Music
13-yr-old's completely unique 'Bohemian Rhapsody' rendition was so great it even wowed Queen
Angelina Jordan's AGT performance was instantly legendary.
03.20.24
At Upworthy, we've shared a lot of memorable "America's Got Talent" auditions, from physics-defying dance performances to jaw-dropping magic acts to heart-wrenching singer-songwriter stories. Now we're adding Angelina Jordan's "AGT: The Champions" audition to the list because wow.
Jordan came to "AGT: The Champions" in 2020 as the winner of Norway's Got Talent, which she won in 2014 at the mere age of 7 with her impressive ability to seemingly channel Billie Holiday. For the 2020 audition, she sang Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," but a version that no one had ever heard before.
With just her Amy Winehouse-ish voice, a guitar and a piano, Jordan brought the fan-favorite Queen anthem down to a smooth, melancholy ballad that's simply riveting to listen to.
Especially considering that Jordan was only 13 years old when she did this.
Watch:
What this video doesn't show is Heidi Klum hitting the Golden Buzzer faster than you can say, "Nothing really matters to me." The judges were blown away by Jordan's performance, as were the people in the comments.
"That's a ONE in A BILLION voice right there. Just amazing," wrote one commenter.
"I am typically not a fan of songs being redone particular to such a magnitude," shared another. "They almost always fall short of the original. But to completely rearrange a song in the manner that she has, from a legend, and then make you forget about how the original even sounded because her rendition is so good is utterly amazing."
"As Freddie once said, 'Do whatever you want with my music as long as you don't make it boring.' I think he'd really like this," shared another.
Though Queen's lead vocalist Freddie Mercury is no longer with us, the band did offer words of praise for Jordan's performance, retweeting her audition video with the comment, "Wow! What a rendition of #BohemianRhapsody."
"Bohemian Rhapsody" is such an iconic song, it's hard for anyone to do a cover of it justice. But 13-year-old Angelina Jordan managed it masterfully.
Jordan would move on to the Top 10 in "AGT: The Champions," and though she didn't take home the top prize, she did impress the audience with another classic rock tune, Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road." You can enjoy that performance below, and you can follow Angelina Jordan—who is now 17 and still singing her heart out—on YouTube and TikTok.
Become Angelina's patron at Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/angelinajordanThis performance on Angelina Jordan's TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@angelinajor...
This article originally appeared on 9.30.23
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Family
People are applauding the dad who bought a Mustang for his teenage son living with cancer
“Dad, I’m going to squeeze a few extra months of life just to be able to drive this.”
03.20.24
Many parents swear that a child’s first car should be a “beater.” First, it teaches them to have something to strive for in life. Second, the kid will probably put some nicks and scratches on the car, so it’s best to start with something where no one will care. Third, the insurance will be cheaper.
Finally, a kid should have to earn having nice things and starting them off with a brand new Mercedes isn’t going to instill much work ethic.
Even though a large number of parents say a teen’s first car should be a clunker, many are applauding Joe Tegerdine, a father in Springville, Utah, and his wife Kerry for buying their son Joseph, 18, a 330-horsepower 2020 Ford Mustang.
Unfortunately, Joseph has osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer and has already outlived his prognosis.
Joseph was working at Sodalicious in hopes of saving up enough money for a Mustang, but time was running out for him to reach his goal and still have the time to enjoy the car. His father shared the reason why he bought the car on X, where it received nearly 14 million views. “For those wondering why I’d buy my 18yr old son a 330hp Mustang, well, he’s been given months to live and can’t work long enough to buy one himself,” the father wrote. “His comment on the way home, ‘Dad, I’m going to squeeze a few extra months of life just to be able to drive this.’
For those wondering why I\u2019d buy my 18yr old son a 330hp Mustang, well, he\u2019s been given months to live and can\u2019t work long enough to buy one himself. His comment on the way home, \u201c Dad, I\u2019m going to squeeze a few extra months of life just to be able to drive this.\u201d #cancersucks— (@)
“Once he got his terminal diagnosis, I spoke to my wife and said there was no way he has enough time to save money – so I went out and bought him [the Mustang],” he said, according to SWNS.
