Month: October 2020

The presidential election is right around the corner and many musicians are using their large platforms to urge young people to cast their ballots. Artists like Taylor Swift and Tyler The Creator have expressed the importance of voting and now, JoJo is lending her voice to call for progress on the the poignant track “The Change.”

Not only is “The Change” JoJo’s latest single following her comeback record Good To Know, but it was also chosen to be Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ official campaign anthem. Written by Diane Warren, the song’s message states that one must look within before starting to make any meaningful changes.

“I’m gonna be the change / I’m gonna start with my heart / I’m gonna be the light, be that light, my own light,” JoJo sings over an orchestral swell.

In a statement about writing the track, Warren said: “I am honored and humbled that Joe Biden has chosen to feature my song ‘The Change’ as part of the Get Out the Vote effort in this critical election. ‘The Change’ is a song about how change begins with us. We live in a time where a change is needed now more than ever. I hope this song inspires us all to realize that each one of us has the power to change the world.”

Echoing Warren’s statement, Jojo praised the songwriter: “Diane Warren is one of the most prolific songwriters of any generation, and over the years she has become a friend and mentor. When she sent me ‘The Change’ a few weeks ago, I felt passionately about being the voice to bring her song to life. I always try to use my voice for good, but it’s especially meaningful to be singing these words at a time when our country needs to hear them more than ever. For the song to be chosen by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as their ‘campaign anthem’ is an absolute honor. I hope it can help make a difference.”

Listen to “The Change” above.

JoJo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Selena Gomez has had a busy year thus far, despite life largely spent in quarantine. Not only did the singer release her comeback record Rare in January, but she launched her own beauty brand, was recognized for her work at the 2020 Hispanic Heritage Awards, and started her own cooking show on HBO. Now, Gomez is reflection on one year of “Lose You To Love Me” by appeasing fans with a demo version of the No. 1 single.

As promised with a demo version, Gomez’s new “Lose You To Love Me” single features all of the emotion behind the studio track, just without the room-filling production. The singer still manages to convey heartbreak through emotive piano keys and her soaring vocal range, singing of finding her true self after leaving a particularly tumultuous relationship with Justin Bieber.

Ahead of the demo’s release, Gomez opened up about what “killed” her during the song’s recording process. Speaking to the Song Exploder podcast last week, Gomez said the song’s bridge was the most poignant part of the track for her: “This song alone represents what a lot of people who are heartbroken have gone through. One of the hardest parts for me to sing in the song was the bridge. It’s the ending of the song, and that’s the part where it’s like, ‘You know, I guess this is goodbye forever for us.’ And that killed me.”

Listen to Gomez’s “Lose You To Love Me (Demo Version)” above.

Rare is out now via Interscope. Get it here.

If you caught any of Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty Show Vol 2 — or merely spent any time on Twitter yesterday — you’ll know that last night Rihanna proved once and for all that she is the queen of undergarments. One glimpse of Rihanna’s diverse and all-inclusive cast of models and you’ll see that with Savage X Fenty, Rihanna is unlocking sexuality across a spectrum of body types in a way that looks a hell of a lot more like real life and, as a result, is a hell of a lot more fun than other lingerie brands.

The Savage X Fenty Vol 2 runway show, which is currently streamable on Amazon Prime, followed the template laid out by Rihanna’s first show, with a runway-meets-concert format that was such a feast for the eyes that we forgot that there wasn’t a live audience. The show featured a mix of high-profile models, celebrities, and performances which included Cara Delavigne, Soo Park, Paris Hilton, Miguel, Willow Smith, and an unforgettable rendition of D’Angelo’s “Brown Sugar” by none other than Lizzo rocking blue fishnet lingerie. That performance alone is worth watching the full show.

This Savage X Fenty Show vol 2 was also notable for coinciding with the launch of Rihanna’s first men’s underwear and sleepwear collection, which means Rihanna officially makes lingerie for everyone now. Check out some highlights from the show below.

EA Sports may have made fans wait for NHL 21, but they’re doing what they can to get fans excited about the title thanks to a retro mode announced on Friday.

NHL 21, which has seen production delays push the game’s release date to October 13 after “major adjustments” to its development schedule, announced a mode that gives fans modern rosters with a beloved version of perhaps the series’ best games: NHL 94.

