Last night at SXSW, Phoebe Bridgers hosted a “corporate retreat” for her label Saddest Factory. Taking the stage at Mohawk in Austin were Bridgers and her Saddest Factory artists: Muna, Claud, Sloppy Jane, and Charlie Hickey.
Toward the end of the Saddest Factory Corporate Retreat, Bridgers and company delivered a cover of My Chemical Romance’s “Welcome To The Black Parade.” In a clip shared by Eater Austin editor Nadia Chaudhury, the Saddest Factory crew couldn’t be happier, smiling as they sing the emo kid classic to an enthusiastic crowd.
This comes shortly Cardi B surprisingly brought some renewed attention to the song by shouting it out on Twitter. Meanwhile, this comes way after a 2018 tweet in which Bridgers declared, “welcome to the black parade is the bohemian rhapsody of my generation.”
welcome to the black parade is the bohemian rhapsody of my generation
Bridgers launched Saddest Factory in 2020, following the success of her second album, Punisher. This June, Muna will release their self-titled third album via Saddest Factory–their first on the Dead Oceans imprint and their first since leaving RCA. Earlier this week, they released the album’s lead single, “Anything But Me.”
“In the past we’ve stayed in relationships for a long time, waiting until we hit low lows to admit it was over,” said Muna in a statement. “‘Anything But Me’ is a song about leaving a partnership simply because it doesn’t feel right. It’s about trusting yourself and your instincts enough to walk away from someone while you still have love for each other and before it gets too bad.”
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Sometimes the best new R&B can be hard to find, but there are plenty of great rhythm-and-blues tunes to get into if you have the time to sift through the hundreds of newly released songs every week. So that R&B heads can focus on listening to what they really love in its true form, we’ll be offering a digest of the best new R&B songs that fans of the genre should hear every Friday.
This week features new music from Lucky Daye as he finally returned with his sophomore album Candydrip, his first full-length release since his 2019 debut Painted. Elsewhere, Eric Bellinger breathes new life into “Only Fan,” a standout from his 2021 album New Light, thanks to a new remix, and Mariah The Scientist returns with a new EP, Buckles Laboratories Presents: The Intermission
Lucky Daye — Candydrip
Lucky Daye solidified himself as one of the singers in the new class of R&B with his 2019 Grammy-nominated debut Painted. Nearly three years removed from that release, Daye is back in action with his second album Candydrip, a 17-track effort that arrives with features from Lil Durk, Chiiild, Smino, Alex Isley, and more.
Eric Bellinger — “Only Fan (Remix)” Feat. Riley
Late last year, Eric Bellinger dropped off his eighth album New Light, giving listeners 15 songs and features from Sevyn Streeter, Teedra Moses, Dom Kennedy, The Game, and more. Months later, Bellinger is back with a remix to “Only Fan,” one of the standout efforts from the project. Bellinger updates the track with a sweet verse from singer Riley.
Mariah The Scientist — Buckles Laboratories Presents: The Intermission
In 2021, Mariah The Scientist had one of the better R&B releases with her sophomore album Ry Ry World. It was the follow-up to her 2019 debut releases Master and it flaunted features from fellow ATLiens Young Thug and Lil Baby. While many are still enjoying that project, Mariah returns with an appetizing EP, titled Buckles Laboratories Presents: The Intermission, which grants her fans another collection of four new songs.
Shenseea — Alpha
Over the last few years, Jamaican singer Shenseea has laced collaborations with some of the biggest and most talented names in music, working with Masego, Kanye West, Vybz Kartel, and more. Finally, after all these collaborations, which helped to elevate her name, Sheensea arrives with her debut project Alpha, with 14 songs and guest appearances from Megan Thee Stallion, 21 Savage, Tyga, Beenie Man, Offset, and Sean Paul.
