144. Aaliyah Part 4: The Actress

Today I'm so excited to welcome my guest Tonica, who is the owner of the longest running fan pages in history: Aaliyah Unleashed (@aaliyahunleashed on instagram) which has been active since 1999. Tonica shares the inspiration Aaliyah provided her as a young woman, how she empowered Black people in unique ways, and why she is still considered to be such a unique and special part of music history. She also gives her opinion on many different aspects of Aaliyah's career including her thoughts on the upcoming posthumous album and what she would do if put in charge of Aaliyah's legacy.PATREON Subscribers heard this episode completely ad-free! Join our community at Patreon.com/AshleeAndJessicast for bonus content, commentaries, and more! Starts at $5 a month, cancel anytime. FOLLOW AALIYAH UNLEASHEDInstagram: @aaliyahunleashedhttps://www.facebook.com/AaliyahUnleashed/SIGN THE PETITIONSAaliyah for Rock N Roll Hall of Fame: https://tinyurl.com/2s47nf8kInstagram: @inductaaliyahAaliyah for Hollywood Walk of Fame: https://tinyurl.com/46b37u8tFOLLOW THE PODCASTInstagram & TikTok: @ashleeandjessicastTwitter: @ashleejessicast Send an email at [email protected] code ASHLEEANDJESSICAST for 15% full priced items on JessicaSimpson.com - total must be at least $100 before discountFOLLOW LIA Lia-Russo.com Instagram & Twitter: @capriamoon TikTok: @liarussonyc 

We begin today's episode by going track-by-track through the latter half of Aaliyah's self-titled album and thank the lawd for that because the rest of this episode is a tough one - we have come to August 25, 2001; the day Aaliyah died. Many listeners requested a deep dive on this rather than an overview, so here we go. I discuss her final days, relationship with Dame Dash, the background on how and why the plane ended up crashing, conspiracy theories, reactions from fans/friends/celebrities, the other people who were on the plane, her funeral, and so much more. This is one of my most heavily researched and time consuming episodes and I hope you feel I handled this difficult topic well. PATREON Subscribers heard this episode completely ad-free! Join our community at Patreon.com/AshleeAndJessicast for bonus content, commentaries, and more! Starts at $5 a month, cancel anytime. FOLLOW THE PODCASTInstagram & TikTok: @ashleeandjessicastTwitter: @ashleejessicast Send an email at [email protected] LIA Lia-Russo.com Instagram & Twitter: @capriamoon TikTok: @liarussonyc 

Today begins our deep dive into Aaliyah's third album, Aaliyah. Baby Girl once again wanted to walk down a new road with her music, refusing to stay stagnant and rest on her laurels. What resulted was a lush, diverse, mature set of songs that set the tune for the summer of 2001. Eight weeks later, we would lose her, so I really wanted to give her work the flowers it deserves before getting into the plane crash. PATREON Subscribers heard this episode early and completely ad-free! Join our community at Patreon.com/AshleeAndJessicast for bonus content, commentaries, and more! Starts at $5 a month, cancel anytime. FOLLOW THE PODCASTInstagram & TikTok: @ashleeandjessicastTwitter: @ashleejessicast Send an email at [email protected] LIA Lia-Russo.com Instagram & Twitter: @capriamoon TikTok: @liarussonyc 

It's time to dust yourself off!!!! Get your ass up and try again ... and let today's episode be your soundtrack! Today we discuss Aaliyah's biggest hit, the Romeo Must Die soundtrack, her transition into her final era, the hot mess that is Queen of the Damned, and so much more. PATREON Subscribers heard this episode early and completely ad-free! Join our community at Patreon.com/AshleeAndJessicast for bonus content, commentaries, and more! Starts at $5 a month, cancel anytime. FOLLOW THE PODCASTInstagram & TikTok: @ashleeandjessicastTwitter: @ashleejessicast Send an email at [email protected] LIA Lia-Russo.com Instagram & Twitter: @capriamoon TikTok: @liarussonyc 

