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06 Feb 2023

N.O. Bounce: Big Freedia Poised To Open Hotel in New Orleans

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65th GRAMMY Awards - Arrivals

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Big Freedia is adding another achievement, as she announced her plans to open a hotel in her hometown of New Orleans.

The “Best Beleevah” rapper took to social media last Wednesday (Feb. 1st) to announce her latest venture. “This dream of mine has been in the works for a long time, I’ll be one of the first black hotel owners in New Orleans! Will keep y’all posted on the official opening date, can’t wait to see y’all at Hotel Freedia.” she wrote on Twitter.

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The “Queen of Bounce” said to the New Orleans Times-Picayune that the idea to have her own hotel came during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Not being able to go out and work during the pandemic, cooking brought so much light and creativity it just really got me interested in doing a restaurant,” Freedia said. “And I always had a dream of opening a hotel, so it just kind of came together that way.”

According to reports, the hotel is a result of a partnership with developer Zach Kupperman & her manager Reid Martin. The “Hotel Freedia”, located on Decatur Street near Frenchman Street in the Marigny neighborhood, will be constructed as a micro-boutique hotel with just five rooms atop a 60-seat restaurant and music venue with an outdoor courtyard with a pool and clubhouse. The unnamed restaurant is expected to feature some of Freedia’s signature recipes.

The musical venue is slated to be Big Freedia’s home base for performances in addition to hosting local and nationally-known artists and bands. “Obviously, Frenchmen Street is all about local music so we want to have a lot of local music going on, but we’re also interested in having some national music coming in,” Martin said.

Groundbreaking is set to take place in the spring, with a goal of opening for Mardi Gras in 2024. Big Freedia elaborated on the details at a meeting of The Nieux, an NFT-based community space for artists. There, she offered attendees a discounted membership of $750 in the cryptocurrency Ethereum which gives them access to her events and the pool and clubhouse. “We’re experimenting right now,” Martin said. “For now, it’s the only way to buy a membership, but eventually we might sell using traditional currency.”

06 Feb 2023

Matthew McConaughey to Voice Elvis in Netflix Cartoon Produced by Priscilla Presley: See the Trailer

Alright, alright, alright, Matthew McConaughey is going to be the next Elvis — thank you, thank you very much. As announced Monday (Feb. 6), the 53-year-old actor will voice the King in an upcoming adult cartoon by Netflix, executive produced and co-created by the late rock ‘n’ roll legend’s wife, Priscilla Presley.

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The show will be a far cry from Baz Luhrmann’s acclaimed 2022 Elvis biopic starring Austin Butler, though. While McConaughey’s Elvis will still be the world famous performer we all know and love, he’s also going to have a super secret side to him that his millions of fans don’t know about: he’s a spy. Titled Agent Elvis, the series will premiere this March and will follow Elvis as he balances his superstar duties with undercover vigilante activities.

“Elvis Presley trades in his jumpsuit for a jet pack when he is covertly inducted into a secret government spy program to battle the dark forces that threaten the country he loves – all while holding down his day job as the King Of Rock And Roll,” reads a description of the cartoon, billed by Netflix as being “offbeat,” “violent” and “raunchy.”

The Interstellar star is listed alongside Priscilla Presley as an executive producer of the project, as is John Eddie, writer and co-creator. Sony Pictures is to credit for the animation, the likes of which was previously showcased in the studio’s award-winning film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

Viewers can get a first look at Agent Elvis in a minute-long trailer posted to Netflix’s YouTube channel on the day of the show’s announcement. “Every once in a while, man accomplishes the impossible,” McConaughey’s distinct southern drawl narrates, followed by shots of Elvis’ animated likeness landing on the moon, fist-fighting bad guys and flying around in a jetpack. “All it takes is someone with a dream. ‘Cause when a man dreams, he can change the world.”

Watch the trailer for Agent Elvis in the video above.

