Month: July 2022

Charlie Puth’s latest album, Voicenotes, dropped in 2018 and a lot has happened in the singer-songwriter’s life since then. Perhaps most notably, he’s become a major TikTok star, having one of last year’s most-viewed musician accounts on the platform. He’s used that to his advantage musically, like when he teased “Light Switch” before its release earlier this year.

Now, Puth’s third album is on the way, as Puth has announced Charlie is set for release on October 7, and it’s an album that was formed significantly by his online presence.

Yesterday, Puth wrote on Instagram, “This album was born on the internet, and I’ve had so much fun making it in front of all of you this past year. 2019 me used to think that in order to be an artist, you had to hide away and talk to nobody to make your art. Turns out you make MUCH better art when you involve millions of people in the process. (For me at least.) I hope you scream cry every word when I sing these songs on tour because they wouldn’t be here without you. Thank you.”

Meanwhile, Puth was on NBC’s Today this morning to perform “Light Switch” and his Jung Kook collaboration “Left And Right.”

Charlie is out 10/7 via Atlantic. Pre-order it here.

Charlie Puth is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Better Call Saul returns from its midseason break on Monday, July 11. The nominations for the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards will be announced the following day. If Rhea Seehorn isn’t freaking finally nominated for her performance as Kim Wexler on arguably the best show on television, it will not be all good, man.

In a New York Times profile of Seehorn that came out today, Better Call Saul co-creator Peter Gould had only glowing things to say about the actress. “There wasn’t even a remote second choice,” he said about someone else playing Kim. “If we had not cast Rhea Seehorn in this role, we would be talking about a very different show right now.” Better Call Saul would still be a very good show without Seehorn, but it’s an all-time great show largely because of her. And the Kettlemans. Can’t forget the Kettlemans.

Seehorn also teased the final six episodes:

“The next six episodes, this whole season, was probably the most challenging work I’ve done in my career — but blissfully so,” she said in a follow-up phone conversation. “My last day, I left the set and I just thought, I’m going to be thinking about that ending for a very, very long time.”

You can watch a teaser for Better Call Saul‘s final season below.

(Via the New York Times)

Over the past couple of years, it seems like Tyga has been on an ongoing quest to become the most popular ese in East LA. First, he popped up on YG’s “Go Loko” in 2019, and it seems he enjoyed the mariachi vibes so much, he kept going, following up with “Mamacita” (which also featured YG as well as the legend himself, Carlos Santana), then “Ayy Macarena” (featuring the duo responsible for the original monster hit, Los Del Rio), and now, he keeps the Latin party going with “Ay Caramba.” His latest Spanglish-accented single is accompanied by a video that can only truly be described as “ridiculous” — but in the best way.

Tyga in a fat suit? Check. Tyga with a foot-long mustache? Check. Tyga as a freaking luchador? Check. This video has it all. Tyga really leans into Mexican pop culture archetypes and looks very much like he’s having the time of his life doing so. It’s nice when rappers don’t take themselves so seriously. Tyga’s rhymes on the track, though, let you know that he hasn’t given himself completely to self-parody. Among the things prompting Bart Simpson’s signature exclamation throughout the song: a “big ol’ Glock on the hip,” a woman who “remind me of Tabasco,” and his Porsche when he “press on the turbo.”

Although he’s flown under the radar for a while now, the Compton-claiming rapper has become a pretty reliable supplier of worthwhile party raps, including “Run” with YG and BIA, “Freaky Deaky” with Doja Cat, and “Mrs. Bubblegum,” which has its own hilariously tongue-in-cheek video.

Watch Tyga’s “Ay Caramba” video above.

In May, the YSL crew was charged with 56 counts of conspiracy to violate the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act, including violations for drugs, guns, and even murder. Gunna surrendered and was booked into the Fulton County Jail, and then was, along with Young Thug, denied bond requests as the presiding judge declared them a flight risk.

Yesterday, the rapper was denied bond again when he appeared at his virtual court date. According to 11Alive, Gunna will remain in jail until the early 2023 trial date. The judge argued that Gunna poses a threat and could intimidate potential witnesses.

