Month: November 2020

Did you know that, as of this writing, Election Day 2020 only happened four days ago? It’s probably felt far longer than that. One reason is many people have done almost nothing but stare at maps and charts, carefully monitoring painfully slow vote counts in obscure counties from states like Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona. That’s come at the cost of doing non-election-monitoring activities, like going outside, showering, and, of course, sleeping. In fact, one of news media’s most prominent figures has barely slept since Tuesday.

That person is George Stephanopoulos, onetime Senior Adviser to then-President Bill Clinton and current chief anchor at ABC News. Like many in the media, Stephanopoulos has had to stay on air for all many of hours, for days on end, endlessly providing an anxious nation variations on the words “It’s too close to call.” At some point he, or one of his colleagues, will get to call the race, which has seen a record number of absentee and provisional ballots, a great number of which have still yet to be counted in certain states.

On Friday Stephanopoulos took some time to appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, where he admitted he’s kind of tired. When Kimmel asked how many hours he’s slept since Tuesday’s big day, he replied that he’d estimate it’s only 14. “It’s kind of broadcasting under the influence, isn’t it?” he joked, his voice gravelly from lack of rest. That’s a little over three hours of sleep per night on average. But it’s all for a good cause.

“We’re ready. We’re waiting for something to happen here. We’ve been waiting all day, we’ve been waiting all week. We’re close,” Stephanopoulos said about working long hours, making sure they don’t call the race until all or at least almost all votes have been counted. So if you, too, have forfeited sleep over the last four days, hoping any second that America would officially have a president-elect, then consider this: At least you don’t have to wait while being on television.

You can watch Stephanopoulos’ full chat with Kimmel in the video above.

(Via THR)

Rick and Morty has inspired no shortage of tie-in product, and though that hasn’t always been for good — see: the Mulan Szechuan sauce debacle, which found enraged fans torturing poor McDonald’s employees over goo you use to dip Chicken McNuggets — some of it has at least been inspired. One of the most plundered Rick and Morty bits: the episode featuring “Pickle Rick.” And why wouldn’t it be ripe for merchandising? It’s about pickles! Who doesn’t love pickles? Previously Pickle Rick has been turned into a line of Pringles potato chips. Now, for a limited time, you can drink it.

According to AdWeek, Rick and Morty is teaming with Miracle Seltzer to create a run of pickle-flavored beverages, inspired by the episode where our mad scientist anti-hero transforms himself into a pickle to get out of a family therapy session. The drink line will launch starting November 13 and 14 — the latter being no less than National Pickle Day.

Granted, not even all pickle fanatics necessarily enjoy the taste of pickle juice. “Pickle backs” at bars remain an acquired taste, and only the brave dare drink the brine out of a recently conquered jar of pickles. But maybe the taste of pickles is not as strong when mixed with seltzer? You can find out soon, maybe even sooner than we’ll have a finally tally in the 2020 presidential election.

(Via AdWeek)

Kali Uchis signaled the beginning of a new era last December when she released the simmering single “Solita.” Several months later, the singer dropped an EP in order to hold fans over until her next full-length project. Now, after teasing her record with a handful of singles, Uchis has finally announced her sophomore album.

Titled Sin Miedo (Del Amor Y Otros Demonios), Uchis’ upcoming record is her first full-length Spanish-language project and it arrives in just a few short weeks. The record’s official announcement came after the singer shared the singles “La Luz” with Jhay Cortez and “Aquí Yo Mando” with Rico Nasty, both of which offered a taste of her album’s rhythmic sound.

Uchis recently opened up about her upcoming album in an interview with Steve Lacy for Interview Magazine. Talking about her influences, Uchis said:

“I just wanted to play, because I’ve never made a full Spanish album and I have so many different inspirations, being multicultural and having grown up between the DMV [D.C., Maryland, and Virginia] and Colombia. It’s two totally different cultures, so I’ve had a lot of influences. The last thing I ever want to do is be a predictable artist. I love that my fans never know what to expect when I drop a song. They don’t know what language it’s going to be, they don’t know what genre it’s going to be. We’re just having fun.”

Continuing to talk about her upcoming plans, Uchis said she’s actually already started to work on her next project. “Since I already finished album two, I’ve been working on album three,” she said. “People have tried to hire my creative director, but the funny thing is that I don’t have one. People assume that I do, because every time I have a new song or project, it’s really different than the last. But I don’t do it consciously. It’s more like, as artists, we just go through different phases of what we like. Just like how you dress differently now than you did three years ago.”

Sin Miedo (Del Amor Y Otros Demonios) is out 11/18 via EMI/Interscope. Pre-order it here.