The video didn’t reveal too much in 15 seconds, though it certainly did the job of providing a jolt of nostalgia. The classic NHL 94 title track played while a pixelated hockey player — clearly Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin — gave a gap-toothed smile.

EA announced Friday that if you preorder NHL 21, gamers will get NHL 94 Rewind, an updated version of the genre-defining classic. Few details about the game itself were given, other than the fact that EA promised NHL 94 Rewind to anyone who preordered, so it’s unclear if it’ll come out in any form or fashion beyond this. There’s certainly an appetite for retro hockey, though, as some dedicated fans actually worked to keep an updated version of an NHL 94 rom that could be played with a classic console emulator on a computer.

How NHL 94 Rewind plays with a modern gaming controller isn’t clear, but it’s a neat perk to preordering the latest version of the company’s hockey sim, especially if you’ve played a lot of EA hockey games over the years.

The Miami Heat are headed into Game 2 of the 2020 NBA Finals shorthanded, as starting center Bam Adebayo is out with a shoulder injury. The good news is the team reportedly thinks he’ll could be able to play in Game 3, but the bad news is that Adebayo will not be the only starter who can’t take the floor on Friday night.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Goran Dragic will not be able to play against the Los Angeles Lakers in the second game of this series, either. Dragic suffered a torn plantar fascia during Game 1, and while he was listed as doubtful to play in Game 2, reports indicated he was going to see how he felt before making a decision. Ultimately, however, it seems like he will be unable to give it a go.

Dragic has looked like an All-Star caliber guard this postseason, and his absence has the potential to be devastating for Miami, regardless of whether Adebayo is able to return to the team at some point in the Finals. In his absence, perhaps the Heat will turn to more Jimmy Butler running the offense or rookie guard Kendrick Nunn, who performed well during the regular season, has fallen out of the rotation during the playoffs due to a battle with COVID-19, and played well in extended run at the end of Game 1.

Game 2 of the Finals tips off Friday night at 9 p.m. EST on ABC. The Lakers lead the series, 1-0, after an 18-point win on Wednesday night.

Casey couldn’t wait to marry her fiancé, Alex. The moment she met him she know he was The One and they had spent six years together. But on the night before the wedding, she learned the horrible truth about him and was forced to make the toughest decision of her life.

On the eve of her wedding, she was hanging out with her friends in a glitzy hotel room when her phone rang.

“Phone is running hot tonight,” commented one of her bridesmaids.

She was expecting another well-wisher sending their love on the last night of her life as a single woman, but this wasn’t the case.

“The message was a series of screenshots from a number I didn’t recognize. The accompanying message simply said, ‘I wouldn’t marry him. Will you?’ Casey told Body and Soul.

The anonymous text contained countless screenshots of conversations between Alex and a mystery woman accompanied by photos they had taken together. Casey immediately noticed the woman looked different from her.

Casey is fair-skinned with blonde hair, this woman had dark hair and olive skin.

Some of the texts were a few days old and others were from months before.

“This weekend. You and I. It is on, hot stuff. Bring your A game.”

“Your body is fucking incredible. And shit do you know how to use it. I wish my GF had half the skills you do.”

“I miss you so much. I can’t stop thinking about L, S, F’ing you. I’ve never had this kind of connection before.”

Casey had no doubt the messages were legitimate and was immediately plunged into an unbelievable situation. “Every word like a dagger in my heart and my wedding was only hours away,” she said. “How could I cancel when everyone had already travelled to be there and everything was paid for?”

The bride-to-be was consumed by tears and her bridesmaids threatened to violently confront her cheating finance.

She went back to her hotel room that night and laid next to her fiancé, contemplating her next move. “I didn’t sleep a wink and when dawn finally broke I awoke the girls and told them my decision — I was going to go ahead with the wedding as expected, and out him in front of our friends and family,” she said.

As the couple walked down the aisle on what should have been one of the happiest days of her life, the anguish was written all over her face. Alex knew that something was wrong, but had no idea what was coming.

“I arrived at the front of the room, took a big breath and I faced our friends, our parents and I told them the truth about Alex,” she said.

“There will be no wedding today,” she announced to the crowd of friends and family. “It seems Alex is not who I thought he was.”

A shock rippled through the crowd. Alex tried to grab Casey’s hands but she held up her phone instead. “I read every single message she sent me. With each word, more color left Alex’s face,” Casey said.

The groom stormed out of the church with his best man in tow.

