Month: August 2022

House of the Dragon is going full force on this Sunday evening after pulling off record-busting numbers and even taking down HBO Max, which probably didn’t expect quite as much demand for the history of the House of Targaryen. But people are into it, and the show’s ready and willing with Defenders and Contenders for the Iron Throne. The first episode gave us a lot of Game of Thrones-worthy moments, for sure, including a moment that compared to the Red Wedding and some “Dracarys” for good measure.

How are people reacting to “The Rogue Prince” episode, though? We will follow up on many happenings in this episode, but at first glance, people were freaking the hell out for a few reasons. One reason arrives purely out of shock value and has to do with that nasty wound that belongs to King Viserys I… who endured some “therapeutic” maggots.

Even more than that, though, people were losing it over the House of Velaryon and its intent to marry off young Laena to Viserys. The poor child isn’t even 10 years old, and it was evident that Viserys felt very uncomfortable about the possibility of this “match.” He could handle the maggots, but not this (he announced his intent to marry Alicent Hightower instead), and people agreed.

HBO’s ‘House of the Dragon’ airs on Sunday nights at 9:00pm EST.

Eminem and Snoop Dogg delivered their VMAs performance of “From The D 2 The LBC” live from the metaverse, in character as their Bored Ape NFTs. The new song, which appears on Eminem’s greatest hits compilation Curtain Call 2, is the two veteran rappers’ first collaboration in over 20 years. Their last song together was on Eminem’s 2000 album, The Marshall Mathers LP.

Prior to their collaboration, though, the two rappers had a minor tiff in 2021 after Snoop admitted (correctly) that he didn’t think Eminem was one of the top ten rappers ever — something that got Eminem’s stans in an uproar even though Snoop showed him love just a day later on Instagram. The incident prompted Em to sneak in what some thought were jabs at Snoop on his album Music To Be Murdered By – Side B. In the song “Zeus,” Em says:

As far as squashin’ beef, I’m used to people knockin’ me
But just not in my camp, I’m diplomatic ’cause I’m tryna be
Last thing I need is Snoop doggin’ me
Man, dog, you was like a damn god to me
Nah, not really
I had “Dog” backwards

Later, he explained that he felt Snoop’s comments were disrespectful, and “threw [him] for a loop.” Snoop shot back that Eminem should “pray” he didn’t respond to the “Zeus” lyrics, but insisted that the two were “still friends,” and in an interview last October, issued a mea culpa, saying he was “out of pocket” with the way he phrased his praise of their mutual rhyme heroes. Earlier this year, they shared the stage for the Super Bowl Halftime Show with Dr. Dre, proving that it’s all good in the hood.

15 years in the game, Nicki Minaj maintains her spot on the throne. Making a hotly anticipated appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards, Minaj took the stage, revisiting her several iconic eras.

During her performance, Minaj, who is also pulling in double-duty hosting the show tonight alongside Jack Harlow and LL Cool J, opened briefly with her Pinkprint cut, “All Things Go,” before quickly transitioning into “Roman’s Revenge” from her debut album, Pink Friday. She briefly recreated the video for her Kanye West collaboration, “Monster,” before dancing her way into a pink salon to perform “Beez In The Trap.”

Surrounded by unitard-clad dancers, she performed breakthrough hits “Moment 4 Life,” and “Super Bass,” during the latter of which, Jack Harlow and Taylor Swift were seen lip-syncing in the audience

As she performed “Ananconda,” she was guarded by two CGI jaguars and surrounded by men in leather harnesses.

Minaj closed the performance with her latest hit, “Super Freaky Girl,” which has been her first solo single to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Following her performance, Minaj was presented the Video Vanguard award by members of her fan army, the Barbz.

She thanked her inspirations, Lil Wayne, Lauryn Hill, and Doug E. Fresh, as well as Beyoncé, Rihanna, Britney Spears, and even her once-rumored rival, Mariah Carey, for giving her “huge opportunities [she’ll] never forget” in the realm of music. She also paid homage to late rappers, Pop Smoke, Nipsey Hussle, and Juice WRLD, as well as her father, her cousin Richard, and former business manager Angela Kukowski.

“I wish that Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson were here,” she said. “I wish that people understood what they meant and what they were going through. Even if they seem to have the perfect life.”

