HANSON: Tulsa on the Brain
WEEKLY PIC
This week all of our guests planning to join us for Hanson Day can prepare for their Tulsa excursions with the 2025 Tulsa Guide. It seems to get better every year.
Taylor Hanson among guest artists at Tulsa Theater celebration of Leon Russell’s legacy
Leon Russell’s touring band will be joined by guest artists at a Friday, May 2 concert event dubbed “Leon Live Presents: The Shelter People.”
Culture Summit Abu Dhabi
Taylor participated last week in the CultureSummit Abu Dhabi, participating in 2 panels
Anna Kendrick’s Voice Is So Powerful Covering Journey in This Song Scramble Challenge
We gotta hand it to Anna Kendrick — we’ve never heard someone cover Journey’s iconic “Don’t Stop Believin'” like this before!
The Another Simple Favor star’s April 28 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon coincided with the show’s latest creation: a segment called “Song Scramble.” The premise is simple enough, but the pressure of execution definitely caused Kendrick to squirm in her seat beforehand.
“We’re gonna take turns hitting this button, which activates our ‘Song Scrambler,'” Jimmy Fallon explained. “It’ll land on two totally different songs, and it’s up to us to sing the lyrics of one song over the melody of the other, okay? It’s gonna get tricky…”
When Fallon asked if she was ready, an apprehensive Kendrick was refreshingly (and hilariously) honest.
“I wish I was dead,” she joked with a smile. “It’s gonna be great.”
And that’s when Kendrick reminded us that the Pitch Perfect actress has got pipes.
Anna Kendrick sings “Don’t Stop Believin’ (That Baby’s Got Back)” on The Tonight Show
After the duo warmed up with combinations like “the lyrics of ‘I’m Too Sexy’ sang over the melody of ‘Espresso,” and Hanson’s “‘MMMBop” sang over Benson Boone‘s ‘Beautiful Things,” Kendrick’s Broadway roots started to shine.
For Kendrick’s final performance, she was instructed to belt the well-known lyrics of the Sir Mix-a-Lot classic “Baby Got Back” set to the tune of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'” — and she did not disappoint. Watch her unreal performance above.
Despite being put on the spot, Kendrick showed off her world-class vocals as she sang the alternate-lyric “Don’t Stop Believin,'” absolutely going for it during the final “You get sprung” line from the rap classic — she hit that high note beautifully.
Anna Kendrick raved about visiting The Traitors castle
Kendrick is a self-described “superfan” of The Traitors. In addition to attending the Traitors Experience Activation in Los Angeles, she told Fallon about getting to travel to the actual Traitors castle in Scotland. She described the trip on Instagram as “the best, and dorkiest trip of my life.”
“We went all around Scotland and then we got to go to the Traitors castle — and, like, we played a round of The Traitors,” Kendrick shared — complete with a tap on the shoulder from Alan Cumming that Kendrick did NOT want.
“So, I suspected we were going to play a round of The Traitors, so I told the people that put it together — I was like, “Please don’t pick me to be a Traitor! I’m too sweaty and nervous, and I couldn’t. Please just let me be a Faithful.”
“But then, as you saw, Alan Cumming shows up as a total surprise. So, then they do the whole thing where we put the blindfolds on, and Alan Cumming is gonna —”
“He goes around the table to tap you on the shoulder?!” Fallon asked in envy.
“Yes! And every time, I can hear him going around me with the blindfold on. I start going, ‘No! No. No, no, no, no, no, no,'” Kendrick says, demonstrating her artful dodges. “And when we take the blindfolds off, someone’s like, ‘I heard a lot of movement over here whenever Alan was…’ And I was like, ‘No, no, no. I was moving away! Away! I’m a Faithful. I was moving away from the tap.”
Kendrick said everyone quickly gathered that she’d be “so bad at this game,” — but she did figure out who one of the Traitors was, so she remains a dream contestant in our book.
Watch Anna Kendrick’s Tonight Show interview below.
