had accepted a role in the Christopher Nolan movie Dunkirk - a war movie - playing a soldier in a WWII period movie.  And we understood that playing such a character is a historical drama would require much shorter hair.  

So RIP Long Haired Harry:

<--- RIP



Here is how this monster news story unfolded:


First, Harry posted a shot of just his hand... holding the erstwhile lock of hair on and Instagram post on May 7th 


 <--- He kindly donated the proceeds for the auctioned lock to a charity, Little Princess Trust, which provides wigs to children who suffer hair loss due to cancer treatment.

This story was covered high and low, such is the magnetism of Harry Style's hair.

Here are just a few examples:


GQ
Glamour UK
E News

The next anticipated step was for Harry to unveal his new look in public.  Alas, new glimpses would be painfully slow in coming.



But Harry didn't post a picture of himself with his shortened hair, leaving his fans waiting with baited breath.  Finally on May 9, the paps found him out and about.  Unfortunately, his hat kept the new hairstyle discretely covered.    The full reveal would have to wait for later in the month.

  <---  Much ado about this haircut.

When the hair cust was at last unvealed, it was indeed in conjuction with Harry's movie role.    In Mid May Dunkirk filming was ramping up on location in the town of Dunkerque France, and in Amsterdam.  And on May 18th, Harry was spotted in Dunkerque and that is where he would continue appear for most of the Summer.  You will see all of that Dunkirk filming goodness in the Summer round up post to follow this one.

On May 26, we got the first official glimpse both of the haircut, and even more exciting, of Harry in costume as a WWII soldier...

 <---  So much more to come!


Sporty Niall



Niall spent May reminding us all of his love for golf.  On May 19, Niall partnered with good friend Rory McIlroy for an event associated with the Northern Ireland Open.  Golf Digest was all over it. Let's just say that the golfing industry seems to regard Niall's involvement in their sport as a very positive thing for attracting new young golfers. Some choice quotes from Golf Digest:





<--- Niall playing at one his May golfing events.


Later in the month he played in another Pro-Am in Surrey





And he closed the month with a charity event for Cancer that he co-hosted with Golfer Justin Rose:



<--- With Justin

But there was one more sporty event that Niall attended at the end of the month/beginning of the next...  But I'll save that for the end of the post.

Finally, Louis

Louis continued living with the complications of his life including being a new dad, and balancing girlfriend and babymama.  Although, we would later learn, that it was in May that Louis learned some truly terrible news that he would be carrying with him for the rest of the year.  A devastating  twist he held in secret from the fans for most of the rest of the year.  

Let's start with Louis and Danielle.  During May they took two rather glamerous trips together.  First they took a vacation to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico...


<--- Seen here taking what must have been a glorious selfie on a Yacht.*  May 12, 2016

*Ahahahaha, Poor Larries.  Another yacht!

Later during their stay in a resort, they were caught making out (and worse) by a long distance paparazzi.  Unfortunately, the Pap caught pictures of Louis taking off Danielle's bikini top, of her topless, as well as the two of them kissing.

 <-- Here are some of the makeout photos, but I won't repost the topless pics... Sorry.

Later in the month, they went on a trip to Monaco for the Grand Prix.  They looked very glam walking around the beach.

 <-- Surely few couples ever looked this glorious and perfect together.  At least for this moment in time.  If only Danielle had had a crystal ball.

Between those two trips, Louis was twice papped in Los Angeles with Freddie and Briana, apparently exchanging the baby in public places for Louis' visitation.

 <-- May 8

 <-- Here on May 19 with Briana.

 <--- Again with Briana on the 21st.
These pubic exchanges in parking lot are actually good practice for parents who are co-parenting.  It keeps the exchanges on neutral ground.  Of course most co-parenting couples are not so high profile.  And Boybander with a Baby is a pap magnet.  :(

Finally, on May 25th, just after the trip to Monaco, Louis and Danielle attended the wedding of James Vardy in London.

<--- Louis and Danielle at the Vardy Wedding.  Looking every inch the happy and in-love couple.

 But the fandom learned later that there was a dark side to this appearance.It was at this event, the fandom later learned, that Louis first learned that his mother's cancer was terminal.  

***
On that note, Louis had one more event for the end of the month.  A charity football match in London.  And Niall had agreed to come as well.  For the end of May, we were treated to lovely images of these two boys forming the new IT BROMANCE of 1D.  

Long live NOUIS

 <-- Louis and Niall on June 1.   They put on a fantastic event.

***
And the so the year wound on into the Summer.  Things would start to quiet down as the Hiatus settled in on the boys.  The star of the Summer will be Harry Styles.

