NOTES: This Post Contains Spoilers for Some Readers; please read with caution if you haven't watched the film yet. For the interest of Now United's global fanbase outside of the United States, you can read this post in your own native language by using the "translate" feature in your browser, where available.
BY DC CUEVA
ESTIMATED READING TIME: 27 MINS.
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| All Photos Courtesy: XIX Entertainment, NU & members' socials |
The year that shall not be named of a few years back saw me discover what's become a current favorite of the DC Playlist during these times, and molded together music with something I know well as a sports fan who loves watching relatively obscure events happening outside this country as much as those here at home. That would be the idea of different nations coming together in one big music supergroup just as they do at the Olympics and the World Cup: different singers and dancers from the world's six continents into the global pop collective Now United. Though they're not as big as other acts in this country as they are in others -- and despite me being right up there in age and where its target audience is those the age of my niece & nephew, I can still have them as one of my favorites.
Two years ago, Now United were the subjects of an introductory post and a follow-up... it was caused by them calling home for a week the same house used in one of the many MTV shows I've blogged on here the past decade (I'd normally cover that world of trashy guilty pleasure entertainment on a regular basis on this site) to film one of their many music videos. But last fall saw the end of their first generation when the group in its original formation went on one final tour together and released a last set of songs & videos before most of them began pursuing solo endeavors after five unforgettable years traveling the globe and offering inspiration to a world that has been in need of some feel-good moments when we have had to go through so much during a tumultuous period we've just been through.
And to close it all out, there was something very special that brought this well-traveled group of artists from different nations of the world's six continents to a global melting pot in a concrete jungle in the American Northeast. There, they turned their attention to fulfilling one of the greatest dreams that there is in the world: the opportunity to grace the greatest stage of all -- center stage of a Broadway musical.
Before the very first bootcamp that formed NU's original lineup in 2017, many of its members took part in various other facets of entertainment prior to flying to Los Angeles (or in the case of #1, a drive up from the O.C.). U.S. representative Noah Urrea starred in Netflix's Metal Lords and was also featured on MTV's My Super Sweet 16 among others, while Any Gabrielly voiced the title character of Disney's Moana in Portuguese for Brazilian moviegoers - and soon, next month's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sequel. Bailey May of the Philippines sung viral YouTube covers after residing in his nation's Big Brother house, while China's Krystian Wang and Joalin Loukamma of Finland have also done reality shows too... so has Senegal's Diarra Sylla -- not as a contestant, but as a judge on AXS TV's Banded.
Coming from all points on the compass, Now United was conceived as a first of its kind global pop group to help spread messages of positivity, unity and love through the power of uplifting music and dance, plus plenty of positive vibes that radiates around the world. They've been one of the symbols of the good things in life in the 'Twenties, something that's definitely been much needed as we have all been torn apart by a pandemic, politics and everything else in the last six years. Now United is also born in the tradition of one of music's most-successful entrepreneurs in Simon Fuller, who helped create the global Idol franchise and its litany of stars that it has created over the past two decades... as well as also creating the greatest girl group in modern times, the Spice Girls.
The man at the helm of 19 Entertainment and later spinoff agency XIX Entertainment, Simon also saw the potential that co-ed pop groups consisting of both guys & girls can make an impact in a pop music world dominated by the likes of One Direction and Little Mix. The late '90s and early 2000's saw him create S Club 7, a group of seven lads & lasses from Britain who enjoyed much success during a period when pop made a major renaissance thanks to Britney Spears, 'NSYNC and many others. Sadly, it was just after the group announced a twenty-fifth anniversary reunion tour that bandmate Paul Cattermole unexpectedly passed away, but the group will play on this fall in the U.K. honoring his memory.
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| Lamar (as Sterling) [IG @Lamar_Hype] |
One thing that sets Now United from other pop acts is that the visuals aren't just as important as the songs themselves, but also a vital one in that recipe too: for every single that they release, there's an accompanying music video to go along with it -- there's been nearly 80 of them in all. Given their easily accessible nature tech-wise to Gen Z, they've also posted daily TikTok videos & Instagram posts, weekly YouTube vlogs, and who now feature in the interactive, educational project Academy of Pop. And it was only a matter of time before NU would dip their toes into the same world of acting that S Club, Kelly and the Spice Girls did before them: fall 2021 saw the release of their first musical, Love, Love, Love.
