Month: January 2023

Donovan Mitchell has been nothing short of spectacular for the Cleveland Cavaliers since he arrived in a trade this offseason, as the former Jazz All-Star entered Monday night averaging 28 points per game on 48.4/41.1/87.7 shooting splits.

However, he authored his masterpiece against the Bulls scoring 71 points, dishing out 10 assists, and pulling in eight rebounds to lead the Cavs to a win, coming back from 18 down at the half to force overtime and ultimately win the game, 145-134. Mitchell was sensational, knocking down 22 of his 34 field goal attempts and going 20-of-25 from the free throw line in the game. One of those missed free throws was purposeful, as Mitchell forced OT by executing a perfect miss at the line down two, gathering his own rebound and flipping it in to tie the game at 130-130.

What’s most impressive is that Mitchell only had 16 points at the half and reached 50 points with just over five minutes to play in the game, as he did incredible damage in the 10 minutes that was the final five of regulation and overtime, scoring 20 of his 71 in that stretch.

Mitchell joins an extremely short list of players to top 70 points in a game, with Wilt Chamberlain (twice), Elgin Baylor, David Thompson, David Robinson, Kobe Bryant, and Devin Booker. He is the first to do so in a game where he also recorded 10 assists, as he contributed to an unreal 99 of the Cavs 145 points in the win. You can catch the full game highlights here, as Mitchell’s historic night got Cleveland its 24th win of the season.

On Monday evening, millions gathered to watch a prime NFL matchup between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals. However, the game was halted after only a few minutes following the on-field collapse of 24-year-old Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin. Hamlin made a tackle, stood up, and then fell backward to the ground.

Within seconds, training staffs and medical personnel acted in an emergency manner, and players were immediately displaying significant concern with reactions. Hamlin remained on the field for nearly 30 minutes and, eventually, both teams went to the locker room with word breaking that the game was “temporarily suspended” after the league initially providing a five minute warmup for the game to resume. The two coaches met twice and decided to go back to the locker rooms, as it became clear no one was prepared to resume play after such a tragic scene.

ESPN’s broadcast relayed that CPR was administered to Hamlin on the field, and an ambulance took him from the field to a local hospital for medical treatment. Details were difficult to glean, both in the immediate aftermath and as the situation continued, though ESPN’s studio coverage did eventually call for the game to be postponed, citing the very clear realization that this is a situation much more important than any football outcome.

Prior to the official announcement the game was being postponed, the Bills equipment staff could be seen packing up their sideline and Lisa Salters reported players from both teams were meeting in the hallway to exchange hugs, with some in towels indicating the game was going to be, rightfully, called for the night.

At 10:00 p.m. ET, John Parry announced on the ESPN broadcast that the league was officially postponing the game and would figure out the next steps later.

It was the right call given the emotion of the moment and that the only thing that mattered was Hamlin’s health. Until an update could be provided on his status, there was no reasonable way the league could ask players to return to the field and play the rest of the game. The league would release an official statement shortly after offering the first update on Hamlin, noting he is in critical condition at the hospital.

As the ninth-anniversary approaches of the release of her breakout song, “I Love You,” pop act Charli XCX may feel like she is on the fringe of success, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

The British singer’s latest album, Crash, which dropped in March 2022, was met with critical praise and fans’ overwhelming support. Although her SNL performance was canceled due to a COVID outbreak, last year was a standout year for the musician.

Charli XCX executive produced as well as supplied music for A24’s series Overcompensating. She also made an appearance on the rebooted television show Gossip Girl. That may have been all well and dandy for other entertainers, but Charli XCX wants more, and she’s not afraid to let the world know so.

In a post on Instagram, Charli revealed that a new project is not only in the works but it “will be [her] best [album yet].”

Charli hasn’t shared when fans can expect the new album or what the body of work will sound like, but she did share 2023 resolutions. “Read more books, take less pills, have no fear, be even more c*nt,” wrote Charli.

Charli XCX is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The much-anticipated Monday Night Football matchup between the Bills and Bengals came to a sudden halt in the first quarter when Buffalo defensive back Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field after making a tackle.

