Anybody who has listened to music over the past few years knows who Billie Eilish is, but that wasn’t always the case. She had an early supporter in Jared Leto, though, and he revealed that before Eilish was with a record label, he considered signing her himself.
Speaking about Eilish and Finneas with James Corden, the actor and Thirty Seconds To Mars leader revealed that the sibling pair once performed at a small dinner party at his house and impressed his guests, including Leonardo DiCaprio:
“They weren’t signed and I thought that maybe I would try and sign them. They were so incredibly talented and just special people. The music is one thing, but I think they [are] just incredibly intelligent, really empathetic, just really good people. I quite like them a lot. At one point, they played at my house. I had a little dinner for like 12 people and I said, ‘Hey, will you guys come and play a couple of songs,’ and they were like, ‘Yeah, sure,’ and they showed up with like a Guitar Center PA and played the most heartbreakingly beautiful music with, like, you know… it shouldn’t have sounded that good, it was impossible that it sounded that good. I remember Leo DiCaprio was there and a couple of other people and they were just like, ‘How did you find these people and, like, who are they?’ Everyone was just jaws on the floor, 12 people max at my place in the hills. Yeah, just great people. I’m huge fans, too.”
Jimmy Kimmel Live! premiered on ABC 18 years ago yesterday. In that time, Jimmy Kimmel has made a lot of Donald Trump jokes. In fact, he’s probably made more cracks about the former-president than any other public figure in his nearly two decades as a late-night host, with the exception of Matt Damon. During Tuesday’s episode, Kimmel looked back at the first Trump joke he told — and yes, “it is about his hair,” he cracked.
The clip comes from the January 13, 2004 episode, where Kimmel is discussing how “it’s going to be the coldest week in two decades on the East Coast. It’s supposed to be minus eight in New York over the next couple of days… It’s so cold in New York, Donald Trump’s combover broke off.” Maybe not the finest joke, but as Kimmel noted, “It was a simpler time.” What was Trump doing in 2004? That was the year The Apprentice debuted on NBC. It’s also when he told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that “in many cases, I probably identify more as Democrat. It just seems that the economy does better under the Democrats than the Republicans.” Again, a simpler time.
As for Kimmel’s first Biden joke, that happened in August 2008. “Barack Obama’s freshly-minted running mate, Senator Joe Biden, also spoke tonight. I have to say, after all the name-related problems this campaign has had, why Obama would pick a vice president with the last name ‘Biden’ is beyond me,” he said. “Not that there’s anything wrong with the name ‘Biden,’ [but] it’s like they’re trying to make their ticket sound as much like Osama Bin Laden as possible. We found the two guys in America whose names matched up most closely with the person we hate more than anyone in the world and they put them on the bumper stickers.” Hm, maybe the time wasn’t so simple after all.
Lil Nas X has so many awards at this point that he’s constantly looking for his next project: He recently joked about moving his Grammys to the basement to make room for his new Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards and said he got tired of “Old Town Road” while it was at No. 1 for seventeen consecutive weeks. Briefly pivoting from music earlier this month, Lil Nas X released the children’s book C Is For Country. The book ended up being so successful that Lil Nas X has officially become a best-selling author.
Though the illustrated book was released less than a month ago, it’s already appearing on the New York Times‘ best-sellers list. C Is For Country lands at No. 8 on list and follows titles like Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry, which has remained near the top for an impressive 27 consecutive weeks. If C Is For Country is anything like his “Old Town Road” hit, it’s sure to stay on the list for several weeks to come.
Illustrated by Theodore Taylor III, the book is intended for ages 3 to 7 and was described by its Random House publisher as “a celebration of song and the power inside us all.” It’s an ABC picture book which follows the story of the illustrated rapper and his trusty pony named Panini as they embark on a journey through the alphabet.
Layton Greene’s start in the mainstream world came in 2019 thanks to the release of her “Leave ‘Em Alone” single with Lil Baby, City Girls, and Pnb Rock. Carried by a sparkly sample of Ciara and 50 Cent’s “Can’t Leave ‘Em Alone,” Greene’s breakout earned her an adoring collection of fans who quickly learned that there was more to the singer than the summery track that admitted to her unwavering attraction to a new lover. Down the line, the East St. Louis, Illinois-born singer would combine the weight of a traumatic past and a promising future as she launched her career.
