Contributor: Kristin Smith

kristin-smith

Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).

Mary Poppins Returns

Mary Poppins Returns reminds us that though circumstances may bring us down, together “there is nowhere to go but up.”

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Imagine

Ariana’s back with another song about emotional and physical intimacy. But this time around, it’s not all about the latter.

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Mary Queen of Scots

Mary Queen of Scots may be well acted. But it’s still a wincingly difficult R-rated film to watch.

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Old Town Road

Does Billy Ray Cyrus’ collaboration with Lil Nas X qualify as country? Whatever the answer, the song is definitely a hit.

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The Pains of Growing

Growing up, and breaking up, can both be hard to do—lessons Alessia Cara sings about on her sophomore effort.

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A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding

At its heart, this innocent, romantic tale encourages viewers to speak up when injustice threatens to prevail.

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Championships

For all that Meek Mill gets right, his latest explicit effort still very much warrants the Parental Advisory sticker on its cover.

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Nothing Breaks Like a Heart

Mark Ronson teams up with Miley Cyrus to offer a grim glimpse at a broken romance … and a broken world.

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The Christmas Chronicles

When two children meet Santa in this streaming Netflix movie, they’re reminded of what really matters: love, hope and joy.

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The Princess Switch

The characters here learn important lessons about life, love and honor as self-sacrifice shines brightly in this Netflix original.

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Love

Michael Bublé’s first new music since his son was diagnosed with cancer bubbles over with love and affection.

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Delta

Mumford & Sons’ latest, by the band’s own admission, deals with the “four Ds”: death, divorce, drugs and depression.

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Experiment

Kane Brown’s sound pushes country’s sonic boundaries. His messages? A more familiar mix of positive and problematic.

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The Girl in the Spider’s Web: A New Dragon Tattoo Story

The nasty web this sequel weaves is still sticky with R-rated problems.

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Origins

Imagine Dragons returns with another paradox-filled journey through the messy intersection of grief and hope.

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