Ice Spice has every reason to be proud of what she’s accomplished early in her career. With a string of hit singles, major collaborations, and sold-out tours, she’s become one of the standout names of the 2020s. Still, her journey hasn’t been without its share of challenges and criticism. The New York drill rapper has had to deal with plenty of negativity along the way.
A lot of that noise has unfortunately been centered around her body, which is disappointing to see. For quite some time, fans expressed sadness and even frustration after noticing her weight loss. Before she focused on fitness and dieting, her supporters — and many admirers online — were captivated by her thick thighs and curvy figure.
Many begged her to return to her previous shape, while others unfairly accused her of taking Ozempic. Watching those conversations unfold online was disheartening, as it clearly showed how inconsistent people can be when it comes to body positivity.
Despite all of that, Ice Spice held her head high and stayed committed to her fitness goals. She deserves a lot of respect for standing by her choices and not letting the criticism get to her.
That said, those who preferred her fuller look were thrilled when she appeared to have regained some of her curves around March of this year.
While addressing those who criticized her changing figure, Ice also admitted she’s happy to have her curves back. In a clip shared by No Jumper, the “Baddie Baddie” rapper posted an Instagram video of herself twerking and wrote, “so happy to be thick asf again.”
The comment section was full of supportive reactions. One person wrote, “I think we are all happy to see you again,” while another added, “My girl had to go back to factory settings [praying hands emoji].”
More than anything, it’s great to see that Ice feels confident, comfortable, and healthy in her own body again.
She even revealed in September that she’s been eating more meat to achieve her current look. “Protein is great for you. I love protein. I try to get a lot of protein in, to be honest. That’s the key to being thick. You can’t be thick without mad protein. I swear.”
In other updates, Ice has been busy in the studio. She recently released “Pretty Privilege” as she gears up for her next album. The track sparked plenty of discussion, especially because some listeners believe it includes a subtle dig at her rival Cardi B. The two have rekindled their feud since the release of AM I THE DRAMA? “She might talk sh*t on the ‘Gram, but she won’t talk it to my face,” Ice raps on the single.
Placebo have kicked off their 30th anniversary tour by dusting off some tracks for the first time in over 20 years, and also playing new single ‘Helen Keller’ live for the first time.
The new dates come as the band are celebrating the 30 years since they dropped their 1996 debut album. To mark the occasion, they have announced a huge UK and European arena tour, where they have vowed to predominantly play material from their first album and their sophomore record ‘Without You I’m Nothing’.
At the opening night at Krakatoa in Mérignac, France, Brian Molko and co. delivered a stacked 19-song set, which began with ‘Pure Morning’, and immediately went into the first rendition of ‘Come Home’ in 20 years.
Another rarity came straight after, with the first live performance of ‘You Don’t Care About Us’ since 2001, as well as ‘Without You I’m Nothing’ and ‘Allergic (To Thoughts Of Mother Earth)’ which were played for the first time since 2018 and 2014 respectively.
‘Drowning by Numbers’, ‘Bruise Pristine’ and ‘My Sweet Prince’ were all introduced into the setlist for the first time since 2001, ‘Brick Shithouse’ was aired out for the first time since 2003, ‘Scared Of Girls’ was played for the first time since 2010, and both ‘Lady Of The Flowers’ and ‘36 Degrees’ were broken out for the first time in nine years.
The rest of the set was made up of ‘Teenage Angst’, ‘Bionic’, ‘I Know’ and ‘Every You Every Me’, and the band wrapped up the performance with two covers: Depeche Mode’s ‘I Feel You’, and Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’.
It wasn’t until a later show at the Super Bock Arena in Porto, Portugal, that Placebo broke out their new song ‘Helen Keller’ for the first time – playing it 13 songs into the setlist.
Check out more footage from the tour so far below, as well as the setlist from night one.
‘Pure Morning’
‘Come Home’ (First time since 2006)
‘You Don’t Care About Us'(First Time Since 2001)
‘Teenage Angst’
‘Bionic’
‘Without You I’m Nothing” (First Time Since 2018)
‘Allergic (to Thoughts of Mother Earth)” (First Time Since 2014)
‘Drowning by Numbers” (First Time Since 2001)
’36 Degrees” (Alternate Version – First Time Since 2017)
‘I Know’
‘Brick Shithouse’ (First Time Since 2003)
‘Scared of Girls’ (First Time Since 2010)
‘Bruise Pristine” (First Time Since 2001)
‘My Sweet Prince’ (First Time Since 2001)
‘Lady of the Flowers’ (First time since 2017)
‘Nancy Boy’
‘Every You Every Me’
‘I Feel You’ (Depeche Mode cover, live debut)
‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’ (Kate Bush cover)
Placebo dropped the single ‘Helen Keller’ on September 28, and it sees them reach back to ‘H.K. Farewell’, a hidden instrumental from the era of their self-titled 1996 debut. In the track, they retain the eerie keyboard melody from the original, and push it to new dimensions with a heavier, more anguished feeling.
The title refers to the American author, who was also a disability rights advocate and political activist, who became deafblind as a young child and went on to become an internationally renowned writer and campaigner.
As well as the tour, Placebo also celebrated the 30th anniversary of their debut by releasing a reimagined version of the record. For the LP, Molko and Stefan Olsdal returned to the original master tapes and reworked all 10 songs from the 1996 record – describing it as a “director’s cut” that helped them inject the original songs with three decades more experience.
The ongoing tour will reach the UK and Ireland in late November and early December, where they will play Nottingham, Glasgow, Dublin, Manchester, London and Cardiff. See all the dates here and find any remaining tickets here.
Dates will head to Latin America in 2027, beginning in São Paulo on February 20 and running through Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Colombia before wrapping up with shows in Guadalajara and Monterrey in March.
Placebo dropped their last album of new material in 2022, with ‘Never Let Me Go’. That record was given a four-star review by NME, which described it as “a renaissance rock record with an experimental edge”, adding that it found Placebo “inspired and ready for a new era”.