As the R&B princess of Quality Control, Greene fought through numerous amounts of adversity to claim the position that she currently sits on. In an interview with Billboard, she described her childhood as “lonely” and “sheltered” while recounting some of the experiences, including sexual abuse, that she endured in her youth. Despite these struggles, she knew she was destined for a path that would lead her towards success in music. “God gave me this voice for a reason, and he already had my path set,” she said. “I just didn’t know when or how it was going to happen with all I was going through.”
Months after her breakout, the Midwest singer would unleash her debut project, Tell Ya Story, to her growing fan base. The seven-track effort was a completely solo body of work that Greene dropped off for the world to enjoy as they learned more about the singer. From the mislabeling of a poor living situation as karma on “Blame On Me” to a commitment towards love amid turmoil on “I Choose,” Greene’s debut EP is a representation of who she was, what she’s grown to become, and what she’s destined to be.
With her debut album set to arrive later this year, Layton Greene sat down with UPROXX to reflect on her 2020, speak about her goals for the new year and explained how for her, vulnerability and honesty will always be her policy in music.
How’s everything been with you in the new year so far?
Honestly, it’s been pretty good. I feel like I’ve been starting the new year off with a good mindset, I told myself I was going into this year with a better vision. I feel like 2020 was a rough year for me personally [but] I feel like my mindset’s been good this year so far. I’ve been on the right path, I’ve been really working, I’ve been just working towards my goals and yeah, it’s going good. I feel like it’s going to be the best year for me honestly.
You said you were working towards your goals, do you have any New Year’s resolutions for 2021?
Yeah definitely. Just basically getting my album out, I’m working on that, I’m almost done with it actually. I know it’s gonna be amazing and I’m really excited about that. I’m really just trying to get myself together, mentally, physically, everything. Like I said, 2020 kinda just threw me off a little bit and yeah, that’s in the past so really two main things that I’m focused on right now.
With your upcoming album, it seems like things for it are starting off with “Chosen One.” What was the creative process and inspiration for you with that single?
So I got introduced to Nova Wav and they’re a group of talented girls producing [and] writing and they came up with this song and I fell in love with it. I loved the concept, just the female taking control and I felt like that’s where I kind of was in my life, or even what I wanted to be. I just love the message behind the song and that’s basically a man — I feel like I’ve dealt with a few men that have been kind of hesitant in really showing me love. I felt like that fell back on their past and the past relationships and what they probably did in the past with other females and how they treated them. They didn’t really want to fall into something that was real and genuine because honestly, I’m real and genuine. They may be hesitant about that. I just love the song, I love the concept, and I wanted to just speak on something different other than just heartbreak. I wanted to be the one in control.
What’s the overall theme or summary of this chapter in your life that you’re going to give us on your debut album?
It’s a lot, I want to touch on a lot. Overall, it’s just being honest. The ups, the downs, and just speaking on heartbreak, I went through a lot. Even with signing to QC, just speaking on that, I feel like I haven’t spoke on that, how that changed my life — signing with them and them becoming a second family to me, I want to speak about that. Just coming where I come from, I feel like in my first EP, me just being open and honest and seeing how many people could relate and how many people really just messed with my vibe just off the strength of me just being honest and telling my story. I just want to continue that and yeah, that’s just what it is. My story and maybe your story, I know a lot of people are going to be able to relate.
What do you feel has gotten easier or harder with creating this new album in comparison to creating your debut EP, Tell Ya Story?
Just to be honest, when I came out with my first EP it was easier to be open and honest, but once you put it out you get the good and the bad. I’m very much an overthinker, so just seeing how some people took it in with me being open and honest kind of took me back like, “Damn, do I really want to be this vulnerable?” or do I want to be something that I’m not. I felt like there was a time where I was making music that I didn’t even relate to myself and just trying to be something that I’m not and I feel like that’s why my album is taking so long right now. [In] 2020, I didn’t release a project and I didn’t want to put anything out that didn’t feel genuine to myself and I didn’t want to let people hear that. 2021 I’m just trying to get back to myself, get back to not caring, and just doing me. I see how far that got me and I know that it’s gonna get me further, I know everything that I’m going through right now is for a purpose and I’m gonna speak on it and I’m gonna talk about it.