Alex then addressed the audience. “I love all of you and as horrible as this is I’m glad you all are here. There will not be a wedding reception today, but instead, there will be a celebration of honesty, finding true love and following your heart even when it hurts,” she said.

Learning that your finance is a cheat the night before the wedding and having to deal with the emotional impact of the texts and photos must have devastated Casey to the core. It was too late to call off the wedding, so she did what was best, she forced her cheating fiance to face the music by using his own words.

Then, instead of turning the even into a funeral, she decided to throw a party celebrating what really matters in life.

“It was certainly not the wedding day I had planned but to our credit, it was one hell of a party,” she said.

The human cost of the coronavirus pandemic can be measured in many ways. Illness and death top the list, of course, but the mental, emotional, and economic toll must be acknowledged as well. Though the woefully inconsistent and inadequate U.S. response has led to far more suffering than necessary, and although better control of the pandemic would have saved us from a lot of it, some struggles were inevitable.

One industry that was going to be hit hard one way or the other is the airline industry. With people being advised to stay home and avoid close proximity with others, especially in enclosed spaces, airplane travel has been out. And seven months in, the ongoing hit has become unsustainable. As of October 1, 40,000 airline employees have been furloughed.

One flight attendant’s heartfelt farewell as she crewed her final flight has been shared by ABC’s Sam Sweeney, and phew, it’s a doozy. She holds back tears as she explains how American Airlines has been forced to reduce flights, which has resulted in job cuts and how much she has loved working as a flight attendant.

After thanking the passengers and the airline for the opportunity to “see this big world” and to make lifelong friendships—having to take a few breaks to compose herself as she was speaking—she called on everyone to practice kindness and compassion toward one another. It’s a heart-wrenching clip that puts a human face on the economic toll the pandemic has taken.

Some efforts have been made to avoid such job losses. Oregon Representative Peter DeFazio attempted to pass a bill in the House to save those jobs—an extension of the Payroll Relief Program from the CARES Act—but it was blocked by the GOP. DeFazio gave an impassioned speech decrying the block.

“Flight attendants, they don’t get paid a heck of a lot of money,” he said. “Pilots—yeah, they do well. Mechanics, gate agents, tens of thousands of those people have been furloughed as of yesterday. They’ve lost their jobs, they’ve lost their healthcare, some of them are going to lose their homes. They don’t know how they’re going to make ends meet, feed their kids, or do anything else, all because the Republicans in the House of Representatives would not agree, and the Republicans in the Senate will not agree to a larger package that contains these provisions. These are vital provisions, they’re time-sensitive, but the larger package would provide relief to tens of millions of Americans—the HEROES package would extend healthcare to people who’ve lost it, the HEROES package would extend unemployment to people who’ve lost it, the HEROES package would send out individual checks, the HEROES package would send money to keep small businesses going…”

DeFazio’s time ran out and his request for another minute was denied.

“Well I’m sorry, I’m not gonna stop talking. I’m tired of bureaucracy around here—it’s time to do real things for the American people!” he shouted. “And this is real. These people’s lives are at stake.”

The pandemic has been tough on all of us, but when jobs and businesses are hit by forces beyond their control and Americans are losing their livelihoods by the millions, it’s time for the government to stop the bleeding any way it can. And when partisan bickering gets in the way of helping the American people, it’s time to make our voices heard at the ballot box.

Ever since Jhené Aiko debuted her stunning album Chilombo earlier this year, the singer has continued to feed fans even more content. She followed-up the album’s release with a deluxe version, which included four bonus tracks, and has shared a handful of visuals like the recent meditative video “Speak.” The singer even appeared on NPR’s Tiny Desk series to offer a masterclass in sound therapy. Now, Aiko reveals she has another special project in the works — a brand-new track which will debut during the upcoming Black-ish episode.

This Sunday’s Black-ish episode is an hour-long, animated special surrounding the election. Lending her voice on the show, Aiko’s song “Vote” will play during the episode and convey a message which urges Americans to cast their ballots in November’s election. The song is a fitting edition to the Black-ish special, as the episode follows the Johnsons navigating upcoming election: Junior embarks on his journey as a first-time voter and Dre launches an exploration into local politics.

In a statement about the upcoming single, Aiko expressed the importance of voting. “Now more than ever it is vital that we all VOTE,” Aiko said. “It was an honor working with ‘Black-ish’ to bring you this song.”

