Month: March 2021

It seems like every day brings another “BeatBox” freestyle, but Lil Yachty has arrived to shut it all down with his offering to the trend, “No More Beatboxing Freestyle.” As you may have guessed from the title, the first half of the song utilizes the beat from Coi Leray’s viral hit “No More Parties,” while the second half sees Boat taking a swing at SpotemGottem’s “BeatBox” instrumental.

In the accompanying visual, a solo Yachty roams his playhouse-like home, showing off his art collection. I use “art” here loosely, because the setup mostly consists of pop culture ephemera like life-size Batman and Ninja Turtle statues (shout out Leonardo), a clear-top piano, and a truly jaw-dropping collection of sneakers. In his rhymes, the former self-declared “king of the teens” recalls his explosive entry into the rap game and touches on his recent forays into Michigan’s underground rap scene with tracks like “Not Regular” and “Royal Rumble.”

Yachty, who is fresh off the dual releases of his tracks “Asshole” and “In My Stussy’s,” is the latest rapper to tackle the viral hit since DaBaby turned in a scene-stealing “Beat Box” freestyle of his own. Since then, Deante’ Hitchcock, Mulatto, and Polo G have all tried their hands, with Polo adding the twist of connecting the “No More Parties” beat, along with CJ’s “Whoopty.”

You should know better than to underestimate Cardi B. From her initial rise as a social media personality, to her status today as the reigning Queen of Rap, Cardi has shown herself to be an immensely durable and versatile figure within the popular imagination: a true renaissance (wo)man, capable of flitting between several different spheres while remaining completely and authentically herself.

This is no mean feat. Historically, the general public has reserved a great deal of suspicion for celebrities who have worn several hats. We’ve all sniggered at Gwyneth Paltrow’s transition from Hollywood actress to wellness guru under the banner of her tiresome lifestyle brand GOOP. We’ve all rolled our eyes at another Hollywood star flogging a vanity album of themselves crooning their way through an uninspiring selection of jazz or folk standards. Reality TV stars who have transitioned into music have an even more dubious track record. Who can forget Kim Kardashian’s first and last single, “Jam (Turn It Up)” (apart from almost everyone?)

Cardi B was born Belcalis Almanzar in 1992 in The Bronx, to a Trinidadian mother and a Dominican father. After being fired from several jobs (including working at a deli counter and as a cashier), in 2013 Cardi began to work as a stripper – a decision which she credits with “saving her,” giving her the ability to leave an abusive relationship and go back to school. It is during this period that Cardi first appeared in the public consciousness, when she began posting videos on Instagram and dearly-departed microblogging site, Vine.

Despite being several years away from starting her rap career, the star of these Vines is instantaneously recognizable as Cardi B. All the ingredients are there: the distinctive accent (part abrasive New Yawker, part melodious Spanish), the outrageous cackle, the outsized personality (part silly, part sexy, part campy), the filthy sense of humor and carnal preoccupation that, several years later, would result in endless criticism from conservative Americans. By 2013, the full range of Card B-isms were already in place: the trills and exclamations, the tongue-pop she uses like punctuation.

A 2017 cover story with The Fader describes the moment Cardi B’s manager encouraged her to “give rapping a try,” citing her distinctive accent as evidence that she’d do well as a rapper: “She had a natural ear for music. Her speaking style, in certain scenarios – like when she yelled at a dude on the phone – were proof of a unique voice.” While it’s true that Cardi raps how she speaks, she also raps what she speaks. Many of the snappy, vivid punchlines from Cardi’s Vines were recirculated, several years later, as rap verses. In one clip, Cardi B addresses the camera, faux-seriously: “People be asking me, like ‘what do you does? Are you a model? Are you like a comedian or something?” She smirks: “Nah, I ain’t none of that! I’m a hoe. I’m a stripper hoe. I’m about this shmoneyyyyy.” Two years later, Cardi would release “Stripper Hoe” and “What a Girl Likes” (the chorus of which goes, ‘gimme shmoney, gimme gimme shmoney’) – a crafty repurposing of comedic material which had been years in percolation.