HANSON: HDay Coming Soon
WEEKLY PIC
With BTTI taking a break in 2026 we are reflecting on the amazing times so far. What’s been your favorite BTTI memory? Continue reading
Hanson singer Taylor, 42, shocks fans as the father of SEVEN reveals his eldest daughter Penny – who band’s hit song is written about – turns 20!
Hanson’s lead singer Taylor has shocked fans by revealing his daughter is now 20-years-old.
The musician, 42, shared a sweet selfie with his daughter Penny, who the band’s hit song Penny & Me is written about.
Taylor looked effortlessly cool in oversized blue shades and a T-shirt, with Penny smiling alongside him during a recent family holiday.
Taylor shares seven children with his wife Natalie – sons Ezra, 19, River, 15, Viggo, 13, and Indiana, 3, and daughters Penelope, Wilhelmina, 9, and Maybellene, 18 months.
And fans were stunned to learn his eldest has turned 20 this week, with one penning: ‘Who else is feeling old?’; ’20?! Howww’;
‘Penny is 20???! Gosh now I feel old Taylor – can still remember you announcing that she was born!! She is gorgeous, just like her mum & dad! Happy Birthday Penny’;
Hanson’s lead singer Taylor has shocked fans by revealing his daughter is now 20-years-old
US band Hanson – made up of three brothers Isaac, 44, Taylor and Zac, 39 – are best known for their 1997 hit song MMMBop from their debut album Middle of Nowhere, which earned three Grammy nominations
‘Oh my goodness… I just… I feel VERY old now lol. Wasn’t she just 3 yesterday? HAPPY 20th Birthday’;
‘Oh my penny love that song and HBD lovely penny’
Speaking to People magazine earlier this year, Taylor shared his kid’s relationship with music.
‘You definitely see the way they reflect on what it is to have a musical family,’ he said.
‘You also see that people are going to be who they are. I have some that are extremely like, ‘I want to be on stage. I want to be a drummer. I want to play music.’
‘One of my boys said at one point, ‘You know, Dad, I think I want to control the musicians, not be one.’ I was like, ‘Okay, that’s scary.’ Future manager,’ the musician further said.
‘Even though we’re parents, and we’ve seen our kids get older, we’re doing many of the things that we were doing back when we were teenagers, and they’ve seen that,’ he continued.
‘Especially with my older kids, they’ve really seen what it means to go on tour. They know that it’s going to be a lot of fun, for sure, but it’s a lot of work. Hopefully they get and appreciate that side of it,’ Taylor added.
Taylor shares seven children with his wife Natalie (pictured) – sons Ezra, 19, River, 15, Viggo, 13, and Indiana, 3, and daughters Penelope, Wilhelmina, 9, and Maybellene, 18 months
Hanson are best known for their 1997 hit song MMMBop from their debut album Middle of Nowhere (pictured in 1998)
Today, Hanson’s long blonde locks are a thing of the past for some members of the bands and they have grown into their looks (pictured in 2019)
US band Hanson – made up of three brothers Isaac, 44, Taylor and Zac, 39 – are best known for their 1997 hit song MMMBop from their debut album Middle of Nowhere, which earned three Grammy nominations.
When Hanson rose to fame as teenagers, they were known for their long hair, baggy clothes and energetic performances.
Today, the long blonde locks are a thing of the past for some members of the bands and they have grown into their looks.
The brothers previously reflected on their stardom in a 2022 interview with People and shared that they felt they were ‘lucky that we’ve always been a little bit of an anomaly’ when it comes to how they came together to form a family band and make music together.
‘To be brothers who don’t fight that much and who share a dream, that’s unique,’ Zac shared.
‘We’ve been a band for a long time, and a lot of people go, “Wow, you’re normal,” because the industry has a way of leaving its marks on people. But we just always had a really strong sense of place.’
HANSON: Inspiration
Taylor at Outeroo
Edit: Due to severe weather, the remainder of Bonnaroo has been canceled.
Taylor is set to perform what we believe to be a DJ set at Outeroo (The campgrounds at Boneroo) on Sunday, June 15, 2025.