“He was so excited. He told me he wants to squeeze out a few extra months of life to drive the car,” Joe continued. “He really wants to live life to the fullest. He is not interested in spending the last few months hooked up to machines.”
You are a good man. I wish for you and your family peace, love, and togetherness. And, that your son enjoys driving 130mph with his hair on fire!
— EricM030 (@EricM030) March 3, 2024
As a Dad, this made me cry. 😭
— 🚗 “Toyota Hunter” Schmitt (@toyotahunter93) March 3, 2024
What a thing to do for your son, I’m very sorry to hear about his diagnosis.
He’s got an amazing dad 🥹
My heart goes out to your brother. It’s a pain that has to be shared or it is just too much. Give him my regards. 🙏
— Joe Tegerdine (@JoeTegerdine) March 3, 2024
In 2019, when Joseph was 13, he began complaining of pains in his knee and it made sense because he was an active athlete who played football and ran track and field. When he went in for an X-ray and then an MRI, he was diagnosed with bone cancer and started chemotherapy 10 days later. In 2022, Joseph would undergo a leg amputation and it was found the cancer spread to his lungs and hip.
Joseph’s uncertain future has brought out the best in the family, inspiring them to make the most out of their time with their son. Their commitment is a reminder for all of us to appreciate the people we have in our lives because you never know what the future holds.
"When my son was first diagnosed, I had to make a decision. Either curse God and die or try to make the best of a really bad situation. With the perspective of what it would be like to experience sudden loss, I decided to be grateful. Grateful that we’ve had the 18 years to build memories and enjoy him," Joe wrote on X. "Even now, with the only treatments left to prolong life and manage pain, I’m thankful he’s still with us, squeezing out the best that life can offer under less than ideal circumstances. My heart is still broken, but I know it could be a lot worse."
Recently, the family has been making the most of their time with trips to Tokyo, Japan, Los Angeles to see Taylor Swift and Florida to swim with dolphins. After Joe’s tweet about the Mustang went viral, Ford CEO Jim Farley invited Joseph to visit Ford Performance Racing School, which he plans to attend in April.
Hi Joe, I’m so sorry to hear what your family is going through. Please let me know if you and your son would like to attend @FPRacingSchool to experience a @FordMustang Dark Horse on the track. DM me and we’ll make it happen.
— Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) March 3, 2024
"If you look at my day-to-day life, it's about as ideal as it gets. I've got my dream car. I have a family that I love, a girlfriend that I hang out with all the time and that I love, I play piano, which I love, I read books that I personally pick on topics that interest me. It's fantastic," Joseph told Today.com. "Feeling fulfilled in the future is the hard part," he said. "But I've managed to make my day-to-day life fulfilling for however long I have."
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Family
Daughter surprises her dad with 'prized possession' he sold 30 years ago to help the family
The moment he realizes what the gift is 🥲
03.18.24
@lindseyswagmom/TikTok
Many people dream of somehow being able to pay their parents back for the sacrifices made for them during childhood. Whether that’s something physical, like paying off their mortgage, or simply being the best version of ourselves to make them absolutely proud.
For Lindsay Moore, it was finding a “prized possession” her dad once gave up to help the family, and returning it to him once again.
Moore still vividly remembers being only seven years old when she saw her father walk into a comic book store to sell a Dan Marino rookie football card from his first season with the Miami Dolphins.In a now-viral TikTok, Moore’s father is seen reliving this memory as he holds onto a Christmas bag and a family member reads a card out loud.
"Money was tight, so you were selling your most prized possession – at least I viewed it as that," Moore wrote. "I felt your sacrifice and it taught me that I would do whatever necessary to ensure my future family never needed anything. It was a lesson that has stuck with me since that moment."
It was also the moment she became “determined” to pay her father back. Cut to thirty years later, and her father is her Secret Santa. It was the perfect opportunity to fulfill that promise.