Indeed, it is very easy to imagine a reality in which Cardi is a model or a comedian. A VP of a New York celebrity talent agency described her as “A TV personality – she was born to be famous.” Unsurprising then, that Cardi excelled when she was cast on VH1 reality show Love & Hip-Hop, quickly becoming the show’s break-out star. One standout moment from the show went viral: while discussing an ex-friend, Cardi declares “if a girl has beef with me, she gon have beef with me -” a loaded pause, a pirouette – “forevah.” Again, a year later the zinger would reappear, as the chorus of excoriating single, “Forever.”

This phenomenon has begun happening without Cardi B’s input. In the first few months of the pandemic, Cardi posted an impassioned monologue imploring her followers to take the virus seriously, which resulted in several, ahem, viral remixes.

If you are a martian who somehow hasn’t heard a single Cardi B song, you would be forgiven for thinking, from these accounts, that Cardi makes novelty music. That her music is an extended joke, an overplayed meme, the commercially-driven over-extension of a social media personality. This isn’t the case, at all – Cardi B’s rhymes may be superficially amusing, but her songs frequently have great soul and depth. In this instance, the things that make her great at social media – her charm, her scrutiny, her self-awareness – translate into being great at making music.

Something particularly notable about Cardi’s debut album, Invasion Of Privacy, is that it feels retro – oddly so, for a star who has built their career through social media. In an age where albums are frequently formatted to appease Spotify algorithms (see: Drake’s Scorpion, which stretched to a whopping 25 tracks, presumably to wring as many streams out of each user as possible), Cardi’s debut is a very reasonable 13 songs.

It would have been easy for Cardi to pack Invasion Of Privacy full of racy raps and crowd-pleasing braggadocio, but instead, the album is nuanced, an emotionally varied piece of work. One example of this is “Be Careful,” a bruised ode to a cheating lover. Here, Cardi is measured and beneficent, rather than vengeful: “Do you know what you’re doing? Whose feelings that you’re hurting and bruising? You gonna gain the whole world, but is it worth the girl that you’re losing?”

In a 2019 article for The Guardian, Jia Tolentino described social media as humans “reproducing the lessons of the marketplace.” In many ways, Cardi has done this throughout her entire career – she’s just been one step ahead of the marketplace the entire time. Rather than waiting for the internet to make memes out of her, Cardi memes herself, exhaustively mining her own back catalogue and reprocessing her best bits. Rather than working with a label A&R department to form her image and to grow her fanbase, like a rapping Venus, Cardi arrived fully-formed. Watching back over her old Vines, we see a fully-fledged star, a totally cohesive media personality with a distinct vocabulary and a ready-made fanbase of millions of followers. All Atlantic had to do was ink the contract and send over the songwriters.

As streaming and social media has complicated the business of being a pop star, a new term has emerged in A&R circles. The ‘artist-brand’ – a marketing construct which presents the idealized pop star as a global media personality, who can command several streams of revenue, and who are able to communicate and promote themselves effectively across cultural contexts, and within many different forms of media. Cardi has intuitively taken to the spheres of social media, television, and music – what comes next? Interestingly, Cardi has proven herself to be a skilled political commentator. She was a valuable asset to the Bernie Sanders campaign, hosting a charming interview with the senator. Her presence loomed large during the New York Women’s March, with her tweets and song lyrics appearing on several signs held by attendees.

While Americans may be finished with reality TV stars becoming president, it isn’t difficult to imagine Cardi establishing herself as a maverick political influencer. Personally, I can’t wait for the next installment of The Cardi B Show.

