Month: February 2021

For Black History Month 2021, Spotify is rolling out a massive slate of new programming aimed at honoring the history and cultural contributions of Black Americans in music, podcasts, and even visual art. As usual, the Black History Is Now hub will be the center of all the relevant programming, with playlists curated by influential Black artists and other public figures, new hip-hop playlists, and a slew of new podcasts from commentators like writer Danyel Smith, reporter Van Lathan, and political analyst Bakari Sellers.

As far as the visual component, Spotify licensed work from Black photographers like Adrian Octavious Walker, Adreinne Waheed, Doug Segars, and Shawn Theodore to cover new playlists such as “Soul Coffee,” “Black Love Mixtape,” “Power to the People,” and “Black History Salute.” Meanwhile, other playlists like “I Love My HBCU” and “Queen” will be guest-curated by celebrities 2 Chainz and Keke Palmer. Several existing hip-hop playlists are receiving new names; “Cali Fire” is now “Westside Story,” “The Realest Down South” is now “No Cap,” and the “Off The Strength” playlist for buzzing underground artists is now “Out The Mud.”

In addition, there are four new playlists aiming to highlight standout new releases (“New Joints”), the burgeoning drill movement and its major hubs (“City To City”), and women in hip-hop (the aptly-titled “Door Knockers”). Finally, new podcasts include offerings that address women’s contributions to the music business, current events, politics, and more.

You can find out more at the Black History Is Now hub here.

This offseason has been a wild one already in the WNBA, as free agency has seen a number of stars relocating, headlined by Candace Parker departing the L.A. Sparks after 13 seasons to go home and play for the Chicago Sky.

However, another future Hall of Famer who hit free agency this offseason is staying put, as Diana Taurasi, the WNBA’s all-time scoring leader and three-time champion, will remain in Phoenix, agreeing to a multi-year deal with the Mercury according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Taurasi has been in Phoenix for her entire professional career, playing all 16 seasons since she was drafted out of UConn after a legendary college career, and will continue to do so for what one would assume to be the remainder of her career. Taurasi, at 38 years old, is still a dominant force in the league, as she averaged 18.7 points, 4.5 assists, and 4.2 rebounds per game in the Wubble last season, shooting 36.5 percent from distance. The GOAT will be back and a multi-year deal will keep her in the WNBA into her 40s, but there’s no reason to believe she can’t continue playing at a high level.

Phoenix went 13-9 at IMG a year ago, earning the 5-seed and advancing to the second round, where they lost a heartbreaker to the Lynx by one point. With Taurasi returning, along with Brittney Griner and Skylar Diggins-Smith, the Mercury will bring back a strong core and will look to fill out depth and talent around them, as they still have some pending free agents, headlined by restricted free agent Shatori Walker-Kimbrough.

Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.

This week saw Selena Gomez continue to tease her first Spanish-language project and a couple artists releasing new material via deluxe albums. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.

Selena Gomez — “Baila Conmigo”

Selena Gomez recently announced her first full-blown Spanish-language project recently, which she introduced with “De Una Vez.” She continued the promotional cycle last week with “Baila Conmigo,” a collaboration with Tainy and Rauw Alejandro. The reggaeton track puts Gomez’ voice in a context that’s outside of her usual wheelhouse, but one in which she thrives.

Lil Durk — The Voice (Deluxe)

Lil Durk’s latest album, The Voice, is barely over a month old at this point, but as has been tradition lately, the rapper is back with a quick deluxe edition. The expanded album adds basically an album of new material (12 tracks), including “Kanye Krazy” and the Lil Baby-featuring “Finesse Out The Gang Way.”

Jpegmafia — “Fix Urself!”

In 2020, Jpegmafia dropped EP!, so naturally, he’s bringing a follow-up titled EP2! to 2021. He made that announcement last week as he shared “Fix Urself!.” Jpegmafia, ever one to switch up his style, explores nighttime emotional hip-hop on his latest.