That 20-minute film short filmed in San Luis Obispo, CA about the theme of love unintentionally played into the Uniters fandom's fan-favorite 'ships, and ignited a sensation with Bailey & the group's first mom in Mexico's Sabina Hidalgo (who just got engaged to her fútbol boyfriend, Chivas' Pepé Gonzalez), Noah & Germany's Sina Deinert, and Any & Canada's Josh Beauchamp (who competed on Jennifer Lopez's World of Dance before his first tour). There was even a mock guy/guy wedding -- a hilarious reference to Josh & Bailey being the only two guys who stayed for the group's entire extended residency in the Middle East after the pandemic stoppage. But Love, Love, Love was only an extended music video compared to Now United's second musical... and something that had the future in mind.
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| IG @Savannah.Clarke |
A few years later -- and months before an Instagram post about Australian auditions for the group that changed her life, Savannah took part in her first movie: a film short entitled The Light Beyond the Trees where she was among a group of young adults who got lost in a huge forest on the outskirts of the nation's largest city and worked together to make it to their destination at the end of the wilderness. Those two experiences of being on a big stage and acting in front of the camera, combined with her strong musical talents, made it no surprise for Sav to be casted in the lead role for Now United's first full-length movie, set in another aspect of global life that has reemerged in this return to normal.
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| Nour, Hina, Shivani & Heyoon (as Tara) |
Like concert tours, albums, films and TV shows, Broadway plays are not one of those that can be formed with the snap of a finger: so many of them take weeks, months and most definitely years to be matured. From conception and development to endless hours of rehearsals and the eventual execution of long & hard work, musicals are certainly a different animal from movies, TV shows, albums and concert tours... but takes the same amount of sacrifice of time and effort to make all the final product feel all worth it in the end. Even this blogger has a personal attachment of sorts to this world: this past spring, my niece performed in her local middle school's version of 13 -- the same play where Ariana Grande first made a name for herself, and for which Netflix's musical film adaptation had a link of sorts to this film which, like Evan Goldman, has its roots in the Big Apple.
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| Sofya & Alex (as Luis) |
Except for Sav and Noah who had prior experience in that field, the Now United members first learned the nuances and intricacies of acting when they filmed Love, Love, Love in 2021 with the help of an acting coach, acting classes and everything else that comes with doing a movie short. For a group used to performing in front of the camera and with millions of social media followers, they had to quickly adjust to getting to act and interact with each other with cameras as an objective and invisible third party. But for a long-form feature like this Musical film, the two-month process began last summer with the members auditioning for their parts the same way they earned their spots in the collective.
Like their movie debut, the group chose to portray in essence slightly modified versions of themselves for The Musical as it delves deeper into the backstories of their various characters. But for reasons too complicated to discuss, not everyone in a supergroup of what's now twenty (and soon to be, twenty-two or perhaps even more) people got to appear in this sequel film -- that includes their newest addition.
When Noah chose to step away from the group to pursue his solo work (the second of what would be all but a handful of the original lineup), it was left for him to leave his #7 number to one of those he & the rest of his bandmates first met the previous year at a special bootcamp held in one of their bubble hubs of the Middle East. Last month, one of those twelve performers from around the world chosen for that special week competed on Season 18 of America's Got Talent in Ninah Sampaio from Brazil, who sang her heart out while simultaneously solving a Rubik's cube. Another in Las Vegas resident Jayna Hughes of the Philippines later joined Now United's sister group The Future X, also created by Fuller and made up entirely of artists discovered on TikTok who toured with the larger squad last year.
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| Sina (as Rose) & Zane (as Tommy) [IG @ZaneeCarter] |
With a voice who fans have compared to Shawn Mendes and who's eager to bring to the pop world his experience being surrounded by country growing up in this Huntington, WV suburb of 22,000, Zane gained an encore in re-auditioning for XIX: first for TFX and then for Now United once Noah saw 2022 as his last dance with the group. Described as "energetic" and "positive" he immediately hit it off, and was carefully introduced as the new #7 when they went on the Forever United tour last fall... but whose first project as a permanent Now United member came just before the official reveal months earlier filming The Musical. There, Zane plays the role of Tommy, a musical theater expert who knows everything about Broadway and has his eyes on being a successful performer.
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| Lilith Freund (as Danica) and Savannah (as Ester) |
Ester is not alone when it comes to pursuing this ultimate of New York dreams: she is among a slew of performers eager to be chosen for the musical, including landing the most coveted spot playing the lead role of Candace. One who's already proven to have all the same traits to become leading lady on Broadway also happens to be a daughter of the parents who run the theater that's hosting this musical: Danica, played by a Harvard student from San Diego named Lilith Freund. The triple threat has the always enviable role of playing villain in this film and being a potential spoiler, and who represents the biggest hurdle to Ester's dream. But even their battle for the top role -- with various twists and turns just like a wild taxi ride around the streets of Manhattan -- isn't the only thing happening with the show.