Eli Derby & 6lack — “Lately”
DMV singer Eli Derby is one of the newest additions to LVRN’s extremely talented roster. In the coming months, Derby will release his debut project which is spearheaded by two singles: “Gaslight” and “Love Song.” Derby’s back with his third single, “Lately,” which features LVRN star 6lack who provides an excellent verse to Derby’s qualms with love
Brandon Banks — “Get On”
It’s been quite a while since we heard from West Coast singer Brandon Banks. His last release came in 2020 with his Static EP, a strong body of work that brought forth appearances from UMI and Mereba. Finally, he’s back with new tunes in the form of the reflective and motivating “Get On,” a track that finds Banks pushing himself to overcome obstacles and succeed.
WurlD — My WorlD With U
Almost ten years after he arrived with his debut EP, Nigerian singer WurlD is still going strong with his new project My WorlD With U. It’s highlighted by songs like “Let You Down,” “Press,” and “Toxic” while it also invites names like Sarz, Landstrip Chip, LuuDadeejay, and more to accompany WurlD throughout the project’s 19 songs.
Rema & AJ Tracey — “FYN”
Later this month, Nigerian singer Rema will release his debut album, Rave & Roses after building his name up in the afrobeats lane through tracks like “Soundgasm” and “Dumebi.” While we’ve yet to receive an official tracklist for the project, Rema shares its second official single, “FYN” with AJ Tracey. The track, which is an abbreviation for “Fresh Young N****,” is a confident effort that follows “Calm Down” which was released at the top of the year.
OHenry — “7 Days A Week” Feat. Derek King
Next week, rising Nigerian-American singer OHenry will release his debut album My Turn To Be King. The project is already led by two solid singles, “Racin’” and “Belong With Me,” and now he lays off a third effort for us to enjoy. “7 Days A Week” is a warm and bouncy effort that shines thanks to OHenry’s passionate strive to keep his partner happy every day of the week.
UMI — “Sorry”
If you’re a fan of UMI, it’s time to get excited. The Seattle singer revealed that her debut album Forest In The City will arrive on May 27. In addition, she also announced a North American tour in support of the project. While the wait continues for Forest In The City, UMI drops off the album’s tender lead single, “Sorry.” The track is nothing short of beautiful as it provides optimism for what’s to come.
Yuna — Y1
After going two years without dropping a song, Yuna is back with a project for her first release of the year. Y1 presents four songs that clock in at a brief but enjoyable nine minutes altogether. The new release is the first portion of her upcoming five-part album Y5.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Since mid-January, Aimee Mann has been creating and posting a “comics journal” on Instagram, in which she shares some of her thoughts with accompanying illustrations in a four-panel format. In her latest one shared yesterday, Mann reveals Steely Dan took her off their summer tour and attests that may have to do with the type of music she makes and being a woman.
The comic reads, “I was supposed to open for Steely Dan this summer. I just found out that they took me off the bill. No one is entirely sure why, but it seems they thought their audience wouldn’t like a female singer-songwriter? As it happens, Steely Dan is the one band that I 100% love, with no reservations, so it really sucks. But you know what? People are allowed to not like you, for whatever reason.”
Mann later took to Twitter to share an article about her comic and write, “All is forgiven if [Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen] just tells me what [‘Brooklyn (Owes The Charmer Under Me)‘] is about.”
She also responded to a supportive comment from Jason Isbell, who tweeted, “My wife hates Steely Dan. I have discussed that with Aimee Mann, who truly loves Steely Dan. Now I’ll never again try to convince my wife that Steely Dan is good. Aimee opened for us, and I’m so glad to say our audience loved that sh*t. I was very much honored she’d do it.” Mann replied, “You sweetheart, thank you for saying that. I was so proud to be a part of your scene.”
