Month: September 2022

Alex Turner gave the ultimate wedding gift to Mini Mansions bassist Zach Dawes and his new wife, Molly. According to video posted by an Arctic Monkeys fan account early Monday morning (September 26), the 36-year-old singer performed Dion’s “Only You Know” with Stella Mozgawa of Warpaint and Michael Shuman of Mini Mansions and Queens Of The Stone Age.

Dawes and Turner have been bandmates in The Last Shadow Puppets, a supergroup also consisting of Miles Kane and James Ford. Dawes provided bass for their 2016 sophomore album, Everything You’ve Come To Expect. The Last Shadow Puppets haven’t released a project since then. Turner has been too busy with the Arctic Monkeys. On August 24, the English rockers announced their seventh studio album, The Car, will arrive October 21. The lead single, “There’d Better Be A Mirrorball,” dropped on August 29 alongside an official video.

Days later, they announced they would play a phone-free show at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, New York, on September 22. And just last week, the band unveiled dates for their 2023 UK & Ireland Tour. The 13-date slate begins at Ashton Gate Stadium in Bristol on May 29 and will close at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow on June 25. The tour includes two-night stays at Sheffield’s Hillsborough Park (June 9 and 10) and London’s Emirates Stadium (June 16 and 17).

See all of Arctic Monkeys’ upcoming live dates here.

Jimmy Butler made waves this offseason when he showed up on an offseason workout video sporting long hair extensions, with the star even posting a video to Instagram of him getting his new hair put in.

Butler’s hair sparked plenty of jokes and conversation on the internet, and he showed up to media day sporting a different dreads look that, once again, drew plenty of attention. When asked about his new look, Butler sheepishly insisted he didn’t get extensions and didn’t know what the reporter asking was talking about, before offering up a simple — and very Jimmy Butler — reason for why he’s been messing around with various looks this offseason: he wanted to make the internet mad.

As he notes, he succeeded in that mission, and while he wouldn’t commit to the future of his hair while on the podium, he eventually told Taylor Rooks that he won’t be sporting the long hair once the season starts, going back to his more traditional look.

That’s probably smart, because any sort of slump would’ve immediately been attributed to Jimmy’s hair messing with him, but given Butler’s love of trolling, I wouldn’t count it out completely that we see him roll up to a game one year having completely changed his hair again.

Father time comes for us all — even rappers who once defined a rebellious youth culture for a generation of hip-hop fans. ASAP Rocky, who was one of the pioneers who brought the mosh pit to rap shows in the early 2010s, is now 33 years old and far less spry than he was in his early career. He’s also a father now, which means being a bit more responsible than the 20-something kids who come to his festival sets to recklessly smash into each other in a show of youthful exuberance.

Unfortunately, Rocky seems to have missed the memo, causing him to go viral over the weekend when he decided to stage dive during his headlining set at Rolling Loud New York. That part seems to have gone well enough, but getting out of the crowd turned out to be a lot more difficult than he apparently anticipated. His struggle to get back onto the stage was caught on camera and now, fans on Twitter are having a field day with that image.

“lmaooooo ASAP Rocky was fighting for his life in that mosh pit last night,” wrote one fan. “bro yelled ‘LET ME OUT.’”

Even Rocky’s peers got in on the act. Tyler The Creator, whose friendship with Rocky goes back to their early careers and who has had a longstanding tradition of trolling his “Potato Salad” collaborator, even used a screenshot of Rocky’s struggle face as his new profile picture on Instagram.

Unfortunately for Rocky (and his fans), his set was cut short at just nine songs due to a New York noise curfew (closing festivals on Sunday night is one of the worst time slots according to Questlove) and he started nearly 50 minutes late. It isn’t the first time it’s happened, either; maybe it’s time for the new dad to work on his time management in addition to staying on the stage for the foreseeable future.

Check out more responses to ASAP Rocky’s mosh pit mishap below.

Dominic Fike has announced the dates for his new Out Of Order North American tour. Fike, who appeared as Elliot in season two of HBO’s Euphoria, released his last album What Could Possibly Go Wrong, in 2020. While he will be touring a handful of winter shows with stops in Los Angeles’ Hollywood Palladium and New York’s Terminal 5, there is the possibility that fans could hear new music.

Since his last album, Fike also collaborated with none other than Paul McCartney in 2021. He performed a rendition of McCartney’s “The Kiss Of Venus” for his album McCartney III Imagined. He also appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where he spoke about their collaboration and performed his own song “Babydoll.”

A complete list of Dominic Fike’s Out Of Order tour dates is available below, with more ticketing information found here.