06 Feb 2023

Quavo Pays Homage To Takeoff At Last Night’s Grammy Awards

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65th GRAMMY AWARDS Show coverage

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It’s been months since the tragic and shocking death of beloved Migos member, Takeoff, and during last night’s Memoriam segment of the Grammy Awards, his uncle Quavo paid tribute to his nephew in a moving performance that will not be soon forgotten.

Sporting a half-mask on his face and bringing along Takeoff’s diamond-encrusted chain, Quavo took to the stage with Maverick City Music and performed his touching tribute song “Without You” before being joined on stage by two choir singers who performed a rendition of the hit Wiz Khalifa and Chalie Puth song, “See You Again.” With pictures of Takeoff and the Migos crew being shown on the big screen behind him, Quavo put forth a moving performance that left Hip-Hoppers in their feelings and feeling the pain through Quavo’s black mask.

Lord knows how hard it must’ve been for Quavo to hold it together for this last night.

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The performance marks the first time that Quavo’s made a public appearance since his nephews tragic murder on Halloween night last year. Since then a man has been arrested in connection with Takeoff’s murder though he’s since been released on a million dollar bond.

Check out Quavo’s tribute below and let us know your thoughts on the performance in the comments section below.



06 Feb 2023

Woody Harrelson to Host ‘SNL’ With Musical Guest Jack White

Woody Harrelson will be enshrined in the Saturday Night Live five-timers club on Feb. 25 when he hosts the show during an episode that will feature musical guest Jack White. Harrelson — who will soon be seen in the upcoming movie Champions and the HBO political drama White House Plumbers — previously hosted in 1989, 1992, 2014 and 2019.

In a cosmic coincidence, it will also mark White’s fifth appearance on the show; he previously rocked the Studio 8H stage in 2002, 2012, 2018 and 2020. The news comes on the heels of the announcement that White’s previous band, The White Stripes, are among the nominees for the 2023 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The last time White appeared he was a last-minute fill-in for country singer Morgan Wallen, who was booted from the line-up for violating the show’s COVID-19 protocols at the height of the pandemic.

White dropped two albums in 2022, April’s Fear of the Dawn and July’s Entering Heaven Alive.

This year has already brought memorable musical guests Sam Smith, Lil Baby and, this past weekend, Coldplay. For their seventh appearance on SNL, Coldplay opened with their 2022 single, “The Astronaut,” on which they collaborated with BTS’ Jin. Their second song was a medley of “Human Heart” from 2021’s Music of the Spheres and their 2005 fan favorite “Fix You,” from X&Y. The band was joined during the emotional performance by Jacob Collier and choral ensemble Jason Max Ferdinand Singers.

Check out the SNL announce from White.

06 Feb 2023

Miley Cyrus’ ‘Flowers’ Tops Billboard Hot 100 for Third Week, Lil Uzi Vert’s ‘Just Wanna Rock’ Hits Top 10

Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” leads the Billboard Hot 100 for a third week, encompassing its entire run on the chart so far, dating to its launch at No. 1. With its continued command, it ties the three-week rule of her prior leader, “Wrecking Ball,” in 2013.

Meanwhile, The Weeknd’s “Die for You,” back up to its No. 6 best on the Hot 100, becomes the most-heard hit on radio, reaching the top of the Radio Songs chart, and Lil Uzi Vert notches his seventh Hot 100 top 10 as “Just Wanna Rock” rises from No. 12 to No. 10.

The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data. All charts (dated Feb. 11, 2023) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Feb. 7). For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

“Flowers,” released on Smiley Miley/Columbia Records, drew 56.4 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 38%) and 48 million streams (down 20%) and sold 37,000 (down 43%) Jan. 27-Feb. 2, according to Luminate.

The single spends a third week at No. 1 on both the Streaming Songs and Digital Song Sales charts and blasts 11-6 on Radio Songs, where it becomes Cyrus’ fourth top 10 – and first since “Wrecking Ball” (No. 4 peak, 2013). She first reached the region with “The Climb” (No. 7) and returned with “Party in the U.S.A.” (No. 8), both in 2009.