You mentioned that you started second-guessing the vulnerability you had in your music, at what point did you push that aside and decide to stay true to yourself?
I just saw how I was falling off as a person, as a human being, just me being me. I just felt like I was falling off and I saw how my artistry was falling off. I wasn’t really posting on social media, I wasn’t being myself, and I would get DMs all the time like and my label, QC, they would call me, Pee would call me all the time like, “You need to step this up.” It was so hard, but I just had to step back and know that I have people on my side that believe in me, I have fans that believe in me. I mean, I remember myself when I believed in me and I just knew I couldn’t let myself slip any further and I just couldn’t care no more. At this point, I just wanted to be honest and open cause now I’ve been writing music, I’ve been feeling free, I’ve been feeling like music is my getaway, music is my outlet.
Last year was a difficult 12 months for us all, and you alluded to it earlier in the interview, but what about 2020 was the hardest for you?
The hardest thing I would say was just being secluded in the same place for so long. I got used to a life of traveling, going to places, and now that coronavirus has hit — I was living in LA when it had happened and now [I’ve been] in the same house for months. That’s why I feel like I had time to reflect on things that were really affecting me. At that point I felt like I had distractions, I had music to get out, I had friends to be around. I was just thinking about the negatives, I was thinking about my past and just being in a secluded place. Like I said, I was an overthinker — well, I am an overthinker — I didn’t have no distractions, I feel like as a creative, I wasn’t even able to be creative. Most creatives feel like “I have time to be creative,” and do this and do that, but I was just so out of it. It really wasn’t the best time for me.
Through all these hardships, what kept you afloat and focused on the positives?
I just know that I’m in a situation where I can change a lot of things for not only myself but for my family and even for the people around me and the people that’s been supporting me. I didn’t want a situation like that to really just allow me to lose it all and I just knew I had the talent. Like I said, my label and my fans and people that just really believed in me and told me that I am enough because there was a moment where I was questioning myself, but I just looked at the support that was around me.
One highlight for you last year was getting nominated for Best New Artist at the Soul Train Awards.
I definitely didn’t expect it. I was with my sisters when I found out and when I got the message, I was like, “What!?” cause I hadn’t put nothing out that year. That was another thing, people still recognize me even [with] the project that I came out with in 2019, it was just amazing. That feeling definitely unexplainable just to be recognized and thought about is definitely amazing, stuff like that just keeps me going. That’s what it’s all about. And being nominated with those that I was nominated with, it was just like “Damn.” I’m in a lineup with Snoh, I love Snoh Aalegra, Giveon, I love them, everybody.
Speaking of your fellow artists in the R&B world, Tell Ya Story was a completely solo effort. Will we see features on your upcoming album?
Yeah, there’s going to be features, I don’t want to speak on them just yet, but there’s definitely going to be features. I got some stuff coming.
How is the experience of working with someone as you create a project been for you?
It’s dope just seeing how other creatives work. I’ve gotten into the studio with a few and just seeing and getting to know the artist and the person you’re collaborating with face-to-face and not texting or FaceTiming, it’s a different experience creating a song together and just talking about your experience and my experience in the song that we’re coming up with. It’s just super dope seeing how they work and you’re getting a little something from them and I’m sure I’m rubbing off on them. It even helps my artistry and helps me get better, it’s super dope. I can’t wait for y’all to hear who’s on the album.
I read in an interview that Mary J. Blige is one of your inspirations and we recently celebrated her 50th birthday. Do you have a specific moment in your life that has to do with her?
After I had signed with QC, I went with Pee where she was performing and I got to see her, I actually opened up on the same stage with Lil Baby, that’s when I had dropped “Leave Em Alone.” She was performing that same night and I saw her perform live, but I would say the most memorable is anytime anyone brings Mary J. up. My daddy put me on [to] Mary J. Blige, and in a lot of interviews I say this, my daddy used to listen to Mary J. Blige faithfully. I feel like he was the one that put me on to love — just like, made me fall in love in music — because anything that he was doing, he was listening to music. He literally loved Mary, he knows every Mary J. Blige song, and anytime that was playing I would run in the same room, I’m singing “I’m Goin Down.” Even that’s a memorable moment for him, he always brings it up. Anytime he’s listening to Mary, he’s calling me like, “I’m listening to our girl!!” I just have a strong connection with Mary, even just through my childhood not even realizing what she was talking about, I felt her.