Arlo Parks — Collapsed In Sunbeams

Arlo Parks hasn’t been releasing music professionally for all that long, but she’s already made quite the name for herself, like when she earned the favor of Phoebe Bridgers fans by joining her for a BBC piano performance. Now she has dropped her debut album and it features gems like the touching “Hope.”

FKA Twigs, Headie One, and Fred Again — “Don’t Judge Me”

Last year, FKA Twigs featured on an interlude from Headie One and Fred Again’s GANG mixtape, but that wasn’t the end of “Judge Me.” For 2021, they expanded the track beyond its original 2-minute length into its own track, also expanding the title to “Don’t Judge Me” and giving FKA the primary credit.

Hayley Williams — “My Limb”

Somehow, Hayley Williams managed to find a new way to release a song: She put “My Limb” on a CD and hand-delivered it to a fan’s house, giving them permission to leak it, which they did. Funny enough, the song actually isn’t available anymore, as the YouTube upload has been blocked by Williams’ label on copyright grounds.

Pink Sweats — “At My Worst (Remix)” Feat. Kehlani

Pink Sweats’ Pink Planet project is coming soon, but in the meantime, he remixed a recent single, “At My Worst.” This time, he brings Kehlani into the fold, and the two bring warmth together on the summery, chilled-out track.

Brent Faiyaz — “Gravity” Feat. Tyler The Creator

Tyler The Creator has kind of laid low since Igor, but he’s popped up on tracks here and there. The latest is a featured spot on Brent Faiyaz’s “Gravity,” a smooth tune on which the duo request that their significant others move on.

The Killers — Imploding The Mirage (Deluxe)

After dropping Imploding The Mirage last summer, The Killers apparently had some mirage left to implode, as they’ve returned this year with a deluxe edition. Two of the additional songs are alternate versions of album tracks, but there’s a lone original: “C’est La Vie,” which is likely just a precursor to the new music the band has teased recently.

Ty Dolla Sign — “Spicy (Remix)” Feat. J Balvin, YG, Tyga, and Post Malone

Ty Dolla Sign is such an active collaborator that the title of his most recent album, 2020’s Featuring Ty Dolla Sign, was a play on that fact. Sure enough, he’s back in the lab with some musical friends. This time, he took “Spicy,” which already featured Post Malone, and added J Balvin, YG, and Tyga to the proceedings on a new remix.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The Weeknd is headlining the Super Bowl halftime show, but every year, there are always a ton of music events surrounding the big game. This year, for example, Verizon is hosting The Big Concert For Small Business, and they’ve secured quite the lineup: The event will be hosted by Tiffany Haddish and will feature performances from Miley Cyrus, Alicia Keys, Brandi Carlile, Brittany Howard, Christina Aguilera, HER, Jazmine Sullivan, Eric Church, and Luke Bryan.

The Roc Nation-curated show starts after the Super Bowl, on February 7 at 11 p.m. ET and will be livestreamed on Twitter, Twitch, YouTube and TikTok; broadcasted on BET, CBS Sports Network, CMT, MTV2 and MTV Live; and aired on iHeartRadio and SiriusXM.

Keys says of the event, “Small businesses are so important and we need to do whatever we can to keep them alive; our communities can’t recover without them. I’m excited to be partnering with Verizon and the rest of these amazing artists to not only be able to take the stage and bring that good music and light but to do it for such a meaningful cause.”

The show is part of Citizen Verizon, which the company describes as its “responsible business plan for economic, social and environmental advancement.” Tami Erwin, CEO of Verizon Business, adds, “For small business owners today, we know that opening a digital front door is as important as a physical one. This multi-year effort underscores the role financial assistance, technology and training will play in rebuilding small businesses for both short-term and long-term economic recovery.”

John Cena has taken quite the journey over the past two decades, from becoming WWE’s biggest superstar to making the leap to Hollywood where he’s become a favorite in both action and comedy. He’s not the first to make such a move, but he’s among the few to do it rather seamlessly and so successfully, as it can be difficult to shake free from the identity one creates in the ring to do more outside of it.