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

Before The Falcon and the Winter Soldier landed on Disney+ on March 19, The Mandalorian and WandaVision were the top series for the streaming services as it continues to have a strong showing in its second year. In just 72 hours, Mando and Wanda were already moving down the bench. According to internal numbers from Disney+ — which, for the record, like Netflix are not verified by a third party — The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is now the most watched series premiere ever after besting WandaVision‘s debut and the Season 2 premiere of The Mandalorian. Via Marvel:

Disney+ Original series The Falcon and The Winter Soldier from Marvel Studios ranked as the most watched series premiere ever on Disney+ during its opening weekend, Friday, March 19 – Sunday, March 22, and the most watched title overall for the same time period on a global basis, including in Disney+ Hotstar markets.

Of course, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier‘s success wouldn’t have been possible without both WandaVision and The Mandalorian crushing it. Those series set the bar on what to expect from Disney+, so it only tracks that viewers quickly lined up for Falcon and Winter Soldier after Wanda and Mando became can’t miss, water cooler events each week like clockwork. Heck, as of this writing, Marvel fans are still buzzing about The Falcon and the Winter Soldier‘s surprise ending, and just like WandaVision, the fan theories are already working themselves into a lather as folks try to figure out what’s happening with the new Captain America.

And, no, he’s not Mephisto. Probably.

(Via Marvel)

Mannequin Pussy turned heads in 2019 with Patience, their third album overall and first on Epitaph Records, which landed them on a number of year-end lists. The group isn’t back with a new album quite yet, but they do have a batch of new music on the way pretty soon: Mannequin Pussy has announced their new EP Perfect, which is set for release on May 21.

They have previewed the album with a video for “Control,” an exciting new track that starts with quiet guitar strumming and equally subdued vocals before exploding into an aggressive rocker. In the clip, Marisa Dabice (aka Missy) finds herself in a three-wall outdoor bedroom set, which she eventually destroys.

The EP arrives after the band members spent most of 2020 apart before booking studio time to work together in person again. They had two pre-written songs before the session began but decided to write new material on the fly as well. The band’s Dabice says of that experience, “We just figured if we forced ourselves into this situation where someone could hit ‘record,’ something might come out. We’d never written that way before.”

Watch the “Control” video above and check out the Perfect art and tracklist below. Also revisit our 2019 interview with Mannequin Pussy here.

1. “Control”
2. “Perfect”
3. “To Lose You”
4. “Pigs Is Pigs”
5. “Darling”

Perfect is out 5/21 via Epitaph Records. Pre-order it here.

Who would’ve thought Atlanta would predict the entirety of Justin Bieber’s trajectory? A 2016 episode of Donald Glover’s popular FX series provides a cynical take on the pop star’s career: portrayed by Black actor Austin Crute, the fictionalized Bieber reveals the “real Justin” to a sea of reporters while exclaiming his love for Christ and introducing a single from his new album — aptly titled Justice.

Whether it’s merely a coincidence or a Simpsons-level peek into the future, it’s a spot-on reflection of Bieber’s 180 spin, from tortured teen star to content husband who solely lives for his wife and Christ. 2020’s fifth-career album Changes, released five years after Purpose, was meant to be a comeback following an infamous string of downfalls that scattered TMZ’s homepage. But it was ultimately marred by critics, as its stellar R&B-lite moments were overshadowed by tinny synths and too much emphasis on Bieber The Married Man.

For his new album Justice (released on March 19), Bieber makes it very clear that the honeymoon phase still isn’t over three years following his marriage to Hailey Baldwin. Unfortunately, Justice fails to honor the singer’s newly realized path to redemption.

The album opens with Martin Luther King’s famous statement “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” lifted from a 1963 letter during his stint in a Birmingham jail, which leads into “2 Much.” The song is actually a beautiful piano-laden ode to Bieber’s wife, yet its meaning is completely disjointed when paired with Dr. King.

