Month: February 2023

The Kid Laroi is head over heels into his romantic era, presented to fans in the form of his new song, “I Guess It’s Love,” and the accompanying music video.

“When I look at you, you look at me / We know what it is, no need to speak,” Laroi notes in the chorus, over a banging beat.

Earlier, Laroi dropped a teaser trailer for the music video of the song. With a phone-recorded feel, Laroi finds himself happily spending time with his girl, before their appearances… seemingly start to change. The mysterious clip has fans wondering what exactly the video will look like.

It’s also not the first time Laroi has experimented with unique concepts, as he dated a doll in another recent video during his debut album cycle. As for the rest of the record, he is gearing up next for the release of The First Time, which he previously shared a trailer for.

“You never forget the first time,” he says in it. “The first time you fall in love. The first time you get caught. The first time you feel shame. The first real kiss.”

Check out The Kid Laroi’s “I Guess It’s Love” above.

The First Time will drop sometime this year.

The second piece to Chlöe‘s upcoming debut album, In Pieces has arrived. On her latest single, “How Does It Feel?,” Chlöe reminds an ex exactly what he lost after he played too many games.

“I gave you more than you wanted / I gave you more than you needed / So tell me, how does it feel / to lose the one you believe in?,” sings Chlöe, along with her collaborator Chris Brown, on the song’s chorus.

On her verse, Chlöe recalls good times with her former love, before he messed it all up.

“We threw the racks out at Follies / Gave you the key where my heart beat / You didn’t say it but you said it / It shouldn’t have hurt me but I let it,” she sings.

In the song’s accompanying video, Chlöe and Brown are seen dancing in separate rooms divided by a wall. The wall then quickly disappears forcing them to unite with each other. Elsewhere in the video, Chlöe dances on her own, as golden light shines upon her.

You can check out the video for “How Does It Feel?” above.

In Pieces is out 3/31 via Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records. You can pre-save it here.

Kali Uchis is gearing up for her new album, Red Moon In Venus. To celebrate, she dropped the dance-inspired “Moonlight,” which perfectly encapsulates the vibes Uchis has given this era.

On the track, Uchis switches between Spanish and English, as she details wanting to live in the moment. “I just wanna get high with my lover / Veo una muñeca cuando miro en el espejo / Kiss, kiss, looking dolly, I think I may go out tonight / I just wanna ride, get high in the moonlight,” she sings on the shimmery chorus.

“You always go out of your way / To show me that I’m your priority / Find out how it feels to let go of everything, be free / When you’re here with me,” Uchis notes later in the song.

It features production credits from Benny Blanco, Cashmere Cat, and Leon Michels, according to Genius.

The new song comes after Uchis had teased its release through some fiery social media photos. So far from her album, Uchis has also dropped the song “I Wish You Roses” and is set to perform on her tour starting in April.

Listen to Kali Uchis’ new song “Moonlight” above.

Red Moon In Venus is out 3/3 via Geffen. Pre-order it here.

The Brooklyn Nets overhauled their roster just before the 2023 NBA Trade Deadline, sending a pair of superstars away and stocking the cupboard for the future. Brooklyn does retain a deep and talented roster, however, and newly-acquired wing Mikal Bridges looks the part of a potential breakout in his new home. Before the Nets resumed their schedule following the All-Star break, the organization released an all-access video, chronicling the arrival of Bridges, and he was asked about his “favorite athlete growing up.”

Bridges’ response was both amusing and awkward in that he revealed his choice was Kevin Durant, who he was traded for just days prior.

It is not shocking that Durant would be Bridges’ favorite player, as he is one of the best players in the history of the league and old enough to be established as a superstar during Bridges’ youth. Still, this is an intriguing turn of events, and it is endearing to see Bridges breaking down in laughter when realizing the irony.

Bridges scored 45 points in the final game before the break, alerting Nets fans of what’s to come. He probably won’t be the next Durant, but Bridges is arguably Brooklyn’s centerpiece at this juncture, and he is easy to root for.

Yaeji has offered fans another preview of her upcoming album, With A Hammer, by dropping her new song and video for “Done (Let’s Get It).”

The themes of the song find Yaeji “taking on the mission of smashing these inter-generational cycles as a path toward healing herself and the world,” according to a press release.

Filmed in Seoul, South Korea, it finds Yaeji and her grandfather dressed in adorable bunny dog costumes. Together, the two perform tasks including organizing books and counting vegetables. Through it all, still, they find time to unwind with dinner and playing with a dog.

She also directed and edited the music video, which comes complete with heart overlays and other doodles to add to the sweet energy.

Last month, Yaeji officially announced With A Hammer, by dropping the lead single, “For Granted.” Fans will have the opportunity to hear it quite soon too, as shortly before the album’s April release, she will embark on a tour that kicks off in Vancouver and ends in may at NYC’s Brooklyn Steel. Along the way, Yaeji is also making a stop at Coachella.