Cena has succeeded in doing just that, in part by not shying away from his WWE roots but also by putting in the work to be so good on the screen that, despite his physical presence, you buy into the character he’s playing and not just think “that’s John Cena” the whole time. This year during the Super Bowl, Cena will be making his presence felt as part of Mtn Dew’s Super Bowl ad campaign, as they launch their new Major Melon flavor with a fairly simple and straightforward contest.

Uproxx Sports got the chance to talk with Cena about that upcoming spot, the work that’s gone into his acting career, how his endless curiosity has guided his career path, and how it feels to be a Boston guy watching Tom Brady in Tampa.

How are you feeling watching Tom Brady go to a Super Bowl with another team other than the Patriots?

Oh, I think it’s very interesting. I think it’s extremely exciting and a wonderful story. It’s an amazing testament not only to Tom Brady’s ability, but the team that Tampa Bay has built around Tom Brady. I think that was a big reason for Tom’s choice to leave New England and go to Tampa – then again I’m speaking for him, I don’t know that to be true. I think it’s extremely interesting, and he’s the first quarterback to have a home game for the Super Bowl. I think all that stuff makes this big game even more interesting.

You and Brady broke into your careers around the same time in 2000-2001. Do you see any mirrors and similarities in the way you guys rose to stardom in your respective fields and the longevity that you both have been able to have?

Well, allow me to start by saying you are essentially comparing apples to frying pans [laughs]. It’s two very different entities, but if you strip away all of the extra stuff and get down to its core, I think the one piece of connective tissue that Tom and I share is persistence. The inability to give up. Never giving up. Tom is known for his work ethic. He’s known for being a student of the game and known to lean into needing more work, needing more practice, monitoring every aspect of his health to the extreme. He’s a football player. That’s what he loves doing and that’s what he’s invested in. And I find the same with myself. I only get involved in things I’m passionate about, and those things I’m passionate about I will invest myself and I’ll do the work necessary to try and do the best I can.

I wanted to ask about that, because there’s so much work you had to put in to get to the level you did in professional wrestling and now in the acting world. How was that transition for you and what’s the work that people don’t see that you’ve done to take the strides as an actor? For example, Blockers is one of my favorite recent comedies and we see what comes out on screen, but I know there’s more that goes into it.

I appreciate the question. I don’t know how important that is for folks. I think what we do, regardless of the entities is entertain people, but if people want to dive into the minutiae of how the Statue of Liberty disappears, that’s their prerogative, but I think a lot of people just want to see it and be wowed and be entertained. I’m super grateful to be able to transition from one avenue of entertainment to another. It’s wonderful, because I think that for me was what I realized that connection in that space was. It’s entertainment. There’s storytellers.

Why do I feel super comfortable out there in a 20 by 20 ring telling a story in front of a live audience, and I don’t feel as comfortable with the cameras in a closed set and ultra quiet, where the smallest motion means the biggest? And I had to begin to ask myself those questions, and at the time when I didn’t feel really comfortable filming, it was because I was still new to WWE and on this wonderful rollercoaster ride and there’s nothing like the energy you get from a performance. Ask anybody who crossed over, I think they’ll tell you the same thing. There’s just no equivalent to being in front of the WWE audience.

So as a young man, I wanted to be there and as somebody who has now been in it for awhile and gained a little bit more wisdom, I realized it is just storytelling. And the reason I have so much passion for the WWE and stay in it is, I love to see performers take chances and I love to take the chances myself. But you get to do that every day on a movie set – it isn’t the same instant gratification, but man do you get to take chances. And you have to challenge yourself and really be vulnerable, because if you protect your emotions then you look too cool for school and nothing gets accomplished. No one is entertained. I really enjoy the fact that it’s all entertainment at the end of the day, and I finally got over my own preconceived notions of what I thought it was and just relaxed and realized I was given an amazing opportunity and try to make the best of it.