11/06 — Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo
11/08 — Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
11/09 — Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
11/11 — San Francisco, CA @ The Masonic
11/12 — Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium
11/16 — Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater
11/17 — Dallas, TX @ House of Blues Dallas
11/19 — Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
11/21 — St. Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Live
11/23 — Orlando, FL @ House of Blues Orlando
11/25 — Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
11/26 — Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl
11/28 — Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore Silver Spring
11/29 — Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall
12/02 — New York, NY @ Terminal 5
12/03 — Boston, MA @ House of Blues Boston
12/05 — Montreal, QC @ L’Olympia
12/06 — Toronto, ON @ HISTORY
12/09 — Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore Detroit
12/10 — Chicago, IL @ Radius
12/11 — Minneapolis, MN @ Fillmore Minneapolis
12/13 — Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
12/14 — Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
12/16 — Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre

New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman learned a lot about Donald Trump over the course of three interviews in 2021. In a preview for her new book, Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America, published in the Atlantic, she writes that the former-president thinks COVID is “not good” and that he was offended by comparisons to ex-New Jersey governor Chris Christie (“I was compared to him? Why? I didn’t know I had that big of a weight problem”).

Trump also called Haberman his “psychiatrist,” which she writes was a “meaningless line, almost certainly intended to flatter.” She was not flattered, but Trump’s familiarity with his interviewer — and the fact that history has proven, time and time again, that he can say whatever he wants with no repercussions — led to a “jarring” confession.

At one point, Trump made a candid admission that was as jarring as it was ultimately unsurprising. “The question I get asked more than any other question: ‘If you had it to do again, would you have done it?’” Trump said of running for president. “The answer is, yeah, I think so. Because here’s the way I look at it. I have so many rich friends and nobody knows who they are.”

In a “later interview about what he’d liked about the job,” Haberman writes, “he replied, ‘Getting things done,’ and listed a few accomplishments,” but it’s telling that Trump’s immediate response to his favorite thing about being president is all the rich jerks he met along the way. Does he know he could have hung out with these rich ghouls at, like, Kid Rock’s Big Ass Honky Tonk Rock N’ Roll Steakhouse instead of the White House, and saved everyone a lot of stress? Probably would have been more fun, too.

(Via the Atlantic)

As Blackpink continues to kick down doors in their songs, they’re actually breaking records, and making history as well.

Closing their first week of promotions — including a “Shut Down” performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! — Blackpink’s sophomore album, Born Pink, lands atop of the Billboard 200 chart at No. 1. This achievement makes the pop quartet the first ever K-pop female act to do so, and the first all-female act to top the chart in over a decade – with Danity Kane’s second album, Welcome to the Dollhouse in 2008. Blackpink’s record-breaking album makes them the third South Korean act to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 this year, following Stray Kids (Oddinary) and BTS (Proof).

According to a report from Billboard and Luminate, Born Pink has earned itself 102,000 equivalent album units in the US in the week ending September 22. The second album also debuts at the top of of the Top Album Sales chart with 75,000 album sold (physical and digital), making it the seventh-largest album sold in 2022.

In addition, the eight-track pop project from Blackpink also topped the Official Albums Chart on the United Kingdom’s Official Charts (the UK-equivalent of the US Billboard chart). Just like Billboard 200, Blackpink becomes the first K-pop female act to ever debut at No. 1 as well.

Megan Thee Stallion unveiled the launch of her new website, Bad B*tches Have Bad Days Too, this weekend. The site pulls together a list of mental health resources, including organizations providing free therapy, group programs for the Black and LGBTQIA+ communities, specific hotlines, and more, according to NME.

Megan confirmed the news after retweeting a fan who discovered the site. “Bounce back like bad b*tches do,” a screenshot reads. A few of the specific resources provided on Megan’s site include the National Crisis Text Line, LGBT National Youth Talkline, Dear Black Women Project, National Alliance on Mental Illness, and many more.

“Hotties! You know how much mental wellness means to me, so I created a hub with resources that can help when you might need a hand,” Megan shared to the fans. “Head to http://badbitcheshavebaddaystoo.com now and check it out. Love y’all so much.”

Along with the resources, the site includes a handful of stills from the visualizer for her song “Anxiety” and the cover art from Megan’s new album, Traumazine, which the track appears on. Released in August, the record’s themes dive into mental health following painful experiences that Megan went through. Outside of the rap world, she graduated last December with a degree in Health Administration, making this feel like a fitting next step for her.

Visit Megan Thee Stallion’s Bad B*tches Have Bad Days Too website for more info.

John Oliver slipped in a crack at Leonardo DiCaprio‘s love life, and more pointedly, everyone’s jokes about his rumored displeasure at dating anyone over the age of 25. The joke came shortly after the 8:00 minute mark during a lengthy Last Week Tonight segment on Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and his country’s refusal to reduce greenhouse emissions. In fact, they actually went up during the pandemic. Oliver also took on Bolsonaro’s lack of concern for the rainforest.

