Month: May 2021

Starting today, Friends: The Reunion is streaming on HBO Max. TV fans have been waiting for something like this for a long time, and it turns out the show has a treat for music enthusiasts as well. Of course, the show’s most beloved musical export is Phoebe Buffay’s song “Smelly Cat,” and for the reunion, Lisa Kudrow performed the song alongside Lady Gaga.

On the special, Gaga enters the room to Kudrow strumming her guitar. Gaga, wielding her own axe, joins Kudrow on the couch to sing the song. Eventually, they’re joined by a gospel choir to flesh out the song. Gaga also had a heartfelt message for Kudrow, telling her, “Thank you so much for being the person for all of us on Friends that was… I don’t know if this is the right way to say it, but the different one, or the one that was really herself.” Kudrow responded, “Thank you, and thanks for carrying it along.”

Ben Winston, who directed and produced the reunion, told Variety that Gaga was immediately on board with singing “Smelly Cat” for the special:

“I said to Lisa, ‘Would you be prepared to sing it?’ And she was like, ‘Yeah, that would be fun.’ We went through a few names, and we both agreed that Gaga, if we could get her, would be the ultimate one because she associates with and feels close to Phoebe in so many ways, as Gaga says on the show. That was a really beautiful moment. And Lady Gaga jumped at the chance to do it. We sat there with the two guitars with Lisa and her and worked it out there and then.”

Watch Gaga and Kudrow perform “Smelly Cat” above.

Through two games, the defenses in L.A. and Phoenix have shined and forced the stars to come up with some incredible shot-making in what has become one of the best series of the first round. After the Suns nabbed Game 1 at home, the Lakers responded by swiping homecourt in a 109-102 win in Phoenix, sending the series to L.A. tied at 1-1.

For the Lakers it was their three best players that did the job in Game 2, as LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Dennis Schröder were all tremendous in the win. Davis led the way with 34 points, erasing the memory of his dud of a Game 1 by being the dominant force the Lakers remember from last year’s title run. Schröder had 24 points in one of his best games as a Laker, proving he can be a serious X-Factor in this series and possibly beyond. James, meanwhile, closed the show down with some ridiculous shot-making as he went for 23 points to outlast a late Suns rally. Phoenix’s two young stars continued to play spectacularly in Game 2, as Deandre Ayton had 22 points and 10 boards, while Devin Booker once again went for 31 points to lead the Suns in scoring.

The big issue facing Phoenix entering Game 3 is the health of Chris Paul, who’s shoulder was clearly still bothering him as he had just six points and five assists in the Game 2 loss. The Lakers covered as two-point favorites in Game 2, with the total going over by half a point in the closing seconds for a brutal loss for Under bettors.

Game 3 TV Info

Tip Time: Thursday, May 27; 10:00 p.m. ET
TV Network: TNT

Game 3 Betting Lines (via DraftKings Sportsbook)

Series Prices: Lakers (-315), Suns (+240)
Spread: Lakers -7 (-112), Suns +7 (-110)
Total: Over 210.5(-110), Under 210.5 (-112)
Money Line: Lakers (-315), Suns (+255)

After an overtime thriller in Game 1, the expectation was for another slugfest in Game 2 between the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks, but it only took one quarter of play for the Bucks to run away and hide behind some outrageous three-point shooting, as they buried the Heat in a 132-98 win that felt every bit like a 34-point blowout.

The Bucks got production from just about everybody, as Giannis Antetokounmpo dominated with 31 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists, while Bryn Forbes caught fire in the first half on his way to a 22-point outing that no one saw coming. Jrue Holiday only had 11 points, but showed his value as the orchestrator of the Bucks offense, dishing out 15 assists as he happily fed all of Milwaukee’s red-hot shooters. On the other side, the Heat’s leading scorer was Dewayne Dedmon with 19 points, which tells you just about everything you need to know about their offensive output in Game 2. Milwaukee’s defense continues to mystify Bam Adebayo, who has looked extremely uncomfortable against Brook Lopez through two games, and the adjustment of putting Giannis’ size on Jimmy Butler, coupled with Lopez lurking near the rim, has nullified the Heat’s star forward to this point.

Entering Game 3, Miami is desperate for a win and they’ll have to figure out how to crack the code of the Bucks defense, while also finding their shooting stroke from Game 1 when they hit 20 threes to push the Bucks to overtime.

From a betting standpoint, Game 2 went over the total with ease thanks to Milwaukee’s three-point outburst and the Bucks covered the closing point spread of five points by a healthy 29 points.

Game 3 TV Info

Tip Time: Thursday, May 27; 7:30 p.m. ET
TV Network: TNT

Game 3 Betting Lines (via DraftKings Sportsbook)

Series Prices: Bucks (-1430), Heat (+800)
Spread: Bucks -1.5 (-112), Heat +1.5 (-110)
Total: Over 226.5 (-110), Under 226.5 (-112)
Money Line: Bucks (-121), Heat (+102)

The Memphis Grizzlies were able to steal Game 1 in Utah, putting the top-seed in the West under some pressure coming into Game 2 as they looked to avoid matching the Clippers in losing two games at home to open the first round. The good news for Utah was they were getting Donovan Mitchell back from his ankle injury after he somewhat controversially got held out from Game 1, and he didn’t show any rust after a 17-game absence, leading the Jazz with 25 points on 8-of-19 shooting, including a 5-of-10 night from three.