Trainers from both teams quickly made their way onto the field and began radioing for emergency response. The ESPN broadcast showed a replay of Hamlin make a tackle, get up, and immediately collapse backwards. He remained down on the field for more than 10 minutes, where he had CPR administered through two commercial breaks, per Joe Buck on the ESPN call, before being moved to a backboard and into an ambulance where he was transported off of the field.

It was a terrifying scene, with the players from both sides all gathering around Hamlin, all of whom were visibly distraught as they watched helplessly as Hamlin received emergency medical care on the field. As the ambulance left the field, the entire Bills team huddled up, took a knee around Sean McDermott, and said a prayer. We will provide further updates on Hamlin’s situation when they become available, but the two teams decided to temporarily suspend play, which felt like the correct call given the emotion of the moment.

UPDATE: A report from Cincinnati television reporter Joe Danneman indicated Hamlin had a pulse but was not breathing on his own as he was being transported to the medical center — ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg likewise reported Hamlin appeared to be receiving oxygen as he was placed in the ambulance.

Many from around the NFL called on the league to cancel the game outright on social media, and ESPN’s Booger McFarland shared that sentiment on air while in an impossible spot as ESPN’s studio crew had to try and navigate the situation without anything in the way of a firm update.

Bad Bunny was one of the biggest artists of 2022. The star broke many records with his massive album Un Verano Sin Ti, which was quite literally the most popular LP of last year. However, due to the skyrocketing levels of his fame, he has to deal with many problems, from his concertgoers getting scammed to his fans bothering him with selfie requests.

Unfortunately, the performer has found himself in a storm of backlash after a controversial clip began circulating on social media. In the video, while visiting the Dominican Republic, a fan is trying to take selfies with him as he’s walking. Bad Bunny was displeased by the fan’s forcefulness. So he reacts by taking the phone from the fan’s hands and throwing it in the nearby bushes.

While some say it was uncalled for, many say the rapper had every right to do so — the fan was intruding on his personal space.

Taking to Twitter, Bad Bunny shared a statement regarding the matter. Twitter translated the tweet from Spanish to English, revealing it to read, “The people who come up to me to say hello, to tell me something, or just to meet me, will always receive my attention and respect. Those who come to put a f*cking phone in my face I will consider it for what it is, a lack of respect, and I will treat it likewise.”

In 2020, Phil Elverum released the first Microphones album in 17 years. Known for that project, the enigmatic musician is beloved for the more active project Mount Eerie. Well, Mount Eerie is back today with a new song called “Huge Fire.”

The song is for the Colors compilation album, released by Tokyo’s 7e.p. Records for its 20th anniversary. Other artists on the album include Lou Barlow, Tori Kudo, Mirah, Jason Lytle, Spencer Krug, Julie Doiron, Hisako Tabuchi, Quasi, Little Wings, Karl Blau, and Tim Kinsella, to name a few.

“Huge Fire” is an off-kilter, distorted track encapsulating Elverum’s haunting energy. He mumbles, “I carry it into the night / I walk, and there’s a fire, but it’s at my back,” before static takes over.

No matter the project, Elverum often reckons with grief in his music. In 2018, he made a statement about Lil Peep’s death after tweeting that he was thinking about the emo-rapper.

“Death was on my mind,” he explained. “More people dying, young people dying, people dying before their time, Geneviève dying, and people grieving in this sloppy, chaotic, public way, which I was also doing. It just poked at all these issues in a fresh way, surprisingly.”

Listen to “Huge Fire” below.

Pop singer Miley Cyrus wasn’t the only musician hosting a huge New Year’s Eve concert party. Indie rock legend Brandi Carlile hosted a musical event of her own at the MODA Center in Portland, Oregon, to bring the bring with a bang. With a bevy of talented friends, including folk music icon Joni Mitchell and R&B superstar Alicia Keys, there’s no surprise the show had a guest appearance by rock duo Sleater-Kinney.

While thousands of Americans were tuned into the broadcast of the ball drop in Times Square or Dick Clark’s annual New Year’s Rockin’ Eve concert, nearly 20,000 unplugged from their television sets to tune into Carlile live.

Carlile performed a few of her popular tracks at the concert, including “The Story,” as she put it, “It’s not New Year’s Eve without ‘The Story,’ right?”

