Month: January 2023

Last year, Anitta broke many records thanks to the success of her global hit “Envolver.” In her new commercial for Lay’s that was released yesterday (January 17), the Brazilian superstar helped shatter another Guinness World Record.

Anitta’s new commercial with Lay’s features a remix of “Envolver” that was recorded in a studio, which was powered by the electricity from over 6,000 potatoes. Lay’s and Anitta set a Guinness World Record for the feat that was described in a press release release as “never-been-done-before.” Anitta’s “Beat Of Joy” commercial with the “Envolver” remix is a part of the potato chip brand’s “Stay Golden” campaign.

“As I continue to grow as an artist and a person, I do my best to focus on the positive and choose joy in every situation – to Stay Golden,” said Anitta in a statement. “This campaign captures that feeling that brings together all my passions and reflects the mindset I have in life at this moment. I hope it inspires fans to create joy and radiate that positivity every day.”

The campaign was also translated in Spanish to “Sigue Brillando.” Like the voceteo cars in the commercial, fans have a chance to win a voceteo kit signed by Anitta. By commenting with #StayGolden on the official Instagram or Twitter for Lay’s, they will be entered into the contest.

Last month, Anitta was named with BTS, Taylor Swift, Adele, and Harry Styles as Iconic Record Breakers by Guinness World Records. Thanks to her breakthrough single “Envolver,” she broke two records. On March 24, she was recognized for becoming the first solo Latin artist to reach No. 1 on Spotify. On August 28, she was later recognized as the first female solo artist to win Best Latin at the MTV Video Music Awards. Both records were broken by “Envolver.”

Today, Boygenius — an indie powerhouse band consisting of Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker — announced their official return today. The band are set to release their debut album, The Record, later this spring. However, the creation process of them reuniting (and making a record) has been years in the making.

According to a new press release, Bridgers was the one who set the gears in motion to bring the three close friends back into the studio together.

Back in 2018, Boygenius released a self-titled EP, but in the years since, each of the members have embarked on making solo records and finding success on their own.

Bridgers, who dropped her massive sophomore record, Punisher, in the summer of 2020, reached out to Dacus and Baker a week after its release. She sent them a demo of the band’s now-new song, “Emily I’m Sorry,” and everyone agreed that it was time for a return.

After making a Google Drive folder of potential songs, the three members entered the studio in January 2022 and spent most of the month recording for ten hours each day.

“We are all at least one type of the same psycho. The Venn diagrams overlap in ‘Every day for a month,’” Baker shared about their process.

The Record is out 3/31 via Interscope. Pre-order it here.

Cate Blanchett might be taking home awards for her portrayal of a disgraced composer and titular character in the film “Tár.” But if she had it her way, there wouldn’t be an award to take home. While delivering her “Best Actress” acceptance speech at the Critics Choice Awards, Blanchett challenged the need for awards shows, calling them “televised horse races.”

She didn’t mince words. “I would love it if we would just change this whole fucking structure.”

“Why don’t we just say there was a whole raft of female performances that are in concert and in dialogue with one another?” she said to the audience, celebrating the “extraordinary” performances by her fellow nominees — Viola Davis, Danielle Deadwyler, Margot Robbie, Michelle Williams and Michelle Yeoh.

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She continued, “because, can I tell you, every single woman with a television, film, advertising, tampon commercials — whatever — you’re all out there doing amazing work that is inspiring me continually. So thank you. I share this with you all.”

Watch below:

Cate Blanchett said to stop pitting women against each other and she’s so right!#CriticsChoiceAwards pic.twitter.com/L8gGuTEpvi

— Rina (@bbblanchett) January 16, 2023

To be fair, she kind of has a point. While it’s a good thing to recognize great work, art is subjective and unquantifiable. It’s not a sport, where there are clear cut rules as to what makes a winner a winner. Perhaps this system of picking one person above another in a creative field is outdated, not to mention unhealthy with the way it can inherently pit people against one another.