The honored civil rights leader inexplicably makes another appearance on Justice’s “MLK Interlude.” Derived from a 1967 sermon titled “But If Not,” the track preaches about fiercely standing up for what you believe in: “If you have never found something so dear and so precious to you that you will die for it then you ain’t fit to live.” Standing on its own, Dr. King’s words are a powerful mission statement. But his presence on the record is quite jarring; it’s less a call for equality and more of a messy rephrasing for bettering one’s (in this case, Bieber’s) life.

Pushing the confusing racial undertones aside, Justice is a journey back to 2012’s Believe, with Bieber exploring the synth-driven sounds that initially skyrocketed his career. But rather than the EDM-pop that marked the early ‘10s era, the singer goes full ‘80s dance with sprinklings of ‘90s adult contemporary. It’s all captured on Justice’s neon-splashed artwork, with Bieber looking contemplative as he kneels in the middle of a freeway. The art is vaguely reminiscent of Alanis Morrisette’s Jagged Little Pill, Savage Garden’s Truly Madly Completely: The Best Of Savage Garden, Madonna’s True Blue, and Soft Cell’s Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret. But once you step inside the album, those thrilling inspirations fall flat.

“Holy,” featuring the preachy frequent collaborator Chance The Rapper, is a diluted attempt to recreate Bieber’s religious renewal as a Hillsong Church attendee. “Die For You” too closely follows the retro path of The Weeknd’s chart-dominating After Hours, with Bieber putting his passion for Hailey into overdrive while his vocals blends into guest artist Dominic Fike’s own. The “Ghost” memorial leans into the aforementioned adult contemporary genre with its radio-friendly acoustic guitar riffs, while the Khalid-assisted “As I Am” is a formulaic recreation of Believe’s poppier moments.

But there are songs that find Bieber at his brightest. The equally vibrant and motivating “Hold On” will satiate the diehard Purpose fans, as the singer perfectly taps into his Top 40 pop magic. “Deserve You” is one of the album’s most tender moments (its heartwarming melody is slightly reminiscent of R&B group Ruff Endz’s 2002 “Someone To Love You” single), while “Loved By You” showcases just how versatile Nigerian star Burna Boy remains when he steps away from his Afrobeat foundation. “Peaches” is the main highlight (the NPR “Tiny Desk” version is a must-watch), the most R&B-driven single that picks up where Changes left off. Its breeziness compliments Bieber’s sonic effortlessness, albeit could’ve been made stronger if guests Daniel Caesar and Giveon were substituted for artists who both better represent the song’s mentioned locations and the song’s flow: Atlanta’s 6lack, Los Angeles’ Miguel, and fellow Canadian Partynextdoor.

“Lonely,” the album’s closer and its second single, is one of Bieber’s more vulnerable songs. Co-written and produced by Benny Blanco and Finneas, it’s a raw insight into the struggles caused by instant fame. It’s admittedly become a bit watered down due to its appearance in Samsung commercials, but lyrics like “Everybody saw me sick and it felt like no one gave a shit / They criticized the things I did as an idiot kid” are still an emotional gut-punch.

Sure, being madly in love with your dream girl is a beautiful thing. But Bieber would’ve been better off finding justice for himself if, like on “Lonely,” he continued to turn the mirror on his own growth.

Justice is out now via Def Jam. Get it here.

Thanks to The Queen’s Gambit, chess sets were as hard to find last year as the Playstation 5. The New York Times reported that in the weeks following the premiere of the Netflix limited series, sales for chess sets increased by 125 percent, while an eBay spokesperson “said the company had recorded a 215 percent increase in sales of chess sets and accessories since the debut of the show in October.”

This is exactly what Anya Taylor-Joy hoped for when she signed up for the series.

“We used to joke on set that we were bringing sexy back to chess,” the Golden Globe-winning actress, who played Beth Harmon on The Queen’s Gambit, told Vanity Fair. “We didn’t really think that that’s what people would actually think. I love the fact that people are like, Yeah, I’m going to go play this guy at chess, it’s going to be really hot.”