I remember seeing an interview with Daniel Bryan a few years ago where he said he really enjoys conversations with you because you’re so interested in learning so many different things. How has that curiosity guided your career beyond wrestling and where you’ve put your effort and intensity outside the ring?

That’s an easy one to answer, but it’s very hard to apply. Curiosity means you’re interested in knowing about something. So if you rip away that layer, it means you’re comfortable saying I don’t know everything. And that is really difficult to apply. We want to be, as a 20-year veteran in the WWE, I want to kick my feet up and be like, “Ah, they’re all doing it wrong. I know everything and they don’t.” But I’m curious every single time I see WWE, every single time I step into an arena, every single time I do something as simple as a voiceover in WWE. I’m curious about who we’re trying to reach, what we’re trying to accomplish, how can I be better, how can I learn, who am I working with and how can I learn from them.

And now I’m in this different pool with all these new minds and all this new information, and I think the important thing is to simply stay curious. Because once you lose curiosity, it is essentially the fact that you’re apathetic or you believe you know it all. In either situation you’re not going to progress. You’re apathetic about something? That’s it. That’s the end of the journey. And if you think you know everything? That’s also the end of the journey. So I think it is as simple as staying curious but that’s very, very hard to do.

Who are some of your biggest influences? Who are people you’ve been able to pull from both in your WWE career and your acting career?

The one that sticks out the most is Vince McMahon. And that’s an all-encompassing one. There isn’t enough time, there isn’t enough – I just don’t have a way to express how much he, just by being himself, has effected the decisions I make in my life. There’s so many more in there, but I’ll keep it short and keep it with him and even to this day. His ability to continue to take chances and not fear failure, to be great, to be bold, to try and be on the cutting edge, to handle criticism, to handle negativity, to continuously move forward. No one is perfect. Absolutely no one is perfect at all, but him being himself continuously guides me.

You’re partnered with Mtn Dew for their Major Melon launch and this Super Bowl ad. How did that partnership come about and what excites you about being part of a Super Bowl commercial? Because it is such a unique thing and Super Bowl ads have become part of the American cultural zeitgeist of sorts because people remember those iconic ads.

That’s a multi-tiered answer. First of all, Mtn Dew as a brand is responsible for some really ground-breaking Super Bowl commercials. So you talk about a Super Bowl commercial being in the zeitgeist, when Mtn Dew asked me to be part of the Mtn Dew Major Melon Super Bowl campaign, I already know I’m going to be in a relationship with a brand that takes bold chances to make a memorable campaign. And then, I go and do my due diligence on the brand and find out that we do share this common thread – myself and Mtn Dew – is we invest in passion. The areas that you’ll see Mtn Dew invest in – eSports, extreme sports, the auto space – these areas I can relate to very much as a WWE superstar, because you have your fans that are so into it. And then the people you don’t know really have false premonitions of what it is, but Mtn Dew’s brave enough to look past all that and invest in passion.

That’s what drew me to Mtn Dew as a brand. I think we have a correlation, we share joy in investing in passion. And then when Mtn Dew Major Melon told me about the Mtn Dew Major Melon spot and the commercial itself, and the bold chances they’re taking on the commercial, which is groundbreaking and I think is going to create an entirely new game within the game of the Super Bowl. Man, what a special thing to be a small vehicle in this Mtn Dew Major Melon campaign that is going to change somebody’s life.

Yeah, there’s a million dollar prize attached to the spot. How are folks going to be able to get involved with this and try to make some money?

Well, so this is where it gets awesome. Mtn Dew Major Melon isn’t asking any Super Bowl fan to do anything they aren’t already doing, which is watch the game and watch the commercials. And when the Mtn Dew Major Melon commercial comes on, just count all the Mtn Dew Major Melon bottles on the commercial, post what you think is the total number tagging Mtn Dew’s Twitter handle, and if you’re right you could win a million bucks. That’s real money. That is life-changing money. That’s a number that can give you a whole different perspective on things, and all you have to do is what you’re doing anyways. I think it’s a great way to get an event we’re all passive fans, we can now be active in this event. We can post a bunch of times with Mtn Dew Major Melon totals and you’ll get out of it what you put into it [laughs].

