lol. Nah, it isn't as bad as all that! Forget everything else right now and let's remember the good things that happened with many of our favorite guys in 2021, okay? Because I bet you'll see that there were more than you realized. 😉 And these moments are always fun to re-visit.
• The growth of Louis Tomlinson's fanbase, this despite a total lack of promotion and assistance by his former team and an ongoing pandemic. Twitter account @secretwxlls made the excellent comparative screenshots, showing the tremendous increase in his twitter footprint between 2020 to 2021.
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| from January 02, 2020 |
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| from January 01, 2021 |
• Kansas City Chiefs' seven-time Pro Bowl selection, Travis Kelce was nominated for the team's Walter Payton Man of the Year award which honors on and off the field excellence. The fans can participate in the WPMOY Challenge, which will win $25K to the player who garners the most votes via fans voting on twitter. And Travis was the winner of the Challenge. He didn't win the grand prize at the NFL Honors, but to beat out the other 31 players in fan votes is a really great honor in itself.
• Louis's just like us. Remember when he shared with everyone he had had his wisdom teeth pulled? The tweet is followed by one particular response that had me 😂😂
• We had Austin working on filming or showing on the screen this past year. He had a recurring guest stint on Jared's show, Walker Texas Ranger and also appeared in a film called Masquerade, which was released in July. We also know that he's working in a project that will show in HBO because we've seen an on-set photo.
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| for Masquerade |
and the set photo for HBO's Minx,
• 2021 saw Zayn Malik able to break apart from the Hadid family and although it couldn't come without melodrama and false domestic accusations, Zayn's incredible, faithful fandom made the event more of a black eye on the accusers than on Zayn himself. He also is no longer with his record label and management company. Narnia says "Good Riddance". Things are quiet right now on the Zayn front, but we say that's okay. We'll wait patiently and watch for what will hopefully be true and positive news for his future.
• Liam Payne had some notable successes in 2021, huge credit to him in accomplishing this while working around Sony Music's minefield. We know that Liam is not a man who can sit still and this is why we're so excited for what lies ahead in his future. Whatever that is, we're here for it. But this is about 2021 and Liam had his first soundtrack single! The song was "Sunshine" and debuted for the Disney film, Ron Gone Wrong. That's a feather in one's cap. The song has hit over 9 million streams on Spotify and something even more impressive, is that listeners have streamed from his music catalog over two (2) billion times. That's mind blowing!
I know, I know! We're so proud of this guy.
• We've known for quite a few years now that Jared Padalecki's public life is one that is rife with narratives, so it was rewarding to see him able to sneak in an allusion that he is way more than a beanie and a head pat. Way. More. 2021 brought us this intriguing quote from Jared regarding what he enjoys now in his career.
"I don't want to direct, I want to produce. That's kind of the way my brain works. I would rather put together the Legos than have the finished piece. I read instruction booklets. I love the engineering, puzzle aspect of it. I'd rather try and figure out the answer than know the answer." - 'Jared Padalecki Previews Walker Season 2: We Hit the Ground Running', EW, October 28, 2021.
It's hard to argue who has had a rougher year as far as mistreatment or public malignment by their own management team or record label. In Jared's case, without knowing contract details, it's still fair to say, for anyone to agree to help shuffle the cards he's been dealt to put up with, stemming from the entire Collins/Jensen Ackles/Destiel/Cockles/Jenmish production in 2021, and we are talking to not only Misha Collins and Jared's own RL partner, Jensen Ackles, but the whole rest of the Supernatural crew and Jensen's beard, there was no photo from 2021 that was more pleasing than this one.
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| I'll just say "Knock their heads together but good, Jared." |
😂😂😂😂 LOL! That? That could not have been more perfect. [Photo was courtesy of Melissa Fudge Photography via twitter, and who has mysteriously and officially been a highly visible photographer for this year's conventions]
• Austin P. McKenzie released two singles in 2021, "I'm Not Ready to Go" released in August and "Summer of Love", which was released in April. The videos for both were imaginative and entertaining, plus directed (or co-directed) by Kevin.
