Month: July 2023

Spotify is the king when it comes to streaming music. In terms of music-related videos, though, TikTok and YouTube seem to have a stronger foothold in that space. Now, though, it looks like Spotify might be hatching a plan to have a more prominent video presence.

Bloomberg reports that Spotify is “considering adding full-length music videos to its app,” and that they’ve “already begun talking to partners about the product, according to people familiar with the plan who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak about it publicly.” Spotify declined to comment for the story.

Meanwhile, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek recently said Spotify could raise its prices soon. He said, “I think we are ready to raise prices, I think we have the ability to do that, but it really comes down to those negotiations [with major music industry stakeholders]. […] We did raise prices in 46 different locations and markets last year, and even in those markets, we were still out performing. I feel really good about our ability to raise prices over time — that we have that ability — and we have lots of data now that backs that up. […] We’re working with our label partners to work […] to figure out what’s the best opportunity to do that. And that’s a more complex trade. When the timing’s right, we will raise it.”

UPDATE: Through sheer force of will and determination, the Hot Dog Contest is back on for 2 p.m. ET (ESPN2). Joey Chestnut was about to go rogue and eat some hot dogs for the love of the game if not.

Original Story: Every year on July 4, millions of Americans tune in to watch the Nathan’s Hot Dot Eating Contest in the afternoon, celebrating our nation’s independence by watching people give themselves painful indigestion.

The star of the contest is Joey Chestnut, a man with no peers in the hot dog eating game — at least, ever since Takeru Kobayashi was banned from the contest — and on Tuesday he was set to go for his 16th title. Chestnut holds the record with 73 hot dogs and and his over/under odds for 2023 was at 73.5, meaning to go over he was going to have to set a new record. However, after the women’s contest saw Miki Sudo take down 39.5 dogs to win her ninth title, weather rolled in over Coney Island, New York causing a delay that, ultimately, became a cancellation of the contest.

That left hundreds of hot dogs uneaten, the contestants hungry, and the many Americans ready to celebrate our right to gluttony unfulfilled. It is a disappointing way to start the holiday, and if you want to see someone eat an upsetting number of hot dogs you will have to settle for goading a friend or family member into doing it at a cookout. I fear for whatever restaurant Joey Chestnut pulls up to to satiate his hunger, as he must feed on this, his high holy day.

Look at this man, he will not be denied his dogs.

Madonna had a health scare recently when she landed in the ICU due to a “serious bacterial infection.” Fortunately, it appears she’s doing fine now. We haven’t heard that directly from the singer herself yet, but people close to her have shared updates. That includes longtime friend Rosie O’Donnell, who has posted about Madonna multiple times over the past few days.

On June 29, O’Donnell posted a photo of her and Madonna on the set of The Rosie O’Donnell Show in the ’90s and wrote, “shes feeling good [thumbs up emoji] #madonna #love.” Then, on July 2, she shared another photo of herself with Madonna, on the set of A League Of Their Own, in which they both starred in 1992. Some commenters asked for updates on Madonna’s health, and O’Donnell responded to one, “she is recovering at home – she is very strong in general.” She wrote in another comment reply, “shes good.”

Madonna’s longtime manager, Guy Oseary, previously explained what happened, writing, “On Saturday June 24, Madonna developed a serious bacterial infection which lead to a several day stay in the ICU. Her health is improving, however she is still under medical care. A full recovery is expected. At this time we will need to pause all commitments, which includes the tour. We will share more details with you soon as we have them, including a new start date for the tour and for rescheduled shows.”

Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.

This week saw Olivia Rodrigo and Lil Uzi Vert both come through with eagerly anticipated comebacks. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.

For more music recommendations, check out our Listen To This section, as well as our Indie Mixtape and Pop Life newsletters.

Lil Uzi Vert — “CS”

Lil Uzi Vert goes all over the place on his long-awaited, highly anticipated new album, Pink Tape. One place that people probably didn’t expect, though, is straight-up covering the System Of A Down classic “Chop Suey!.” Alas, he did, and feelings are mixed.

Olivia Rodrigo — “Vampire”

Olivia Rodrigo rose to the top of the pop world in her own way, with a combination of vulnerable balladry and in-your-face pop-rock. She manages to get both of those sides into her new song, “Vampire,” the dynamic first taste of Guts, her new album set for this fall.