Is there anything you want to say to your fans as the wait for new music from you continues?
I love y’all, thank you for the love and support, even through 2020 and me not so being open and me not even posting on social media and just going ghost I feel like for a while. Y’all still understood, y’all stood there holding me down, and just know that 2021, this music is gonna be better than ever. I’m still gonna be that honest and vulnerable me that I’ve been. I’m excited, I love y’all, and let’s get it!
GOP Senator Marco Rubio has had quite a handful of years. He lost the 2016 Republican primary to a guy that dubbed him as “Little Marco,” and then Rubio spent four years ingratiating himself to the GOP’s MAGA crowd, almost up until the very end of Donald Trump’s White House days. It seemed pretty obvious that Rubio always felt unease at supporting Donald but also feared rocking the boat on his own political career. What will Rubio receive for that display of (obviously troubled and reluctant) loyalty? It doesn’t sound like a “thank you” in any shape or form.
Ivanka Trump is rumored to be considering a run for Rubio’s seat, and the very thought of a challenge by Donald’s daughter is a slap in the face, to say the least. When confronted with this prospect by Fox News’ Neil Cavuto, here’s how that went:
Cavuto: “You do know that next year you could be facing a primary challenge? There’s talk that Ivanka Trump is interested in running against you. What do you think of that?”
Rubio: “Bu bu bu but… All of us are elected. Any one of us can be primaried, every single one of us can have a primary challenge.”
Cavuto: What would you think of it was Ivanka Trump?
Rubio: I would… I would… I like Ivanka Trump.
Rubio’s not too great with confrontation, even from a mild-mannered Cavuto. That’s a little strange coming from a senator, but we’re also talking about the same guy who’s turning off Twitter replies to avoid seeing a deluge of negative responses. And in the process, he’s silencing voices that he may very well represent from his Florida district. Then again, Ivanka has flat-out deleted tweets that receive a backlash, so uh yes, expect these debates to be a hot mess, if Ivanka actually steps up to challenge him.
While AmeriCup qualifying scheduled to take place in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in February will not feature NBA talent since it takes place in the middle of the season, two former NBA All-Stars plotting their returns to the league will star for Team USA.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported on Wednesday morning that both Isaiah Thomas and seven-time All-Star Joe Johnson will suit up for the United States with the hopes of showing off their talent and getting an NBA contract out of it.
So, the Team USA roster is taking shape for the AmericaCup in San Juan next month: Joe Johnson – seven-time NBA All-Star — is planning to play for the Americans too, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/0OSlo5mEgJ
Johnson, who is 39, last appeared with the Pistons and played in the Big 3 in 2019. Thomas had a solid season with the Wizards in 2019-20 but did not appear in the Bubble after being traded to the Clippers and then waived after the trade deadline.
Team USA team will be coached in the 2021 AmeriCup (which used to be known as the FIBA Americas Championship) by longtime NBA assistant Joe Prunty, and compete against teams from across North and South America in the tournament. We’ll have to see how the rest of the roster shakes out, both for qualifying and the proper tournament, but next month will serve an opportunity for two fan favorites in Johnson and Thomas to show NBA teams what they have left in the tank while also having the pride of representing their country in international competition.
As teams near the halfway point of the NBA season, the trade market has begun to heat up and final rosters will take shape as well. Depending on what Johnson and Thomas show in Puerto Rico, perhaps they could be intriguing veteran bench fillers for playoff teams in the stretch run.
Pink Sweats has been building up to the release of his debut album Pink Planet for some time, releasing a steady stream of singles and EPs that have endeared the mellow singer to R&B with his understated, heartfelt production and songwriting. His latest single, “At My Worst,” is a prime example of both, and today, he shares a soulful remix featuring another fan-favorite singer, Kehlani.