With “Flowers” having drawn 48 million weekly streams in the latest tracking week, after it posted 59.7 million the week before and 52.6 million the week before that, it’s the first non-holiday song with three consecutive weeks of 40 million streams or more since Olivia Rodrigo’s “Good 4 U” logged four such frames in a row (May 29-June 19, 2021).

“Flowers” likewise links a sales streak not achieved since 2021, as it’s the first song to sell over 30,000 in three consecutive weeks, after moving 65,000 a week ago and 70,000 the week prior to that, since Coldplay and BTS’ “My Universe” sold over 30,000 in each of its first four weeks (Oct. 9-30, 2021).

“Flowers” introduces Cyrus’ eighth studio album, Endless Summer Vacation, due March 10.

SZA’s “Kill Bill” ranks at its No. 2 Hot 100 best for a fourth week, with 48.6 million in radio reach (up 28%), 32.5 million streams (down 5%) and 2,000 sold (down 3%). It tops Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot R&B Songs, which use the same methodology as the Hot 100, for an eighth week each. The track also becomes her first top 10 as a lead artist on Radio Songs (15-10), and her third overall, following her featured roles on Maroon 5’s “What Lovers Do” (No. 5, 2017) and Doja Cat’s “Kiss Me More” (No. 2, 2021).

Metro Boomin, The Weeknd and 21 Savage’s “Creepin’ ” rises to a new No. 3 high on the Hot 100, from No. 4; Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero” slips 3-4, after leading for a personal-best eight weeks; and Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy” holds at No. 5, after it ruled for a week in October.

The Weeknd’s “Die for You” rebounds to its No. 6 Hot 100 best, from No. 7, as it hits No. 1 on Radio Songs, up 5% to 85.2 million in airplay audience. The track tops Radio Songs over six years after its original release on The Weeknd’s album Starboy, sparked by a surge of interaction on TikTok in recent months, which led Republic Records to officially promote it to radio.

The Weeknd adds his fifth Radio Songs No. 1, following “Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)” (for four weeks), “Can’t Feel My Face” (seven) and “The Hills” (five), all in 2015, and “Blinding Lights,” which dominated for a record 26 weeks in April-October 2020.

Starboy previously generated two top-three Radio Songs hits: its title cut (No. 2, 2016) and “I Feel It Coming” (No. 3, 2017), both featuring Daft Punk. (“Die for You” completes the longest journey from a title’s release to its coronation on Radio Songs since the chart began in 1990.)

David Guetta and Bebe Rexha’s “I’m Good (Blue)” descends 6-7 on the Hot 100, after reaching No. 4, as it leads the multi-metric Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart for a 20th week; Drake and 21 Savage’s “Rich Flex” is steady at No. 8 on the Hot 100, after it reached No. 2, as it tops the multi-metric Hot Rap Songs chart for a 12th week; and Harry Styles’ “As It Was” holds at No. 9 on the Hot 100, following 15 weeks at No. 1 beginning last April, the fourth-longest rule in the chart’s history.

Rounding out the Hot 100’s top tier, Lil Uzi Vert’s “Just Wanna Rock” jumps 12-10 with 28.7 million in airplay audience (up 10%), 15 million streams (up 5%) and 1,400 sold (up 14%).

The rapper lands his seventh Hot 100 top 10 with the stand-alone single, following his featured turn on Migos’ “Bad and Boujee” (three weeks at No. 1, 2017) and his own “XO TOUR Llif3” (No. 7, 2017), “Futsal Shuffle 2020” (No. 5, 2019), “Baby Pluto” (No. 6, 2020), “Lo Mein” (No. 8, 2020) and “Silly Watch” (No. 9, 2020).