Tom Cruise hasn’t a film premiere at Cannes since 1992 when he and his second wife, Nicole Kidman, brought Far and Away to the prestigious film festival. However, that thirty year absence is set to come to an end when Top Gun: Maverick flies into this year’s Cannes. As for why the long-awaited sequel to the 1986 classic is playing at the festival, it’s a tale as old as Hollywood: Cruise is practically getting the royal treatment. Via Variety:
Tom Cruise is set to be celebrated at the Cannes Film Festival this May with a career retrospective, an in-person conversation on stage and the premiere of his eagerly awaited “Top Gun” sequel “Maverick: Top Gun.” The actor will be in attendance at the Palais des Festivals on May 18 for a tribute event that will take in his 40-year film career. He will also take part in a conversation with journalist and Cannes associate Didier Allouch.
The Cannes premiere is a much-needed plug for Cruise, who has been batted about perhaps more than any other actor during the pandemic. The production for Mission: Impossible 7 took nearly two years to finish and became an extremely costly endeavor as the film continued to shoot across Europe. For those efforts, Cruise watched as the film was delayed several times, with Top Gun: Maverick often being pushed back as a result. So there’s nothing like a big splashy debut and a VIP event to remind everyone that Tom Cruise is still out here fighting to make movies that almost kill him. Seriously, they’re very dangerous.
Top Gun: Maverick will take audiences to the danger zone on May 27.
There are several metrics to measure whether or not a song is a hit: Radio play, streaming numbers, high-profile syncs, and social media engagement can all be factors. While any combination of these categories could point to a track’s success, the true barometer by industry standards is its chart performance on the Billboard Hot 100.
But chart success isn’t necessarily an indicator that an artist is a bonafide hitmaker. Take Nicki Minaj, for example: She was a radio fixture for an entire decade before taking the coveted Hot 100 crown with the 6ix9ine-assisted “Trollz” in 2020. And then there are artists like reggae band Magic!, who topped the chart with their breakout hit “Rude” in 2014. The track held the No. 1 spot for six consecutive weeks, but the band’s follow-up singles failed to chart and they quickly faded into obscurity.
More often than not, it’s difficult to earn the title of “hitmaker” without notching a No. 1. In fact, undisputed superstars like Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, and Lil Nas X topped the Hot 100 on their first try. But not everyone is so lucky: here are ten A-listers who have yet to top the charts as a primary artist.
Dua Lipa
Biggest Hits So Far: Two tracks from her 2020 album, Future Nostalgia, “Don’t Start Now” and “Levitating” (featuring DaBaby) hit No. 2.
Oliva. Billie. Doja. Lizzo. Almost all of the latest wave of pop women have taken the top spot on the charts – with the glaring exception of Dua Lipa. Had there not been worldwide lockdowns during her made-for-the-club disco album’s release cycle, it’s possible she may have hustled her way to No. 1. Luckily, she’s still in the early stages of her career and it’s not so much a question of “if,” but “when.” And that “when” could be soon: her team-up with Elton John for “Cold Heart” (Pnau remix) has been buzzing around the top ten, with a peak of No. 7. (Fun fact: if the track were to hit No. 1, it will be Elton’s tenth trip to the top of the Hot 100 and his first since 1997’s “Candle In The Wind.”) Plus, she just released a collaboration with Megan Thee Stallion that has true chart potential.
Diplo
Biggest Hit So Far: As part of the DJ trio Major Lazer, Diplo hit No. 2 with “Cold Water,” which featured Justin Bieber and MØ.
Diplo is easily one of the biggest and busiest names in dance music. Not only has he teamed up for several side projects (Major Lazer, Jack Ü, LSD, and Silk City), but his resume includes production credits for the likes of Beyoncé, Lil Wayne, The Weeknd, and Madonna. Still, the Hot 100 has not been Diplo’s friend: he’s only reached the top ten a handful of times since breaking out over a decade ago.
J. Cole
Biggest Hit So Far: J.Cole’s 2021 team-up with 21 Savage and Morray, “My Life,” clocked in at No. 2.
It’s impossible to have a conversation about modern hip-hop without mentioning J. Cole; in fact, he was included alongside Drake, Nicki Minaj and Kendrick Lamar for Spotify’s RapCaviar mural series that depicted the foursome as the Mount Rushmore of 2010s Rap. With his 2018 album KOD, Cole tied with The Beatles in simultaneously charting six tracks inside the Top 20, a record that the rock band had previously held for 54 years – but his No. 1 hit still remains elusive.
