Piece by piece, fans have been learning more and more about “Hold Me Closer,” the upcoming Britney Spears and Elton John collaboration that’s set to drop this Friday (August 26). Now, Spears herself has offered something up: a first look at the recording we’ll get to hear in just a couple days.
John debuted the song live at a restaurant yesterday, but Spears’ Instagram post from today, a 45-second sample of the song, is the first snippet of the crowd noise-free studio recording of the track. It offers a clearer listen at Spears vocal contributions to the song, which seem to be relatively subdued, a good fit for the groovy, chilled-out arrangement.
In her caption, Spears wrote in part, “You can bet your bottom dollar that THIS collaboration will heighten my year by joining your brilliant hands of play. Thank you for your [generosity] and just thinking of me to join you on such a brilliant song !!! How cool is it to be a background voice ON YOUR song !!! Sir Elton I did it thanks to your genius, creative, and legendary mind !!! I am so grateful !!!”
Find Spears’ post below.
“Thanks @eltonjohn for posting my baby pic !!! Most people say that it’s CUTE … it surely is !!! Maybe we should have Tea Time !!! Oh and let’s invite Queen Elizabeth too !!! I bet she’s a brilliant study of behavior !!! So shall we tidy up ??? Since most say they are honored TO KNOW ME SO WELL and only want happiness for me … you can bet your bottom dollar that THIS collaboration will heighten my year by joining your brilliant hands of play. Thank you for your genorosity and just thinking of me to join you on such a brilliant song !!! How cool is it to be a background voice ON YOUR song !!! Sir Elton I did it thanks to your genius, creative, and legendary mind !!! I am so grateful !!! I just keep on giving dont I ??? Can I get an AWWWWE ???”
Marcos Alberti’s “3 Glasses” project began with a joke and a few drinks with his friends.
The photo project originally depicted Alberti’s friends drinking, first immediately after work and then after one, two, and three glasses of wine.
But after Imgur user minabear circulated the story, “3 Glasses” became more than just a joke. In fact, it went viral, garnering more than 1 million views and nearly 1,800 comments in its first week. So Alberti started taking more pictures and not just of his friends.
“The first picture was taken right away when our guests (had) just arrived at the studio in order to capture the stress and the fatigue after a full day after working all day long and from also facing rush hour traffic to get here,” Alberti explained on his website. “Only then fun time and my project could begin. At the end of every glass of wine, a snapshot, nothing fancy, a face and a wall, 3 times.”
Why was the series so popular? Anyone who has ever had a long day at work and needed to “wine” down will quickly see why.
If you haven’t heard of The Kiffness, you’re in for a treat. And if you haven’t seen an alugalugging cat, you’re also in for a treat. Putting them together makes a magical mashup of weird and wonderful that you just have to hear to believe.
First, let me explain the alugalugging cat thing. For some unknown reason, some cats make a strange “alugalug” sound when they’re scared or upset or trying to get someone to go away.
What do you think he was trying to say? 🧙♂️😂 🎥 @Sierra 🙂 #ladbible #fyp #foryoupage #cats #catsoftiktok #magic
An amazing sound, right? But is it the basis for a song?
For The Kiffness, it sure the heck is.
The Kiffness is the stage name of David Scott, a musician from South Africa. He didn’t start out doing cat duets and they’re certainly not the only kind of music he creates, but holy moly is he incredible at them.
In fact, he has a whole cat duet album, including a song based on that same alugalug cat. Check this out:
Not only did that duet video make its way around the internet, it also inspired people from around the world to join him in an incredible global symphonic mashup.
If you’re looking for silver linings from the COVID-19 pandemic, this is one of them. There’s something so perfectly pure and wholesome about the way these musicians came together with a cat to create a truly unique piece of music.
“The last two years have been really rough for a lot of people, so knowing that my music can help people in some way is very rewarding,” Scott told Upworthy.
The idea for the first cat duet actually came from one of his fans.
“One day a fan asked if I could remix a cat, and at first I thought, ‘Probably not.’ It seemed a bit too out there, but I decided to give it a bash and the song turned out way better than I expected.”
He said it was the first song he created after finding out he was going to be a dad, which had put him in a whole different headspace. More cat request videos started coming afterward and before he knew it, he’d created an entire “Cat Jams” EP.
“Without the cats, the EP wouldn’t have been possible, so we donated 50% of the streaming revenue to my local SPCA,” he said.
Scott had been a touring musician and producer before the pandemic hit. When COVID put live performances on hold, he started recording some parodies about how the South African government was handling the pandemic. He grew a large following, but quickly grew tired of people’s divisive and hateful comments. He started remixing viral memes instead and was far more pleased with the mostly positive responses.
Since then, his fan base has only grown and he’s so grateful.
“It’s always really nice to know that my music helps people that are going through tough times,” he told Upworthy. “I’d like to thank every person who has been vulnerable enough to reach out to me in the comments, email or DM about what they’re going through. I can’t always respond to every person, but I’m always touched by how much the videos mean to people.”
He’s also found his viral popularity to be a bit humbling.