Rock on: “Just Wanna Rock” is the first Hot 100 top 10 with “rock” in its title since … well, just last month, when two holiday classics decorated the tier: “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” by Brenda Lee, and “Jingle Bell Rock,” by Bobby Helms, ranked at their respective Nos. 2 and 3 peaks. One other such song has rolled to the top 10 in the ’20s: DaBaby’s “Rockstar,” featuring Roddy Ricch, reigned for seven weeks beginning June 2020. Not that “Just Wanna Rock” is considered a rock song (having not appeared on any of Billboard’s rock-based charts; it holds at its Nos. 2 and 5 highs on Hot Rap Songs and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, respectively). The last rock chart hit with “rock” in its title to hit the Hot 100’s top 10? Nickelback’s “Rockstar” smashed its way to No. 6 in 2007.

Again, for all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram and all charts (dated Feb. 11), including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh on Billboard.com tomorrow (Feb. 7).

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.

06 Feb 2023

Beyoncé Makes History At Grammys But Misses Out On Album of The Year, The BeyHive Was Not Pleased

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Beyoncé Fans Are Not Pleased Renaissance Didn't Win AOTY

Source: Timothy Norris / Getty / Beyoncé

It was a history-making night for Beyoncé at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday night.

Beyoncé’s husband, JAY-Z, once rapped, “tell the Grammy’s fuck that 0 for eight shit,” but that feeling was swept under the rug as the couple returned to the awards show to see if Queen Bey could walk away a big winner.

The Houston native arrived fashionably late and took home four awards for her critically acclaimed album Renaissance. Earlier in the broadcast, her viral hit “Cuff It” won Best R&B Song while she was stuck in traffic. Her collaborators on the song, The-Dream, and Niles Rogers were on hand to accept the award on her behalf.

Beyoncé Was Thankful

Beyonce’s latest project also won Best Dance/Electronic Music Album award. The lead single, “Break My Soul,” won Best Dance/Electronic Recording, and “Plastic Off the Sofa” won Best Traditional R&B performance, cementing her as the greatest winner of all time at the Grammys.

“I am trying not to be too emotional, and I am trying to just receive this night,” she said while fighting tears.

“I want to thank God for protecting me. Thank you God. I’d like to thank my uncle Johnny, who is not here but he’s here in spirit,” of course her parents got love too, “I’d like to thank my parents — my father, my mother — for loving me and pushing me,” she said during her speech.

“I’d like to thank my beautiful husband and my beautiful three children,” was the punctuation on her acceptance speech.

But she didn’t take home two of the night’s biggest honors. Song of The Year went to Lizzo’s retail store anthem, “About Damn Time,” and dedicated her win to the late legend Prince. She also gave Beyoncé her flowers during her speech.

Album of The Year, which always seems to elude Queen Bey, landed on Harry Style’s lap for his album “Harry’s House.” Of course, the BeyHive, who was happy for their queen making history, felt she was more deserving of Album of The Year.

Other Notable Grammy Moments

Other moments we care to talk about include Kendrick Lamar winning three Grammy Awards for his album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers. He received the Rap Album award from Cardi B and, in his acceptance speech, thanked his family for giving him “courage and vulnerability” to share his truth on the album. He said his latest project was tough to make, and he “found imperfection.”

Lamar also won Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song for his song “The Heart Part 5.”

23-year-old Bronx Native Jazz singer Samara Joy took home Best New Artist and Best Jazz Vocal Album.

You can peep more reactions to all things Beyoncé in the gallery below.

