Month: May 2023

Everybody’s got family problems, but perhaps no one has the same kind of problems as an entertainer. For example, Logic recently recounted how his fame and wealth figured into an awkward reunion with his father. Appearing on comedian Andrew Santino‘s podcast, Whiskey Ginger, Logic said his dad asked him for $1 million the first time they met after a long estrangement.

“Last time when I was talking to my dad, he asked me for a million dollars,” the Maryland rapper recalled. “F*ck no, I didn’t give it to him. He said, ‘I want a million dollars.’ I said, ‘For what?’ He said, ‘For my band so that we can buy a house and make music in it.’ I’m like, ‘What?’ So I ask him once we get back together: ‘Please don’t ask me for money. Can we just f*cking throw catch or some shit?’ And he’s like, ‘Alright! Alright.’ This MF flies in, he’s not there for six hours and he’s like, ‘I need you to buy me a truck.’ Immediately! And then that goes into, ‘I need you to pay all my bills.’ And then I’m like, ‘Dad, no.’”

Fortunately for Logic, he’s got enough money that he seems to be living his best life. Lately, he’s been doing covers of classic rap songs like “It Was A Good Day” and “The Weed Song” while hanging around his impressive homestead making videos about Kanye being a moron and making music with his rapper friends.

Dolly Parton is living out her inner rockstar these days to help embody the spirit of her upcoming album. As one of the hosts of the Academy Of Country Music Awards yesterday (May 11), her new single “World On Fire” wasn’t the only steamy moment the music legend had onstage. Joined by fellow host, country music icon Garth Brooks, Parton didn’t shy away from one racy topic.

On a night all about music, Parton was more interested in discussing a different type of collaboration. In the past, Brooks spoke about receiving a “hall pass” from his wife, Trisha Yearwood, and wanting to cash it in with the legendary singer. After gaining wind of the news, while on stage, Parton joked about it, saying, “I just had a thought. I know why you’re doing that GOAT thing!” continuing, “I think it stands for ‘Garth Organized A Threesome!’”

Brooks quickly responded as he blushed, replying, “And I thought I couldn’t love you anymore!”

Before the ceremony, Brooks spoke about his nervousness about serving as a host, telling ET, “I never hosted in my life — I’m just trying to survive, OK.”

Meanwhile, Parton was over the moon to take to the ACM stage with her longtime friend, saying, “I am thrilled to return to host the ACM Awards, this time with my friend Garth. While I’ve had the pleasure of spending time with him throughout the years, I can’t believe we’ve never had the chance to work together.”

The 2023 Academy for Country Music is exclusively available for streaming via Prime Video. Find more information here.

Rumors of Taylor Swift and Matty Healy‘s unexpected romance are snowballing. It was reported last month that the “Anti-Hero” singer split from her longtime boyfriend Joe Alwyn. On May 3, a source told The Sun that Swift and Healy are dating and that “the pair are ready to go public with their romance in Nashville, Tennessee.” He was then seen at her show.

The possible couple broke social media last night (May 11) when photos surfaced of them together. They were reportedly on a double date with their frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff and his fiancée Margaret Qualley. The pictures are not great quality, but one shows them holding hands.

Earlier this week, a source divulged to Entertainment Tonight: “Taylor and Matty like each other. Taylor ha a crush on Matty, and they are having a good time hanging out. Matty also thinks Taylor is awesome and incredibly talented, too. They dated briefly in the past.” Another source added: “Taylor and Matty have been hanging out recently, and Jack Antonoff reconnected them.”

While some fans are happy for the pop singer, many are bewildered considering Healy’s history of controversial behavior, which includes his comment in 2016 that dating Swift would be “emasculating.”

Chris Paul sat on the bench and watched as the Denver Nuggets beat the Phoenix Suns, 125-100, to earn a spot in the Western Conference Finals. Paul suffered a groin injury in Game 2 and was unable to take the floor again in the series, which ended up going six games before Denver ended things in Phoenix’s building on Thursday night.

It was a frustrating end to a frustrating year for Paul, as the 38-year-old point guard showed his age by putting up some of the worst numbers in his career during the regular season and the playoffs. His future with the team is now in question, as he’s only guaranteed about half of his $30.8 million deal before June 28 — Tim MacMahon of ESPN reported that “the Suns are expected to explore what they might get if they traded Paul before making a decision on his contract.”

If Dwight Howard has his way, a decision will be made that ends up with Paul heading to Taiwan. A fake quote went around social media a few weeks back that claimed Paul said “if I don’t win the ring with [Kevin Durant], I’m going to Taiwan with Dwight Howard.” After Denver won on Thursday, Howard decided to have some fun with this, as he posted efforts to recruit Paul to the place where he’s playing his professional ball on Instagram and Twitter.