This Saturday’s SNL will be hosted by Dave Chappelle along with musical guest the Foo Fighters and though the winner of the presidential election has not been decided, the show is already preparing their post-election material. Ballots are still being counted but Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl is feeling confident enough to “call it” in their recently-released SNL promo.

After Chappelle announced their show in the teaser, Grohl stepped in to make a preemptive prediction. “You know what Dave? I’m going to call it,” Grohl said. “Don’t do it, man. Just let it happen,” Chappelle retorted. But Grohl didn’t heed Chappelle’s advice: “I’m just going to call it right now… Best show ever!” Chappelle, not pleased with Grohl’s prediction, closed by saying: “Damn it Dave, you should have let them watch it.”

The Foo Fighters’ upcoming set will be far from the first time they have appeared on the late-night stage. Since the band’s first time on SNL in 1995, Foo Fighters have been the show’s musical guest seven separate times. The upcoming episode does, however, mark the Foo Fighters’ first post-election SNL appearance but the same can’t be said for Chappelle, who hosted the show right after the 2016 election.

Watch Foo Fighters and Dave Chappelle’s SNL teaser above.

The full SNL episode premieres 11/7 at 11:30 p.m. EST.

By Friday morning, democratic nominee Joe Biden had overcome deficits in four key states and appeared to be well on his way to securing more than the necessary 270 electoral votes required to win the presidency and oust Donald Trump from office. But with thousands of ballots still waiting to be counted in each of those states, media outlets have done the responsible thing and held off on declaring a winner.

To many, it’s simply delaying the inevitable. To the incumbent demagogue, it’s an outcome that he’s clearly unwilling to concede at this point, as he and his lawyers are attempting to take legal action against the states in question based on spurious, unfounded claims of voter fraud. However, judges in Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Michigan have already thrown out those suits.

Trump’s unwillingness to come to terms with the results isn’t surprising. He signaled as much prior to the election and repeatedly refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power should he be defeated. It’s unclear how long this might drag on, even as many of his aides and GOP allies — including some of his friends at Fox News — have begun to distance themselves in preparation for the incoming administration.

Convincing Trump of his new reality won’t be easy, but thankfully, there are plenty out there willing to take up the task. Long-time NBA coach George Karl, for instance, took to Twitter on Friday to offer him some wisdom and advice on how to deal with tough losses.

If @realDonaldTrump needs a pep talk about managing through first round losses, I would be willing to speak with him tonight or read him a bed time story.

— George Karl (@CoachKarl22) November 7, 2020

Karl, of course, can speak from experience on first-round losses. In the ’94 season, Karl led Seattle to the No. 1 seed in the West before they fell in the opening round to the eighth-seed Nuggets. The same thing happened the following year when the 57-win Sonics lost to the Lakers in the first round. There were other first-round losses during his tenure with the Bucks, and then an absolutely brutal run of first-round losses with the Nuggets in eight of his nine seasons at the helm.

Karl also hasn’t been shy about taking shots at his enemies on Twitter. He recently reignited his beef with DeMarcus Cousins by once again tweeting out a snake emoji, and unleashed on Mark Jackson during the playoffs when the TNT analyst criticized his coaching on air.

Trump historically has had no qualms about engaging in Twitter feuds with anyone who deigns to cross him, no matter how small or petty the sleight, although he might have his hands full with the way things have been going for him the past couple of days.

The Cool Jeopardy! Stories Twitter account seems to have gone quiet, but the stories contestants tell during their get-to-know-you conversation with Alex Trebek are legendary in the game show universe. These are a bunch of very nerdy people asked to give a single factoid that narrows down who they are as a person unless, of course, you win the taping and come back for another episode.

That first impression, however, is a big deal. Which is why sometimes those stories truly stand out, especially if Trebek reacts positively about it. The latest example is a man stunning Trebek by revealing that he’s a very accomplished beatboxer, which is something that apparently Trebek has no idea even exists.

On Friday’s episode, challenger Andrew revealed that he’s a musician and teacher with a special skill, one that, once revealed nearly had Trebek attempting to mimic him.

“You’re a world-famous beatboxer,” Trebek said. “And I don’t know what that means.”

But when Andrew started spitting, Trebek went through several levels of emotion. He appeared at first like he might join in and try to beatbox along, then actually cheered and clapped for Andrew. Trebek was much more positive about another contestant’s musical interests, which has gone viral several times over as people rediscover it in the years since it happened.

Perhaps in his later years Trebek has grown more forgiving of some of the show’s contestants and their nerdier hobbies. Or maybe he really does want to “jam” with Andrew after the show.

Christine And The Queens has remained highly prolific while in lockdown over the past few months. To fill her time, the singer has offered an array of covers to some of her favorite songs, like Travis Scott’s “Highest In The Room” and The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights.” But now that Paris has started to reopen, the singer can expand her music beyond the confines of her apartment.