In addition to the initial two charges against Thug, seven more were added as a result of a raid at his home in Buckhead; those charges include possession of controlled substances with the intent to distribute, possession of illegal firearms, and participation in criminal gang activity. According to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, YSL is considered a “hybrid criminal gang,” with both the label and the wider association around it tied to the Bloods. Some observers have also disputed the use of their lyrics as evidence to tie them to a larger conspiracy.

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

Dr. Mehmet Oz can’t stop giving John Fetterman massive openings to roast him as their Pennsylvania senate race heats up. The TV doctor’s biggest liability is the fact that he’s barely a PA resident, so it was a huge blunder for Oz to film his latest campaign from his mansion in New Jersey.

In the video, Oz attacks Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney for being understandably concerned and worn down by gun violence following a shooting at a July 4th fireworks display. Like most Democrats, Kenney is in support of gun control legislation, which Oz criticized to curry favor with Republican voters in the state. (Oz played the greatest hits of GOP gun rhetoric by accusing Kenney and Fetterman of “putting criminals ahead of the community.”) However, Oz fired off his attack from his home that isn’t even in the state, and Fetterman was quick to latch onto that fact.

“Pro tip: don’t film an ad for your PA senate campaign from your mansion in New Jersey,” Fetterman tweeted along with a screenshot of a People article on Oz’s Jersey home.

It was a successful hit by Fetterman, who had recently landed another solid blow against Oz by highlighting that the TV doctor has been distancing himself from Trump after using the former president to win the primary. As for Oz’s attempts to fight back, the best he could come up with was a lame dictionary graphic that says the definition of John Fetterman is a “Bernie Sanders socialist.”

(Via John Fetterman on Twitter)

Donald Trump may be the king of failed business ventures—so long, Tour de Trump!—but the man sure does know how to grift. While the biggest fraud he has successfully perpetrated on his gullible supporters just might be his Election Defense Fund, which raised $250 million… despite not actually existing.

Not content to leave any money on the table, the former president is adding to his bank account by charging thousands of dollars as a motivational speaker and now he’s asking his most loyal stooges to fork over $1,000 for a book of photos signed with his very own tiny orange hands.

As the Intelligencer reports, Trump is now hawking signed copies of Our Journey Together, the widely mocked photo book the former president published following his term in office, which is full of snarky captions and some of his famously Sharpie-written notes, and cost 75 f**king dollars! While you can find $50 copies of it on Amazon, Trump wants to keep riding the coffee table book gravy train by selling a signed “bundle pack” for $999, which will get anyone insane enough to part with that kind of money not only a copy of Trump’s so-called “burn book,” but a signed copy of Donald Trump Jr.’s book Liberal Privilege (a book no one asked for) PLUS a blood-red MAGA hat. It’s a package that the website describes as “a must-have for every patriot!”

The book, it should be noted, is published by Winning Team Publishing, a Don Jr. joint, which describes itself as “the nation’s premier conservative publishing house,” despite being founded in 2021 and having just three titles in its catalog.

(Via Intelligencer)

When it comes to sneaker culture, New Balance has long been considered the comfort brand for Saturday-afternoon-errand-running dads (and neo-Nazi white guys), emphasizing comfort over their cool factor. That has begun to change in recent years, though, with the brand signing such pop-culture luminaries as Kawhi Leonard and Jack Harlow, even going as far as pairing the two up in a not-so-subtle reference to Jack’s upcoming star turn in a remake of White Men Can’t Jump.

Now, the sneaker group adds another slick collaboration to its growing collection. Donald Glover, best known as the creator and star of the hit FX series Atlanta, has added to his own expansive resume — which includes music, movies, and stand-up comedy — with the upcoming release of the RC30. Glover previously partnered with Adidas in 2019, but apparently living his own dad life has inspired him to take a run at the official dad shoe brand, resulting in a pair of comfort kicks that suit Donald’s low-key style. According to Joe Grondin, New Balance global collaborations manager, that’s what the brand was going for. In a statement, he said:

“With celebrity-endorsed sneakers coming out every weekend, we thought Donald was a good collaborator for New Balance to take a more considered approach. No loud colors or branding, just classic, easy-to-wear colorways of a new silhouette that fit Donald’s style.”