“I don’t think you can be an even kind of sane person and be walking around, like”—she does a parodic hair flip of self-satisfaction and puts on a haughty voice to intone—“I have reinvigorated the game of chess!” Just that morning, one of her best friends had told her that their boyfriend was playing on chess.com against a Beth bot. A what now? “Oh, yeah, on chess.com you can play Beth Harmon at different ages.” (The Beth bots have, alas, been disabled.)

If only puppets had a chess-like renaissance. Then maybe there would be another season of Taylor-Joy’s other fantastic Netflix series, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. There’s still time. Bring sexy back to Skeksis, Netflix!

(Via Vanity Fair)

For the second time in less than a week, a U.S. mass shooting is dominating headlines after a gunman opened fire in a Boulder, Colorado grocery store. During the Monday afternoon attack, ten people (including one police officer) were killed at a local King Sooper’s store. CNN reports that a suspect is in custody, although his identity has not been revealed by authorities. According to USA Today, he was the only person “to receive non-fatal injuries” in the incident, and “[t]he man, wearing shorts but no shirt or shoes, was taken away by ambulance.”

The attack took place around 2:30 p.m. Mountain Time, and a handful of hours later, the National Rifle Association decided to, uh, add some shaded commentary. It’s not a good look, either, given that the organization tweeted out the Second Amendment: “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

Is this a failure or a refusal to read the room? Social media feels like it’s the latter.

Beyond that, it’s sadly obvious that the NRA has either completely ignored or misunderstood the words “well regulated.”

“We saw a well-regulated militia on Jan 6th,” tweeted user Susan Sewing. “No thank you. I’ll continue to support any efforts to further amend the existing Constitutional amendment that grants the right to bear arms, until senseless mass shootings and gun violence aren’t considered a necessary by-product.”

Then there’s the question of what the Founding Fathers would think of an endless cascade of mass shootings while a powerful organization continues to defend the purchase of assault rifles by civilians. Your move, Congress.

Today, Michelle Obama and her When We All Vote organization dropped an open letter in support of the For The People Act, which the Congress website says is intended “to expand Americans’ access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics, strengthen ethics rules for public servants, and implement other anti-corruption measures for the purpose of fortifying our democracy, and for other purposes.”

A lot of famous people showed their support for Obama’s letter by signing it, and musicians whose names appear on the letter include organization co-chairs Faith Hill, Janelle Monáe, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Selena Gomez; as well as Alicia Keys, Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Common, DJ Khaled, Fat Joe, Finneas, Jennifer Lopez, Joe Jonas, John Legend, Kevin Jonas, LL Cool J, Nick Jonas, and The Roots.

The letter begins, “We write to you today as citizens who love this country and care deeply about its future. And right now, the most important thing we can do to protect that future is to rise together in support of the For the People Act currently before the Senate — the most significant piece of legislation to strengthen our democracy since the Civil Rights movement.

Read the full letter below or here.

To the American People:

We write to you today as citizens who love this country and care deeply about its future. And right now, the most important thing we can do to protect that future is to rise together in support of the For the People Act currently before the Senate–the most significant piece of legislation to strengthen our democracy since the Civil Rights movement.

On January 6th, a violent mob laid siege to our nation’s Capitol, determined to overturn the results of a presidential election that their preferred candidate lost. It was a shocking and outrageous assault on our democracy–and a sobering reminder that we can no longer take our system of self-government for granted. In the months since, a new president and vice president were sworn in and some insurrectionists are now facing justice for their roles in that historic day of shame.

Yet we cannot act as if the threat to American democracy has passed.

Already this year, in state houses across the country, more than 250 bills spread across 43 states have been introduced to further weaken our democracy and make it more difficult for Americans to vote. These bills seek to make it harder to register to vote and cast a ballot by limiting early and mail-in voting and setting up more barriers that particularly impact Black, Brown, and young people. Some of these undemocratic measures have already become law, with others surely to follow.