The bulk of the night was filled with covers to pay homage to several artists Carlile has been inspired by, including Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs,” Radiohead’s “Creep,” David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” and Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse Of The Heart.” Sleater-Kinney’s Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein joined her onstage to sing Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot.”

As they counted down the new year, Carlile joked with the crowd, drink in hand, saying, “I’ve never seen so many sparkly lesbians in my life!”

The night, presented by Live Nation, opened with a performance by musician KT Tunstall.

Brandi Carlile is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Around two years ago, Justin Bieber reflected on his DUI that occurred in 2014. “7 years ago today, I was arrested, not my finest hour,” he wrote.

“Not proud of where I was at in my life. I was hurting, unhappy, confused, angry, misled, misunderstood, and angry at God. I also wore too much leather for someone in Miami. All this to say God has brought me a long way.”

The pop star has come such a long way that now Judge Judy, who he was once “scared to death” of because of his bad behavior, is happy for him and thinks he, “looks wonderful.”

TMZ shared a video today (January 2) in which a paparazzi asked the famous judge: “I cannot believe that Justin Bieber was scared of you. Do you believe you played a role in putting him on the straight and narrow?”

She answered, “No, no. He did that all by himself.” When asked if she’s spoken to Bieber since then, she said, “I have not. But I’ve seen him since, and he looks wonderful, and he seems happy.”

The paparazzi asked if she was proud of him, and she answered, “I’m happy for him.”

Watch the full clip here.

He may jokingly have ‘better lungs’ than Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps, but rapper Wiz Khalifa will need pockets deeper than a bank if he keeps burning through money like he did this weekend. In many cultures, the way you start the new year foreshadows how your year will pan out. Based on what the “Black and Yellow” rapper shared on Twitter, he might want to look into starting a monthly budget.

Yesterday (January 1), Khalifa hinted at the wild night he had while bringing in the new year, writing, “I tripped and fell in the pool in my 10 thousand dollar suit last night.” Not happy with the hefty financial blow, the songwriter continued, “y’all can take me back to last year ’cause this ain’t it.”

Even with the minor financial setback, Khalifa has no regrets as he followed up his story with, “New year. Same me.”

As a master manifester and budding businessman (owning upcoming mushroom and psilocybin wellness brand Mistercap as well as delivery-only restaurant Hotbox by Wiz), it is only a matter of time moments until he makes the money he lost back.

Wiz Khalifa is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Fuerza Regida teamed up with more of the young heavy-hitters in regional Mexican music on the album Pa Que Hablan that dropped last Friday (December 30). Eslabon Armado, Natanael Cano, and Junior H feature on the Mexican-American band’s star-studded LP.

Fuerza Regida is a part of the wave of Gen-Z acts who are making age-old regional Mexican music appeal to a new generation of fans. The band broke out in 2018 with the corrido “Sigo Chambeando.” The song’s title translates to “Keep Working” in English and that’s what Fuerza Regida has done to stay atop the regional Mexican music charts.

Fuerza Regida have made its album Pa Que Hablan like a summit of regional Mexican music’s new stars. In the moody “Aretes,” the band teamed up with Eslabon Armado, a Mexican-American group that has put an emo twist on the genre. In the boozy “Whisky Con Agua,” Mexican singer and the genre’s local sad boy Junior H joins Fuerza Regida. The band enlisted corridos tumbado pioneer Cano for the feel-good “Ch y La Pizza.” Fuerza Regida also put a fresh spin on regional Mexican music with Mexican rapper Santa Fe Klan who features on the fiery “Una Raya Más Al Tigre.”

Last week, Fuerza Regida also released a second album titled Sigan Hablando. The LP includes the hit “Bebe Dame” featuring Mexican-American band Grupo Frontera. Like Bad Bunny’s free rooftop concert in Puerto Rico last week, Fuerza Regida returned to the band’s hometown of San Bernardino for an impromptu show. Hundreds of people filled the streets to see the group perform songs from both albums on a convenience store rooftop.

“This is my home,” said Jesús Ortiz (JOP), Fuerza Regida’s lead singer, in a statement about the concert. “I remember when I came to this store without a five [dollar bill] and thank God with a lot of work and effort things are happening.”

Pa Que Hablan and Sigan Hablando are out now via Rancho Humilde. Listen to both albums here.