 

Here we are in Part 2 of my recap of Hiatus Direction:  covering the month of February 2016.  Here is a recap of the recap so far:

Hiatus Direction 2016 - Preamble: Birth Love and Death
Hiatus Direction 2016 - January Part 1 - Freddie Reign
Hiatus Direction 2016 - January Part 2 - Into the Wilderness
Hiatus Direction 2016 - February Part 1 - Secret Love Song #1 Louelle

Hiatus Direction 2016:  SECRET LOVE SONG #2 Cheriam

Let's continue with the recap of February aka the month of love.  But we shall shift the focus from Louis to Liam.  And this part is going to be a long one!  Because Liam, had a secret, and it was a blockbuster.

Back in December, it had seemed that Liam was planning a low key Hiatus, one that involved spending a lot of time with his dogs, and which didn't involve making solo music.  But January had muddled that impression.  He had posted a song snippet, appeared on social media with Juicy J and had spent the month globe trotting between London and Los Angeles.  What could be going on with Liam?  

Was it possible that he had been trying to tell us something all along?

 Maybe in retrospect the first clue was Liam's mysterious mid February vacation to the Maldives.  During that trip, he had posted a photo of a rose with a caption indicating he had a "baby" and wishing his Baby happy Valentines Day.   So, who was his baby?   It was certainly a puzzle, and he had the fandom's attention.  


 <-- Also, what was up with Liam and the roses?  First the tattoo on his hand, and now this picture...  


Whatever the case was, Liam arrived alone back in Los Angeles  on Feb 19 looking gloriously happy.  Not at all like a man who was spending his time sulking with his great dane...

 <--- Yet another one of my favorite Liam Airport pappings.  Such a secretive little smile he had.  The Fandom knew he had been to the Maldives because of a fan sighting at the airport there.  But the vacation did seem quite random...  


Anyway, this brings us back to the night of the Britt Awards on Feb 22 in London - and Lilo's joint appearance.   I talked about Lilo at the Britts in the last entry, and here it is again!  But this time, with added drama, because Liam's Big Secret was about to drop.


<--- Lilo's beautiful Britt Reunion
Portrait.  Nope, still not the Secret Love Song that everyone would wish ;)    But Love was never-the-less in the air.  

<--- More lovely pictures of our boys from the Britts because why not!






Earlier in the evening, before arriving at the Awards, Liam posted a shirtless selfie to his Instagram while getting ready for the show:

<--- Lordy the boy had gotten in shape since the Hiatus began.  


Perhaps that was a distraction for the fans, because Liam had some other social media activity that evening.  Specifically, he liked a photo that Cheryl Fernandez-Versini,  Popstar and X-Factor Judge, posted of herself also getting ready to attend the event.  In fact, the two of them conducted a short social media conversation involving multiple heart eyed emojis.


<--- In the age of social media, this was essentially an unofficial announcement that 22 year old Liam and 32 year old Cheryl were dating.


Here is Cheryl on the Red Carpet that night, looking banging hot!


 <--- Recognize her yet?



If not, here's a little picture to jog your memory...(I told you those photos from the Last Night on the X-Factor were important LOL.)

<---  This is the full image.  Because there is Cheryl, right in the middle of the picture with...


<--- Liam's arm around her.  Ah ha!  



So, who is Cheryl anyway?   Perhaps before going any further we should get to know her a little bit more.

***

A Short History of Cheryl Tweedy/Cole/Fernandez-Versini

Cheryl was born in Newcastle in the north of England to a working class family very similar to the Payne family.  And like Liam, she first came to fame by auditioning on a TV talent show in 2002 called Popstars: The Rivals.  From that, she ended up becoming a member of a very successful girl band called Girl's Aloud.  

<--- That's Cheryl in the middle of this early Girls Aloud photoshoot, 2002.


<--- The glitzier later days
They are actually one of the most successful girl groups of all time.  Everywhere except that is, the U.S. where they are comparatively obscure.

After Girls Aloud went on Hiatus in 2009 Cheryl began a very successful solo career in the UK including three number one albums.  She is one of the most successful solo female artists ever in the UK.  

Other key events:

*In 2003 Cheryl was arrested for assaulting a lavatory attendant.  She was eventually convicted and served 120 hours of community service.  She was acquitted of a charge that the assault was racially motivated. Cheryl was 19 at the time, and has had no repetition of such an incident.

*Cheryl met footballer Ashley Cole in 2004 and married him two years later.  The marriage was tumultuous and Ashley reportedly cheated on Cheryl numerous times. The entire relationship was tabloid fodder all the way until it's end in 2010.