Over the years, Minaj has won several VMAs, including Best Hip-Hop Video for “Super Bass” in 2011, Best Female Video for “Starships” in 2012, Best Hip-Hop Video for “Anaconda” and “Chun-Li” in 2015 and 2018 respectively, and Best Power Anthem for “Hot Girl Summer” with Megan Thee Stallion in 2019.

In addition to the Video Vanguard Award, Minaj is up for two other awards tonight, including Song Of The Summer for “Super Freaky Girl” and Best Hip-Hop for her Lil Baby collaboration, “Do We Have A Problem?”

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

The 2022 MTV VMAs have so far been full of surprises, or have at least had a couple of major ones. Taylor Swift showed up out of nowhere and then so did Johnny Depp, although Depp’s presence was far stranger than Swift’s.

At quiet moments during the broadcast, usually around commercial breaks, there was an astronaut character (a nod to the Moonperson on MTV’s VMA trophies) floating over the room. If you look and listen carefully, you’ll realize that Depp’s head is superimposed into the helmet. He offered some dialogue, too, like when he quipped, “I just want you guys to know that I’m available for birthdays, bar mitzvah, bat mitzvah, weddings, wakes… any old thing you need.”

Depp, of course, is fresh off his Amber Heard trial.

The show is of course star-studded beyond Depp, as performing during this year’s show are Nicki Minaj, Jack Harlow (both of whom are also co-hosting alongside LL Cool J), Lizzo, Blackpink, Bad Bunny, Måneskin, Anitta, Panic! At The Disco, Kane Brown, Marshmello x Khalid, Snoop Dogg with Eminem, J Balvin, and 2022 MTV VMAs Global Icon Award recipients Red Hot Chili Peppers. Taylor Swift also unexpectedly popped up at the show.

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

J Balvin is one of the biggest stars in the world. He has a No. 1 single under his belt with the Cardi B and Bad Bunny collaboration “I Like It,” and the list of artists who get more streams than him on Spotify is a short one. Now his resume has gotten a tad more fleshed out, as he just performed at the 2022 MTV VMAs.

Balvin was joined by Ryan Castro to perform their collaboration “Nivel De Perreo.” With all due respect to Castro, though, the most notable guest of the performance was the giant twerking hologram that shook what its mama gave it throughout the song.

For this year’s ceremony, Balvin has a nomination, as his and Skrillex’s “In Da Getto” is up for Best Latin.

Aside from Balvin, also performing during this year’s show are Nicki Minaj, Jack Harlow (both of whom are also co-hosting alongside LL Cool J), Lizzo, Blackpink, Bad Bunny, Måneskin, Anitta, Panic! At The Disco, Kane Brown, Marshmello x Khalid, Snoop Dogg with Eminem, and 2022 MTV VMAs Global Icon Award recipients Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Check out Balvin’s performance above.

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

Now is an amazing time to be a Blackpink fan. Earlier this month, the K-pop titans returned with “Pink Venom,” their first new single in two years. Devotees were clearly thrilled about it, as the video had YouTube’s biggest premiere of the year so far. Now, the group has given fans something else to get excited about, as they just performed at the 2022 MTV VMAs.

Latto introduced the group, noting this was their first-ever performance on a US awards show. The four-piece was also joined by a bevy of backing dancers on the smoky stage as they made full use of the gigantic triangle video screen behind them to show off a variety of visuals as they sang, rapped, and danced.

As for nominations, Blackpink are helping to introduce this year’s new Best Metaverse Performance category, as their virtual concert in the PUBG: Battlegrounds video game is up for consideration.

Aside from Blackpink, also performing during this year’s show are Nicki Minaj, Jack Harlow (both of whom are also co-hosting alongside LL Cool J), Lizzo, Bad Bunny, Måneskin, Anitta, Panic! At The Disco, Kane Brown, Marshmello x Khalid, Snoop Dogg with Eminem, J Balvin, and 2022 MTV VMAs Global Icon Award recipients Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Check out Blackpink’s performance above.

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

Lizzo is having a moment right now. Her new album Special is her highest-charting so far, earning a peak at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, while “About Damn Time” was a multi-week chart-topper and a strong “song of the summer” contender (even if she wasn’t always so sure it would be the right lead single for Special). Now, she can put another feather in her cap as she’s fresh off a performance at the 2022 MTV VMAs.

Her performance started with a bit of “About Damn Time” before transitioning into her latest single, “2 Be Loved (Am I Ready),” all the while accompanied by a delightfully colorful light show behind her, complete with herself as a background dancer on the massive triangular video screen behind her.