Machine Gun Kelly
Biggest Hit So Far: His Fastball-sampling collab with Camila Cabello, “Bad Things,” hit No. 4 in 2016.
MGK has never been much of a Hot 100 juggernaut: “Bad Things” is his sole trip to the top ten. These days, it seems that MGK is more interested in making provocative headlines with his fiancé than cranking out hits (see: “Machine Gun Kelly Gave Megan Fox A Thorny, Intentionally Painful Engagement Ring”). His latest album, Tickets To My Downfall, only spawned two Hot 100 entries: “My Ex’s Best Friend” (No. 20) and “Bloody Valentine” (No. 50).
Imagine Dragons
Biggest Hit So Far: The rockers hit No. 3 with “Radioactive” in 2012.
Between a Glee cover, an abundance of commercial syncs (for brands like Jeep, Nintendo, and Microsoft), and a chokehold on multiple radio formats, Imagine Dragons have been one of the most inescapable bands of the past decade. Though they’ve cracked the upper echelon of the chart multiple times (“Believer” and “Thunder” both hit No. 4 and “Demons” hit No. 6), the band has yet to rack up a No. 1.
A$AP Rocky
Biggest Hit So Far: He’s a featured artist alongside Cardi B on G-Eazy’s No. 4 hit “No Limit” from 2017 and his feature on Selena Gomez’s “Good For You” peaked at No. 5 in 2015.
Since his 2011 debut, Rocky has only notched one top ten hit as a lead artist: 2012’s “F*ckin’ Problems” (featuring Drake, 2 Chains, and Kendrick Lamar), which hit No. 8. The stat is a sharp contrast to his partner: Rihanna has had 14 chart-toppers and only sits behind The Beatles, Mariah Carey, and Elvis Presley as the artists with the most No. 1 singles ever.
Backstreet Boys
Biggest Hit So Far: The boy band hit No. 2 with “Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)” in 1996.
Despite their presence in pop culture, boy bands were rarely reaching the Hot 100’s pinnacle in the Y2K era; the No. 1 slot was often occupied by ladies like Destiny’s Child, Janet Jackson, Monica, and Brandy. In fact, BSB’s biggest rival, NSYNC, only hit No. 1 once, with 2000’s “It’s Gonna Be Me.” Still, the Backstreet Boys managed to collect a total of six top 10s.
Lana Del Rey
Biggest Hit So Far: A 2013 remix of her melancholy “Summertime Sadness” earned Del Ray a No. 6 slot.
Despite her A-list status, Lana has remained comfortably in her lane as a critical darling rather than an artist who chases hits. Her only top ten, the aforementioned “Summertime Sadness,” landed there with a serotonin-boost courtesy of remixer Cedric Gervais. And on her second-highest charting track, “Don’t Call Me Angel” (which hit No. 13), Del Rey makes a drowsy cameo on the bridge, while her pop star collaborators Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus take the more substantial chunks of the 2019 Charlie’s Angels soundtrack single.
Gunna
Biggest Hit So Far: Gunna’s 2018 breakout single “Drop Too Hard” with Lil Baby shot to No. 4.
If the success of his latest album, DS4Ever, is any indicator, Gunna won’t be without a No. 1 hit for much longer. Earlier this month, the rapper edged out The Weeknd’s Dawn FM for the top spot on the Billboard 200 albums chart. He’s just one high-profile collab away from taking the Hot 100 glory.
Demi Lovato
Biggest Hit So Far: The former Disney star hit No. 6 with the brassy “Sorry Not Sorry” in 2017.
