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San Marcos High School ~ Santa Barbara, CA

The King's Page

The King's Page

A&E Review/Preview

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2022 has been a great year for all things movies, tv, video games and plays. We at the King’s Page have been reviewing and previewing these great works for all of 2022. Go Royals!

One Acts

Picture courtesy of Caden Semenza

With the semester coming to an end here at San Marcos, the theater department is presenting the school with One Acts. The show will consist of multiple short scenes in several genres, performed by only a few actors each. With less actors, the experience will be far different from normal plays. Not only will audiences be up close with the actors, but the actors deliver stellar performances, being more personal with each other. 

“There are twelve shows, twenty seven a actors, two to three actors a show. The one acts are like short plays that are ten minutes a piece. Some are sad, some are silly,” says stage director Nolan McCarthy.

Actor Diana Ybarra says, “ [One Acts are] a chance to work with your peers more and get to know them more because you act with them personally.”Check out our wonderful One Acts in the auditorium on the 12th to 14th of January at 7:00 p.m. with tickets available on GoFan.


Year in Review – Santa Barbara Bowl Concerts

KELSEY DAVIS 

Staff Writer 

Picture courtesy of Kelsey Davis

In the foothills of Santa Barbara sits the Santa Barbara Bowl. The beautiful outside amphitheater hosts concerts, shows and events from early April through the end of October. Reflecting back on the 2022 year, the Santa Barbara Bowl had an amazing year, hosting 43 amazing nights with artists in a wide range of genres. A few very popular concerts this year included:

  1. May 21st – Olivia Rodrigo

We are very lucky to have hosted Olivia in Santa Barbara, as she has significantly blown up this year gaining new followers by the day. She is a 19-year-old American pop singer, who just won her first Grammy Award for Best New Artist. 

  1. September 1st – Flume 

He is an Australian record producer, DJ and musician, he puts on thrilling and entertaining EDM concerts. 

  1. June 1st – Rex Orange County 

He was performing on his “Who Cares?” album tour as an Alternative Indie english singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist. 

In preparation for the New Year be sure to check out the upcoming concert list for 2023, they are slowly releasing events for the year. So far they have lined up Tyler Childers, Brett Young, and two nights of comedian Trevor Noah. Also make sure to get on the email list for pre-sale tickets to get a great price.


2022 Best Artists

SIENNA BENAVIDEZ

Staff Writer

In 2022, your favorite artists broke records, climbed the charts, and received multiple awards. These artists quickly became favorites because of their memorable stories and quotable lyrics. Here are the top artists of 2022.

Bad Bunny

Released on May 6, 2022, Bad Bunny’s album Un Verano Sin Ti immediately began topping the charts. Not only did it debut at number one on the weekly Billboard 200, it also became Spotify’s Most Streamed Album both Globally and in the US. His album got him nominated for eight American Music Awards, and won two of them: Favorite Male Latin Artist and Favorite Latin Album (Un Verano Sin Ti). He also won nine awards at the Billboard Latin Music Awards – some of the most prominent ones being Top Latin Album of the Year (Un Verano Sin Ti), Artist of the Year, and Songwriter of the year – and received 11 other nominations too.  

Taylor Swift

On October 21 of 2022, Taylor Swift released her much anticipated tenth studio album Midnights, and then shortly after released the 3am edition which featured seven bonus tracks. Midnights then went on to break the record for Spotify’s most streamed album in a day(184.6 million), Spotify’s most streamed artist in a single day, she became the first artist to occupy all top ten spots on the Billboard Hot 100, and broke several other records. She then announced the Eras Tour, in which she is expected to perform songs from all the albums released since her last tour.