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Photo: Timothy Norris / Getty

1. Heard You!

3. HOV Knew

06 Feb 2023

How Christian Breslauer Became a Go-To Director For SZA, Lizzo & Doja Cat

Growing up in south Florida, the closest Christian Breslauer got to Hollywood was a nearby beach named after it. The cinephile looked up to renowned film director David Fincher, who also helmed music videos for Madonna and Billy Idol early in his career. After high school, he started directing clips for local artists. He moved to California in 2016 with sights set on working with London Alley Entertainment, a full-service production company behind award-winning videos for artists including Kendrick Lamar (“Alright”) and Logic (“1-800-273-8255”). Breslauer jokingly recalls that he reached out to founder/executive producer Luga Podesta dozens of times before first working with the company on a 2019 Cîroc commercial. However, London Alley didn’t start representing him until the following year, after Podesta saw the video for Roddy Ricch’s “The Box,” which earned an MTV Video Music Award nomination for best hip-hop video. “Our job as a company is seeing a director’s career long term instead of just per project,” says Podesta. “We strategize about who are the artists they want to work with and who manages those artists.”

Since then, Breslauer has become a go-to creator of visuals that are equally eye-popping and purposeful, working with superstars including The Weeknd, Doja Cat, John Legend and Lil Nas X (The latter’s “Industry Baby” clip with Jack Harlow won three VMAs). At the beginning of 2023, Breslauer directed the video for SZA’s “Kill Bill,” which has over 20 million views — and most recently, he helmed the ultimate Black girl superhero visual for Lizzo’s Special title track. “We helped [Christian] form the relationships with Lizzo and SZA,” says Podesta, also noting that the team “did four or five videos with SALXCO management and then finally got [him] to work with The Weeknd.” Adds Breslauer: “We try to build little Marvel universes for every artist I work with. That’s why artists like to come back and keep working with me.”

Tyga x Doja Cat, “Freaky Deaky”

Christian Breslauer, Doja Cat

Christian Breslauer and Doja Cat on the set of the “Freaky Deaky” music video.

Virisa Yong

After Tyga texted Breslauer about shooting a “futuristic” video for “Freaky Deaky,” a Doja Cat collaboration from his forthcoming album, Breslauer imagined a sexy cat-and-mouse game, with Doja capturing Tyga in various traps during a late-night rendezvous. The lyrics helped inspire some of them, including “Black Barbie, perfect and you gnarly,” which reminded Breslauer of a scene from Joe Dante’s 1998 film Small Soldiers when action figures punch out of their plastic boxes. “I put a lot of intention in breaking down the song,” says Breslauer. He often leans on artists to bring their own flair during shoots, noting that Doja Cat’s chastity belt lock featuring a phallic keyhole was an addition by her stylist Brett Alan Nelson.

Lizzo, “About Damn Time”

Lizzo, Christian Breslauer

Lizzo and Christian Breslauer on the set of the “About Damn Time” music video.

Micayla Catanzariti

Last year, Lizzo’s team asked Breslauer to direct three videos for her Grammy-nominated album Special. But once the newly minted record of the year “About Damn Time” went viral and subsequently reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, that visual took priority. The two set out to make something uplifting, with Breslauer running with Lizzo’s idea to open in a support group setting. The visual won video for good at the 2022 VMAs, with Lizzo dubbing Breslauer “Tittylauer” during her acceptance speech. “We have so many funny moments. She brings such a bubbly energy where you just can’t help but love her,” he said, calling the recent “Special” video his favorite one from her album.

SZA, “Kill Bill”

Christian Breslauer, SZA

SZA and Christian Breslauer on the set of the “Kill Bill” music video.

Micayla Catanzariti

For SZA’s latest video, Breslauer wanted to incorporate the singer’s idea of shibari rope bondage during the outro — a second sequence soundtracked by fellow SOS track “Seek & Destroy” — while still largely referencing Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill films. “It seemed too on-the-nose to have an Uma [Thurman] cameo, but Vivica [A. Fox] was right to me,” says Breslauer of one of its driving scenes. “She’s got the look, she’s got the swagger.” He adds that they wrapped that shot around 5 a.m. as part of a 19-hour-long shoot that happened just days before Christmas. The video came out two weeks later — which Podesta says is “definitely the fastest video we’ve done in a while.”

A version of this story originally appeared in the Feb. 4, 2023, issue of Billboard.

06 Feb 2023

From Bad Bunny to Harry Styles, Which Performance at the 2023 Grammy Awards Was Your Favorite? Vote!