Lizzo has some major nominations at this year’s show: She’s up for Artist Of The Year while “About Damn Time” is up for Song Of The Year. The track is also nominated for Best Pop and Video For Good.

Aside from Lizzo, also performing during this year’s show are Nicki Minaj, Jack Harlow (both of whom are also co-hosting alongside LL Cool J), Blackpink, Bad Bunny, Måneskin, Anitta, Panic! At The Disco, Kane Brown, Marshmello x Khalid, Snoop Dogg with Eminem, J Balvin, and 2022 MTV VMAs Global Icon Award recipients Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Check out clips from Lizzo’s performance above.

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

Jack Harlow opened the 2022 MTV VMAs with a literal performance of his hit song “First Class,” rapping as he entered the Prudential Center stage from a hallway mocked up to evoke the aisle of an airliner. Sitting in the seats were fellow stars like Lil Nas X and Chloe. But the surprises kept coming, as he was joined onstage by none other than Fergie, who blended in her hit “Glamorous” — which Harlow sampled for “First Class” — and finished with a crowd-pleasing call-and-response. In addition to performing, Jack’s co-hosting the show along with LL Cool J and Nicki Minaj and co-leads all nominees with Kendrick Lamar and Lil Nas X. They each have seven nominations.

Harlow has had a tremendous year leading up to the 2022 VMAs. In April, he acquired his first-ever solo No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “First Class,” which returned to the top of the chart twice. He followed up with his second album, Come Home, The Kids Miss You a month later, giving him his highest-charting album yet with a debut at No. 3. Meanwhile, when a pop culture faux pas incensed fans of ’90s R&B staple Brandy, Jack flipped her fiery response into an opportunity, performing alongside Brandy at the 2022 BET Awards.

Even with all that behind him, he’s got plenty to look forward to as well. In September, he’ll embark on his Come Home, The Kids Miss You Tour with City Girls, beginning in Nashville, TN on September 8, then finishing up in Atlanta, GA on October 16. He’s also set his sets on his next high-profile collaboration, revealing that he’s been manifesting a song with Andre 3000 “for a while” during an interview with Today.

Watch Jack Harlow’s 2022 VMAs performance above.

Jack Harlow is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Britney Spears has spent a lot of time in recent months talking about her conservatorship, but so far, it has been mostly in the form on lengthy text posts on Instagram. Now, though, she has offered some truly extended thoughts on the situation via a new 22-minute recording that was shared on Sunday (August 28) night. Spears posted it on YouTube, but the video (link here) is currently set to private.

TMZ reports the video has “specific focus on how exactly the conservatorship started and what she remembers during those many years.”

The Blast also reports that Spears discusses how she was treated during the Circus era, noting, “Britney said that she was told that she was ‘fat’ on a daily basis and forced to go to the gym when she was working on her Circus album. She said she felt ‘demoralized’ and they made her feel ‘like nothing.’ She described how she wasn’t allowed to ‘go anywhere’ and how, especially during her Las Vegas Residency, many of her friends seemingly abandoned her while she was stuck on a busy work schedule.”

She also apparently turned down a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, calling the idea “irrelevant.”

Also noteworthy is the timing of the upload, as Spears shared the video shortly before the 2022 MTV VMAs.

Check out some fan-preserved clips from the video below.

Washington Commanders rookie running back Brian Robinson was shot multiple times in an attempted robbery on Sunday and suffered non-life threatening injuries and is in stable condition, according to multiple reporters who broke the news on Sunday night.

It’s not clear at the moment exactly what happened in the incident on Sunday, but initial reports say Robinson was struck by at least two bullets in his lower body in an attempted car-jacking, after which he was taken to a local hospital.

The third-round pick out of Alabama had 14 carries for 57 yards and a touchdown this preseason, only appearing in the first two games and being held out of the finale on Saturday in Kansas City. The Commanders hoped Robinson would bring some added depth and more physicality to their backfield, working alongside veterans Antonio Gibson and JD McKissic.

Obviously the chief concern for the Commanders and Robinson right now is on his health and recovery from a terrible incident. We are still awaiting official word from the team or a report on the severity of the injuries beyond that they are not life-threatening and he is in stable condition. We will provide updates when more are available and hope for a full and speedy recovery for the young running back.