“I’m just a regular, chilled guy from South Africa, so to be able to make music with and for people from around the world is completely mind-blowing to me,” he said. “My supporters are the reason I’m able to carry on doing what I love doing, so thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’ll do my best to keep delivering interesting videos.”
Yes, please and thank you. You can follow The Kiffness on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.
(And just to give you a taste of what else he’s done, check out this duet with a Ukrainian singer who joined the country’s armed forces after the Russian invasion.)
Doctors help save lives on a daily basis. However, this one went above and beyond in a single act of kindness.
As a kidney specialist, nephrologist Dr. Aji Djamali has spoken to countless organ donors over the years. Those conversations left him inspired.
“I was always in awe of their courage and how they were stepping up and being selfless and going through something they didn’t have to, to help another human being,” he said according to the Portland Press Herald.
It was the sort of sacrifice he aspired to make one day. However, the timing hadn’t been quite right. Djamali explained to People that he and his wife agreed that they would wait until their three children had grown up.
As destiny would have it, one of Dr. Djamali’s close friends and personal patients would provide him the perfect opportunity.
An exclusive reported by Medpage Today recounted Dr. Djamali’s eight-year friendship with John Jartz. The two first met when Jartz had been diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease (PKD) at UW Health Transplant Center in Madison, Wisconsin. What started off as a doctor-patient relationship quickly evolved into a deeper bond due to “instant chemistry,” which lasted even after Jartz was transferred to a different nephrologist.
Then the time finally came for Jartz to need a kidney transplant. However, the 68-year-old had a rare blood type and faced a five- to seven-year wait for a kidney from a cadaver donor, reported People. Jartz likely didn’t have that long.
Djamali told his friend that, luckily, a donor was already available.
“Oh yeah, who?” Jartz urgently asked.
The 53-year-old physician answered: “me.”
“I lost it because, essentially, what someone is telling you when they say they want to be your donor, is, ‘I want to save your life,'” Jartz told MedPage Today. “It just is really meaningful.”
All three of Djamali’s children had already graduated and moved out, making the timing perfect. Plus he had a compatible blood type and could provide Jartz an organ from a living donor, which research has shown can exponentially improve survival rates.
Penn Medicine states that the shortage of kidneys available for transplantation in the United State is a “public health crisis,” with nearly 5,000 people dying each year while remaining on the waitlist for a door. Out of those 90,000 patients needing the procedure, only 20,000 transplants are performed annually.
Dr. Djamali hopes that the story’s widespread attention motivates others to consider donating as well. “Half of the reason was to help John,” Djamali shared with People. “But the other reason was to encourage people to help others, to inspire them to consider stepping up and helping the 90,000-plus patients across the nation who are on waiting lists to get a transplant.”
They say giving is receiving, but this takes the sentiment to a whole new level.
When the MTV VMAs happen on August 28th, not only will the best music videos of the past year be crowned, but over a dozen performers will also take the stage. Hosted by LL Cool J, Jack Harlow, and Nicki Minaj, the MTV VMAs 2022 will be broadcast live from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey beginning at 8 p.m. ET. Along with performances from hosts Minaj and Harlow, there’s some serious talent that’ll be performing throughout the evening.
Who Is Performing At The 2022 MTV VMAs?
Nicki Minaj’s performance will be a notable one, given that along with hosting duties, she’ll also be receiving the 2022 MTV Video Vanguard Award. Red Hot Chili Peppers will be performing and are receiving the high honor of the 2022 MTV VMAs Global Icon Award. Other performers at the 2022 VMAs include Lizzo, Blackpink, Harlow, Maneskin, Anitta, Panic! At The Disco, Kane Brown, Marshmello x Khalid, and J Balvin. And if you’re tuned into the pre-show, you’ll be able to watch performances from Dove Cameron, Yung Gravy, and Saucy Santana.
The 2022 MTV VMAs are on August 28 at 8 p.m. EST. It’ll be broadcast on MTV and multiple other networks. Get full details on the award show here.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
It’s not even September yet, but it’s never too soon to start thinking about Halloween. The candy, the costumes (Max from Stranger Things is to Halloween 2022 as the Joker was to Halloween 2008), and the horror movie marathons. If you’re looking for inspiration, Shudder has released the trailer for The 101 Scariest Horror Movie Moments of All Time, an eight-episode series where “master filmmakers and genre experts celebrate and dissect the most terrifying moments of the greatest horror films ever.”
The assembled talent includes Tony Todd, Greg Nicotero, Keith David, Alex Essoe, Ernest Dickerson, Brea Grant, Tananarive Due, Rebekah McKendry, Joe Dante, David Dastmalchian, Kate Siegel, Fede Alvarez, Mike Flanagan, Axelle Carolyn, Lydia Hearst, Dana Gould, Tom Savini, and Jonah Ray. (What, was Michael Ian Black busy?)
As for which movies are included, the trailer above highlights Dawn of the Dead, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Nosferatu, The Exorcist, The Thing, It Follows, Carrie, Night of the Living Dead, The Birds, Hereditary, The Babadook, Psycho, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Evil Dead, and It. The list looks like a nice mix of new and old. I’m sure famously chill horror movie fans will have no qualms about the ranking.