Hear a snippet of Aiko’s “Vote” above.

The Black-ish election special premieres 10/4 at 10 p.m. EDT on ABC. Watch it here.

With September behind us, summer is officially over and we’re in the full fall swing. Even Oktoberfest would have ended this coming Sunday, bringing about a world of hefty stouts and all the pumpkin beer you can drink until the holidays hit in less than two months.

October tends to be a good month for beer. A fair amount of winter warmers are being released this month — though, we’ll wait until November and December to call those out. In the meantime, there are plenty of darker ales, funky IPAs, and crisp lagers around to help you adjust to the change in weather and falling leaves.

Hopefully, the eight beers we’re giving love to this month will pique your interest and inspire you to explore exciting expressions made near you or sold at your closest bottle shop. The picks below are regional craft beer releases from breweries that we vouch for (we weren’t able to taste them all this month because of the continued pandemic, so we’re offering tasting notes from the brewers where necessary).

PACIFIC NORTHWEST DROP: Deschutes Rip City Lager

Style: Adjunct Lager
ABV: 4.8%

The Beer:

Oregon’s Deschutes has been consistently putting out quality craft brews since the 1980s. So, when there’s a new Deschutes release, craft beer lovers (in the PNW especially) pay attention. Rip City Lager is that new release that also happens to celebrate the Portland Trailblazers and the nickname the team brought to the city.

The beer itself is made with Pilsner malt and unmalted wheat and hopped with a combo of Lemondrop, Crystal, and Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops.

Tasting Notes (from the brewer):

Cheers to Rip City with this light, lemony lager that’s crisp and crushable.

SOUTHWEST DROP: Sierra Nevada Celebration Fresh Hop IPA

Style: American IPA
ABV: 6.8%

The Beer:

Okay, we have one holiday-themed beer. But since this IPA is made to be drunk fresh, it’s best to start now. This well-hopped IPA is a departure from the heavier, darker, and spiced winter warmers that usually dominate the last couple of months of the year. It’s a distinctly American version of an end-of-the-year beer.

Tasting Notes (ours):

This West Coast IPA is a long-time favorite of many West Coast denizens. The dank pine resin hops are countered by a refreshing lemon zest brightness. The caramelized malts create a solid backbone of bready sweetness that has an almost buttery edge. The whole sip ties together nicely with a rich mouthfeel that entices you back for more.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN DROP: Jagged Mountain Sticky Icky

Style: West Coast IPA
ABV: 6.1%

The Beer:

Head brewer Alyssa Thorpe out at Jagged Mountain in Denver is doing great work. Her Sticky Icky is a throwback West Coast IPA that amps up its brew with 100 pounds of Chinook and Cascade hops per batch.

Tasting Notes (from the brewery):

Big notes of citrus, pine, and grapefruit dominate with a subtle touch of malt sweetness to balance it out.

SOUTHERN DROP: Family Business Beer Co. Hamilton

Style: Pale Ale
ABV: 4.9%

The Beer:

Dripping Spring’s Family Business Brewing Co. and head brewer Nate Seale continually make some of the most interesting and well-crafted beers in the Austin and wider Hill Country area. If you’re nearby, it’s definitely worth dropping in and stocking up on Seale’s subtle pale ale.

Tasting Notes (from the brewer):

Apricot, peach, and tropical citrus aroma. Bright, hoppy, and crisp. A focus on late hop additions provides a lot of juicy flavor while keeping bitterness to a minimum.

MIDWEST DROP: Bell’s Best Brown Ale

Style: American Brown Ale
ABV: 5.8%

The Beer:

If hefty stouts are too much to face right now but you’re still looking for something a little bigger than a fizzy lager, then this brown ale is for you. Bell’s balances out the slightly roasted malts with an even layer of hoppiness that lets this beer feel like it has a body while still feeling light enough to drink more than one of.

Tasting Notes:

Dark chocolate caramel malt greets you. Crusty bread mingles with more of those sweet, chocolate laden malts as a hint of pine resin and hops bitterness sneaks in late. The end is slightly dry — offer a lip-smacking sort of satisfaction.

NORTHEAST DROP: Allagash North Sky

Style: Belgian Stout
ABV: 7.5%

The Beer:

This isn’t necessarily a new release. It’s just a beer that just feels right for right now. The brew is a lighter stout that leans away from too much heaviness. The base is a matrix of barley, wheat, and oat malts that’s fermented with Belgian yeast. There’s a layer of Northern Brewer and Cascade hops, but they’re not the star of this show.