Image Courtesy of Creative Commons

Drake

On June 17, 2022, Drake released his seventh studio album Honestly, Nevermind, and then on November 4th he went on to release a joint album with 21 Savage titled Her Loss. He also appeared on many songs and albums by other popular artists. At the 2022 Billboard Music Awards, Drake was nominated for and went on to win Top Artist, Top Male Artist, and Top Rap Male Artist. He was also nominated for Outstanding Drama Series during the Primetime Emmy Awards, as he was an executive producer on the hit drama series Euphoria. He also became Spotify’s Most-Streamed Artist in the U.S. Drake and 21 Savage are expected to go on tour together in 2023. 

Harry Styles

On May 20, 2022, Harry Styles released his third studio album Harry’s House. At the AMA’s he was nominated for Favorite Pop Album (Harry’s House), Favorite Music Video (“As It Was”), and Artist of the Year, and went on to win Favorite Pop Song (“As It Was”), and Favorite Male Pop Artist. Not only did he win multiple awards for “As It Was”, the  song also became both Spotify’s Most-Streamed Song Globally, and the Most Streamed Song in the U.S. He has also been nominated for multiple categories at the 2023 Grammys. Styles then continued his Love On Tour throughout 2022, and it is expected to continue until July of 2023.

The Weeknd

On January 7, 2022, the Weeknd released a fifth studio album Dawn FM, which is the second installment in a trilogy of albums. This album features 16 songs, although the alternate versions range between 19, 20, and 24 songs. The first leg of the After hours Til Dawn Tour began in 2022, and is set to continue in June of 2023. At the Billboard Music Awards he was nominated for both Top Artist and Top Male Artist, and went on to win Top R&B Male Artist.

With new music constantly being released, we will be sure to see both our long time favorites and new artists quickly become popular once again.

Movie Reviews: 6 of the Best Y.A. 2022 Books

ANNA JACOBSEN

Staff Writer

Every year, hundreds of books are published, but only a few make it to the lists of best books. This month I reviewed some of the best young adult fiction books published this year, so without further adieu, here are the best books of 2022.

LOVELESS by Alice Oseman

Genres: LGBTQIA+, Coming of Age, Romance

Loveless follows the main character Georgia as she discovers her identity through difficult relationships as she realizes love is not solely related to romance. This book portrays the characters’ emotions and relationships really well, and the book is very sweet and full of ups and downs.

I KISSED SARA WHEELER by Casey McQuiston

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Mystery

— Chloe Green has been striving for first place all through high school. And as soon as it is almost in her grasp, the one person in her way- popular, pretty Sara Wheeler- kisses her and then vanishes. But why? I Kissed Sara Wheeler is a really interesting book because of how dynamic and believable the characters are, and the tie of romance and mystery.

FAMILY OF LIARS by E. Lockhart 

Genres: Thriller, Domestic Fiction, Contemporary

Family of Liars is the prequel to We Were Liars, and takes you back to a summer a generation ago, one with just as many secrets as the summers to come. “I liked book because it was suspenseful and the ending was just really surprising; I also loved the connection to We Were Liars.” Says Freshman Lily Wallace about the book.

ANATOMY: A LOVE STORY by Dana Schwartz

Genres: Gothic, Historical Fiction

Anatomy: A Love Story is set in Edinburgh in 1817. It follows the story of Hazel, a woman who wants to be a surgeon more than anything, and Jack, a man trying to get by in a city where everything wants you dead. When their paths cross, who knows what will happen. The book has a really nice tone and atmosphere, and a handful of interesting twists throughout.

I MUST BETRAY YOU by Ruta Sepetys 

Genres: Historical Fiction— I Must Betray You follows Cristian Florescu, a 17 year old in 1987, caught up in Romania’s communist regime and its network of citizen spies. The book is surprising and full of action and suspense, and is really fast paced; it ties the historical and fictional parts together very well, and shines a light on what the events really were like.

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About the Contributor
Caden Semenza
Caden Semenza, Staff Writer
Caden is a Senior at San Marcos. He is a staff writer for the Kings Page for the first time in his high school career. He is excited to write all kind of different articles for the semester. In his free time Caden likes to read, play board games, make hand drawn maps, and play bagpipes.
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