*Cheryl married French businessman Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini in 2014 after dating him for only three months.  That marriage was apparently essentially over by Oct, 2015.  Which was the same timeframe as Liam's unexpected breakup with Sophia Smith towards the end of 1D's last tour.

*Cheryl is a spokeswoman for L'Oreal Cosmetics and has been twice voted the most beautiful woman in the world by FMH

<---  The photo that got Cheryl voted most beautiful woman in the world.

So, in short, even though she is relatively obscure in the U.S., Cheryl is a big deal in the UK.  She is a media tabloid darling and has been in the spotlight for a decade and a half.

***

Here Comes The SUN



In the wake of the Britts, rumours about this new possible couple were flying fast and furious.  The fandom was NOT PLEASED and instantly jumped to their old standby - calling the rumored relationship "PR", a "Sham" and spinning stories that is was all just for "Promo".  The comments on Cheryl's Twitter and Instagram blew up with repeated use of the words "Grandma" and "Ziam". 

But nothing is official without a confirmation.  So the fandom waited for the other shoe to drop.  Would a confirmation come?

And it did on Feb 26, straight from Dan Wooton, the Sun columnist who so frequently gets the scope of 1D Members - The Sun dropped the official "Revelation"

<--- The Sun cover In all it's lurid glory.

The fandom was NOT amused. 

And the tabloid coverage was relentless.  And it was all made infinitly worse by the emphasis on Cheryl's age, 10 years older than Liam, and her role as an X-Factor judge, which essentially placed her in a mentor role to young Liam going all the way back to 2008 when  Liam was only 14 years old.  The fact that the couple's first meeting literally took place on camera when one of them was a minor, made the whole thing much worse as well.  The image of the cheeky 14 year old Liam flirting with the 24 year old Cheryl who was already in full pop star/X-Factor judge mode are easy to sensationalize. 

Still, the photos and videos of that meeting were published everywhere and they are, and always will be cringe inducing: 

<--- A GIF of Liam and Cheryl's first meeting.  He was a flirty kid, and she appears to be amused by his flirting.  Well, at least he's the one who did the winking.  But the fandom will NEVER forgive her for this.  Ever.


*****

One more aside about the Sun Article - it gave a possible explanation for Liam's obsession with roses.

<--- The tattoo in question.


<---  Cheryl has a giant tattoo of roses all over her ass, and her lower back.  The Sun article said that Liam's new hand tattoo was a tribute to this large tattoo.   Liam obviously likes those roses a lot.  ;)

***

On the same day that the news broke Feb 26,  Liam did a Pap Walk outside of Sony's HQ in London.  He continued to look gloriously happy:

<--- This is also one of my favorite Liam Pap Walks of all time.  And as this appearance was outside Sony HQ, it seemed to be yet another hint that Liam might make the plunge into solo music afterall.

On the last day of the month, Liam changed his Instagram profile picture to a shirtless picture of himself, with Cheryl in his arms.  It didn't last long because of the brutal hate he got from jealous 1D fans calling Cheryl "grandma" and/or referencing  "Ziam".  

He replaced the photo with a selfie of just himself after only a few days.  But he added the word "Happy" to his Instagram profile. And it that word has remained their ever since.

 <--- the photo in question.

Liam and Cheryl would spend the next month trying to acclimate the fandom to their new relationship.  The fandom remained unkind, but this relationship would continue to be in the public eye for the rest of the year.

Stay tuned.  So very much more to come.

The next segment will move forward to Spring, and the year in review will continue.

Hiatus Direction 2016 - January Part 1 - Freddie Reign

This is the first official installment of Hiatus Direction 2016.  It will cover part of January, but will focus on the birth of Freddie Reign Tomlinson.  The first born child of One Direction.  

Here is the link to the Preamble

Happy Birthday Freddie Reign



Well, I did say that the year 2016 began with a birth.  Louis Tomlinson's complicated life was about to become a whole lot more complicated.  More complicated then anyone could imagine.  

Late in the Night/Early morning of Jan 20, 2016, Louis Tomlinson tweeted:




Throughout the day on January 21, 2016, rumors were growing around the fandom that Briana Jungwirth was in Labor, and that Baby Tommo's arrival was imminent.  

And so in fact, it came to pass that on January 21, 2016,  Louis Tomlinson, age 24 became the father of the first One Direction offspring.  A baby boy named  Freddie Reign Tomlinson

However, as there was no announcement that day or the next, the fandom waited anxiously for the news.  In the Afternoon of the 22nd, Louis was papped near the hospital going into a Sunglasses Hut.  It was duly noted by the tabloids that he appeared to be wearing a hospital bracelet.