Check out the music video for “Done (Let’s Get It)” above.

With A Hammer is out 4/7 via XL Recordings. Pre-order it here.

Creed III marks the ninth movie set in the Rocky universe (only four short of what Weird Al promised us) and the first to not feature the character of Rocky Balboa. The first Creed took its plot cues from the first Rocky movie. The second Creed movie inexplicably, and kind of awesomely, decided Rocky IV needed a direct sequel. And now, directed by Michael B. Jordan, here comes Creed III which takes some elements of both Rocky III and Rocky V.

When we catch up with Adonis Creed (Jordan) in Creed III, he has fought his last fight (spoiler: he has not fought his last fight) and has retired as the undisputed heavyweight champion. Adonis is now happily retired, living with his wife Bianca (Tessa Thompson) and daughter, Amara (Mila Davis-Kent). Adonis now spends his time training the current new champion, Felix Chavez (Jose Benavidez), while also working as a promoter, spinning an upcoming bout between Chavez and Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu, back from Creed II) as a fight to end all fights, that will certainly make everyone involved a lot of money.

It’s then that a face from Adonis’s past shows up, Damian Anderson, played by Jonathan Majors, who seems hell-bent on taking over every major franchise right now. Dame, as he’s called, took the fall for a fight Adonis started when they were kids and has now returned after spending the last couple of decades in prison. Dame asks Adonis for a title shot against Felix Chavez, which Adonis finds ridiculous since Dame has never even fought professionally, let alone, out of nowhere, gets a title shot. Well, due to an unfortunate injury to Drago, Adonis’s big fight he’s promoting is in jeopardy and now needs another boxer on short notice to fill in for Drago. Anyway, yes, Dame gets his title shot. But in the spirit of Rocky III where Rocky fights Mr. T’s Clubber Lang twice, there are two big fights that happen in Creed III as Adonis himself feels the only way to right some wrongs is to come out of retirement and – it will probably come as a shock to no one, especially if you’ve seen the trailer – fight Dame himself.

It’s funny, even in terms of directing, how these movies mirror the Rocky movies. Okay, yes, Stallone directed the little-seen Paradise Alley first and didn’t let the bad reviews sway him from directing Rocky II, Rocky III, and Rocky IV. Now Michael B. Jordan makes his directorial debut with Creed III and he and cinematographer Kramer Morgenthau have shot a really great-looking movie.

Being Jordan’s first time directing, it’s probably for the best Stallone sits this one out. Read almost literally every single wiki page for every movie Stallone stars in but didn’t direct and there’s a section about how “Stallone and the director didn’t see eye to eye and Stallone wound up basically directing the movie himself.” So I can see why Jordan maybe didn’t want to deal with that. But on the flip side, there’s a scene in this movie where Adonis is at his lowest moment, has no one to turn to, and a nice pep talk from Adonis’s old pal Rocky would have been a nice moment. The scene was kind of begging for it. But I doubt Stallone would agree to just a cameo. So here we are with no Rocky Balboa.

There’s nothing that surprising that happens in Creed III, but at this point in the ninth chapter of a franchise about boxers, I’m not sure what surprise could really happen at this point. Like I said, it mirrors Rocky III with a challenger showing up who doesn’t have the access to the training and equipment that his future foes do and is just pure grit, catching everyone by surprise. And using the Rocky V angle of a retired boxer who still wants to be a part of the action and takes on a boxer that might not be all that he claims to be.

But Creed III does serve as a nice springboard to whatever future movies Jordan wants to direct. He’s done a really great job here. And it, of course, allows Jonathan Majors another chance to emote. Right now, Majors has to be the king of emoting. He is truly great at it. What’s interesting about this movie is a viewer can see both sides of the conflict between Adonis and Dame, at least to a point. As kids, Dame took the fall for something Adonis started, but also Dame escalated the situation by bringing a gun. And Adonis has to emotionally wrestle with the feelings of guilt and how much is owed in a situation like this. Will it ever be enough?

Speaking of enough, I’m curious after this if we will see more Creed. I actually hope so. These are continually fun movies and I can’t get enough. Jordan is only 36, but is playing slightly older so the math lines up that he’s Apollo Creed’s son. But then again, Stallone was 60 when Rocky Balboa came out. If we follow that model, we still have 24 years of Creed movies to look forward to. We may still get to the 13 that Weird Al promised us.

You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

At 6’9 with a 7’4 wingspan and fluid straight-line movement skills, Toronto Raptors big man Chris Boucher is unaccustomed to bewildering dunks. His latest one, however, against the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday night, is among the most impressive of his NBA career.

Late in the third quarter, with Toronto leading 90-77, Boucher initiated a fast break as many Raptors teammates flanked him. For the Pelicans, only Jose Alvarado was back on defense. Boucher bounded down the floor, saw open real estate and nobody to protect the rim, so he elevated for quite the dunk, taking off just a step inside the free-throw line.