If you’re really dedicated in your activity, you can go for it and give yourself a chance, and if you don’t do anything, you don’t have a chance. You’re gonna be watching the game anyway. You’re gonna be watching the Mtn Dew Major Melon commercial. Why not take a chance, make a post and tag Mtn Dew’s Twitter handle and you could win a million dollars?

Machine Gun Kelly made his SNL debut over the weekend. The rapper-turned-pop punk chart topper performed “my ex’s best friend” and “Lonely,” and fell off the stage after trying to lift his tattooed doppelgänger Pete Davidson. Before the episode aired, Machine Gun Kelly tweeted, “I remember when I was a kid watching @nbcsnl every weekend with my aunt and my dad. Since they aren’t here to see this moment, I’m going to perform the song I wrote for them on the show. Hopefully I’ll feel them there.” His girlfriend, actress Megan Fox, was there at Studio 8H, however, and she had high praise for his set.

“SNL week,” she wrote on Instagram. “Best performance that show has ever seen.” Chris Gaines (and, y’know, Prince and Radiohead and Nirvana and Kendrick Lamar and Taylor Swift and Stevie Nicks and Paul McCartney and all the other non-Chris Gaines musical guests through SNL‘s nearly five-decade history) must be furious.

Fox has called dating Machine Gun Kelly a “once in a lifetime thing” and a connection of “mythic proportions,” and that “loving him is like being in love with a tsunami or a forest fire. The intensity of merging with him is just overwhelming, and the threat it poses is so powerful but so beautiful that you have no choice to surrender with reverence and with gratitude.” That also describes my feelings for Chris Gaines on SNL.

You can watch MGK’s performances below.

The streaming services continue to crank out fresh content during the pandemic, although the faucet has undeniably slowed on cable and network TV. Never fear, this can be a time of exploration and stepping outside one’s comfort zone. Take, for example, Jim Belushi’s recent social media inquiry. The weed connoisseur and Blues Brother sought anime recommendations on Twitter and received a lot of cannabis jokes in response. However, he also received genuine suggestions, which were rad. Hopefully, he’s enjoying some of those shows because, honestly, there are so many different Japanese anime genres that I believe anyone who is willing can find something to dig.

Jumping over that initial hurdle requires some effort because, let’s face it, knowing where to begin with anime TV can seem intimidating (movies are a little easier because Studio Ghibli is a slam-dunk starting point if you wanna go there). Many of these shows arrive with frenetic promos, spiky-haired characters, cosplay-enthusiast fans, and, yes, the subtitles. That’s where we’re attempting to provide some insight: with suggestions on accessible series that might appeal to you, based upon similarities to live-action series. Don’t expect us to get precious about dub (dubbed voices) versus sub (subtitles) here. Nope, we’re not gonna nerd out that much but, instead, we shall focus on the stories and characters that we think you might enjoy and, hopefully, bingewatch.

Here we go with our first suggestion, Death Note (2006, Viz Media), all 37 episodes of which are streamable on Hulu, HBO Max, Netflix, and the king of all anime-stacked streaming services, Crunchyroll.

What Death Note is about: They say that boredom kills, right? Well, in this series, the sentiment lives, literally. A bored god of death (a Shinigami) named Ryuk seeks amusement by visiting Earth and dropping a mysterious notebook into a Japanese schoolyard. A bored 17-year-old genius, Light Yagami, sees the projectile fall to the ground and cannot resist checking it out. He also cannot resist making use of the notebook’s purpose once he reads a few initial rules that are scribbled within its confines. Here’s how those rules boil down:

– The Death Note notebook has the power to kill any human whose name is written in the note.
– The writer must envision the person’s face while writing his or her name. This prevents the death of, say, the wrong John Smith; it also requires that the writer must know the true name of the person they wish to kill.
– The cause of death may be specified, and if no specification is made, the target will die from a heart attack.
– The Death Note cannot kill a Shinigami.
– The writer won’t be punished in the afterlife for using this book, though he will be prohibited from entering both Heaven and Hell.