Alongside a strong Mitchell performance, the Jazz had seven players in double figures, five of whom scored 16 or more. Mike Conley was terrific with 20 points and 14 assists, while Bojan Bogdanovic had 18 points and 6MOY Jordan Clarkson had 16 off the bench. Rudy Gobert was also massive in Game 2 after earning rightful ridicule in Game 1 for flopping while on the bench, putting up 21 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks, including the highlight of the game in stuffing a Ja Morant dunk attempt.

That was one of the few stops the Jazz were able to get on Morant, who almost single-handedly kept the Jazz from running away from Memphis. That the Grizzlies were able to make it a six-point game going into the fourth quarter was nothing short of miraculous, and it was on the backs of an outrageous 47-point, 7-assist effort from Morant.

He did a bit of everything, going 15-of-26 from the field and 15-of-20 from the free throw line, a truly special performance to have the highest scoring game in Grizzlies franchise history. Morant sliced through the Utah defense, getting to the rim seemingly at will which is no small task against the Jazz, and he even exacted a bit of revenge on Gobert late getting by him for a dunk.

Unfortunately for Morant and the Grizzlies, they just couldn’t keep up with the Jazz’s much-improved shooting in Game 2, as Utah rained 19 threes on Memphis at a 48.7 percent clip — the Grizzlies, meanwhile, were just 8-of-23 from deep. That is likely going to be the story of the series, as Utah just has more firepower when Mitchell is on the court that Memphis, but the Grizzlies continue to show incredible heart in how they refuse to roll over no matter how big the deficit. It looked for all the world like it would be a blowout for the Jazz, but the Grizzlies and Morant wouldn’t have that be the case, keeping it to a 141-129 final.

The series now shifts back to Memphis where the Grizzlies will hope the Jazz cool off a touch from three and they can continue making life uncomfortable for Utah. The Jazz, on the other hand, looked far more confident offensively with Mitchell on the floor, and the amount of shooters and scorers they can throw at Memphis is going to make their upset bid incredibly difficult to pull off.

Today, Welch producer Lewis Roberts, who goes by the moniker of Koreless, shared some great news with fans. In just a little over a month, he will share his debut album with the world, one Koreless announced today on social media. Entitled Agor, the project is an effort five years in the making and it’s one that comes with deep meaning for the producer. “Agor” is Welch for “open” and it’s also a suitable name for the upcoming project that exists at “sensory thresholds,” as a press release states.

Along with the new announcement, Koreless shared a video for the second single off the upcoming album. The producer dropped the new track, “Joy Squad,” with a trippy visual that pairs perfectly the song’s glitchy electronic production. It also features an appearance from dancer Alex Thirkle. In the press release for the track, Koreless describes the new track as his attempt “to build a club rollercoaster that swallows you up and spits you out.”

You can check out the artwork for Agor and press play on “Joy Squad” above. Scroll down to view the tracklist for the upcoming project.

01. “Yonder”
02. “Black Rainbow”
03. “Primes”
04. “White Picket Fence”
05. “Act(s)”
06. “Joy Squad”
07. “Frozen”
08. “Shellshock”
09. “Hance”
10. “Strangers”

Agor is out 7/9 via Young. Pre-order it here.

For the past few years, Big Sean has increased his activism for mental health awareness. The Detroit native has experienced his own issues, which he opened up about shortly after the 2020 release of his album Detroit 2. Now, more than eight months later, Sean once again spoke about the topic during a recent sit-down with Apple Music’s Ebro Darden.

The interview is a part of the Apple Music host’s series The Message, and when the subject of mental health awareness came up, Sean explained why it is important to teach the youth about it. “It really needs to be just like how they teach us about STDs and sex in health class,” Sean said. “They need to make sure they teach us about how to deal with anxiety or how to breathe properly and all of that. It all should be together, because it’s all connected. It’s not like the head is separate from anything, it’s all together.”

As for the music side of things, Sean recently joined Sada Baby and Hit-Boy to throw a mansion party in the video for their new track, “Little While.”

You can watch Sean and Darden’s full interview on Apple Music here.

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

The Philadelphia 76ers cruised to a 120-95 win over the Wizards on Wednesday night to take firm control of their first round series at 2-0 before heading to Washington for Game 3 this weekend. Ben Simmons was very aggressive early on and he and Joel Embiid each had 22 points in what ended up being a pretty light night of work for the Sixers top stars.

However the conversation after the game was less on Philly’s dominance and more on what happened in the stands early in the fourth quarter as Russell Westbrook left the game with an ankle injury. As Westbrook was walking to the tunnel, a fan dumped popcorn on his head, eliciting a furious response from the star point guard.