When it comes to their lack of No. 1s, you can’t say Demi hasn’t tried. Their hotly anticipated 2021 collab with Ariana Grande fizzled in at No. 61 while other recent high-profile team-ups with Christina Aguilera and G-Eazy failed to chart at all. But hope isn’t lost: Lovato recently teased a punk-pop rebrand on social media and given the current emo revival, they may just be onto something.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
While much of the world rallies around Ukraine in the current war with Russia, and the number of innocent citizens who have been forced to flee their homes or prepare to lose their lives, not much has been said about the Russian soldiers who are doing Vladimir Putin’s bidding. Perhaps that’s because more than 7,000 Russian soldiers have so far been killed in just 20 days of fighting—a number which, as The New York Times reports, contradicts the unwavering veneer of strength that Putin regularly attempts to project.
That 7,000-plus number, by the way, is a conservative estimate. To put that number into better context, The New York Times notes that during 36-day Battle of Iwo Jima—one of the bloodiest battles of World War II—just under 7,000 Marines were killed. Similarly, the current Russian soldier death toll is higher than the number of American troops killed over the last 20 years in both the Iran and Afghanistan wars combined.
It is a staggering number amassed in just three weeks of fighting, American officials say, with implications for the combat effectiveness of Russian units, including soldiers in tank formations. Pentagon officials say a 10 percent casualty rate, including dead and wounded, for a single unit renders it unable to carry out combat-related tasks.
With more than 150,000 Russian troops now involved in the war in Ukraine, Russian casualties, when including the estimated 14,000 to 21,000 injured, are near that level. And the Russian military has also lost at least three generals in the fight, according to Ukrainian, NATO and Russian officials.
In Ukraine, it’s more than just the armed forces fighting to regain control of their country. On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that a two-day battle in Voznesensk, Ukraine—in which citizens volunteered to take on Russian forces alongside their own military, and successfully defended their territory—was “one of the most comprehensive routs President Vladimir Putin’s forces have suffered since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine.”
These kind of monumental defeats can have a severe psychological impact on soldiers, dangerously reducing the determination and will of those fighting. Even some of Russia’s most notable state-run media pundits are protesting the war.
“Losses like this affect morale and unit cohesion, especially since these soldiers don’t understand why they’re fighting,” Evelyn Farkas, a senior Pentagon official for Russia and Ukraine under President Obama, told The New York Times. “Your overall situational awareness decreases. Someone’s got to drive, someone’s got to shoot.”
Then again, Russian troops are likely only being fed the information Putin wants them to hear via the state media to which they have access. At the moment, the mention of any casualties is rare and, as per usual, the propaganda pundits are painting a far rosier picture of the success of Russia’s “operation” in Ukraine (calling it an “invasion” or “war” in Russia is a no-no).
Questlove started the story by noting at the time, he was hungry and waiting on a Postmates delivery driver who was taking longer with his food than expected. While he’s usually wary of answering phone calls due to rampant spam, he got a call and since it could have been from his driver, he picked up the phone. Questlove continued the story:
“The person didn’t say much, and I was like, ‘Yes, on the duhduhduh floor, duhduhduh floor! Apartment duhduhduh!’ And he was like, ‘Uh… hello?’ I said, ‘Yes, duhduhduh floor!’ He said, ‘Uh… this is Barry.’ I said, ‘Barry?’ And I looked at all the texts: ‘The president is calling you right now! The president!’ Like literally, I has missed all my managers texting me that Obama’s about to call me in a second. […]
Even he said, ‘Uh, well, you think I’m, uh, Postmates?’ And I was like, ‘Wait, you know what Postmates is?’ You know what, though? I was so hungry at the time, I kinda wished it was Postmates.”
Elsewhere, he spoke about how the film’s success has exceeded his expectations, saying, “At least I know with music what a goal is, but with the movie world, I just had no clue. I just wanted to make something really cool and hopefully they were gonna show it in a few classrooms, and then maybe discover it 20 years from now, like, ‘Yo, you know Questlove did this thing?’”