As one can guess, Light kills once and finds that (much like with a can of Pringles) once he’s popped that top, he just can’t stop. He initially justifies his actions by thinking of himself in vigilante terms: if he kills a criminal and stops one crime, why not kill all criminals? He even manages to directly save a woman who almost certainly would have been raped, if he had not intervened with the notebook. Convinced that he’s doing good and creating a new world, for which he aims to eventually be a god, Light starts knocking off known convicted criminals, too. Soon enough, the bodies start piling up along with plentiful news coverage (all of those mysterious heart attacks don’t make sense) of a figure that becomes known as “Kira.” And law enforcement starts digging into matters with the help of an enigmatic detective, known only as L. That’s when the cat-and-mouse war of wills begins, and it’s a testament to the writing on this series that the dynamic between Light and L. never grows tiresome, despite spanning dozens of episodes.

The story remains quite simple — both L and Light are attempting to figure out each other’s identities while dancing too close to their opposing flames. In L’s case, he obviously wants to bring a serial killer to justice. In Light’s case, he wants L’s name, so it can go in that Death Note. It might seem like I’m giving away too much, but rest assured that endless twists arrive to make these tasks increasingly difficult for both figures.

What’s so brilliant about how this is handled: This is no mere cat-and-mouse game but essentially a Greek tragedy, one that’s reminiscent of that famous quote — “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” — from Sophocles’ Antigone. And there’s not much more of an “absolute power” than being able to kill scores of people by simply scrawling a name in a notebook. Strangely enough, though, this story manages to paint Light as both ruthless and vainglorious as it does to frame him as both godly and… likeable. Who among us hasn’t imagined, even for a moment, that the world might be a better place if truly evil figures never existed? One can sympathize with Light’s initial perspective, and then his mindset slides off the rails in many ways.

As fascinating as Light is, L manages to be even more charismatic. He, too, enters the story as a “bored” character, but his intelligence is almost breathtaking, and it’s a thrill to watch his mind work. There’s also no downsides to his agenda or how he maneuvers, either, which makes it ever more difficult for the audience to wrestle with how one will cheer on Light every time he slips through L’s fingers. It says a lot that I wouldn’t mind having a cardboard standee of the blue-haired L in my office, and yet, I still rooted for Light for a great deal of the show’s runtime. Still, L’s a different type of detective than most people have witnessed on TV, and Death Note created this character out of respect for an audience’s appreciation of brilliance and taking no shortcuts on the way to a goal.

Meanwhile, Ryuk is a blast. He’s a total pain in the ass to Light, but he’s truly an amusing spectator to behold once he unleashes that Death Note and remains invisible to all humans except for Light. Yes, he’s like the Devil on one’s shoulder, but more like a jester, since Light’s definitely acting of his own accord. Ryuk is also bound by the Death Note’s rules, so he cannot intervene, but watching his apple-chomping antics and sheer glee at the story unfolding before him makes him part of the audience. The show pulls this feat and every other turn so believably, that this feels like a superior live-action show, so yes, it is an excellent starter series into one’s anime adventure.

Those Live-Action Parallels: Obviously, there are heavy Dexter vibes at work. Not to give too much away here, but here, we’ve also got a serial-killer who grows very close to the very law enforcement members who are investigating all of the murders he commits, and he attempts to game things for his advantage. Also, he’s got a dangerous girlfriend, who’s making things better or worse for him at every turn. Yet I assure you that this show does not end up in lumberjack-land in the series finale. Granted this series could have eventually gone somewhere comparably unsatisfying, had it drawn on for as many episodes as Dexter, but the powers that be made sure that Death Note stayed tightly plotted while packing an almost absurd amount of twists within its 37 episodes. The ending is as satisfying as can be, given that the story needed to end to stay great.

