Happy 2013 Pioneers! Besides getting excited for midterms, prom, and all the other events which occur annually here at New Providence High School, why not get excited for something not school related? (And besides, we could all use a break from studying!)
It is a new year which means new books to be made into movies, new artists with one hit wonders (I’m referring to you Carly Rae Jepsen), and the ever-so-popular comeback of disbanded groups. 2013 is going to be an exciting year in the film and music industry and there are 365 days in 2013 for us all to get excited for something.
The movie industry has a genre for everyone. Whether you like adventure films to the cheesy chick-flicks, the theatre is definitely somewhere you’ll want to head this year. One movie that all human beings with the right mind are looking forward to is the Hunger Games: Catching Fire. “I am excited for Catching Fire because I read the books and they were really good,” says sophomore Ayleen Solis. Catching Fire is the sequel to the Hunger Games movie which was released March 23rd, 2012. The first movie follows Katniss Everdeen, a girl from the impoverished District 12, who volunteers to enter the battle of the death called the Hunger Games. Picking up after the ending of the first movie, don’t worry no spoilers here, the sequel will follow Katniss and her Hunger Games partner through their subsequent adventures. As the book did, Catching Fire will feature awesome new characters, like the beloved Finnick Odair. Don’t know who he is? Well, you could either read the book or head out to the theaters November 22, 2013, the official release date of the movie in the United States. And besides, the film stars Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson, a notable teen heartthrob. What a reason to go!
However, before the Hunger Games drops down, there is another movie to get excited for in 2013. The Great Gatsby, originally a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is finally being adapted for the big screen. “I am excited for the Great Gatsby because it is such a great book,” says junior Katie Paris. If you have not read the novel, (you should), it centers around Nick Carraway, a young man visiting his cousin Daisy Buchannan, as old pasts come back to wreak havoc between the inhabitants of West Egg and East Egg in a fictionalized version of Long Island. The wealthy Jay Gatsby has been in love with Daisy and plans to get her back; this is not without causing trouble amongst people! The movie is going to star Leonardo DiCaprio; hopefully he’ll win an award for his performance since he so often seems to be snubbed in the nominations!
Finally, maybe you are not into book adaptations. Maybe you should get excited for comic book adaptations. Yes, after the success of the Avengers, Marvel is continuing its hero series. Coming in 2013 is Thor: The Dark World and Iron Man 3, starring Chris Hemsworth and Robert Downey Jr., respectively. However, that is not to say that they won’t appear in the ending sequences of each other’s movies. Could it be a little preview towards the Avengers 2 maybe?
Other movies to look forward to include Monsters Inc. 2, Star Trek Into the Darkness, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, and The Fast and the Furious 6. Don’t forget to bring popcorn because 2013 is going to be the year for movies.
On the flip-side, the new year will bring new music, spanning from pop to hip-hop to alternative to rock. What will be the new Call Me Maybe? It may be too early to determine this, but we can at least look to see what albums we can get excited for. If you’re into hip-hop/rap music, you might be waiting for Hoodie Allen’s next album called Crew Cuts. Or maybe you like female rappers such as Azealia Banks and her anticipated album Broke with Expensive Taste. Indie rapper Kid Cudi also has an album coming out in March called Indicud. But maybe rap isn’t your style and you prefer rock music. Well you’re in luck because Paramore is back with their fifth studio album self-titled Paramore. Pop superstars Britney Spears and Lady Gaga each have mega-dance albums set to be released this year. While Spears’s album remains untitled for the moment, Gaga’s next album with be called ARTPOP. Another teen idol, Justin Bieber, will release two albums in 2013. One called Believe Acoustic and the other titled Believe 2.0. The latter is a throwback to his 2010 hit album, My World 2.0. Miscellaneous artists set to release albums, which as of now have just been announced and no titles or dates have been released, include Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj, Avenged Sevenfold, Eminem, Miley Cyrus, and One Republic.
Music this year won’t be just about albums as a whole. Several artists have returned from long days of silence. Most notable would be Justin Timberlake’s exciting January. He sent out a cryptic tweet reading, “Thursday, January 10th, 2013 at 9:01am PST….”. This tweet ended up revealing a countdown clock to JT’s next single. When released on January 14th, the song “Suit & Tie” featuring Jay-Z shot straight to #1 on the charts. Another comeback includes Beyoncé Knowles who as we all probably know, will be performing at the XLVII Super Bowl Halftime Show. Not only does he have a highly anticipated R&B album set to be released this year, but she has brought back the existence of her girl group, Destiny’s Child, most notably famous in the early 2000’s. Their new song, “Nuclear”, will be performed live at the Super Bowl and it will be the first time they will be singing together since their one reunion in 2006, and the first new song together since 2004.
Overall, there are a lot of different albums and songs to listen to in the near future during 2013. We still have not figured out what will be the next “Call Me Maybe” or “Somebody That I Used to Know”, but we know for sure there will be another song released this year to get stuck in our heads for good reasons!