"I will never be able to fully repay that debt," her note continued. "Seven-year-old me would be so elated to see that I finally fulfilled that promise I made to myself. Thank you for everything."
As he listened, Moore’s dad began tearing up. Sure enough, he opened his gift to see it was the cherished card he sold all those years ago.
The video concludes as Moore and her father enjoy a warm embrace.
@lindseyswagmom Im not crying, you’re crying
♬ original sound - Lindsey Moore
The sweet exchange certainly struck a chord online.
“When he started crying I LOST IT,” one person wrote.
Another added, “Something about bringing a grown man to tears always gets me.”
A few parents shared their own stories of sacrificing prized possessions.
“As someone who has sold his prized Gretzky rookie to provide for his kids, I appreciate and respect this a lot,” commented one person.
“Just had to sell my signature MacKinnon jersey to pay bills. Sucked so much but kid comes first,” echoed another.
On the flip side, some shared their one experience of getting to repay their parents. One wrote:
“I got to do this for my mom last year. She won a [Dolce & Gabbana] purse one year at work and sold it to buy my prom dress and never thought twice. She never [got] name brand anything. So this year I took her to get her very first name brand fancy hand bag or her picking, my treat.”
But perhaps the best comment belonged to this person, who astutely pointed out: “The card wasn't the real gift to him. It was hearing his impact on you. Priceless.”
We might not all get to reclaim what our parents sacrificed. And that’s okay. There are so many other ways to share just how much of a positive impact they made on our lives. Even saying how much we appreciate them can be an invaluable reward. Yes. Really.
This article originally appeared on 12.23.23
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Pop Culture
Veterinarian lists things pet parents do that 'give him the ick' and they are spot-on
Though meant in good fun, these 'icks' could be helpful pointers for pet parents everywhere.
03.20.24
Representative Image from Canva
Ally McBeal first brought us the phrase “gives me the ick” back in 1999. And it’s recently had a resurgence, thanks to, you guessed it, TikTok. And while it’s mostly reserved to the dating world, the term can and has been used to describe virtually every red flag or pet peeve under the sun.
And now, thanks to Dr. Frank Bozelka, we can enjoy a veterinarian version of “icks.” And just to be clear, the icks in question don’t come from the patients themselves…but the pet parents.
While Dr. Bozelka is clearly just poking fun, he doesn’t shy away from highlighting some of the choices that pet parents make that cause some serious problems for their furry friends.
Things like trusting a breeder's opinion over a vet’s. Bolzelka’s number on ick.
As he points out in his video caption, breeders “are not medical experts.” He added that while there are certainly knowledgeable breeders out there—even some who taught him breed specific tidbits—”most of the time you’re dealing with a backyard breeder who is literally just trying to dodge any responsibility.”
Hence why his gut reaction when he hears someone refer to a breeder’s opinion as gospel is to “cringe.”
Even breeders agreed on this one. One wrote, “as a breeder I never give medical advice. I say: ‘please go see your vet.’ Maybe because I’m also a vet tech.”
Next on the list: when someone asks “if this were your dog what would you do?" then proceeds to do the opposite of what he’d do.
“Bro, why did you even ask me?” he says in the clip.
Ick #4: include buying a pet after doing zero research on the specific needs of the breed, which kind of goes into ick #3: getting a dog that needs lots of activity and making no lifestyle changes to accommodate…while also wondering why the poor thing is tearing up the house.
“I cannot stress this enough: DO NOT JUST BUY A BREED BECAUSE IT’S CUTE! DO! YOUR! HOMEWORK!” Bozelka wrote in all caps.And then there complaining about wait times at the ER. “We know it’s frustrating,” Bozelka writes, “The dirty truth, however, is the vast majority of the time it’s NOT the fault of the hospital staff. It’s the other owner and the cases we are seeing.”