As Oliver noted, Bolsonaro has been decrying any environmental concerns about Brazil as nothing more than a plot to seize the country’s jungles. The controversial president has gone so far with his conspiracy theories that he “directly accused Leonardo DiCaprio of funding arson in the Amazon.” Oliver joked that that Bolsonaro’s claim is “absurd” because the actor is way too busy living a spectacularly lavish love life with a very strict age limit.

Via Deadline:

“Where would Leo find the time to do that between his busy film schedule, his daily yacht f*** and having a big laugh at every tweet about his May to December love life, ‘Oh man, the Internet got me again,’ Leo shouts to the richest people on the planet over a bottle of wine that costs more than your rent,” Oliver said.

While Oliver’s burn was mostly directed at DiCaprio, he definitely got in a nice jab at the internet, which had an absolute field day after the actor broke up with model Camila Morrone right after her 25th birthday. Granted, Leo’s probably not sweating what the internet thinks, but he has notably started up a relationship with Gigi Hadid who is the surprisingly elderly age of 27. Leo can change!

(Via Deadline)

A$AP Rocky teased that Rolling Loud in New York City’s Citi Field on Saturday night (September 24) would be “his last show until the album.” Turns out, Rocky’s fans will only have 30 minutes to tide them over. The Harlem-bred rapper expressed disappointment over his short set that saw him bring out Glorilla and French Montana.

“I am so hurt right now!” Rocky wrote in a note posted to Twitter on Sunday afternoon (September 25). “Last night was supposed to be a turning point in my live shows from the old to new! I will take full responsibility for the circumstances of what led to last nights show being everything it was and everything it wasn’t.”

The 33-year-old continued: “I also want to acknowledge that even tho I prepared the best show for my fans, detail for detail , over the course of MONTHS… I was unfortunately not able to bring my vision to fruition and Im hurt about that and I want to apologize to all of my fans and continued supporters, and thank y’all for showing up for me regardless!! A$AP4EVA.”

According to TMZ, Rocky was supposed to begin his set at 8:55 p.m. local time “but didn’t go on until a good 45 minutes later,” and the set was cut short by Rolling Loud organizers “because of a noise ordinance.”

Rocky took the stage with “Grim Freestyle” followed by “Lord Pretty Flacko Jodye 2.” Midway through, he performed “Sights,” his new collaborative single with Playboi Carti, for the first time. Then, Glorilla joined for a rendition of her breakthrough hit “FNF (Let’s Go),” and Rocky closed out the abbreviated set alongside French Montana for “Mopstick.”

Throughout, Rocky spent time between songs calling for fans to “open that b*tch” for mosh pits, which resulted in the meme treatment. Tyler, the Creator went as far as switching his Instagram profile picture to the circulating photo of a struggling Rocky in the subpar pit.

Rocky didn’t have to endure the internet’s wrath for too long, though. Shortly after posting his apology, Rihanna confirmed she is the halftime performer for Super Bowl LVII on February 12, 2023. The couple welcomed their first child earlier this year.

Watch Rocky at Rolling Loud New York above.

Mayim Bialik doesn’t take over for Ken Jennings on smart people Jeopardy! until next year, but until then, she’s the host of Celebrity Jeopardy! (RIP Norm).

The new season kicked off on Sunday with Conan sidekick Andy Richter, SNL cast member (and Comedy Bang Bang legend) Ego Nwodim, and Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star Simu Liu. Richter was the favorite heading into Final Jeopardy with $21,100, ahead of Liu ($11,600) and Nwodim ($10,000). The category was “Landlocked Countries” and the clue read, “It’s the world’s smallest landlocked country in both area and population.” Liu correctly wrote down “Vatican City” with a $11,600 wager, giving him a total of $23,200. As for Richter, he guessed “Liechtenstein,” which not only dropped him down to $18,900 — but also gave the game to Liu.

His reaction:

A shocked Liu advanced to the Semi-Finals, where he’ll compete against one of the following: Constance Wu, BJ Novak, Michael Cera, Candace Parker, Iliza Shlesinger, Ray Romano, Aisha Tyler, Patton Oswalt, Eddie Huang, Reggie Watts, Ike Barinholtz, or Jalen Rose. You can see the complete schedule and results here.

Celebrity Jeopardy! also features a tweak to the show’s format:

To stretch the game into an hourlong episode, [Celebrity Jeopardy!] has added Triple Jeopardy — a first for the American version of the show — in which clues start at $300 and go up to $1,500. The material will start off easier than in a typical game, which contestants take a test to qualify for. (It isn’t likely to sink to the level of SNL sketches, though, in which one clue read: “This is the thing that becomes toast.”)

Celebrity Jeopardy! airs on ABC on Sunday nights.

(Via the New York Times)