The Bay Area vocalist is the perfect foil for Sweats’ velvety tenor, transforming the hopeful ballad into a warm, midtempo duet. While the emotive verses they trade to begin the song are enjoyably relatable, the true magic comes toward the end, when their voices blend like cream and coffee to close out the song on a sunny, hopeful final note.
After giving the financial world a very public black eye by causing GameStop stock prices to seemingly soar out of nowhere, day traders on Reddit have turned their attention to AMC Entertainment, and it may have just pulled a major movie theater industry player from the brink of bankruptcy. In the midst of the GameStop chaos, AMC’s stock also began to dramatically surge, which is a surprise considering the company is struggling even more than GameStop due to the pandemic. With Hollywood continuing to delay major blockbusters even further into 2021, and audiences being understandably hesitant to sit in a theater for over two hours, AMC was heading for collapse until this “new class of traders” stepped in. Via CNBC, here are the numbers:
AMC jumped 26% on Monday, and 12% on Tuesday, and is now up more than 370% this week. On Monday, the company announced it had secured enough financing to remain open and operational deep into 2021.
“This means that any talk of an imminent bankruptcy for AMC is completely off the table,” said CEO Adam Aron.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, r/Wallstreetbets became intensely focused on AMC on Tuesday as the coalition of Reddit day traders zeroed in on a new target to stick it to hedge funds, and if it happens to save movie theaters in the process, even better. “AMC to the moon boys!” one user wrote. “Do not sell. Let’s bankrupt another hedge fund!” User Starduststones also jumped in with: “Support out local theaters, and for sure… YOLO!”
The increased attention on r/Wallstreetbets disrupting the market has earned the praise of Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian who tweeted out support for the day traders on Wednesday morning.
@andrewrsorkin you framed it right – that’s the sentiment, the public doing what they feel has been done to them by institutions. This is an echo of what we’ve seen social media enable the public to challenge institutions for the last decade.
In December, Death Cab For Cutie shared The Georgia EP exclusively to Bandcamp for 24 hours, and the fundraising effort featured covers of songs by Georgia artists. About a month later, the group reported that they had given the effort a less ephemeral release and put it on streaming services. Now, they’ve brought one of the highlights, TLC’s “Waterfalls,” to Jimmy Kimmel Live! for a socially distanced cover.
The band wrote when sharing the EP to streaming services, “Because we are so happy with the results of the recent Georgia runoff elections, we have decided to release our EP ‘The Georgia E.P.’ – originally released on Bandcamp for 24 hours in early December – today on all streaming services, so that everybody can take a listen to it. It will also be available soon on peach vinyl, which we’re all very excited about. It’s an EP of covers of acts from Georgia including Neutral Milk Hotel, Vic Chesnutt, R.E.M., TLC, and Cat Power, and we had a blast making it. We raised over $100K for voting rights organization Fair Fight, which we’ve always been big supporters of; we’re really stoked. So, we hope you enjoy it and we hope to see you guys in person very soon.”
Watch Death Cab For Cutie cover “Waterfalls” above.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Last year, Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker took to a cabin in Massachusetts to record a pair of albums, Songs and Instrumentals. She took to a different environment to play the song for The Late Show, though, as she retreated to the desert to perform “Anything.”
Although it’s not the same setting in which Lenker recorded the gentle track, it’s still beautiful to see it performed at golden hour surrounded by sand. This performance is also somewhat similar to Lenker’s Tiny Desk performance from November, when she played some songs from a camper in Joshua Tree.
Lenker previously said of the song, “It’s a montage of many different images that I had stored in my mind from being with this person. I guess there’s a thread of sweetness through it all, through things as intense as getting bit by a dog and having to go to the ER. It’s like everything gets strung together like when you’re falling in love; it feels like when you’re in a relationship or in that space of getting to know someone. It doesn’t matter what’s happening, because you’re just with them. I wanted to encapsulate something or internalize something of the beauty of that relationship.”
Meanwhile, Lenker’s Big Thief bandmate Buck Meek is fresh off the release of a solo album of his own, and Lenker co-wrote a song on it.
Watch Lenker perform “Anything” on Colbert above.
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