Lastly, Dr. Bozelka listed retractable leashes as an ick, simply because they’re so dangerous. He’s seen “far more injuries caused” by them in comparison to other leashes, so better to be safe than sorry.@dr.bozelkaervet While there certainly are breeders that know their stuff, they are still not medical experts! Sure I’ve learned a few things from breeders about unique breeds I didn’t know, but it’s not very common. And the harsh reality of being a vet is that most of the time, you’re dealing with a backyard breeder that’s literally just trying to dodge any responsibility. So yes, our gut reaction when people say that is to cringe, sorry. I cannot stress this enough: DO NOT JUST BUY A BREED BECAUSE IT’S CUTE!!! DO! YOUR!! HOMEWORK!!! Make sure the breed is a good fit for your lifestyle, and make sure your lifestyle is a good fit for the breed! And for retractable leashes: I’ve seen far more injuries caused to dogs and humans from retractable leashes compared to other leashes. End of explanation. For number 6: stop complaining about the wait times. We know it’s frustrating. The dirty truth, however, is the vast majority of the time it’s NOT the fault of the hospital staff. It’s other owners and the cases we are seeing. #fyp #comedyvideo #satire #doglover #catlover #petlover #vetsoftiktok #drbozelka ♬ Funny video "Carmen Prelude" Arranging weakness(836530) - yo suzuki(akisai)
While not every vet might have the same icks as Bozelka, it’s easy to see how any one in his situation would be aggravated. Vets undergo years of education and training to help give our pets the best life possible. And when we make their job even harder, frustration is inevitable.
According to the website KeepingItPawsome.com, there are a few other behaviors that vets hate, including:
Overfeeding, trusting “Dr. Google” over their professional opinion, being verbally abusive or getting hysterical in the waiting room, not having pet insurance or an emergency fund, waiting too long before brining the pet in to get a check up, expecting free treatment or reduced fees, giving up on sick or old pets, trying medications or supplements without consulting them (again, Google can’t always be trusted), and last but not least—expecting a quick and easy fix.
Vets also want what’s best for our fur babies. So these are good things to remember as pet parents, so that we may better help them help us.
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Science
Yurok Tribe in California becomes first indigenous tribe to co-manage National Parks land
The Yurok had 90% of their homelands taken during the Gold Rush. Now they're getting some of it back.
03.20.24
The history of colonialism and the stealing of lands from indigenous peoples in the Americas is fraught with pain and suffering that has gone unseen by many. A growing Land Back movement has been fighting, in part, for indigenous people's reclamation of their ancestral homelands and the restoration of land management based on Native knowledge and practices.
One small but significant move in that direction has taken place in the redwood forests of northern California. The Yurok Tribe, who had 90% of their homelands stolen during the Gold Rush, has joined the Redwood National and State Parks and the nonprofit Save the Redwoods League in an agreement that will give ownership in 2026 of 125 acres (50 hectares) of land near Orick, California to the tribe.
According to the AP, the land is named 'O Rew in the Yurok language, and the tribe's cultural resources director Rosie Clayburn said the return of the land is proof of the “sheer will and perseverance of the Yurok people."
"We kind of don't give up," Clayburn said. The Yurok Tribe has been living along the Klamath River for thousands of years and is currently the largest indigenous tribe in California, with over 6,300 members. It is one of the few tribes in the state that lives on a portion of its ancestral lands.
The site being returned to the Yurok is about a mile from the Pacific coast and sits adjacent to the Redwood National and State Parks, home of the world's tallest trees. The Yurok people have always utilized the redwoods for building plankhouses, sweat lodges and canoes, though they traditionally only use trees that have fallen naturally.
Clayburn explained what the memorandum of understanding between the tribe and the parks service means.
“As the original stewards of this land, we look forward to working together with the Redwood National and State Parks to manage it,” she said. “This is work that we’ve always done, and continued to fight for, but I feel like the rest of world is catching up right now and starting to see that Native people know how to manage this land the best.”
Reconstructed plankhouse, the traditional dwelling of the Yurok Tribe in Redwood National Park
The tribe plans to build a traditional Yurok village on the site, as well as a new visitor and cultural center displaying sacred artifacts, sharing information on redwoods and forest restoration and serving as a hub for the tribe to carry out Yurok traditions, Clayburn said.