In addition, Donald directed and shared a collection of animated short films introducing the new silhouette (and taking a clever dig at NFTs) featuring some cute, corporate anthropomorphic animals. Check it out below, along with some shots of the shoe itself.

Kevin Smith‘s directorial debut Clerks was famously made for $27,575, or the cost of four Minion Barbecue Smokers. It was money well spent: the black-and-white film earned over $3 million at the box office, was selected to the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant,” and spawned two sequels, including the upcoming Clerks III.

Smith was initially confused by the success of Clerks because “it’s got nobody famous in it and stuff [and] looks like it was made by children, and it was,” he told Forbes. “I used to just think, well, we were part of the ’90s, so sentimentally and nostalgically will always be wrapped up in some people’s hearts.” Thirty years later, though, he finally understands why his “old ass black and white movie that was made in the ’90s” is so loved.

“When it went to Sundance, I was like, ‘Wow, not only did it play outside New Jersey, but it played at a film festival, but it’ll never play outside the United States. This is a very American film.’ And then it played outside the United States. Turns out, that movie can be appreciated by anybody who’s ever had a sh*tty job, and that’s literally everybody in the world. So for that reason it’s like one of the most identifiable flicks in the world.”

Smith compared Clerks to The Office, another comedy about normal people in a mundane job. “It’s a show about people that go to work, and sooner or later, everybody does. There’s only a rarefied few in this country that don’t know what it’s like to have to get up and go to a place you don’t want to go to but have to because that’s going to pay the bills. So I think that’s part of the charm of the movie, why it’s lasted so long,” he said. Who among us hasn’t argued about Star Wars vs. Lord of the Rings with our co-workers, or had sex in a bathroom with a corpse?

Clerks III comes out on September 13.

(Via Forbes)

The Weeknd’s Dawn FM was one of the biggest albums this year, and with the help of producer Oneohtrix Point Never, real name Daniel Lopatin, it was a cinematic and haunting record. A new version of the LP’s intro has been released.

The title track remix is by OPN and dives into the unsettling texture of the song, layered in celestial, video game-like synths that make it even more otherworldly than the original. Abel Tesfaye’s emotive vocals are shadowed by eerie echoes. Clocking in at only three minutes, it leaves the listener impacted and wanting more.

Dawn FM was so successful that he expanded his partnership with UMG earlier this year, meaning Tesfaye with have more of a say in all “recorded music, publishing, merchandise and video.” UMG chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge said the following about the partnership: “Over the past decade, we have been honored to work so closely with Abel, who has quickly become one of music’s most creative and important artists–a once-in-a-generation talent. With Sal and the XO team as our incredible partners, we’ve developed a deep trust and respect that has enabled us to successfully execute Abel’s brilliant vision.”

Listen to OPN’s remix of “Dawn FM” above.

Last summer, after releasing two albums in under a year, The Killers said they were working on yet another new LP. There’s no official news on that front yet, but it does look like some fresh material is coming soon: At Spain’s Mad Cool Festival last night, The Killers debuted a song called “Boy,” an anthemic rocker much in the vein of their recent output.

In an interview with NME shortly before debuting the song, Brandon Flowers said, “We’re gonna play a new song, yeah, it’s called ‘Boy.’ We’ve been teasing it a little bit. It was the song that took me back home and was sort of the impetus for writing Pressure Machine. What’s interesting is that it just didn’t make it onto the record — but its absence is not a reflection of the quality of the song. It was an aesthetic decision to keep it off the record. […] There’s an optimism to it. It’s in the dust, it’s in the gutter, and it’s looking at the stars. It’s writing in more of a new wave vehicle.”

Ronnie Vannucci added, “It’s a different complexion.”

The band also shared a pre-save link for the song, indicating that the studio version is likely arriving shortly.

Watch The Killers perform “Boy” above.