Brandy, Rita Ora reunite for new ‘Descendants’ movie, tease duet

July 16, 2026 | 11:45 AM

Brandy Norwood and Rita Ora attend the premiere of Disney Channel Original Movie ‘Descendants: Wicked Wonderland’ on July 14, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. (Amy Sussman/Getty Images)

Brandy and Rita Ora are returning to the world of Descendants.

The actresses reprise their roles as Cinderella and the Queen of Hearts in Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, the next chapter following the success of Descendants: The Rise of Red.

Speaking with ABC News entertainment contributor Kelley Carter in an interview aired on Good Morning America Thursday, the stars shared how the new film reimagines familiar Disney characters while bringing their own friendship to the screen.

Ora said she was drawn to the complexity of playing her role.

“I did love the idea of the Queen of Hearts, you never really know if she’s pretending or if it’s real,” Ora said. “You’ve got obviously Cinderella, who is always that anchor within the movies.”

Meanwhile, Brandy added, “I did have my villain pants on … that’s new for Cinderella.”

The pair also teased a new duet, which they said is one of the moments they’re most excited for fans to see.

“It was magical. The song is called ‘The Girl I Used to Be.’ I think people are gonna love it,” Brandy said.

Ora agreed, saying, “It was my dream to be not only on a song with her, but also just in anything with her because I’ve been looking up to her since I can remember.”

Their collaboration was years in the making.

“What people don’t really know is that I met Rita when she got her start,” Brandy said. “I saw this beautiful light in her then and I see it now. And when we got a chance to do this movie together, I mean, our chemistry was just unmatched.”

Descendants: Wicked Wonderland premieres Wednesday on Disney Channel and begins streaming Friday on Disney+.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News and Disney Channel.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Young Americans have higher credit scores today than before Covid

By CNN
August 25, 2026 | 12:05 AM

New York (CNN) — Kelly Klein graduated from college with $100,000 in student loans that she feared would haunt her forever.“I expected I’d never pay off my student debt,” said Klein, who is 31 years old.But flash forward 10 years and Klein is now debt-free, her retirement account is flush and her credit score is pristine.“Every commission check I earned for the first six years went to paying off my debt. Every single penny,” said Klein, who is based in Nashville, Tennessee, and works as a loan officer at a community development financial institution.While millions of Americans are hurting from high prices and low hiring, new research suggests the finances of younger generations are displaying surprising resilience.Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 have higher credit scores today than they did just before Covid-19, according to FICO research shared first with CNN.Not only that, but that youngest generation’s 17-point increase in average credit scores since 2019 is the biggest among any age group FICO measured. The second biggest increase in credit scores over that timeframe was for the 30-to-44 cohort, otherwise known as Millennials.Most of the gains occurred during the initial stages of the health emergency when student loan payments were paused.Experts say younger Americans have benefited from access to better education about the importance of protecting credit scores to hold down payments later in life.“Gen Z is pretty savvy about credit. And they are more aware of credit scores, in part because there have been so many economic headwinds during their lives,” said Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree.‘A lot more knowledge’Overall FICO scores fell slightly between April 2025 and April 2026. However, credit scores for Gen Z are up by one point over that timeframe and roughly half have a very strong FICO score of 700 or above.Klein, who is a Millennial, said she learned valuable lessons about finance and investing from experts on social media. Klein also said she joined a free webinar on opening a brokerage account and familiarized herself with tax strategies and how to maximize credit card rewards.“We have a lot more knowledge than previous generations did. A lot of it was gate-kept, especially from women, and tailored toward men. Luckily, I feel like financial education is more available,” she said.Another factor: Younger borrowers are at or near the beginning of their credit journeys, giving them the most room to grow their credit scores. FICO said it doesn’t take into consideration age when scoring borrowers, but it does evaluate how long someone has been able to successfully make payments on time.As consumers take on different kinds of debt — moving from just credit cards and student debt to car loans and mortgages — they open themselves up to being better borrowers. That’s a key factor in determining credit scores.Schulz compared younger Americans increasing their credit scores with a new driver borrowing Mom or Dad’s car.“The first few times they might put some real restrictions on you. But if you show you can handle it over time, they might not think at all about letting you borrow the car. Credit is very similar,” Schulz said. “Having time and experience handling credit responsibly leads to credit scores being higher.”K-shaped economy is evidentMore emphasis on being responsible borrowers may help explain why, at a high level, average credit scores for younger Americans have held up better than might be expected in today’s economic environment, where high-income earners have seen their wealth grow faster than low-income earners.As of April, nearly half (49.6%) of borrowers aged 18-29 had a strong credit score of 700 or above, according to FICO. That’s up from 41.4% in April 2020.However, there are disparities beneath the surface that underscore the K-shaped economy.For instance, FICO said the score distribution for 18-29 year olds has shifted toward both higher and lower scores “rather than clustering in the middle.”In other words, high credit scores today for young people are higher than in 2019 — but so are low ones.“There’s a lot of fragmentation among Gen Z. Many of them are thriving. Some are struggling and relying on support from parents. We’re definitely seeing a K-shaped economy,” said Tommy Lee, senior director at FICO.3.2 million borrowers are behind on student debtOne pressure facing younger Americans is the spike in housing costs driven by elevated mortgage rates and record-high home prices.The average monthly mortgage payment for a first-time homebuyer is 57% higher than in 2019, according to FICO.Another arguably bigger factor is the return of student debt payments and credit bureau reporting after a Covid-era pause.As of April, about 3.2 million Americans of all ages with a student loan payment due (or 14%) had a recent delinquency (30 days or more past due) reported in the prior six months, according to FICO.Those borrowers who fell behind on their student loans and were deemed delinquent saw their FICO score decline by an average of 38 points.By contrast, another 4.9 million borrowers either resolved a delinquency or moved into another repayment status, such as starting a repayment plan. Those consumers experienced an average credit score increase of 16 points, according to FICO.Schulz, the LendingTree expert, stressed that missed payments carry severe consequences that can haunt borrowers for many years — especially when they need to get a mortgage.“It really only takes one payment 30 days or more late to really do damage to your credit score,” he said.The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

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