“Boucherrrrr, oh, he took off in Montreal!” exclaimed Raptors play-by-play announcer Matt Devlin. “He landed in Toronto!”

That’s a very witty and enjoyable call from Devlin. The trope of deep three-pointers being from [insert nearby city or town] can be overplayed, so it’s refreshing to hear in the context of a dunk. We need more of those moving forward.

That was a rather scintillating sequence from the 30-year-old Canadian, who capped off the series by blocking Naji Marshall’s pull-up three as the third quarter expired as well. A possession earlier, he’d thrown down another dunk too.. Through 53 games, the former Oregon Duck is averaging 9.8 points and 5.8 rebounds on 58.7 percent true shooting. Kudos to him for the highlight and Devlin for capturing it aptly.

Ashley Morgan Smithline, who previously accused rock artist Marilyn Manson of psychological, sexual, and physical abuse, has reportedly recanted her these allegations, according to People. Smithline, whose lawsuit against Manson was dismissed a month ago, filed a declaration in Los Angeles Superior Court today (February 23) claiming that she was pressured by actress Evan Rachel Wood to make these allegations.

“I succumbed to pressure from Evan Rachel Wood and her associates to make accusations of rape and assault against [Manson] that were not true,” she reportedly wrote in the declaration.

A rep for Wood has since issued a statement denying these claims, saying, “Evan never pressured or manipulated Ashley. It was Ashley who first contacted Evan about the abuse she had suffered. It’s unfortunate that the harassment and threats Ashley received after filing her federal lawsuit appear to have pressured her to change her testimony.”

In her new declaration, Smithline claims to have had a “brief, consensual sexual relationship” circa 2010, and was contacted a decade later by either Ashley Walters, a former assistant of Manson’s who sued him for sexual assault and battery in 2021, and Wood’s girlfriend Illma Gore to participate in a group of woman with shared experiences with Manson.

“I remember [Wood] asked me whether I had been, among other things, whipped, chained, tied up, branded/cut, assaulted while sleeping, beaten, or raped. She said all of these things happened to Ms. Wood and others, and that when Ms. Wood was with [Manson] every moment was a moment of survival,” read Smithline’s new declaration. “When I said, no this did not happen to me and this was not my experience, I recall being told by Ms. Wood that just because I could not remember did not necessarily mean that it did not happen.”

Succession creator Jesse Armstrong has officially confirmed that the show’s upcoming fourth season will be the last, according to a new interview with The New Yorker. After days of rumors and some slight tension between castmates Jeremy Strong and Brian Cox (who play the equally tense father-son duo as Kendall and Logan Roy), fans were holding out hope for a fifth and final season.

“There are a few different aspects. One, we could have said it as soon as I sort of decided, almost when we were writing it, which I think would be weird and perverse,” Armstrong said. “We could have said it at the end of the season. I quite like that idea, creatively, because then the audience is just able to enjoy everything as it comes, without trying to figure things out, or perceiving things in a certain way once they know it’s the final season.”

“But, also, the countervailing thought is that we don’t hide the ball very much on the show,” he added. “I feel a responsibility to the viewership, and I personally wouldn’t like the feeling of, ‘Oh, that’s it, guys. That was the end.’ I wouldn’t like that in a show. I think I would like to know it is coming to an end.”

Armstrong went on to describe season four as “pretty definitively” being the end and noted that it might be “awkward” doing cast interviews. Succession is set to return on March 26, presumably leaving off at the cliffhanger where character Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen) teamed up with Logan — betraying the Roy siblings and his wife, Shiv (Sarah Snook), in the process.

Who will wind up in control at Waystar at the end is now the question.

Ahead of his upcoming album, The Weakness, Ruston Kelly has shared a new song. On his latest, “Mending Song,” Kelly shares haunting accounts of his childhood, his dissolved marriage to Kacey Musgraves, and his musical journey.

“I tried to fight it like a needle in my skin / The hole inside me kept on growing / Everything went black / Was then I heard the words of my father / Have faith, there’s no storm that doesn’t pass,” Kelly sings softly on over a breezy ukelele, smoothly juxtaposed with the details of a harrowing journey.

Upon the release of “Mending Song,” Kelly revealed that while much of The Weakness was recorded in his Portland, Tennessee home, he wrote the confessional track while on a solo trip to Joshua Tree in California.

“I rented this little cabin out on 22 acres, just me and the coyotes, and ended up checking out a shop nearby and buying a baritone ukulele,” said Kelly in a statement. “I remember thinking, ‘This is so stupid — I’m trying to be that guy, going out to some cabin and writing my opus. Why don’t I just have some fun?’”

You can listen to “Mending Song” above.

The Weakness is out 4/7 via Rounder Records. You can pre-save it here.