For her recent performance on The Late Late Show With James Corden, Christine brought her La Vita Nuova song “People, I’ve Been Sad” to the Museum of Fine Arts in Paris. Amid picturesque statues, the singer delicately delivered a rendition of the track.

Speaking about the song with Corden ahead of her performance, Christine said she wrote “People, I’ve Been Sad” shortly after her mother passed away:

“The song caught me by surprise. Almost every day I write and it’s like flexing a muscle to me. But that song really caught me by surprise. You can’t really overthink when you write and you really spill your guts. It was a difficult time in my life when I wrote that song, it was in April 2019. I had just lost my mom and I was going through a really rough patch and I thought I was coping. And then I sat down to write and the first words I wrote were, ‘It’s true that people, I’ve been sad.’ And then you just have to be brutally honest, and the song is just amending it. I think it’s really humbling because it commands honesty and it started the whole process of the EP, which is very cathartic for an EP. It was a bit like it addresses pain but with theatricality.”

Watch Christine And The Queens on The Late Late Show With James Corden above.

La Vita Nuova is out now via Because. Get it here.

As of this writing, polls in many states have been closed in the 2020 presidential election for three days. Despite this, the COVID-19 pandemic and a flood of mail-in votes, along with the razor tight margins in a number of states, have meant that we do not know if Republican president Donald Trump will get a second term or Democratic nominee Joe Biden will ascend to the presidency.

While Biden leads in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and Pennsylvania — the latter of which on its own would give him the White House — prognosticators at every major outlet (with the exception of the AP and Fox News calling Arizona for Biden on election night) have left all of those uncalled. Votes are still being counted in every state, and many are frustrated that the call has not been made.

On Friday night, CNN’s Jake Tapper called on his beloved NBA team, the Philadelphia 76ers, to explain what’s going on. Tapper used a slogan that has been used by Sixers fans for years to preach patience as votes are counted.

Tapper was raised in Philly and considers “attending Dr. J’s last home Sixers game” as one of his favorite memories from his childhood. For why it’s taking so long to count votes in Pennsylvania, Republican lawmakers in the state resisted efforts to allow votes to be counted early, as is the case in other states. As for why it’s taking so long to bring an NBA championship to Pennsylvania, those who say “trust the process” will frequently point to the resignation of former general manager Sam Hinkie in 2016. It is unclear if Tapper is one such Sixers fan — Jake, if you read this, please, let us know.

Following her global breakout thanks to her major hit “Supalonely,” Benee is just a week away from releasing her debut record Hey U, X. Last week, the singer took aim at a jealous ex with her exciting Lily Allen and Flo Milli collaboration “Plain.” Now, Benee follows up the single by exploring some more personal topics on “Happen To Me.”

On the new single, a watery guitar’s downcast chords ripple as Benee sings of her anxiety and depression manifesting in different ways. Sometimes, Benee feels worried that she’ll prematurely pass in a plane crash and other times, she can’t shake the feeling that she’ll get caught in a spontaneous fire. “I think about these things too much / My mind likes to wind itself up / And I don’t get a lot of sleep / ’Cause what if they happen to me?” she sings.

The song speaks about Benee’s mental health journey, which is a territory the singer has held back directly discussing in her previous EPs. Benee spoke to this conscious decision in a recent interview with Uproxx about her upcoming debut album. “I think with this album, I haven’t really held back on experimenting with genres and even lyrics,” Benee said. “Maybe I would have been more hesitant to do some of the things that I’ve done on this album in my previous bodies of work.”

Listen to “Happen To Me” above.

Hey U, X is out 11/13 via Republic. Get it here.

King Von, an up-and-coming rapper from Chicago, passed away on Friday morning in Atlanta. According to reporting out of Georgia, Von’s death came a few days after he was critically injured in an altercation at a lounge that led to gunshots. Two others were fatally shot.

Tributes from across the world of music have come in throughout the day in memory of Von, who was viewed as a promising up-and-comer and an individual who Lil Durk viewed as his “twin.” A little later in the day, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James decided to join in with the chorus in paying tribute to Von, tweeting that the 26-year-old rapper’s music was a way that he was able to bond with his sons, Bronny and Bryce. James was also the latest person to lament that the passing came before Von was able to break through and do great things.

Earlier this year, Von dropped an album which paid tribute to the reigning NBA Finals MVP with its name and album artwork. Titled Levon James, the release featured an image of Von doing James’ signature chalk toss pregame routine while wearing a purple and gold jersey. His latest studio album, Welcome to O’Block, dropped at the end of October.