ON THE PULSE | JUNE 16TH, 2026
This week in pop culture news...
OLIVER TREE
Rest in peace to Oliver Tree, who passed away in a horrible helicopter accident in Brazil over the weekend. He was only 32 and four shows into his 70+ date world tour that included a show on every continent (yes, even Antarctica). He had just dropped his fourth studio album, "LOVE YOU MADLY HATE YOU BADLY," which he recorded in 82 countries, in seven continents over the span on two years. There was no denying he was living his life to the fullest. Lastly, he was my friend. His team is primarily made up of some of my closest friends. I can't even begin to describe how horrifying it was to hear about the crash and frantically check who else was on board. By a miracle, no one from his team was on the flight and for that I am grateful. My heart goes out to Oliver's family, the other five people who were on board, and Argentinian YouTuber, Gaspi, who also passed in this accident. Last month Oliver was on the Zach Sang Show where he revealed he had planned to start his own foundation, Dr. Oliver Tree’s Art Grants For Baby Geniuses. A foundation in place so when he passed all his money would go to "back to artists." God, I can't believe he's gone.
YOU SEEM PRETTY SUCCESSFUL
Olivia Rodrigo's third studio album, "you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love" came out this past Friday and proved she is not one to mess with. Spotify announced that the album became the most-streamed album by a female artist in a single day in 2026 so far. To compare just how successful it's been, look at this graphic showing the biggest first day album debuts by female artists in Spotify history with Olivia surpassing Taylor Swift's 'Folklore' debut. The record to beat is Taylor's "The Tortured Poets Department" album which debuted with over 314M streams (my god). Hits Daily Double reports the album is projected to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart with 400K+ units, making it her biggest opening weekend to date. Pitchfork gave the album an impressive 8.3/10 in its review. On TikTok Olivia shared the moment she caught the photo that eventually became her album cover. In LA she created 'The Park Experience' where fans could walk through the park inspired by her album (like, she fully built a pop up park I think that's sick). Good for her.
KNICKS WIN
I wanna do this story justice but I'm also not a basketball fan nor a New Yorker so proceed with caution!!!!! The Knicks are the 2026 NBA Champions for the first time in over 50 years. The last time they won was in 1953. In the games leading up to the final, The Knicks won every game, except the one He was at (iykyk). They beat the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 with this cinematic play. And if that was cinematic, what was emotional is Jalen and Rick Brunson are the first father-son, player-coach duo to win an NBA title together. Now for New York, I think the whole world could feel the energy of the city during these past few weeks leading up the final. Before, during, and after the win the streets were lively, singing Empire State of Mind, literally running circles in Washington Square Park, and thousands watched the game outside on some guy's projector...it was magic. This tweet perfect summarizes the fomo I feel: New York City is living in Zohran Mamdani's Disney Channel Movie. And there's no mention of The Knicks without Timothee Chalamet. He was in the locker room celebrating with the rest of the team as if he were actually a part of the team. He's even featured in this sold-out Bricks set. Also shoutout to 5 Seconds of Summer who were performing at MSG the same day as The Knicks were playing resulting in the great play on words: Knicks in 5 Seconds of Summer.
LOVE ISLAND USA 1M+
Love Island USA is exploding in popularity. Last week, the ‘Love Island USA’ app crashed and became the number 1 app in the app store following Tuesday’s first at-home voting poll. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the number of votes were up 350%, drawing over 1 million more votes than the Season 7 finale did. And we haven't even made it to the mid-season Casa Amor episodes. Speaking of Casa Amor, Love Island revealed it will hold a theatrical screening of the hour and half Casa Amor episode on June 22nd in select theaters. Which, what?! I mean, we've seen how popular watch parties have been, but a movie theatre screening is kinda...genius? For them to get over 1M votes when the season isn't even halfway through is telling. But a whole ticketed experience is amazing. Tickets were available here on Fandango but have completely sold out.
OBSESSED WITH OBSESSION
Speaking of movie theaters, Obsession continues to thrive at the box office. It's now the highest-grossing release of all time for Focus Features, and has entered the top 10 horror movie of all time surpassing Get Out, Us, and The Conjuring: Last Rites. The movie just crossed $286.5 million at the global box office. It had a budget of just $750,000. It currently stands at #5 in the top grossing films released in 2026 at the domestic box office, earning $188M. Even crazier, Obsession surpassed Avengers: Endgame at the domestic box office on its 25th day in theaters. In 25 days, Obsession has made $4.2 Million domestically whereas on day 25 Avengers made $3.2 Million. And it's not just Obsession people are going to the movies for. I've been bringing this up in my previous newsletters but going to the movies is finally cool again! Just look at this post where someone shared how full AMC theaters are tonight, a random Tuesday. Films across the board like Stop! That! Train!, Disclosure Day, and Leviticus are all nearly sold out. Hopefully the days of regurgitating old IPs into new movies are over.
REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE
Sir Lewis Hamilton is a seven-time Formula One World Champion. He holds the all-time record for most race victories (105), most pole positions (104), and most podium finishes (206). He is considered one of the best and yet... he hadn't won first place since 2024 until last weekend, taking first place at the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix. Nearly two years ago since his last win. Fans worried he was maybe losing his touch. A video of a fan reminding him to "remember who you are" gained traction last week after the win. Resulting in fan edits, reposts, and Lewis himself using it as his Instagram caption celebrating his win. Kinda emotional just writing about it. For some backstory, Lewis left Mercedes for Ferrari in 2025, a risky move but necessary if he wanted to keep winning podiums. Now, Hamilton is back on top! He's the only driver in Formula 1 history to win a race in their 20s, 30s and 40s and the only driver to win for three separate teams: McLaren, Mercedes, and Ferrari.
THE FIFA 15
Some of my favorite press coverage about the FIFA World Cup isn't about the actual games, but all the tourists visiting America for the first time (21M views in 4 days). Little by little people are discovering how delicious American food is - they're obsessed! They're eating Chipotle, Raising Canes, and Chilli's all in one day! Internationals are posting their food vlogs and Americans are telling them to slow down in return. It's too much fast food at once - hence they're predicting The FIFA 15.
SOUNDS / TRENDS
[SONG] Stupid Song - Olivia Rodrigo
I'm only posting one Olivia song in here considering her tracks have completely taken over my TikTok feed. I chose this song because it is the most popular with nearly 1M uses in just five days. No need for examples, just use the song.
[SOUND] Wow, These Are Beautiful Fish
Ah, a sound from Love Island USA. About time. Lip sync trend on the rise: 810K views in 3 days / 711K views in 2 days / 668K views in 4 days
[SONG] I Knew It, I Knew You - Taylor Swift
Another obvious contender for a trending sound. Nostalgic, good for fan edits, good for mushy posts. Examples: 3.6M views in 4 days / 3.2M views in 5 days / 5.6M views in 4 days
[TREND] Bring Me There, Bring Me There!
Where are you begging to go to? What can't you wait to do? What are you looking forward to? Examples: 4.1M views in 7 days / 1.4M views in 4 days / 2.2M views in 3 days
[SONG] DAI DAI - FIFA World Cup
For my sports fans! This sound is international and nearing 1M posts. Examples: 3.2M views in 3 days / 1.6M views in 5 days / 850K views in 3 days
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