Battle of the Bands, formed by a group of students with an advisor 22 years ago, returned with a vengeance last February 11, 2023. During COVID-19, BoB was forced to transition to an online format for two years. The prelims of BoB took place just two weeks ago on January 28, 2023. Excitement and adrenaline were high that night. 

The event is the one place where students are given the chance to showcase their musical talent and where other students show their school spirit. BOB celebrated its 22nd anniversary this year with the achievement of being the biggest student-led event in ISM. 

Battle of the Bands is a fundraising event dedicated to the service partners of ISM. All of the money raised from the sales of merchandise and tickets are distributed equally for the needs of service partners. During the event, raffles were called and amazing prizes were given such as Airpods and passes to Disney Plus. 

Julia O., a member of the BoB committee says, “I can’t imagine a school year without BoB! The past two years online we’ve held virtual BoB’s but we are all just really happy to have it back on the ES field”. The committee has been working on this contest since about April last year which is why this event was promoted heavily throughout the weeks.

The finals of BoB were held on February 11, 2023, just last week, and I was grateful to experience this event first hand. During the contest, there were three categories that the performers were divided into: vocalists, bands, and lastly digital music. The roars and cheers from teachers, students, and even the ate’s and kuya’s, the service masters themselves, were filled with enthusiasm and were extremely uplifting and supportive towards the performers. 

Peers, classmates, and even students from other schools, whether or not they knew the performers, would crowd by the barriers singing and jumping to the songs that were being performed. In some acts, the crowd sang alongside the performers and everyone had a great time. 

The three first place winners of each category were announced at the end of the night. Chloe B. was given the trophy for the vocalist category, H.E.X.A.C.O.D.A received the trophy for the band category, and Minkyu S. was awarded the trophy for the digital music category. 

Internet users in Thailand were shocked as one of their favorite foods, Kaeng Som, was listed as the 12th Worst Dish in the world for February 2023 on the food website TasteAtlas, which focuses on authentic recipes, reviews from food critics, and research articles about well-known ingredients and dishes.

Using a scale of 1 to 5, TasteAtlas gave the curry a score of 2.3, which was expressed as a "sour, water-based Thai curry that is typically prepared with fish or shrimp and a thick paste that typically incorporates shallots, chilies, and shrimps."

Thai internet users disputed TasteAtlas' food review as they found it appetizing and tasty. Some people have even asserted that Kaeng Som is a typical dish and is even superior to the madly famous Pad Thai and Tom Yum Kung.

Using the hashtag "#saveแกงส้ม," Thai internet users have been criticizing and questioning why they gave Kaeng Som such a low rating when South Korea's Kimchi Jjigae had nearly identical ingredients but was left off the list. On Twitter, @kuvaraew posted a quote that included the hashtag "แล้วทำไมซุปกิมจิถึงรอดคะมันรสชาติเหมือนกัน #saveแกงส้ม” (So why did the kimchi soup survive? It tastes the same #saveแกงส้ม).

Kaeng Som has a long history in Thailand, at least dating back to the Kingdom of Ayutthaya. Popular all over the country. 

They pointed out that although the Kimchi stew and Kaeng Som shared similar ingredients and flavors, the latter did not make TasteAtlas' list of the Top 100 Worst Foods due to its score of 4.5.

On Sunday 5 Feb 2023, Beyonce Giselle Knowles, won her 32nd Grammy award, breaking the world-time record, for ‘Best Dance/Electronic Music Album for Renaissance” at the 2023, 65th Annual Grammy Awards Ceremony in Los Angeles.

World-famous singer and pop star, Beyonce, was nominated for 9 Grammy awards, including ‘Best Album’ which she had set her eyes on for many years. She was however overcome by British singer, Harry Styles, and went on to pick up three Grammys as ‘Best R. & B. Song’ for “Cuff It,” a highlight from her 2022 album, Renaissance, bringing her total amount to 31 Grammys. This was the same amount as the late Georg Solti, the former record holder, and a classical conductor. 

After much anticipation, she was nominated for her fourth and final Grammy of the night, which brought her overall total to 32 Grammys, surpassing Georg Solti and breaking his previous record. 

This historical achievement was quite complicated in comparison to Beyonce's Grammys background as she was a neglected Recording Academy artist, who had smaller and easier-based genre wins while just missing the titles in larger headline categories. 

Her award-winning album ‘Renaissance’ was selected for her euphoric dance opus. Beyoncé’s success was astonishing and the Grammy was awarded to her for her euphoric dance opus which truly showed her skills and experience.

"I'm trying not to be too emotional," said the singer, accepting her prize with tears of joy knowing that what she has achieved has inspired many around the globe to reach for their dreams and showing that hard work is rewarded with success. Beyonce also thanked her family and late uncle that helped with her outfits, dedicating her award to him. His battle with HIV was the influence that got her interested in dance music and its connections to the LGBTQ community on Renaissance.