Competition is a natural part of the human condition. And clearly—as indicated by the widespread popularity of competition shows—it has its place in entertainment. However, what Blanchett seems to be arguing is that where competition largely divides us, creativity does the opposite, connecting us to our empathy and to each other. Not taking that into account largely misses the point of art altogether.

Perhaps it’s time to have a new system in place that does away with the shiny trophy and simply celebrates artists for their work. Odds are, they didn’t get into the industry for accolades anyway.

Meghan Smith is the owner of Melody Note Vintage store in the eternally hip town of Palm Springs, California, and her old-school Gen X advice has really connected with younger people on TikTok.

In a video posted in December 2022, she shares the advice she wishes that “somebody told me in my twenties” and it has received more than 13 million views. Smith says that she gave the same advice to her partner’s two daughters when they reached their twenties.

The video is hashtagged #GenX advice for #GenZ and late #millennials. Sorry older millennials, you’re too old to receive these pearls of wisdom.

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Here is some of the timeless advice that Smith shares in the video.

Perfection is bullshit.

You never be more good-looking than you are today.

Put your phone down and enjoy your life.

Don’t change for anybody.

Don’t worry about making mistakes.

Laugh at yourself.

If somebody shows you their true colors, believe them.

Travel.

You end up dating the people you think you deserve. Usually, you deserve better.

Don’t forget to always wear your sunscreen.

@melodynotevintage

This might only help one person and thats ok. Advice I wish somebody told me in my twenties. #genx advice for #genz and late #millennials #adviceforyour20s #lifeadvice #fyp dont be an asshat in the comments if you are older, its not helpful.

She followed up the video with a sequel with even more sage advice.

Know who’s on your side and who you can ask for help.

Don’t smoke.

Don’t spend longer than one year with the wrong person.

Find your own style.

Don’t stress over the small stuff.

Good manners don’t go out of style.

Do the work that it takes to be really good at something.

Your happiness is more important than other people’s disappointment.

@melodynotevintage

This might only help one person and thats ok. Advice I wish somebody told me in my twenties part 2 #genx advice for #genz and late #millennials #adviceforyour20s #lifeadvice #fyp

Skrillex has had a solid run of hot singles lately. Earlier this month, he released the dance-ready ballad “Way Back,” featuring PinkPantheress and Trippie Redd. Before that, he shared “Rumble,” with Fred Again.. and Flowden.

Today, the super-producer has shared a new single, “Leave Me Like This,” with Bobby Raps. On the new track, Skrillex delivers a groovy, house-inspired beat, where a voice singing “please don’t leave me like this” can be heard fading in and out. The track builds throughout, with exciting drops and thumping bass.

In addition to new music, Skrillex also debuted a new haircut this past week, wearing it buzzed, and noticeably shorter than he did in his many years with long hair.

Over the past year, Skrillex has kept it relatively low-key in terms of public appearances, mostly just focusing on his own performances, as well as production work for other artists. He took to social media to explain why.

“People ask why ‘I’ve been gone’ or ‘fell off,’ rightfully so,” he said, “Like I said, 22 was sort of my tipping point, I had to put everything on ice especially my projects/career.”

He continued, saying, “The truth is I didn’t cancel sunset and movement festival because of my albums. It we because I was working on myself. For the first time in 4-5 years I’ve found a new sense of peace. It took so much work and sacrifice to get here.”

Thankfully, it seems like he’s ready to get back and draw us back to the dance floor.

Check out “Leave Me Like This” above.

A week or so ago I was having drinks with a friend of mine who works for Late Night with Seth Meyers. In passing, I asked who was on the show that week and he mentioned John Larroquette and made a joke about maybe he’ll finally explain his character from the Carl Reiner directed, John Candy vehicle, Summer Rental. (No one actually cares but me, but his character, a man named Don Moore, is set up as a guy who will for sure be having an affair with John Candy’s wife. But then nothing happens. He’s just some guy. Obviously, his arc was cut out of this movie and I find it fascinating.) But then my friend said back, “He’s on to talk about Night Court.” And then I did that thing where you say the words “ha ha” out loud, in a slow, drawn-out way, to display sarcasm. But then he said, “No, really, there’s a new Night Court.”