The category was “What Are You Doing?”, which is what I said to my television after contestants Seann, Michele, and Crystal all failed to correctly guess the following: “RENTING A PEDA_ BOAT.” Pretty easy, right? Well… Seann’s first guess was “Renting a Paddle Boat” (nope). Michele hoped the missing letter was an “M” (it was not). Crystal spun the wheel and, with clear hesitation in her voice, asked Pat and Vanna for a “W” (the only letter was she was posting was an L). Seann eventually got it, but not before him and his fellow contestants were the main characters of Wheel Twitter.
Sajak recently tweeted a defense of Wheel of Fortune contestants who face “online ridicule when they make a mistake or something goes awry,” and asked at-home viewers to “cut them some slack. Unless you’re there, you have no idea how different it is in the studio.” That’s probably true, but also: IT’S PEDAL BOAT, YOU FOOLS.
That’s how Kim Kardashian and Ellen DeGeneres discussed how “very hittable” Pete Davidson went and put Kim’s name all over his body (including a brand), when he only started publicly referring to her as his girlfriend in February. No one can ever excuse him of not jumping into the deep end with both feet, right? (He can always cover them up later, like he did with Ariana Grande in what seems like a lifetime ago.)
Kim was on hand for the final lap of The Ellen Show to promote The Kardashians, which premieres April 14 on Hulu. The trailer already goes straight-up mobster after showing a flash of Kanye, and Kim hasn’t made any new friends while recently telling women to “get your f*cking ass up and work,” but she was in a fine mood when Ellen introduced the subject of Pete referencing her within his ongoing body collage. And this is a three-time thing, at least.
“A little more than that,” Kim revealed. “The branding is my name. ‘The other ones are cutesy things. I think my favorite one, it says: ‘My girl is a lawyer.’ And that one’s really cute.”
While discussing the branding (which, yep, was done with a full-on iron brand), Kim explained, “He wanted to do something that was really different because okay, first tattoo he got, I was like, ‘Thank you, oh my god.’ Second, I was like, ‘So cute,’ but that’s what tattoo people do, right? They get tattoos of what’s going on in their life.’”
Ellen then quipped, “Well, you are a brand, when you think about it.” Her talk show, meanwhile, will air its final episode on May 26. Expect to see Michelle Obama and David Letterman before all is said and done, probably without any tattoo talk.
An Ed Sheeran album title is easy to point out in a list because all of them, save for 2019’s No. 6 Collaborations Project, are named after mathematical symbols: 2011’s +, 2014’s x, 2017’s ÷, and 2021’s =. Having a distinct branding identity like that is a good way to stand out, but Sheeran says part of the reason he went that route with his career is so he himself wouldn’t stand out.
In a recent interview with New Zealand’s Project NZ, Sheeran said his album naming convention was sparked by his, as he describes it, “face for the radio”:
“The thing with the albums is I, very early on in my career, decided I didn’t… I don’t mean to play it down, but I do have a face for the radio. And I was like, ‘I don’t really want to be a poster boy ever.’ I don’t want to be, like, selling my record being like, ‘Hey, how you doing?’
So I had sort of figured out a way, I was like, ‘I’m going to do it with colors and symbols.’ So I was like, ‘I’d love to get to a point that there’s a billboard of just red with an equals sign, or green with a multiply, or blue with a divide, or orange with a plus, and people go, ‘Oh, Ed’s got an album coming out.’”
Then, when one of the hosts suggested – (aka Minus) would be the “obvious choice” for the name of Sheeran’s next album, he replied, “That’s not gonna be the next record I put out. I’ve got something else that’s a bit more of a curveball. We’ve got the first thing of it dropping in ten days. In ten days, there’s gonna be something coming out. I don’t think it’s gonna be a massive hit in New Zealand though, I’ve got to be honest. It’s more gonna be a big hit somewhere else. When you hear it, you’ll understand.”
So, based on the timing of the interview, Sheeran fans should expect something new from him at the end of next week.
Check out the interview below.
Get ready Aotearoa, because one of the biggest pop stars around is heading to our shores.
Ed Sheeran is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
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Linda Surovich
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