Killing Eve also pops up very quickly as a frame of reference because things go further than a mere cat-and-mouse game between Light and L. It’s more like a cat-and-lion game, and I won’t say who’s the lion, but very clearly, both Light and L are dangerously obsessed with their target while also, ever-so-secretly, respecting the hell out of each other, too. Likewise, there’s some dark humor in this show and a cast of oddball supporting characters to drive both Light and L up the wall. Come to think of it, Ryuk feels like an amalgamation of the mentor characters from Killing Eve, so let that be further incentive to dig into this wild and intriguing chess game of a show.

A word of warning: Do not feel tempted to watch the live-action Netflix movie. That adaptation stars Lakeith Stanfield as L and Willem Dafoe as Ryuk, and it manages to ruin a fascinating story in about 1 hour and 45 minutes. The film is dumbed-down and Western-ized (insultingly so), and Light (Nat Wolff) loses all of his layers. He’s simply a personality-free killer, and it doesn’t work. I hate to ruin my encouragement of pursuing the anime series by pointing you toward the trailer for the movie, but please, only regard this as an example of everything that could have gone wrong with the premise of Death Note, which is handled magnificently by the Viz media anime series. In other words, laugh at this movie trailer and then stream the TV show instead.

‘Death Note’ is currently streaming on HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix, and Crunchyroll.

In 2014, Lady Gaga teamed up with the now-94-year-old music legend Tony Bennett for their Grammy-winning collaborative album Cheek To Cheek. The pair has a follow-up to that album on the way this year, but recording sessions weren’t always easy, which led to at least one emotional moment for Gaga.

Bennett is the subject of a new AARP profile, which reveals that the singer was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016. The piece also reveals that Gaga and Bennett recorded a new album between 2018 and early 2020 and that the project is “finally being prepared for release this spring.” The feature then notes that Bennett was traditionally a demanding perfectionist in the studio before telling a heartbreaking story about his latest sessions with Gaga:

“But Tony was a considerably more muted presence during the recording of the new album with Gaga. In raw documentary footage of the sessions, he speaks rarely, and when he does, his words are halting; at times, he seems lost and bewildered. Gaga, clearly aware of his condition, keeps her utterances short and simple (as is recommended by experts in the disease when talking to Alzheimer’s patients). ‘You sound so good, Tony,’ she tells him at one point. ‘Thanks,’ is his one-word response. She says that she thinks ‘all the time’ about their 2015 tour. Tony looks at her wordlessly. ‘Wasn’t that fun every night?’ she prompts him. ‘Yeah,’ he says, uncertainly. The pain and sadness in Gaga’s face is clear at such moments — but never more so than in an extraordinarily moving sequence in which Tony (a man she calls ‘an incredible mentor, and friend, and father figure’) sings a solo passage of a love song. Gaga looks on, from behind her mic, her smile breaking into a quiver, her eyes brimming, before she puts her hands over her face and sobs.”

The piece then notes that Bennett will likely not be as present in promoting the album as he was with his and Gaga’s first one: “The new LP offers lush, gorgeous duets, with both singers in superb voice. But there is one duty, in connection with the record, that Tony is manifestly not able to perform: promotional interviews. (When I asked him, ‘Are you excited about the new record with Gaga?’ he stared at me silently.) This has left those in charge of Tony’s life and career — chiefly [son] Danny [Bennett] and [wife] Susan [Bennett] — in a quandary. Eager for as many ears as possible to hear and enjoy what may very well be the last Tony Bennett record, they have jointly decided to break the silence around his condition, a decision they have, necessarily, had to make without Tony’s input, since he is, Susan said, incapable of understanding the disease, let alone making momentous decisions about whether to publicly disclose it.”

The feature isn’t all sad stories about Bennett, though. Dr. Gayatri Devi, the neurologist who diagnosed Bennett, is impressed by the singer’s functional abilities, saying, “[He has] cognitive issues, but multiple other areas of his brain are still resilient and functioning well. He is doing so many things, at 94, that many people without dementia cannot do. He really is the symbol of hope for someone with a cognitive disorder.”