What’s happening is this: After more Americans than ever voted in the last presidential election, some state leaders believe that silencing them is the only way to maintain their grip on power. They’re hoping to choose their voters, rather than the other way around. And if we as Americans stand idly by–if we wait for others to act or we refuse to do so with anything other than clear purpose and full-hearted patriotism–they will succeed.

Our nation was founded on the idea that as citizens, we should be able to determine our nation’s destiny. Generations of Americans have rightly organized, marched, and died to defend that ideal and expand voting and civil rights to women and minorities–a story that continues to this day. Today, the moment calls for us to take up that patriotic call to protect and expand those rights once again. And that’s why we must rally behind the passage of the For the People Act.

This bill is not about choosing one party or one issue over another. It is about commonsense reforms and best practices that make our democracy more open, more fair, and more inclusive. It is about reaffirming our founding principle that we can chart our own course as a nation.

The For the People Act is about moving closer to the America we aspire to be–a land of opportunity where every voice is heard and valued. Among the tremendous progress it promises, this bill will

• Expand automatic voter registration, adding as many as 50 million people to voter rolls;
• Expand same-day and online voter registration for federal elections, which are especially important for young people and first-time voters;
• Allow for pre-registration for 16- and 17-year-olds, so that when they get their driver’s license, they are also registered and ready to vote when they turn 18;
• Require two weeks of early voting for federal elections, including on the weekends and after work, and increased access to vote-by-mail, so no American has to decide between making their voice heard and earning a living, taking care of their family, or staying safe during a pandemic;
• Make Election Day a national holiday, making it easier for more Americans to cast a ballot;
• Restore the right to vote for people with felony convictions, which disproportionately impacts minority communities;
• Strengthen federal criminal penalties for those who misinform and intimidate people at the polls;
• Overhaul our campaign finance system to give ordinary Americans a greater voice in the political process and afford a more diverse array of people the opportunity to run; and
• Ban partisan gerrymandering and discriminatory voter purges.

We applaud the House for passing this bill, and now we urge the Senate to follow suit and do its part to protect our democracy. And if that means eliminating or instituting meaningful reform to the filibuster–a relic of Jim Crow and an arcane chamber rule increasingly abused to create gridlock and forestall progress–the Senate should act. We cannot continue to allow the will of the majority of Americans to be overshadowed by an oppositional few fixated on maintaining power. Because make no mistake, as a recent poll showed, large majorities of Americans support this bill across party lines–including more than half of Republican voters.

So today we call on Americans of conscience and goodwill to join us in taking a stand for voting rights and to put the power more firmly in the hands of the people. We urge every American to remember how it felt to watch as our Capitol was desecrated earlier this year–and to channel that outrage into patriotic duty.

We are asking you to join us by calling on your Senators to pass the For the People Act immediately–you can join our efforts right now at http://www.WhenWeAllVote.org.

Just as those who came before us turned the crack of a baton or the spray of a firehose into a Voting Rights Act; just as those who turned literacy tests, poll taxes, and other forms of discrimination into organized, concrete, and hopeful action on behalf of their votes, we too can make our mark on history. We too can right wrongs in our time and pave the way for those who come after us.

We can do so much better as a country. But we’ll never be able to do it alone. Now is our best chance to protect and strengthen our democracy and put power back where it belongs–with the people. We ask you to stand with us.

With hope,

When We All Vote Co-Chairs, Ambassadors and Supporters.”