Howard joined the Taoyuan Leopards this season, and while he’s made clear that he thinks he can still give an NBA team good minutes, it sure seems like he’d enjoy Paul’s company. Anyway, our bet is this is not going to happen.

Phoebe Bridgers is currently on the road opening for Taylor Swift at The Eras Tour. From entering the stage every night to Disturbed’s ruthless “Down With The Sickness” to being joined by Matty Healy for a performance, she’s having a good time.

Today, the “Kyoto” singer is featured on a track from Rob Moose’s forthcoming EP Inflorescence. Aside from Bridgers, the EP also has Bon Iver, Brittany Howard, and more. The song is a sprawling, visceral ballad that sounds like it could be off Punisher. “Standing in a parking lot / In the glow of a Rite Aid sign / Everyone I know is staying in tonight,” she sings.

About the collaboration, Bridgers said in a statement, “Rob is my son. That’s an inside joke but there is a deeper connection we share musically which resembles being blood related.”

Moose said:

“‘Wasted’ came my way in 2019. I first started to tinker with it on a retreat to Orcas Island, with snow out the window and no helpful instruments nearby. Progress came slowly, but I managed to arrange and record what felt like a rough demo of the first verse and chorus before flying home. When I opened up the song again in New York, I felt like the song was ready for a major shift. I kept working on it in bursts and stepping away, a process that was new for me. Hundreds of hours and several hiatuses later, Phoebe resang the vocal, and ‘Wasted’ began its new life.”

Listen to “Wasted” above.

Inflorescence is out 8/11 via Sony Masterworks. Find more information here.

You know the CNN town hall with Donald Trump went off the rails when even Fox News is slamming the event for failing to rein in the former president. During Thursday night’s episode of The Five, Jessica Tarlov unloaded on CNN and moderator Kaitlan Collins for basically letting Trump “orchestrate” the event. Even co-host Jeannine Pirro agreed that it was odd that the audience almost entirely comprised of MAGA supporters.

“[CNN] didn’t even have an undecided voter though,” Tarlov said. “They didn’t throw in an independent or someone who said, ‘I voted for you in 2016, but I didn’t in 2020 because of X, Y, Z reason. How are you gonna win back my vote?’ It was, A fanboy and girl session the entire time, which does benefit him.”

However, Tarlov saved most of her ire for Collins, who she slammed for a “complete dereliction of duty” by not fact-checking Trump.

Via Raw Story:

To the point about the fact-checking, I think that it is important to make sure that people at least hear some pushback, whether they actually process what it is that you said in response. That the truth does have to get out there. And there was such an incredible cascade of lies flowing out of his mouth from the border wall. He said, you know, ‘I secured the whole thing. It’s 1900 miles long.’ He did 52 new miles. The documents. ‘Obama took documents.’ Didn’t happen. ‘Joe Biden didn’t comply.’ Joe Biden did comply. Perfect phone calls with Brad Raffensperger and with Zelenskyy. That Democrats support infanticide. And Kaitlan Collins let that one go and I thought that that was a major losing moment for her.

Tarlov also took aim at the optics of Trump calling E. Jean Carroll a “whack job” to the tune of laughter from his “fanboy” audience.

“It was just appalling,” Tarlov said. “You are the network that fired Don Lemon for misogyny and then you have Donald Trump up there going after a victim of his in such a way?”

(Via Raw Story)

Another day, another viral moment for Janelle Monáe. She’s had a lot of them lately, from dancing at a Met Gala after party to her wet t-shirt video to flashing her audience. Regarding the latter, in case you missed it, Monáe was performing at an event in celebration of her new single “Lipstick Lover” and the announcement of her album The Age Of Pleasure when she lifted her shirt and exposed her breasts as she danced.

That moment caught the attention of many, as Monáe has been a trending topic on Twitter today (May 12). Cardi B got a look, too, and responded with an even more NSFW post.

Cardi quote-tweeted a video of Monáe’s flash and just shared an image. The photo appears to be from the OnlyFans account of reality TV personality Natalie Nunn, and it shows another woman sucking on one of her breasts while Nunn sports a facial expression of pleasure. Cardi’s post has since been deleted but it was originally found here.

As for Monáe’s upcoming album, she recently said of it, “What I’m super excited about with The Age Of Pleasure is that… Listen, I’ve had my age of depression. I’ve had my age of anxiety. I’ve had my age of struggle. And again, it’s not like life is pleasurable every single day, but I think I have actively just sought out… How do I create a space for myself? How do I redirect my mind on how I’m thinking about things? How do I realize that right now in this present moment, moments that we’ll never get back, this is where you need to find your pleasure? This is your moment. Don’t let it get confused that five minutes later, we’re going to try to go into doing something different. And again, this is just my experience where I’m at, even through, despite what I may be going through, there’s going to be a moment where this bad moment, I won’t even be around to even discuss it. I won’t.”