After Googling this because I still didn’t believe him, it turns out this is true. There is a new Night Court. And I had to immediate reactions at the exact same time. Neither reaction on their own was unique, but combined together they created a feeling I don’t think I’ve ever felt before. One of the reactions was: Who on earth is asking for a new Night Court? Do people under, say, 35, even remember Night Court? It’s a show that, to the best of my knowledge, doesn’t have much of a footprint in 2023 like say even a Cheers or Frasier still have. And when this has been done before, like Will & Grace and The Conners, both those shows still feel like they are in the zeitgeist. But who was asking for Night Court?

The other, simultaneous reaction was: Oh yeah, well of course I’m going to watch Night Court. (I came close to even asking NBC for screeners, but I didn’t want to be committed to writing about Night Court. Yeah of course I was going to watch Night Court, but I certainly am not going to write about Night Court. Anyway, here we are.)

As anyone who was a kid in the 1980s, I watched my fair share of Night Court. It was part of the powerhouse NBC Thursday night lineup that featured four actual “must see” shows that started in 1984: The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Cheers, Night Court. (In 1983, NBC Thursday led off with the Nell Carter vehicle Gimme a Break, which became famous for launching Matthew Lawrence’s career. What would become the Night Court spot was a never-ending rotation of failed sitcoms. The acclaimed, but barely watched Dabney Coleman led Buffalo Bill and a show starring Jim Carrey called The Duck Factory were both in that spot the year before.

Night Court starred Harry Anderson (who had been on Cheers as a recurring character, a con man named Harry the Hat, who I loved as a character and wrote about) as a young, oddball judge named Harry Stone who loved Mel Torme and magic tricks. The show made John Larroquette a star, earning him four Emmy awards. As the sarcastic and crude womanizer Dan Fielding, Larroquette won so many Emmy awards in a row he finally took his name out of consideration. (Woody Harrelson would win the first year Larroquette didn’t participate.) Night Court would go on to be a ratings behemoth, at least until NBC figured out it could use Thursday as a lunching pad for new shows and siphon off established hits like Family Ties and Night Court to other nights. In 1988 Night Court moved to Wednesdays and still did okay, but it wasn’t on “the night” anymore. The Judd Hirsch comedy Dear John would take its place on Thursdays.

Night Court would wrap up in 1992. In the finale, Judge Harry Stone got a couple of enticing offers to leave his bench, but decided to stay. Public defender Christine Sullivan (Markie Post) is elected to congress. Larroquette’s Dan Fielding leaves his job as assistant D.A. to pursue a relationship with Christine. And bailiff Bull Shannon (Richard Moll) is literally abducted by aliens.

I can’t remember the last time I watched network television that wasn’t for sports or an awards show. But here I was, Tuesday night, ready to see what Night Court is like now. Sadly, a lot of the actors who were on the original run are now longer with us, like the aforementioned Anderson and Post. And the first episode is actually sad and almost a meditation of who Dan Fielding was and the relationship Larroquette had with his castmates. Dan now lives alone, mentioning he had a wife named Sara, and seems to just be happy keeping to himself. This new Dan is a shell of the Lothario he was in the original show. Which, actually, is kind of interesting.

When Dan first meets Melissa Rauch’s Judge Abby Stone, daughter of Harry Stone, he has a pretty interesting line. Dan mentions he’s sorry about her father’s passing, then says, “We lost touch over the years, but he was a great guy.” Later in the episode adding, “Say a lifetime ago, you worked with a guy. You had your ups and downs. But on the whole, you liked each other. Respected, even. The job ends and you go your separate ways. Life happens. You live. You love. And you lose … big time.” Look, I have no idea what Larroquette and Anderson’s relationship was in real life, especially back then, but it does seem like Larroqutte was speaking from the heart there about Anderson. Which is also pretty interesting.