Stars descended on L.A.’s Crypto.com Arena on Sunday (Feb. 5) for the 65th annual Grammy Awards, with everyone from Bad Bunny and Lizzo to Harry Styles and Mary J. Blige taking the stage to perform.

And now that this year’s biggest night in music has officially come and gone, Billboard wants to know which star-studded performance still had you talking come Monday morning.

The artist otherwise known as Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio opened the ceremony with a delightful mash-up of “El Apagón” and “Después de la Playa” off his bestselling album Un Verano Sin Ti, paying tribute to his native Puerto Rico with a colorful entourage of cabezudos and merengue dancers.

Ahead of her win for record of the year, Lizzo brought the house down with a joyful revisiting of “About Damn Time” and the title track off Special, just before Styles recreated the music video for “As It Was” by bringing the giant red turntable to the stage.

Of course, one of the most-talked-about moments of the night came when LL Cool J introduced the all-star tribute to the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, which brought pioneers and legends such as Salt-N-Pepa, Public Enemy, Missy Elliott and Busta Rhymes together with the new guard of GloRilla, Lil Uzi Vert and Lil Baby for a 23-song medley that was nothing short of electrifying — gigantic Ruff Ryders flag flying high about the Grammys stage included.

This year’s In Memoriam segment was also particularly touching as Quavo memorialized the late Takeoff in between Kacey Musgraves‘ restrained performance of “Coal Miner’s Daughter” for Loretta Lynn and Mick Fleetwood teaming up with Sheryl Crow and Bonnie Raitt to honor Christine McVie with “Songbird.”

Elsewhere in the telecast, Sam Smith and Kim Petras opened the gates of hell for “Unholy” after making history with their win for best pop duo/group performance, Blige belted out “Good Morning Gorgeous” looking nothing less than absolutely glam, and DJ Khaled rounded up a rogue’s gallery of Fridayy, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne John Legend and Jay-Z to close out the show with “God Did.”

Vote for your favorite musical number of the 2023 Grammys in Billboard‘s official poll below!

06 Feb 2023

Here’s What Harry Styles Had to Say About Winning 2023 Album of the Year Grammy Over Beyonce

As he was during his acceptance speech at the 2023 Grammy Awards on Sunday night (Jan. 5) after winning album of the year for his Harry’s House LP, after the broadcast Harry Styles was humble and gracious in talking about coming out on top over some serious competition. In a press room interview following the awards, Styles was asked by Billboard about the many headlines going into the night focused on the possibility that Beyoncé would finally score an album of the year prize for her dance-heavy Renaissance collection.

“I think… you never know with this stuff… I don’t think you can look at any of the nominees and not feel like they’re deserving,” said Styles while cradling his golden gramophone in his left hand. “When I look at this category it’s all people who’ve inspired me at different times. It’s not like.. you would understand anyone winning. I’m really grateful they chose us.”

Styles won out over albums from Bey, Adele (30), a rebooted ABBA (Voyage), Bad Bunny (Un Verano Sin Ti) Mary J. Blige (Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe), Brandi Carlile (In These Silent Days), Coldplay (Music of the Spheres), Kendrick Lamar (Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers) and Lizzo (Special). Styles also took home the best pop vocal album award for House. And though Queen Bey was thwarted a fourth time in her bid for an AOTY honor, she became the most-decorated artist in Grammy history when she scooped her 32nd trophy for best dance/electronic album on Sunday; her win vaulted the singer over late conductor Georg Solti for most Grammy wins of all-time.

At the same press appearance, Styles was asked if he and his co-producers (Kid Harpoon and Tyler Johnson) have begun work on the follow-up to Harry’s House. “We’ve always tried to not really stop writing because it feels like you have this big stop and then you come back to it and it can feel like you’re either trying to prove something or trying to follow something up, so we’re kind of just always writing.”

Check out Harry’s answer below.