Read the full feature here.

Evan Rachel Wood has previously spoken out on multiple occasions about being the survivor of abuse and rape without naming her abuser(s). In 2016, she revealed during a Rolling Stone interview, “I’ve been raped. By a significant other while we were together. And on a separate occasion, by the owner of a bar.” She followed up on the subject at least twice while testifying in front of lawmakers to pass survivor-geared legislation (more on that below), and on Monday morning, she posted to Instagram to directly identify ex-partner Marilyn Manson as her alleged abuser.

Wood and Manson went public with their relationship in 2007. At the time, she was 19 years old, and he was 38, and their relationship included an engagement (in 2010) before they split. In her Instagram post, Wood accuses Manson of “grooming” and “horrifically abusing” her over the course of their relationship:

“The name of my abuser is Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson. He started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years. I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission. I am done living in fear of retaliation, slander, or blackmail. I am here to expose this dangerous man and call out the many industries that have enabled him, before he ruins any more lives. I stand with the many victims who will no longer be silent.”

As of this writing, Marilyn Manson has not responded to Wood’s Instagram post. Previously in 2020, his representatives issued a lengthy statement (via NME) that denied all allegations of abuse against him. That statement arrived after Manson reportedly hung up during a phone interview with Metal Injection when asked about Wood.

As noted previously, Wood spoke about her previous experiences as a survivor without naming an alleged abuser. Following her Rolling Stone interview, she headed to Capitol Hill to do so, and in 2018, she testified in front of Congress in support of the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights Act. While speaking to the House Judiciary Committee, she declared of the abuse, “It started slow but escalated over time, including threats against my life, severe gaslighting and brainwashing, [and] waking up to the man that claimed to love me raping what he believed to be my unconscious body.”

In 2019, Wood followed up on her previous statements while testifying in front of the California Senate Public Safety Committee in support of the Phoenix Bill (to expand the rights of domestic abuse survivors). During a detailed account, Wood declared that her unnamed abuser “beat me and shocked sensitive parts of my body with a torture device called a violet wand.” She continued: “The pain was excruciating. It felt like I left my body and a part of me died that day.”

In response to Wood’s Monday Instagram post, four other women (as discussed by Vanity Fair) have come forward against Manson with allegations of abuse against him. And last week, Wood seemed to suggest that she was preparing a statement of some sort while referencing the 1986 Jim Henson film, Labyrinth. In doing so, she quoted the words of Jennifer Connelly’s teen character while she took back her power from David Bowie’s Goblin King: “Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle, beyond the goblin city, to take back the child that you have stolen. For my will is as strong as yours… And my kingdom is as great…”

(Via Evan Rachel Wood on Instagram)

A few months ago, one of music’s biggest power couples got engaged: In October, Blake Shelton revealed that he proposed to Gwen Stefani and she said yes, tweeting, “Hey @gwenstefani thanks for saving my 2020… And the rest of my life.. I love you. I heard a YES!” So now, the pair has a wedding to plan, and Miley Cyrus may have saved them a step by offering to be their wedding singer.

The exchange started with Cyrus tweeting a clip of herself performing “Prisoner” during her recent Tiny Desk concert, which prompted Stefani to respond, “talented geeezzzz.” Cyrus quote-tweeted that and added, “When my hero’s tweet me I get horny,” to which Stefani replied, “omg your crazy!! blushing.” That’s when Cyrus made her offer, tweeting, “ALSO @gwenstefani @blakeshelton I’ll be your wedding singer! I promise to be on my best behavior. Or worst. whatever you want! It’s your special day! Cheers to loving you both almost as much as you love each other!”

For the record, Stefani neither accepted nor declined the proposition, as she responded with a grateful but non-committal “thanks puppy.”

It wouldn’t be a surprise if Cyrus’ offer got the go-ahead from Shelton, though, as he has a history of being involved in friends’ ceremonies: In 2019, he officiated a wedding between fellow country star Trace Adkins and actress Victoria Pratt.