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| Nicola Posner (as Alex), Patrick Cavanaugh (as Rodney), & Choreographer Nicky Andersen [TW @NicolaPosner] |
As for everyone else who's auditioning for the show, Tara (Heyoon Jeong of South Korea) is one tough cookie who's yet to land her big break, but as protective of herself and those around her she always stands up for what's right. Sterling is just like the real-life Lamar Morris of the UK: lovable, funny, talented, confident and a leader among his peers... it's much the same for Luis -- a devoted and dedicated dancer with a heart-melting smile just like Spain's Alex Mandon Rey. The Ivory Coast's Melanié Thomas (as Carmen), Shivani Paliwal of India, Nour Ardakani from Lebanon, Japan's Hina Yoshihara and Russian ballerina Sofya Plotnikova also bring their own special spark to the group... and if one feels down, bubbly sweetheart Rose (played by Sina) is ready to offer homemade baked cookies to lighten the mood of an otherwise nerve-wracking process that will test everyone's perseverance.
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| Melanié (as Carmen) [IG @Melanie.Tms] |
Nicky, Now United and Lilith utilized the same Burbank rehearsal space where the group was first chosen and later trained for numerous videos and performances, devoting 12 hours a day for weeks with no days off to work on that choreography and to tailor the film's story around it. Nicky says of the amazing opportunity, "It's been a journey, and I had the hard task: I only had four weeks to do all the numbers. Normally you would use all the time on it, but for this movie we had a little bit less time... but also it was good, and it really made everyone work harder. We were trying to lip-sync, we were trying to sing, we were trying to dance, we tried to do storytelling and do acting, but things turned out good."
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| Movie dance rehearsals. [XIX] |
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| Cast with music producer Emile Ghantous recording soundtrack [IG @emileghantous] |
But for an elaborate project that, had it not been for their OP3N partnership would have easily put this film on Disney+ or Nickelodeon, there was only one route The Musical movie had to take when it came to the songs -- and it being the group's first-ever full-length album: stage musicals and the kinds of songs synonymous with Broadway and school plays. The group and their primary music producer Emile Ghantous collaborated with songwriter Madison "Emiko" Love (behind hits for Camila Cabello, Halsey, Jason Derulo and Ava Max) and hit songwriters including Cathy Dennis ("Toxic" & "I Kissed a Girl") and Hilary Duff's husband Matthew Koma to formulate a 13-part soundtrack that blends well with the narrative of an 85-minute story full of high stakes, high drama and high emotions... and plenty of high notes on the musical front -- including an ode to S Club's heritage in "Reach."
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| Cast & backup dancers perform movie's opening number, "Welcome to the Night of Your Life." [XIX] |
For Savannah, her past stage & film experience truly shows both as an actress and singer in embracing her rightful role as shining star -- and all in spite of having to temporarily change her accent to American just for the film. Ester's character is best exemplified in the song "I Am", described by Songtell as "...a powerful anthem of self-love and acceptance, encouraging listeners to embrace their true selves and be proud of who they are, both the good and the bad." Josh says of the Aussie, "Sav worked harder than anyone else I've ever seen in this whole film. She was on her script every day writing notes and coming up with things that she could better. And being able to work with people who are not only good at what they do and really care about what they do, that makes some magic... and that makes it much easier for everyone else." But the thought of this movie coming about in the first place likely came from a song written well before filming began, and which also involves the Canadian.
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| Josh before filming stage number #2, "Reach" [IG @JoshBeauchamp] |
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| Director Howard Greenhalgh (wearing glasses & head just above table) with rest of cast in foyer of L.A. Theatre filming opening number [XIX] |
Savannah adds, "What I've learned of doing this whole process of a musical, I am very honored to be able to be in a movie. Honestly, I couldn't tell you what I've learned in this amount of time because this experience is nothing like I've ever experienced before." Josh concludes, "Looking back on everything we did, I am so proud of everyone - and myself included. You know, when you do things that are very challenging, and then after the fact you get that feeling of relief and weightlessness, but you also have all of that work that you can show and it can live on forever, that feeling I definitely have. It's a great experience that I will cherish."
