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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Wednesday, March 30, 2022
‘Hamilton’ star comes to Hurst By Samantha Weber Editor in chief
On Saturday, March 26, Leslie Odom Jr. performed in the Mary D’Angelo Performing Arts Center. The concert was sold out soon after tickets went on sale as many were excited to see the Broadway star perform. The crowd lost it as soon as he first came out on stage and he and his band just jumped right into the first song. Odom has had quite the career from starring in TV shows, movies and even on Broadway. Most people know him from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton,” where he played Aaron Burr in the original New York cast. He was also in “Law & Order: SVU” and his latest film, “One Night in Miami” in which played Sam Cooke, who is known as the inventor of soul music. During a break in the concert, Odom explained that he was initially hesitant to play Cooke and felt that there were other people who were much more qualified than he, but he was eventually persuaded into playing the role. He even recorded some of the songs that were used in the
movie, and, most notably, the last song “Speak Now” was an Odom original. Odom received an Academy Award nomination for the original song and his performance in the movie. Odom performed a variety of songs throughout the night. A few were some of his original songs, some were covers of older songs and some were songs from “Hamilton” that he sang as Aaron Burr. He explained that the older songs that he performed are ones he discovered while watching some older films in preparation for his acting roles. Although it was a dream come true to see him perform the “Hamilton” songs in person, there was one other song that he performed that really stuck out to me. Odom began singing “L-OV-E” and after the first verse he continued singing it in a variety of different languages. It was really cool to see him step out of his comfort zone and sing in different languages. Odom performed his original song “Foggy,” which he introduced as one of the most personal songs to him that he has ever written. Another aspect of the concert that I really liked was that every
member of his band had a featured part in at least one song. It was nice to see the amazing talents of the band members highlighted throughout, most notably the musicians on piano and the drums. Odom’s main point of the night that he kept repeating was that artists spend their whole lives trying to give back to the place where they found their passion for art. He talked about the first time he saw “Hamilton Mixtape” in a tiny theater before it was on Broadway. Odom recounted roadbloacks in his attendance, seeing as the showing was completely sold out. However, his friend who was an usher at the theatre was able to sneak him in. He knew from the very first time he saw the show that it was going to be a hit. Odom even told the audience he thought whoever ends up singing “Wait for It” eight times a week was going to be a lucky guy, and that guy ended up being him. I am an avid “Hamilton” fan, so I was ecstatic when I heard the beginning of “Wait for It.” The audience’s relentless applause at the end of the concert eventually led to two encores from Odom as he joked about how we should be watching the
MIAC photo
Leslie Odom Jr. performed to a sold-out crowed in the Mary D’Angelo Performing Arts Center last Saturday.
“SVU” marathon instead of staying at his concert so long. This concert was originally supposed to be held in December as part of Odom’s “The Christmas Tour,” but COVID-19 canceled that performance. Thankfully, it was rescheduled for the spring. Overall, Odom performance was incredible.
From his vocal performance to his uplifting message to his bright yellow suit, the night was one to remember. I would certainly recommend that anyone who get the chance to see him perform live take the opportunity.
Hurst Hot Take: ‘Hot Ones’ By Emma Coppolo A&E editor
One of my absolute favorite things in this world is spicy food. I have a hot sauce collection that could rival any restaurant, and I love challenging my palate to see how much heat I can take. I also love unconventional celebrity interviews, which is why “Hot Ones” is my favorite show. Hosted by Sean Evans, “Hot Ones” is an interview show where celebrities are challenged to eat ten wings while answering questions. The wings gradually increase on the Scoville scale, the unit used to measure how spicy something is. Each wing has a different intended effect, so the palate continues to get more and more sensitive. Some celebrities remain cool throughout the interview while others chug milk and pace. The best part of the show is undeniably Sean Evans’ hosting skills. Somehow, he manages to have good chemistry with every guest he interviews. His interviews are unlike any other due to how in-depth his research is. Evans is famous for having incredibly well-crafted questions that often refer to extremely obscure parts of interviewees’ lives.
There are countless compilations on YouTube of celebrities being shocked by Evans’ quality of questions. At this point, Evans is a pro and rarely reacts to the wings. However, some episodes get the better of him and he struggles just as much as his guests. One of my favorite recent episodes has to be Lorde’s. The Kiwi singer approached the interview with the same calm demeanor that she is known for. She shockingly remains unphased throughout the interview. She even says things like, “delicious wing” and “delicious lunch.” She carefully examines the ingredients of the sauces and really enjoys them. As she savors the most infamous sauce, Evans looks at the camera with bewilderment. Many fans have made videos comparing her reactions to some of the most severe ones, such as Gordon Ramsay and Shaquille O’Neal. This is a great episode for the pure shock Evans experiences. On the complete opposite side, Machine Gun Kelly’s first appearance as one of “Hot Ones’” earliest guests is a classic. MGK and Evans both have a difficult time handling the heat. MGK walks away from the ta-
Contributed Photo
The Season 17 hot sauce line up for “Hot Ones”.
ble as Evans wipes tears from his eyes. This is one of the most famous episodes of the show, and MGK is one of the only celebrities to appear on the show on more than one occasion. “Hot Ones” is an incredibly unique interview style, and First We Feast has marketed it extremely well. The range of celebrities that appear on the show is absolutely unreal. Seeing such famous idols cry over wings and struggle to answer questions in the process is absolutely priceless. I think “Hot Ones” is one of
the funniest things that I have ever watched, and every episode has me laughing. Back to my collection of hot sauces, I was fortunate enough to visit the shop in Brooklyn, called Heatonist, that produces the sauces for “Hot Ones” and ran into a First We Feast employee picking up sauces for the new season. It was a weirdly surreal experience. The sauces that I got from Heatonist were so good; I even got one of the First We Feast sauces made specifically for “Hot Ones.” It is fantastic, and I 100% recommend it if hot sauce is your thing.
“Hot Ones” will have you daring yourself to test your heat tolerance, which is always a fun idea. If you are especially interested in testing yourself, many fans purchase the sauces and complete the challenge on their own. Regardless of if you like spicy food or not, the “Hot Ones” community is just good fun. It is available on Hulu or YouTube, so make sure to check out new episodes like Euphoria’s Jacob Elordi and Spiderman’s Tom Holland. As Evans says, “stay spicy!”