After George Washington’s two-term stint as president ended, he got into the whiskey-making business. Theodore Roosevelt traveled to the jungle; George W. Bush took up dog paintings; and Barack Obama made a podcast with Bruce Springsteen. Donald Trump, meanwhile, has chosen to spend his post-presidency life “creepily shuffling around his Palm Beach resort, like the ghost of a retired dentist who drowned in a water hazard on the 18th hole,” as Seth Meyers put it during Monday’s episode of Late Night. Also, he could face sedition charges. Dog paintings are sounding good right now…

After making fun of Trump for wearing the same outfit every day — “red hat, white Polo, slacks that seem to be rising faster than the sea level” — and comparing him to a “lost grandpa who’s supposed to be watching the kids at the mall,” Meyers took a “Closer Look” at the former-president’s finances. Trump’s net worth fell by a reported $700 million while he was president, the Manhattan DA is investigating his tax returns, and his beloved Mar-a-Lago resort recently closed due to a COVID outbreak. “My god. COVID follows this guy like a rain cloud following Daffy Duck,” the host said. “His rallies, the White House, now Mar-a-Lago. He’s like a walking COVID test. If you’re ever in physical proximity to Donald Trump, you should quarantine for two weeks just to be safe.”

Trump is a “financially broken ghost criminal,” the “coughing swamp joke of Palm Beach,” Meyers continued, who’s now the “color of spackle” with a broken plane. On the bright side, at least his wax statue isn’t getting punched and clawed anymore.

You can watch the Late Night clip above.

In this week’s episode of Rob Lowe’s podcast Literally!, the host had on Vanessa Bayer, the actress who left as the longest-running female cast member ever on Saturday Night Live (she has since been surpassed by Kate McKinnon). In the episode, Bayer talked to Lowe at length about her love of Tommy Boy, and she briefly talked about the pilot she’s shooting for Showtime loosely that’s based on her own life as a childhood survivor of leukemia.

Mostly, however, Bayer and Lowe shared stories about Saturday Night Live. Lowe endeavored to get Bayer to admit to her favorite and least favorite hosts, but she wouldn’t dish, saying that there’s something of an unofficial rule about not disclosing the worst hosts, while there were too many great hosts to list. She also said that she knows from experience that the cast is probably very frustrated with all the celebrity cameos on the series over the last few years because they know how good the cast could be at playing those characters, and they hate losing those opportunities.

One of the more fascinating SNL topics, however, was Rob Lowe’s obsession with how people are arranged on the stage during the sign-off. Bayer had her own thoughts on that.

“There was an episode,” Bayer said, “where I can’t remember the host’s name, but he had gotten in trouble for some domestic abuse or something, and none of us were really thrilled about him hosting. None of the women wanted to be near him for goodnights, so if you watch the goodnights with him, it looks like it’s an all-male show. Women are just all around the periphery of the stage.”

While Bayer did not specify who the host was, it’s not too hard to figure it out, although it wasn’t a host but a musical guest. Watching the sign-off for the February 12, 2011 episode matches that exact description. There was barely a woman in the frame, and they all stayed well clear of the musical guest.

Bayer did say, however, that the goodnights are a big deal for the cast. “Especially in my first season, the bigger the host, I just wanted to go up there and hug them. Because it’s also the part that your friends and family are so excited about. If you get to hug someone cool during goodnights, that’s all anyone cares about.”

Rob Lowe then shared that, on two of the three occasions in which he hosted, he had someone crash his goodnight. Once it was Chevy Chase, who just happened to be bumming around the stage that night and decided to come out for the goodbyes. That’s not the one, however, that has been annoying Rob Lowe for the last 20 years.

“It was Brendan Fraser,” Lowe explained. “And I was going ‘Goodnight. Thank you! I want to thank everybody!’ and in the background, he’s yelling, ‘BEDAZZLED! BEDAZZLED! BEDAZZLED!’”

“Do you know why?” Bayer asked.

“He had a movie called Bedazzled that was opening that weekend, but I have spent many years trying to figure out what was going on with Brendan that night. And the nearest I can come to is that he was somehow promised a walk-on during the show and the show ran long, and he was like, ‘F*ck it! I’m going to go up and yell Bedazzled behind Rob Lowe’s head. BEDAZZLED.”

Bayer, for her part, didn’t have anything to add to Lowe’s experience, but she did wisely single out Fraser’s brilliant performance in the Pauly Shore movie, Encino Man. She is not wrong.

Source: Literally! with Rob Lowe