Watching the two episodes of Night Court that aired on Tuesday night, this feels like a show almost designed so John Larroquette can get some stuff off his chest, wrapped up in a bundle that includes: sets that look like they were built in the ’80s, a multi-cam situational comedy setup, and a laugh track. Which kind of makes it all more surreal. Again, even while watching on network television on Tuesday, I still can’t figure out who wants this or why it’s even on. Also, I’m probably going to be watching every week. If for no other reason, to finally, hopefully, find out, after 30 years, how Bull Shannon is doing living on an alien planet. So far, shockingly, this has not been addressed in the first two episodes.

You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

As newly-elected Congressman George Santos watched his massive web of lies get exposed in mid-to-late December — with little to zero consequences from the Republican Party, we might add — the shady representative was called out for claiming on Twitter that his mom, Fatima, was killed on 9/11. It was later revealed that she actually died in 2015 from cancer.

Santos has since amended that story to now claim that her cancer came from being exposed to the “ash cloud” from the attacks while working in the South Tower. However, some new information has come to light, and it really should not surprise anyone at this point. That information? Santos’ mom wasn’t in New York on 9/11. In fact, she wasn’t even in the country.

Here’s what a search of immigration records for Fatima A.C.H. Devolder found, via Forward:

The records show that she wasn’t a bean counter, but a bean picker. As a young woman with a ninth grade education, she came to the United States on a Seasonal Agricultural Workers visa and worked on a South Florida bean and squash farm for $2.50 an hour. Later, she moved to New York and worked as a home aide and housekeeper.

The documents were released to a researcher named Alex Calzareth who requested them under the Freedom of Information Act, and shared with the Forward. They also place Devolder in the Rio de Janeiro suburb of Niterói on Sept. 11, 2001.

This latest debunking arrives on the heels of another alleged Santos scam. The congressman reportedly defrauded a veteran by raising money for the man’s sick dog only to pocket the cash and vanish. Without the much-needed funds, the dog ended up dying. Despite the increasing amount of shady activities, House Republicans are sticking by Santos and even saw fit to appoint him to both the Science, Space, and Technology Committee and the Small Business Committee. Really neat, guys.

(Via Forward)

In 2022, Disney+’s Star Wars offerings were extremely mediocre disappointments (Obi-Wan, The Book of Boba Fett) to extremely good masterpieces (Andor, Ewan McGregor’s beard in Obi-Wan). In 2023, more additions will be added to the universe, with some stories that have been on a long break return. In January, things kick off with the second season of the animated series The Bad Batch. The Mandalorian returns in March, and at some undisclosed date, Rosario Dawson will return as Ahsoka Tano, this time in her own series. 2023 will also mark Jude Law’s debut in the Star Wars universe because once you go Disney, you stay Disney.

Here’s your guide to all the Star Wars shows coming out in 2023:

Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 2 (January 4, 2023)

Starring: Dee Bradley Baker, Michelle Ang
Genre: Sci-fi, Animation
Rating: TV-PG
Runtime: 16 episodes
Creator: Dave Filoni
Trailer: Watch here

This is not for casual Star Wars fans. This in-depth animated series from Dave Filoni, which follows a squad of clones with genetic mutations including Omega, a female clone, is heavier on the Star Wars lore than any film or live-action series. The show explores the sprawling galaxy, focusing on the years leading up to the Empire’s takeover of the Galactic Republic during the Clone Wars. The show, which has a mix of serialized storytelling and stand-alone episodes is clearly building to something big, quite like its predecessor, The Clone Wars. The animation format allows the show to focus on the clone characters and stories that might be difficult, impossible, or, even for Disney, too expensive to pull off in live-action.