And Kevin McHale had a guest stint on American Horror Stories on FX in 2021 and we would love to see him get more opportunities because he is so talented (and PG doesn't handle horror too well lol). In this interview with Dennis Miller on the podcast, Dennis Miller +One, Kevin talks about the guest appearance, and Kevin, while he says he has "terrible nerves", I would never guess this. He seems totally chill and at ease when giving an interview. And I LOVE Dennis Miller bringing up the subject of Broadway as a possibility for Kevin. Why not? I bet it'd be so fun!
What I like about Kevin (as well as Austin because they are so visible as a pair) is he is such a supportive person. He has so many friends and shows so many fun videos. Narnia loves this Dec 18 photo of Kevin and Austin. We wish them continued happiness, good health and new exciting adventures.
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| Kevin and Austin, NYC, December 18 2021 |
• Besides grossing nearly $95 million by headlining one of the most successful indoor arena concert tours in 2021, Harry Styles, the actor, was also cast in the role of Tom Burgess in My Policeman opposite his cinematic love interest Patrick Hazlewood, played by David Dawson. The plot focuses on the tragic love story between two men, set in 1950's Brighton, England, when being gay was not only condemned, but a criminal offense. If accused and charged, a same sex relationship/encounter could easily result in life altering consequences, with as many as 1,000 men incarcerated each year in Britain's prisons. We here at Narnia are looking forward to not only how this movie will be marketed, given Harry’s closet, but Harry’s performance as well. He is a talented young man and we hope Harry will be allowed to authentically shine as only he can do. Most definitely something to look forward to in the new year. Good luck, Harry.
• And wrapping up our highlights, although they are not definitive by any means, is more accomplishments by Kansas City Chiefs' quarterback, Patrick Mahomes. It's been a rough year for him as far as getting used to a re-constructed offensive line and for unknown reasons, just a lot of "off" throws and "un-gell'ing" with his wide receivers and favorite tight end. But things have turned around and despite these unexpected obstacles, Patrick has still managed to compile some impressive statistics for the year. He was also just named the AFC's Offensive Player of the Month for December. This is the fourth time he has won it; he's won the award in 2018, 2019, 2020 and now 2021. In other words, these are the four years he's been a starter. He's also the only quarterback at that position to win the award for the past four seasons. Also, during this past Sunday's home game vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers, Patrick broke the record for most touchdowns by a quarterback, at Arrowhead Stadium.
After last season's Super Bowl loss, the league watched the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the way that they defeated the Chiefs. The teams have adapted and learned how to defend against their highly potent offense, but kudos to Coach Reid and his staff for figuring out how to counteract this. And kudos to Patrick on evolving the way he has this season.
And this, despite having so many off-the-field distractions to deal with from his family and Brittany Matthews. So many photo ops and manufactured stories, no doubt pressures from his lawyer, marketing team, and endorsement companies, not to mention the high expectations from a rabid city and fan base. As Travis told a national audience after Sunday's game, Patrick does have the world on his shoulders. Narnia recognizes and acknowledges this - the NFL is on a whole different level.
Each of these individuals this year had to overcome a challenge or challenges of some sort this past 2021: mental/psychological abuse, sexual harassment, professional pressures to conform to a particular image, and other various mistreatment unbeknownst to most of the general public.
Here's to a healthy, safe and hopefully "better" 2022 for all, and ALL of Narnia's favored entertainers and athletes. 😊
For all of us, we wish the same. Hang in there and just take life a day at a time.
our pic sources: besthqwallpapers, Chicago Sun Times, KSHB, Melissa Fudge
Photography via twitter, popmuzik, liam93productions, pinkvilla,
aliensyndrome
our playlist: Happy New Year - ABBA
Auld Lang Syne - Bobby Darin
Raise Your Glass - Pink
What're You Doing New Year's Eve - Ella Fitzgerald
Welcome to the Future - Brad Paisley
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