Unfortunately chaos struck my life this week and I had no time to work on the episode I had planned, but I had plenty of questions left over from last week so the show must go on. I discuss Ashlee Simpson's upcoming Vegas residency, the most embrassing fangirly thing I've ever done, why I love JLo, the music i'm obsessed with right now, Pink, the worst FMK I've ever done (John Mayer, Nick Lachey, Scooter Braun... I wanted to jump off the roof...) what I'd want at my personal Taylor Swift concert and more!PATREON Subscribers heard an EXTENDED, AD-FREE version of this episode! Join our community at Patreon.com/AshleeAndJessicast for bonus content, commentaries, and more! Starts at $5 a month, cancel anytime. FOLLOW THE PODCASTInstagram & TikTok: @ashleeandjessicastTwitter: @ashleejessicast Send an email at [email protected] LIA Lia-Russo.com Instagram & Twitter: @capriamoon TikTok: @liarussonyc 

I can't stop crying. We did it kids!!! Of course I had to talk about Ashlee's return to the music industry and Taylor owning her masters but as usual I answer your questions and go off on fangirly tangents. ENJOY!!!!There's an ad-free version of this episode on Patreon, along with 150+ posts of bonus audio & video content. Join us at ⁠patreon.com/ashleeandjessicast⁠PATREON Subscribers heard this episode early and completely ad-free! Join our community at Patreon.com/AshleeAndJessicast for bonus content, commentaries, and more! Starts at $5 a month, cancel anytime. FOLLOW THE PODCASTInstagram & TikTok: @ashleeandjessicastTwitter: @ashleejessicast Send an email at [email protected] LIA Lia-Russo.com Instagram & Twitter: @capriamoon TikTok: @liarussonyc 

My voice did not fully come back in time for recording so I am unlocking a highly requested Patreon episode today all about Newlyweds. Don't forget to tell me your favorite moments from the show too!!PATREON Subscribers heard an extended version of this episode early and completely ad-free! Join our community at Patreon.com/AshleeAndJessicast for bonus content, commentaries, and more! Starts at $5 a month, cancel anytime. FOLLOW THE PODCASTInstagram & TikTok: @ashleeandjessicastTwitter: @ashleejessicast Send an email at [email protected] LIA Lia-Russo.com Instagram & Twitter: @capriamoon TikTok: @liarussonyc

Today we dive into Aaliyah's acting career which began in the y2k wire fu Romeo & Juliet-inspired totally insane movie Romeo Must Die.PATREON Subscribers heard this episode completely ad-free! Join our community at Patreon.com/AshleeAndJessicast for bonus content, commentaries, and more! Starts at $5 a month, cancel anytime. FOLLOW THE PODCASTInstagram & TikTok: @ashleeandjessicastTwitter: @ashleejessicast Send an email at [email protected] LIA Lia-Russo.com Instagram & Twitter: @capriamoon TikTok: @liarussonyc 

This week we have a listener request on Miss Britney Jean Spears! I was asked by a Gen Z listener what it was like to grow up with Britney and experience her magical reign over the pop music world and well... I was all too happy to revisit that! In this episode, I go through some of my thoughts on what it was like to be a Britney fan growing up, some of my fun Britney experiences, what the public was saying, and much more! Aaliyah will be back next week :)There's an ad-free extended version of this episode on Patreon, along with 150+ posts of bonus audio & video content. Join us at ⁠patreon.com/ashleeandjessicast⁠FOLLOW THE PODCASTInstagram & TikTok: @ashleeandjessicastTwitter: @ashleejessicast Send an email at [email protected] LIA Lia-Russo.com Instagram & Twitter: @capriamoon TikTok: @liarussonyc 

This week's installment of my Aaliyah series is so much fun because we get to discuss a bunch of projects that in my opinion really cemented Aaliyah's position in pop culture forevermore and made her, well, iconic. In between her 2nd & 3rd albums, she didn't rest for a second, continuing to make groundbreaking and innovative moves. From Tommy Hilfiger to the Oscars, a baby's laugh to the Grammys... babygirl's world was expanding constantly and for a short time, we were lucky enough to witness it.There's an ad-free extended version of this episode on Patreon, along with 150+ posts of bonus audio & video content. Join us at ⁠patreon.com/ashleeandjessicast⁠PATREON Subscribers heard this episode completely ad-free! Join our community at Patreon.com/AshleeAndJessicast for bonus content, commentaries, and more! Starts at $5 a month, cancel anytime. FOLLOW THE PODCASTInstagram & TikTok: @ashleeandjessicastTwitter: @ashleejessicast Send an email at [email protected] LIA Lia-Russo.com Instagram & Twitter: @capriamoon TikTok: @liarussonyc