The Mandalorian: Season 3 (March 1, 2023)

Starring: Pedro Pascal, Giancarlo Esposito, Carl Weathers, Katee Sackhoff
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action Adventure
Rating: TV-14
Runtime: 8 episodes
Creator: Jon Favreau
Trailer: Watch here

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, The Mandalorian premiered on a brand new streaming service called Disney+. It was a different time: we didn’t even know about Baby Yoda yet. In 2019, The Mandalorian established an exciting tone for Star Wars shows, with an original story truly separate from the Skywalker Saga that honored the true spirit of the original trilogy with its western style action and storytelling. In its second season, which premiered in late 2020, the show became a sprawling Star Wars story, ending with an appearance from none other than a yassified, de-aged Luke Skywalker. Season three, coming out over two years after season two (Star Wars is expensive!) will hopefully dial back on the Skywalker stuff, and finally, introduce the world to Pedro Pascal’s mysterious face.

Young Jedi Adventures Animated TV Series (Spring 2023)

Starring: Emma Burman, Jmaal Avery Jr.
Genre: Sci-Fi, Animation
Rating: TV-PG
Runtime: Unknown
Creator: Michael Olson
Trailer: TBA

Young Jedi Adventures promises to turn the youngest people on Earth into Star Wars fans. The first-ever full-length Star Wars series for pre-schoolers will follow Younglings in Jedi school and their various adventures as students at Jedi school and throughout the galaxy far, far away. Since this is a children’s show, the young padawans will learn life lessons along the way, with episodes tackling topics including compassion, teamwork, patience, and friendship. The series will not cross paths with the main Star Wars timeline: it is set in a period called the High Republic, an era set centuries before the events of The Phantom Menace.

Star Wars: Visions – Volume 2 (Spring 2023)

The animated anthology series returns at a currently undisclosed date this spring. The first volume of Star Wars: Visions, released in 2021, consisted of nine unrelated self-contained anime short films, produced by seven Japanese studios. The studios were given creative freedom, with stories existing outside the Star Wars canon: many of the films feature familiar characters and alternate histories, and stories exist throughout various periods in the galaxy ranging from before the Empire, during the events of the original trilogy, and after Rise of Skywalker. Volume 2 will feature short films from animation studios from multiple countries across the globe Japan, India, the U.K., Ireland, Spain, Chile, France, and South Africa.
Starring: Various
Genre: Animation, Sci-fi
Rating: TV-14
Runtime: Nine episodes
Creator: LucasFilm
Trailer: Watch here

Star Wars: Ahsoka TV Series (2023)

Starring: Rosario Dawson, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Hayden Christensen, Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Genre: Sci-fi, Action, Adventure
Rating: TV-14
Runtime: TBA
Creator: Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni
Trailer: TBA

Ahsoka Tano, an original and deeply beloved character from the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars made her debut in live-action form in season two of The Mandalorian, portrayed by Rosario Dawson. Her own live-action series will exist in the same timeline as The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, in the years following the fall of the Empire. As teased in the other two shows, Ahoska will be on the hunt for Grand Admiral Thrawn, an imperial military leader. Ahsoka was Anakin Skywalker’s padawan in the Clone Wars years, but abandoned the Jedi before the whole Order 66 thing after she was set up for a crime. Despite Anakin’s turn to the dark side, Ahsoka always saw the good in him. Given Hayden Christensen’s confirmed casting in the series, flashbacks to their much happier years as Jedi are likely.

Star Wars Skeleton Crew (formerly “Grammar Rodeo”) TV Series (2023)

Starring: Jude Law
Genre: Sci-fi, Coming-of-Age
Rating: TBA
Runtime: TBA
Creator: Jon Watts and Christopher Ford
Trailer: TBA

Set in the same post-Return of the Jedi period as The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Ahoska, Skeleton Crew is a coming-of-age story starring Jude Law but we don’t know much more about it. Co-creator Jon Watts is best known for the Tom Holland MCU Spider-Man films wanted to create a Star Wars story inspired by Steven Spielberg films from the 1980s and coming-of-age films like The Goonies. According to reports from 2022, the series was looking to cast four actors to play teenage characters, and one 30-to 40-year-old actor. Filming began in Fall of 2022. This is a fun concept perfect for the Star Wars tone, themes, and world, as long as the show can resist integrating Skywalkers into it: Luke Skywaker does not need to assist in this coming-of-age story, he’s done enough.