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The eligibility period for the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards is from June 1, 2022, until May 31, 2023. That means, even though the season hasn’t finished yet, Succession will go against Better Call Saul, House of the Dragon, The Bear, The White Lotus, The Last of Us, etc. in one of the most stacked Outstanding Drama Series races in Emmys history. One show that won’t be part of the Drama conversation is Stranger Things, even though the final two episodes of the two-part fourth season aired within the dates for eligibility.

Variety reports that Emmys consider these to be “orphan” episodes, “which prevents the show from submitting for the drama series category (which requires a minimum of six), nor any main series acting categories, where stars Millie Bobby Brown and David Harbour have garnered recognition for previous seasons.” There’s only one Stranger Things cast member who’s even eligible to be nominated, and he’s not even on the show anymore.

Despite Vol. 2 having standout turns from the likes of Sadie Sink as tomboy Max Mayfield or Quinn as the rock ‘n ‘ rolling Eddie Munson, the only Stranger Things actor eligible for Emmy acting recognition this year is Dacre Montgomery, for guest actor in a drama series. Montgomery plays Max’s deceased stepbrother, Billy. Despite being killed by the Mind Flayer in Season 3, the character appears in “The Piggyback” finale when Vecna puts Max into a trance, with her deceased brother showing up in a vision to blame her for his death.

Montgomery faces stiff competition, however, from frontrunners Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett, who were so good in one of the best episodes of The Last of Us, as well as all the male dragons on House of the Dragon. They might as well get their own category at this point.

(Via Variety)

In a flurry of heavy headlines that constantly inundate our feeds, acts of good connect us back to our faith in humanity. Witnessing just one person go out of their way to make the world a better place is a powerful healing salve against apathy. It reminds us all of what we are collectively capable of creating. This is the philosophy that Upworthy wholeheartedly believes in, hence why we’re always sharing uplifting stories of people giving kindness, generosity and support to their fellow humans.

That’s also why we’re partnering with P&G, the maker of some of our favorite household products like Tide, Always and Pampers, to bring you the 2023 Acts of Good Awards, and celebrate the individuals who are giving back and strengthening their communities.

Think of it like the Oscars of kindness. Half as formal but twice as feel-good.

Besides providing the world with brands we know and trust, P&G is a company doing good acts, whether it’s supporting hygiene education, helping struggling communities gain access to basic necessities or delivering essentials for families impacted by disasters.

Here are just a few of the ways P&G’s Acts of Good make meaningful impact:

• Helping millions of girls not miss school due to a lack of access to period products with Always #EndPeriodPoverty.
• Serving over 90,000 families affected by emergencies and disasters through the Tide Loads of Hope mobile laundry program.
• Closing America’s smile gap by providing oral care, products and education to millions with Crest and Oral-B.

Between May 12 – June 4, 2023, in partnership with P&G, Upworthy will be accepting nominations that shine a light on individuals who go above and beyond to help others in their community through their own #ActsOfGood. Be it the superstar volunteer or the person who rallies the neighborhood to support the local food bank. Odds are you probably know someone who is a perfect candidate. You might even be one yourself!

Based off a simple criteria—elevated effort, unique impact and how those actions reflect Upworthy and P&G’s commitment to strengthen communities and inspire positivity and inclusion—three winners will be selected to receive a $1,000 donation to the non-profit organization of their choice.

Plus their good work will be celebrated on Upworthy’s social media. We know that #ActsOfGood are their own reward, but it’s even better when that kindness gets amplified.

Care to submit yourself or someone you know? Visit upworthy.com/actsofgood and fill out the form for a chance to win and do even more good.

After a few months of single releases like “Put You On Game,” “Nasty,” and “Fall For You,” Russ offers fans a more filling appetizer with Chomp 2.5, the follow-up to his 2021 album Chomp 2.

Whereas Chomp 2 was a full-length collection of songs, Chomp 2.5 returns to the roots laid by the original EP with six new songs. Also while both previous projects were notable for pairing the New Jersey rapper with multisyllabic spitting peers like Big Sean, Jadakiss, Lloyd Banks, Mozzy, Papoose, and Ransom, this time, he goes solo. This time, though, he’s got a star-studded collection of producers aboard for the trip including 9th Wonder, The Alchemist, Boi-1da, Havoc, and Statik Selektah.

Russ’ independent hustle took him places in 2022, from reuniting with Black Thought on “Because,” to collaborating with Ed Sheeran on “Are You Entertained.” And although he canceled his European tour for mental health reasons, he was also able to boast that he’s the first solo rapper to perform at the pyramids.

The Uproxx cover star also launched his own “artist-friendly” label, continuing his crusade to prove that the major record labels are obsolete and artists are better off doing their work for themselves.

Check out Chomp 2.5, out now via Diemon, below.