 <--- You can see the bracelet on his left wrist.  (And more on the Sunglasses Hut visit later.)

Finally on the 23rd Louis himself announce Freddie's birth via his Twitter account:




He also posted a jaw droppingly beautiful shirtless photograph holding his newborn child.  Louis and his Little Lad.  



 <--- Louis with his two day old son Freddie, published on Jan 23, 2016.  Look at that teeny tiny newborn human.  Look at his brand new dad, not quite yet knowing the right way to hold a newborn... Handsome, strong, sweet and vulnerable.  Human.

Later this photo leaked of Louis holding Freddie in the hospital... with the sunglasses.  

<--- Alert!  New dad being a geek!



*****

So, What Did It All Mean?

For Louis and Briana, it meant transitioning into parenthood in a very public way.  On Jan. 25th and 26th, days after the birth, they were papped taking Freddie to his doctor's appointments.  There would be many pappings to come because apparently, "Boybander with a Baby" is quite the draw.



 <--- Louis taking his son to the Doctor's Office




<--- And BTW Briana was there too, every step of the way.  And hey, you Trumpish Larrie Birthers, get a load of her post-baby bump, which the Big Larries have brainwashed you into thinking didn't exist...

***

For the Fandom, it meant more division then ever.  The Larrie Tinhats were NOT happy.  The Big Larrie bloggers had been promising their poor little flock members, since July of 2015, that "There Is No Baby".  So, now they were scrambling and stewing up the new theories they would use to try and explain why the thing they said would never happen - had happened.

The main theories revolved around photo shopping babies into Louis arms, borrowed children from Modest employees, and the one they finally settled on - Freddie is a doll.  That's right.  They decided that the adorable child Louis so lovingly cradled in the above photograph was the result of photo shop or even more despicably, a doll.  Because, they explained, "Louis would NEVER pretend to hold a baby that wasn't his and claim it was unless "Boss Man" forced him to".

How could anyone disrespect this beautiful child?  And yet there is a large pestilence of such people in the 1D fandom who long ago let their jealousy run away with their common decency.  psst.  the $^*%$ Larries.  They must be addressed in regards to their horrendous response to the birth of Louis' child.  And I will.  I promise.

 <--The Larries, quite honestly don't know what they hell they are talking about.  (Briana's photo with her newborn.)



****

As I mentioned in the Preamble, while Louis and Briana worked to establish a co-parenting relationship for their newborn son, Louis was also dating Danielle Campbell.  Jan 30 was Danielle's 21st birthday, they were papped going to dinner to celebrate.  



<--- Complete with baby blue balloons to celebrate Freddie's birth as well as celebrate Danielle's birthday.

As I said, and will continue to repeat, Louis life during this time was complicated.

****
Before I move on, there is one last subject to address regarding Freddie's birth.  Johanna Deakin, Louis mother, and the mother of six others as well, came to Los Angeles to greet her first grandchild.    She was a Midwife by profession, so of course she was there to welcome Freddie.  Jay provided us with some wonderful pictures of Louis with newborn Freddie:


<---These are the best!  Louis was a loving new daddy.

But, in retrospect, the most important photo was this one:

 <---Johanna Deakin with her first born son, and his first son, January 2016.


Later in the year we would learn just how truly precious this photo is.

****

There is more to say about January.  The other boys were doing things too.   So the next post will be January Part II.  Not all months will need two parts.  In fact some months later in the year were very low key.  But not January, that's for sure.  So see you in Part II.

Yesterday was the 2nd anniversary of the day that Zayn officially quit One Direction. The Announcement came on March 25, 2015.

Yesterday, March 25, 2017:

Liam announced the birth of his child.  

The baby boy's name isn't revealed yet, but LIAM IS A DAD




Yesterday, March 25, 2017:

Louis performed Just Hold On in Miami:

He still doesn't have an album deal, but he has a number of collabs in progress, and it will be interesting to see what label he ends up with.  Also of great importance to Louis, no doubt, March 25 was his late mother's birthday, the first since her death.  A difficult day for his family.  :(  (And today, the 26th is also probably pretty hard, as it is Mother's Day in the UK.)




Yesterday, March 25, 2017

Harry announced his music would be coming out on April 7.

He ran a TV announcement on British TV in prime time during The Voice.  The man is a rock star.  And a drama queen.  I wonder if Harry was calculating this particular anniversary date, Zexit day, into his decision to make his announcement in this way.  Hmmmmm.  :)




What a day March 25 shall always have in One Direction Lore.  

(And I should add, that Niall was left out of the festivities, he must have been taking a nap.  ;)