Music to the ears of H-town Beliebers, pop star Justin Bieber will make a stop in Houston next year as of part of an expansive 58-city concert tour to promote his upcoming fourth LP, according to an announcement on Wednesday.
The news comes ahead of the release of Bieber's latest album, Purpose, due out Friday.
The 21-year-old’s career has suffered in recent years due to a lack of hits —Purpose is Bieber's first album since 2012 excluding Journals, his 2013 compilation — and a surplus of negative press for the teen titan’s bad boy behavior, from egging a neighbor’s house to urinating in public.
On the rise again, the Biebs has had a recent string of hit singles including “Sorry,” “What Do You Mean?” and "Where R Ü Now," a collaboration with electronic dance music masters Diplo and Skrillex. Bieber premiered two new tracks, “The Feeling” and “Love Yourself” this week.
Bieber's North American tour kicks off March 9, 2016 in Seattle and ends July 18, 2016 at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, November 20, 2015 at 10 am on the AEG Live website.
American Express Card Members can purchase tickets before the general public beginning November 16, 2015 at noon through Thursday, November 19, 2015 at 10 pm.
Justin Bieber's Purpose World Tour stretches 50+ markets across the United States and Canada.
Justin Bieber/Facebook
Justin Bieber's Purpose World Tour stretches 50+ markets across the United States and Canada.
Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney in The Housemaid.
Both Amanda Seyfried (the upcoming The Testament of Ann Lee) and Sydney Sweeney (Christy) are starring in movies with Oscar ambitions this year. By sheer coincidence, the two actors are also co-starring in The Housemaid, a thriller coming out within weeks of their more ambitious works, one that is likely to be seen by many more people than those prestige plays.
Sweeney is given top billing as Millie, a down-on-her-luck ex-convict looking to land any type of job so as not to break her parole. She finds a too-good-to-be-true lifeboat with Nina (Seyfried), who hires her to be a housemaid for her large house on Long Island, where she lives with her husband, Andrew (Brandon Sklenar), and daughter, Cecilia (Indiana Elle).
After a warm interview, Nina almost immediately becomes highly erratic, whipping back-and-forth between happy-go-lucky and rageful. It seems clear that Nina is suffering from mental health issues, as she’ll often accuse Millie of misplacing or stealing items that she didn’t take. Andrew, apparently used to Nina’s tirades, tries to protect Millie from the worst, something that grows increasingly difficult as Nina ups the ante.
Directed by Paul Feig (A Simple Favor) and adapted by Rebecca Sonnenshine from the bestselling book by Freida McFadden, the film is likely the trashiest mainstream movie to come out in 2025. The first half of the movie relies not on story but on moments as Nina embodies the word “hysterical” to an unbelievable extent. The resigned acceptance of the abuse by Millie, as well as the saintly patience of Andrew, make almost every scene laughable, as nobody seems to be acting anywhere close to how a person would normally react to such extreme situations.
The scenes and the performance of Seyfried are so over-the-top, in fact, that it’s clear that the filmmakers are in on the joke. It’s next to impossible not to have a little bit of fun while watching the actors react to outrageous incidents as if nothing is out of the ordinary. The worse Nina acts, the more Millie and Andrew retreat into their chosen roles, and the funnier the film becomes.
Fans of the book will know that the story changes course, eventually turning into a more stereotypical thriller that also has some relatively gnarly visuals to offer. But the trashiness continues, with Sweeney’s, um, assets repeatedly on display in both clothed and unclothed ways. The sex appeal of the R-rated movie makes it an outlier, as recent studio films have shied away from asking their big stars to disrobe completely.
Both Seyfried and Sweeney are far from their Oscar hopeful roles here. Seyfried is given free rein to act as brazenly as she pleases, and she takes full advantage of that ability. Sweeney seems to have been told to be much more reserved, and unfortunately that results in too many wooden line readings. Sklenar continues his breakout streak (It Ends with Us, Drop) with a role that allows him to show more range than either Seyfried or Sweeney.
The Housemaid is an unusual type of movie to be released at a time of year when most films are either those aiming for awards or more family-friendly fare. Despite its many flaws, it’s still an enjoyable watch that features a variety of crazy scenarios not typically seen in movies nowadays.