The 101 Scariest Horror Movie Moments of All Time premieres on Shudder on September 7.
In 2018, the rapper made his major label debut with Harlan & Alondra. Fans of the Compton-born-and-bred MC went almost four years without a project until he dropped his sophomore album, Superghetto, in March this year. Although short, with features from heavy hitters like Tinashe, T-Pain, Ari Lennox, and Blxst, it’s no surprise that Buddy delivers an excellent, laid-back performance of the album’s “Ain’t Fair.”
Buddy takes the 3 minutes to detail the “lifestyle of the super ghetto fellow,” including drug use, his musings on gentrification in the hood, and exes popping back up in his life. The performance showcases Buddy’s range as he switches flows over a jazz-inspired beat and demonstrates his love for LA by wearing a tee from the Fairfax-based design collective, Brain Dead.
Watch Buddy perform “Ain’t Fair” for UPROXX Sessions above.
UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.
The MTV VMAs awards show is happening this year on August 28th. The MTV Video Music Awards crowns the best music videos from artists of all genres and while the 2021 MTV VMAs was hosted by Doja Cat, the MTV VMAs 2022 actually has three different hosts. One is a familiar hosting face, and the other two are more eclectic choices that will make for a unique broadcast.
Who will host the 2022 MTV VMAs?
The three hosts for the VMAs in 2022 are LL Cool J, Nicki Minaj, and Jack Harlow. Harlow is an interesting choice, because along with Kendrick Lamar and Lil Nas X, he leads the way in the field with seven MTV VMAs nominations as well. Along with hosting duties, Minaj will be accepting the yearly MTV Video Vanguard Award, too. While Minaj and Harlow have never hosted an awards show of this magnitude before, LL Cool J has hosted the Grammys five times, so he should have no trouble helping them along.
The VMAs will also feature performances from Lizzo, Red Hot Chili Peppers, J Balvin, Harlow, Maneskin, Blackpink, Kane Brown, Marshmello with Khalid, and Panic! At The Disco, as well as Minaj and Harlow. There will also be pre-show performances from Dove Cameron, Yung Gravy, and Saucy Santana.
The 2022 MTV VMAs are on August 28 at 8 p.m. ET. Get full details on the award show here.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Doja Cat may be on hiatus this summer, following a tonsil surgery back in May, but this hasn’t stopped her from accomplishing great personal feats. On top of cutting her hair and embracing a new look, Doja has taken to Instagram Live today, where she announced she has gone 70 days without using her vape.
“I quit vaping, it’s day 70 of no vape,” Doja said while painting. “Day 70. Are you proud of me? Day f*cking 70, no vaping.”
.@DojaCat has revealed she’s 70 days vape-free in recent Instagram live.
While Doja seemed excited to share the news, adjusting to a tobacco-and-nicotine-free life is appearing to be no easy task, as she continued, “I would love to have a smoke. In the name of love… I would love to have a f*cking smoke. Motherf*cker. I’m going to peel my f*cking skin off.”
She revealed she would be quitting vaping back in May, following the surgery, as she was afraid vaping would result in her tonsils getting reinfected.
nah im too scared to hit it cuz my throat hurts so bad. i cried for hours. its not worth it. https://t.co/f7KheO85z6
“nah im too scared to hit it cuz my throat hurts so bad,” Doja said. “i cried for hours. its not worth it. then its like imagine all that wierd poisonous sh*t in the vape seeping into the completely open wound in my throat like f*ck that. im hella young.”
Even with the full backing of Netflix and a massive pop culture juggernaut on their hands, the makers of Stranger Things were always up against a brick wall that they couldn’t do a thing about: Puberty. While Season 1 introduced the world to the precocious pre-teen Hawkins team, there was no way to keep the perfectly cast youngsters frozen in time, and according to star Noah Schnapp, it quickly became a problem for the supernatural series.
In the first season, Schnapp played the youngest member of the group, Will Byers, who gets lost inside the Upside Down, which sparked Stranger Things‘ now-sprawling storyline. However, as the show took increasingly longer breaks between seasons (the pandemic didn’t help either), Schnapp obviously continued to grow, and that included his voice significantly dropping during puberty. While it’s extremely noticeable in Stranger Things 4, Schnapp recently revealed that he was asked to make his voice sound higher in a prior season even though he’s not even 18 yet.
“It was the peak time of change, and puberty and growing up and just everything was changing with all of us, and the directors were just not loving it,” Schnapp recounts of filming an earlier season. “And I remember one of the producers coming up to me and telling me, ‘Noah, is there any way you could just speak in a higher tone and just slouch a little bit? Like, we need you to keep that season one innocence that you had.’ That was like, ‘I don’t know what to tell you. My voice is dropping. I don’t sound young anymore.’”
What’s even wilder is that Schnapp’s natural voice is significantly deeper than his co-stars, and he truly is the youngest of the group in real life. Fortunately, the Duffer Brothers have figured out a solution to the puberty monster: A good old-fashioned time jump. When Stranger Things 5 brings the Hawkins story to a close, it will avoid the age issue by punting the kids out of high school. Problem solved.
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