The site will also serve as a new gateway to the Redwood National and State Parks, with more than a mile of new trails that will connect to existing trails inside the parks. The trails will include a new segment of the popular California Coastal Trail with interpretive exhibits.
The agreement also sees the restoration of a salmon habitat in Prairie Creek that had been buried by a lumber operation. The Yurok have been working on restoring it for the past three years, bringing thousands of juvenile coho and chinook salmon and steelhead back to the stream where salmon traditionally swam upstream to spawn.
In this historic collaboration, the Yurok will be the first indigenous people to co-manage National Parks land. But there are many more examples of Native American and First Nations people working with government institutions and municipalities to return land and pass management back to the people with centuries of proven sustainable relationship to the land.
For instance, in 2018, the city of Vancouver returned a piece of land belonging to the Musqueam people, who had used the land as a sacred burial site. In 2012, the Land Buy-Back Program began in the U.S., consolidating and restoring nearly 3 million acres in 15 states to Tribal trust ownership and paying $1.69 billion to more than 123,000 interested individuals.
Another significant move toward the legal recognition of Native lands was the Supreme Court's 2020 ruling that the eastern half of Oklahoma, including much of Tulsa, is on tribal land. The ruling was deemed a huge win for tribal sovereignty and territorial boundaries, but the fact that the battle made its way to America's highest court (and had limitations placed on it in 2022 by the same court) is indicative of the struggle indigenous people face in reclaiming their ancestral lands.
The logistics of land rights, restoration and reclamation are complex from a legal standpoint, so it's heartening when an agreement can be made without protracted legal battles. Such agreements depend on the people engaged in them acting in good faith, which appears to have made this Yurok Tribe agreement successful.
As Redwoods National Park Superintendent Steve Mietz said, the restoration effort and partnership with the Yurok Tribe, it is “healing the land while healing the relationships among all the people who inhabit this magnificent forest."
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Joy
People are gushing over penguins picking out the perfect 'lucky charm' for their mate
“Oh to be a little penguin picking out a pretty rock for my love."
03.20.24
@detroitzoo/TikTok
Humans weren’t the only ones celebrating St. Paddy’s Day last Sunday. Penguins at the Detroit Zoo got in on the fun as well, only with more Valentine’s vibes.
“Love is king during penguin nesting time,” read the onscreen text for a video posted to the zoo’s TikTok, as the aquatic love birds scanned through a pile of colorful pebbles, searching for the perfect gift to present their partner. How romantic.
Out in the wild, this adorable courtship ritual is pretty standard, at least for Gentoo penguins. Male gentoos find a polished stone or pebble to offer their potential mates—Mother Nature’s engagement ring, if you will.
And just like many males of the human species, male penguins work very, very hard to find that perfect stone. After all, these are not only tokens of affection, but the literal building blocks of their nests, since they can withstand the wet, cold climate and protect their soon-to-be families.
Luckily for the penguins at the Detroit Zoo, they had plenty of beautiful options, aka “lucky charms” to choose from. And the zoo explained in the clip, each stone was “lovingly painted with non-toxic paint” by their Tots and Teens program.
Folks who watched the sweet pebble procuring were instantly enamored.
“Oh to be a little penguin picking out a pretty rock for my love,” one viewer wrote.
“Imagine painting a rock and then finding out a penguin uses it as an engagement rock,” wrote another.
Naturally, many were reminded of the 1995 cartoon “The Pebble and the Penguin,” starring Martin Short, Jim Belushi and Tim Curry.
Watch below, and marvel at these little creatures whose love language is obviously gift-giving.
@detroitzoo 🌈 Oh, what luck! 🌈 The penguins were gifted some "lucky charms" to give to their mates during nesting season! 🐧 #detroitzoo #detroit #zoo #penguins #matingseason #luckycharms #paintedpebbles #pretty #cute #michigan ♬ original sound - DetroitZoo
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