For this to happen to anyone is unacceptable, but that Westbrook was leaving the court with an injury makes it all the more worse. The fan was ejected from the game, but Westbrook called out how “sh*t is out of hand” with fans being far too comfortable crossing the line in interactions with players. LeBron James echoed that on Twitter, as he said that players want to see the fan who dumped popcorn on Westbrook and called on the league to protect the players.

Luckily for LeBron, there was video of the fan dumping the popcorn and then being escorted out, and while the arena issued an apology for the incident and called it unacceptable, at minimum that fan should be banned from NBA games moving forward.

James’ point is noted, if a player went at a fan in anything close to this manner, they’d face a hefty fine and probably a suspension. Players want to see fans who cross the line so flagrantly made examples out of in the same way, because throwing things on players is a way to get someone hurt or, as we saw many years ago in Detroit, spark something the league doesn’t ever want to see again.

Nicki Minaj went more than a year without new music. Thankfully, that changed earlier this month when the rapper uploaded her beloved 2009 mixtape Beam Me Up Scotty to streaming services, even adding three new songs to it. One of the new additions, “Seeing Green,” found the stars of the original Young Money crew — Drake, Lil Wayne, and Minaj herself — reuniting for the first time in nearly three years. The re-release debuted at No. 2 on the Billbaord 200 and became the highest-charting re-released mixtape by a rapper and the highest-debuting female rap mixtape in history.

After hearing of the album’s newfound success, Minaj took to Instagram to celebrate. “I love you guys so much,” she wrote to her fans. “Thank you. Can’t wait to share my album with you real soon. I have to say this. Don’t care who takes it the wrong way.” She then went on throw some shade at those who used TikTok challenges and merch bundles to boost their sales.

“Beam Me Up Scotty no singles ‘Seeing Green’ is over 5 mins with no hook,” she wrote, “Singles now are 2-3 mins, catchy hook. ‘Fractions’ is just rapping for over 3 mins, no hook. No videos (which is always the biggest push for females, myself included). No RADIO, very little play listing due to a surprise release (artists get over 100 playlists for big launches).” She continued, “No TikTok challenges (which has become EXTREMELY helpful to all artists) love the app, btw. No merch to tie into sales AND NO PRE-EXISTING singles out to ADD to my FIRST WEEK SALES.”

Beam Me Up Scotty is out on all DSPs via Republic Records. Get it here.

Filmmakers sure love to make Ted Bundy movies, don’t they, folks? Since his capture in 1975, there have been at least seven movies about the infamous serial killer. The latest wasn’t that long ago: Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, starring no less than Zac Efron, only came out two years back. So when yet another film starring a real looker was announced on Wednesday, people had finally had enough.

As per Screen Daily, the latest Bundy movie is called American Boogeyman, and for what it’s worth it seems like it will focus on the law enforcement officers who eventually nicked him. But it was the actor hired to play Bundy that captured most of the attention: Chad Michael Murray, the One Tree Hill vet, clearly attempting to shed his good lookin’ guy image.

This isn’t a major studio production; the filmmaker behind it was last seen with The Haunting of Sharon Tate, starring Hilary Duff and which was released around the same time as the far bigger/more acclaimed Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. But people we still sick of seeing Ted Bundy get movies.

For one thing, it keeps his name alive, which almost likely would have pleased him.

Others dwelled on the casting of Murray, yet another stud. But, people pointed out, Bundy wasn’t actually that attractive. Or that charming.

Some called for more female serial killer movies, for a change. Monster was almost 20 years ago!

Or other serial killers in general. Jeffrey Dahmer was awfully interesting, for one.

Or maybe make movies about Bundy’s victims.

There were assorted jokes.

And there were people pointing out Bundy was lacking in one significant area (or, really, several, but this one, too).

In any case, you can judge for yourself when American Boogeyman is released on August 16.

(Via Screen Daily)

Wizards guard Russell Westbrook was rightfully furious after a fan threw popcorn on him as he left Wizards-76ers Game 2 on Monday with an ankle injury. In the moment, he was rightly angry about the incident. That continued after the game.

As noted by The Athletic’s Fred Katz, Westbrook said “I wouldn’t come up to me on the street and throw popcorn on my head, because you know what happens…In these arenas, you gotta start protecting the players. We’ll see what the NBA does.” He added that “sh*t is out of hand” in regards to fan interactions with players.

You can see his full comments here.

When Wizards coach Scott Brooks was asked about the popcorn incident, he said he didn’t know about it, but that if it happened, the person responsible should be banned. In a statement attributed to Valerie Camillo, president of business operations for Wells Fargo Center, the action was called “classless” and confirmed that the fan had been ejected from the game.

Westbrook got support from his fellow players on Twitter as well, most notably LeBron James.

Westbrook is right here. It’s a step way too far for fans to be throwing food or anything else at players — especially when said player is leaving the game due to an injury. Westbrook also has a history with fans taking things a step too far, most notably in Utah when a fan used racist language towards Westbrook and also four years ago when a fan flipped him double birds and was ejected. It’s pretty easy to understand why Westbrook would be at his wits end with fans at games coming at him beyond the normal boos and jeers.