Charli XCX — “Speed Drive”

The Barbie movie is really bringing it when it comes to the soundtrack, and now Charli XCX has gotten in on the fun with “Speed Drive.” Charli is a master of both pop songwriting and execution, so unsurprisingly, the two-minute track is a certified bop.

Shakira and Manuel Turizo — “Copa Vacia”

Shakira had a major comeback earlier this year by teaming up with Bizarrap on the viral single “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53.” She kept the momentum going last week with “Copa Vacia,” on which she and Manuel Turizo tell the story of two lovers trying to get in sync.

The Weeknd, Lil Baby, and Suzanna Son — “False Idols”

The premiere season of The Idol has officially wrapped up, but not before The Weeknd shared another drop of new tunes from the soundtrack. Among the latest batch is “False Idols,” a meeting of The Weeknd, Lil Baby, and Suzanna Son that serves as a warning of the dangers of celebrity life.

James Blake — “Big Hammer”

Blake hasn’t left fans wanting with his regular output in recent years, and he’s making sure that’ll remain the case in 2023 with a new album, Playing Robots Into Heaven. He shared “Big Hammer” last week and it focused more on Blake’s production skills, as it’s an instrumental electronic track that creates a hypnotic but tense environment.

Sampha — “Spirit 2.0”

Inversely, Sampha fans have been patient when it comes to new music. Last week, though, he finally delivered “Spirit 2.0,” his first solo single in six years. The track sees Sampha deliver his blanket-warm vocals over a rhythmic, head-bobbing instrumental.

Tainy and Bad Bunny — “Mojabi Ghost”

Tainy has become a go-to collaborator in the reggaeton world, and now he’s teamed up with frequent running mate Bad Bunny once again. The track is “Mojabi Ghost,” and Uproxx’s Danielle Chelosky notes, “For nearly four minutes, glimmering synthesizers imbue the song with light and his vocals are poignant amidst the glowing sound.”

Young Thug — “Money” Feat. Juice WRLD and Nicki Minaj

Just days after Young Thug dropped Business Is Business, a Metro Boomin-helmed deluxe edition, dubbed Metro’s Version, was unveiled. Among the new cuts is “Money,” a bouncy number that unites Thug, Nicki Minaj, and the late Juice WRLD.

Becky G and Gabito Ballesteros — “La Nena”

Setting a video in a strip club isn’t a bad way to get some eyeballs on your new song, so that’s the approach Becky G and Gabito Ballesteros took for “La Nena.” The song is a taste of Becky’s upcoming album and it relays the story of a woman who doesn’t let heartbreak stop her from dancing through life.

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

Country star Luke Combs has one of the biggest songs in the US right now: On the new Billboard Hot 100 chart dated July 8, his cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” sits at No. 2. Furthermore, it also topped the Country Airplay chart this week, which helped Chapman make country music history.

Before the latest chart, Rolling Stone reported that if “Fast Car” did rise to No. 1 (which it now has), it would make Chapman the first Black woman to have the sole writing credit on a No. 1 country song.

Only a handful of Black women have written on a No. 1 country song at all, including Tayla Parx on Dan + Shay’s “Glad You Exist.” She said of Chapman’s song, “Any song that sounds good on guitar, it can more than likely be a country song. With a great song, you can take it and make it sound like seven different genres, so that says a lot about what type of song ‘Fast Car’ is: it can be a pop song, a country song, it can be whatever, because it’s just a great song.”

Combs previously told the publication of the song, “The guitar part on that song is super iconic, and everyone knows the song as soon as you start playing it. They know it, and they sing along. It’s like ‘Free Bird’ or ‘Jolene.’”

We’re currently in the midst of Paris Fashion Week, and Cardi B found herself in the area. While there, she gave an impromptu street performance.

As she left the Thom Browne Fashion Show yesterday (July 3), a street busker asked Cardi if she’d join him for a performance. She initially refused, saying, “No, I’m scared.” She quickly changed her mind, though, approaching his microphone and quietly singing a few lines of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” as the busker strummed his guitar. Cardi then gave a mischievous laugh before leaving and getting into her car. It makes sense that Cardi B would cut things off before the giant hook, since she’s not known as a singer and Houston is an incredibly high bar. TMZ has video of the moment.