Tasting Notes:

Bitter coffee and powdered dark chocolate kick around in the maltiness with a fruitiness and almost vanilla nature. The sip holds on to all that maltiness as a light touch of dried flowers mix with an almost campfire smoke backend. The sip has a weight to it but is light enough to keep drawing you back for more.

WILD CARD DROP: Upslope Spruce Tip IPA

Style: American IPA
ABV: 7.5%

The Beer:

It’s that time of year again and Spruce Tip IPA from Colorado’s Upslope is back on shelves. The brew has a subtle malt base that’s amped with Cascade and Simcoe hops. Then the beer is spiked with wild spruce tips from the Rockies to add a real wild and deep vibe to the beer.

Tasting Notes:

Bright, alive pine shines on the nose with a hint of candied orange. The malts create a solid foundation for the spruce/forest feel of the beer. There’s an earthiness to the crisp sip that blends well with the piney nature of the spruce.

INT’L PICK OF THE MONTH: Cantillon Cuvée Saint-Gilloise

Style: Lambic
ABV: 5.5%

The Beer:

Another Zwanze Day has passed and a new Cantillon Lambic has arrived. But since you can’t really get their latest release, Brettrave (a beetroot steeped lambic), in the states yet, we’re calling out another Cantillon classic. The iconic Brussels brewery’s Cuvée Saint-Gilloise is the perfect entry point to Belgian sours, and you can get it in the U.S without too much trouble.

This two-year-old sour lambic is stepped with German Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops. This makes the beer a bridge between the hoppier German lagers and the sourer Belgian lambics.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a clear sense of the acidic, minerally, and mildly funky unblended lambic with a flourish of floral hops on the nose. The hops really mellow the harsher edges of the tartness, with a mild pine nature next to a note of clove spice and orchard fruit. The fruitiness marries brilliantly to the bitter and floral nature of the hops, making this a fantastically refreshing sip of beer.

Just days ago, the biggest problem Chris Wallace had was the fallout from his lackluster moderation of a disastrous first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Wallace was initially disappointed with the debate, but after news of Trump’s positive COVID-19 test and subsequent symptoms, it sounds more like he’s downright furious.

In an interview with the New York Times, Wallace, who at publication time was still waiting for results from his coronavirus test, admonished people to “wear the damn mask” in regard to coronavirus safety measures, some of which were clearly skirted by the Trump team at the Cleveland debate site that’s now seeing positive coronavirus cases in the debacle’s aftermath.

“Follow the science,” Mr. Wallace said. “If I could say one thing to all of the people out there watching: Forget the politics. This is a public safety health issue.”

The anchor, who has expressed regret about the chaotic nature of Tuesday’s debate, said he planned to take a coronavirus test on Monday on the advice of his doctors, who said that any infection could take several days to generate a positive result.

The report, which aside from the word “damn” in the headline was not incredibly inflammatory when you look at the rest of the news on Friday, was given new context as the day went on. Trump’s reported symptoms increased, as did news that at least two journalists working in the White House had tested positive for the virus as well. News broke on Friday afternoon that there were double digit COVID-19 positives among people who attended the debate as well.

That news made another Wallace report, this time on Fox News, more disturbing. The debate moderator and Fox News veteran alleged that the Trump administration’s guests at the debate did not get tested when arriving in Cleveland, as was agreed upon by both parties. Wallace said he was tested before, as were others, but only because they arrived much earlier than Trump, his family and his team.

“They didn’t arrive until Tuesday afternoon. So for them to get tested, there wouldn’t have been enough time to have the test and have the debate at 9 that night,” Wallace said. “They didn’t show up until 3, 4, 5 in the afternoon. Yeah, there was an honor system when it came to the people that came into the hall from the two campaigns.”

Hope Hicks, who was reportedly the first of the White House staff to experience symptoms and test positive for the virus, was among people in the Trump party to attend the debate. They were seen wearing masks when entering the audience but removed their masks once they sat down, which was also against the agreed-upon rules of the debate.

Wallace was clearly upset about the Trump party not following protocol, which is fair considering his own health is now at risk with the news of positive tests. As he noted, it may be several days before a potential positive could come up on his testing.