As this is a user-generated fan blog site and not part of the elite media who cover the world of film and music on a daily/weekly basis, we won't take the chance to grade the film with stars or thumbs... and we haven't gone that deep into spoilers, or even taking a shot at critiquing things either (it wouldn't be right or fair at all these days to criticize teenagers, anyway). We'll just let you take the chance to enjoy the film so you can judge it for yourself, but we do offer this objective evaluation...
When this project was first announced last year Simon commented, "It is a celebration of the art of musical theater and the passion for self expression." After watching this film many times since I saw it for the first time earlier this spring (it's the first time I've been able to say that with any movie in a long while), his statement on this film rings true as it matches the spirit of what Now United is all about, and another reason why this blogger sees them as one of the best things to come out of this tough time.
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| Cast performs first stage number, "Never Lose the Feeling." [XIX] |
In addition to amazing moves and catchy songs that should easily be ones that the kids will be singing along to the minute they hear them, The Musical also has the elements of what makes any good film in this timeless genre: love, pathos, slices of anger, and even humor -- one also tries to make sure this film's dialogue is squeaky clean and suitable for the whole family to watch just by making sure that the kids watch their mouth, to put it nicely. And when compared to Spice World, Seeing Double and From Justin to Kelly, as a whole this film is much better than any of those previous XIX efforts... that also includes even NU's very own Love, Love, Love (though that's also fun to watch too).
As their fanbase that stretches from Sao Paulo to Sydney soak in this curtain call to the first generation of its stars, The Musical serves to celebrate not only that amazing time for Uniters everywhere, but also one of the greatest forms of entertainment you'll find anywhere... and the unparalleled power of music to inspire all of us to go for our dreams. And if can fork over that $10 for its movie pass & soundtrack on OP3N -- and got a summer weekend's night to spare while you got time, by the time the credits roll you may have found that feel-good movie of the summer, the musical event of the year, and a new pop group for your kids to call their new favorite. Enjoy it, Uniters...
🎵 🎵 🎵 🎵
This story not only serves as the third post in our trilogy of covering Now United, but as far as we know this is also what we believe is the very first review on any website that's focused on The Musical movie itself -- and not on the particulars of the film being a non-fungible token in a world that's made news of late of crypto. But this is also a follow-up of sorts to another DCBLOG story from a few years ago.
Pre-pandemic, we focused in on another musical memory: this time starring Chelsko Thompson, castmate from that aforementioned Season 1 of MTV's Ex On The Beach (and ex-girlfriend of the late Chris Pearson, who was later senselessly stabbed to death), filmed in the same Hawaiian house as where Now United filmed the video of "Let The Music Move You" as well as a season of the U.S. version of global reality powerhouse Love Island. In this case, Chelsko revisited her high school days playing the role of Houdini in the play Ragtime, which was documented on the Disney+ show Encore... and we featured her return to the big stage a few years ago at this link. Maybe you can watch to sort of compare how the NU kids' stage experience is to that of Chelsko's -- a spoiler: she had quite the night there.
As things have been happening in my life away from this site -- especially as my family is approaching a year since my late dad's passing, DCBLOG has taken a back seat the last several months as I've taken on increased duties of being man of the house. But with this first-ever movie review, this marks our return to offering regular content on here... and ten years after we started, we begin anew again as we'll soon offer a reimagined approach to our longstanding coverage of all things Inside MTV Reality. This includes Season 2 of The Challenge: USA which debuts next month, and whose all-star cast and trailer were released earlier this week... and for which we'll be covering all that here coming up then.
We also have a slew of other posts covering music, sports and much more as we go deep into the rest of this 2023 anniversary year, all featuring the quality in-depth content this site has perfected this past decade and which you just saw above. Our next post continues with the music theme: a larger-than-life hip-hop star from up in Minnesota who sampled the most 80s of music icons, and him tagging along the star of the latest addition to the global Shore franchise as he went searching for some new bling... that story from Straight Outta Atlanta comes your way before our Challenge posts with our traditional preseason preview and an introduction to its latest rookie class.
Plus, yours truly has begun preparing for something very awesome planned for later this year -- in fact as this post goes up today is its 100-day marker to that big deal, and you'll know about it before summer is out. For now, keep up with everything going on in my world, which includes the newly relaunched hub on that new thing everyone's been buzzing about of Threads and new YouTube videos -- and virtually all of these platforms are easy to find at @DC408Dxtr -- you can just easily access all of them through the DC LinkTree. And if you got thoughts on The Musical film if you've seen it up to now or on Now United, let us know below or on Twitter and now, Threads.
- I AM DC
@DC408DXTR
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