Andor season two and The Book of Boba Fett season two (Probably 2024)

Andor, the best Disney+ Star Wars show by many parsecs, will return for a second and final season of Tony Gilroy realness. Cassian Andor’s adventures leading up to his death on Scariff in Rogue One will continue for twelve more episodes. season two is already underway, but it’s unlikely that it comes out in 2023. In 2022, Gilroy told Polygon, “This first half was about him becoming a revolutionary and committing to it, and sort of marrying himself to it, and sort of the blood oath,” he said. “If it was about him becoming a revolutionary, then the second half is about him becoming a leader.” The second season, which began production in November 2022 and will continue filming well into 2023, is expected to return in 2024.

The second season of The Book of Boba Fett, the series centering on the bounty hunter Boba Fett and then Baby Grogu and The Mandalorian for a couple episodes, has not officially been renewed. If it is not renewed, his story will liekly just continue in season three of The Mandalorian, because they are essentially the same show.

Wednesday is back, and we’re not talking about Netflix’s beloved Wednesday Addams. The indie band wasted no time letting fans know their fourth studio album, Rat Saw God, is on the way. To give them a taste of what’s to come from the spring release, they released its lead youthful single, “Chosen To Deserve.”

Lead vocalist Karly Hartzman shared that another southern rock band inspired the song: “[‘Chosen To Deserve’] is a writing exercise I gave myself to try to recreate the iconic song ‘Let There Be Rock’ by Drive-By Truckers.”

As a songwriter, Hartzman was sure to clarify, “But with my own experiences from growing up and f*cking around and getting into stupid sh*t.”

The band partnered with the director Spencer Kelly for the track’s official video. Hartzman shared, “[The video] shows the setting of my upbringing and antics. My parents’ neighborhood in Greensboro, North Carolina, and Lake Myers RV Resort.”

Watch the full video above. Continue below for the album cover and full tracklist for Rat Saw God.

1. “Hot Grass Smell”
2. “Bull Believer”
3. “Got Shocked”
4. “Formula One”
5. “Chosen to Deserve”
6. “Bath County”
7. “Quarry”
8. “Turkey Vultures”
9. “What’s So Funny”
10. “TV In The Gas Pump”

Rat Saw God is out 4/7 via Dead Oceans. Pre-order it here.

The Walking Dead recently ended with Season 11, but the franchise ain’t dead. The first spinoff, Fear The Walking Dead, will also end this year with an eighth and final season, and get ready for more spinoffs to rise like the undead. The Rick Grimes/Michonne spinoff, for example, will arrive in 2024, but first, Daryl In Paris is coming because — I guess? — he learned to make his motorcycle fly to Europe. Hey, when it comes to this franchise, some questions might be better than the actual answers. And before that magic happens, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Lauren Cohan’s Negan and Maggie spinoff, The Walking Dead: Dead City, will drop them into New York City, where showrunner Eli Jorne promises even grosser Walkers than we’ve seen on AMC already.

Morgan has been going through the paces to prepare, and he seems seriously damn grateful for the infamy brought by his Negan (N3gan?) role. However, this has not come without a downside. Morgan remains very aware of the backlash that followed after Negan whipped out Lucille upon the head of Glenn in Season 7. As Insider reveals via a recent TCA panel, Morgan still hears about it from fans on the street:

Of his controversial entrance onto the show, Morgan said, “It changed my life. That one scene changed my life, literally, in so many ways. And I still get sh*t for it.”

“I live in New York and so I walk down those streets, and the people that are there remind me daily that Glenn was their favorite character,” Morgan added to a laugh from the crowd.

Negan, of course, did countless other terrible things, and later, the show put him on a redemptive path that has now led to a team-up that previously seemed unlikely. That is to say, Negan will help Maggie locate her son, Hershel Rhees (son of Glenn), long after, you know, what he did. The path that followed was not a straightforward one, and all of the resulting nuances (yep, this franchise does have them) will surely rise up in discussions when Dead City arrives in Spring 2023.

(Via Insider)