Meanwhile, Offset seemingly accused Cardi of cheating on him recently, and she responded, “Listen: Don’t pay attention to that country man, y’all. Don’t pay attention to the country man. […] I’m f*cking Cardi B, n****. I think sometimes, motherf*ckers forget I’m Cardi B. If I was giving this p*ssy to anybody, it would be out. I’m just not anybody. I can’t f*ckin’ no regular degular shmegular because they gon’ tell the world. I can’t f*ck nobody in the industry cause they gon’ tell, too.”

Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Clearly, Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour has been an undisputed success so far. That doesn’t mean everything has been perfect, though, and this past weekend, Swift had an on-stage mishap that went viral.

On June 30, Swift performed at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. At the end of “Look What You Made Me Do,” Swift stood at a specific spot on stage, waiting for a trapdoor, which would allow her to quickly get to a backstage area, to open. It didn’t, and in fan-shot videos, Swift can even be seen stomping the ground in an attempt to make the door function properly. When it didn’t, Swift had no choice but to sprint down the length of the stage.

Swift herself saw a fan-shot video of the moment on TikTok and got in on the fun by commenting, “still swift af boi.”

That wasn’t the only viral Eras Tour moment of the weekend, although the other didn’t involve Swift directly. Ahead of the Cincinnati shows, a local news reporter interviewed a pair of Swifties. Since they had claimed to be sick and called out of work to attend the shows, though, they covered themselves in blankets, and the one who was interviewed even wore sunglasses over the blanket, making for a pretty funny image.

According to Noel Gallagher, Matty Healy is a ‘slack-jawed f*ckwit,’ and a long line of music fanbases would agree. Even The 1975 frontman slightly agrees that he’s an acquired taste. However, during a recent show in London, Matty Healy finally took a moment to address his past controversies.

As the musician paused in-between songs, facing the crowd, Healy opened up by saying, “I was always, like, trying stuff. And some stuff I got right and some stuff I got wrong.”

He added, “But do you know what? There’s a lot of things I’ve said, jokes that I’ve made, you know what, there’s probably a couple of f*cking songs I’d take back if I had the chance. What I mean is that I really am only doing this because I want to make you guys laugh and feel good. That’s what my favorite art does, and that’s what I’m trying to do. I get a bit excited. And, you know what, I’m f*cking proud of myself.”

Among the Matt Healy controversies are insensitive racial remarks about Ice Spice, for which Rina Sawayama called him out during her set at the 2023 Glastonbury Festival. Healy is also public enemy number one of Taylor Swift’s super fans, The Swifties, as they accuse him of tarnishing her brand even after their alleged breakup.

After years of delays, Lil Uzi Vert finally released their highly anticipated album, Pink Tape. The “Just Wanna Rock” rapper secured guest features from Travis Scott, Nicki Minaj, Don Toliver, and more. As fans continue to shift through the project, Uzi is making it clear that they’ve washed their hands of the body of work. Instead of following the trend of dropping an extended version of an album, Lil Uzi Vert has let supporters know that Pink Tape will not have a deluxe edition.

The entertainer appeared via audio on Twitch streamer Kani Rose’s broadcast. As fans flooded the live chat, they pushed Rose to ask the musician about their new album. When the gamer asked Uzi whether or not Pink Tape would have any additional iterations, they quickly answered, “No.”

However, Uzi clarified that they would release more music, saying, “But I will drop a whole ‘nother album.”

The album was caught up in controversy before its release when Lil Uzi Vert and their girlfriend JT (of City Girls) were involved in a physical altercation at the 2023 BET Awards.

Pink Tape is out now via Atlantic Records. Find more information here.

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

SZA might’ve punked out from submitting guest verses in the past. But she isn’t shy about securing memorable star-studded cameos on her projects. The “Low” singer’s past videos have featured guest appearances by Drew Barrymore and more. However, there was one actress that she couldn’t snag. According to Vivica A. Fox, her on-screen spotlight in SZA’s “Kill Bill” video might have been intended for Uma Thurman.

During an interview with AV Club, Fox recounted working with the songwriter. “When I got it, I was surprised, to be honest with you. Cause they called…[It] took them five days to finally decide that they were going to hire me, ’cause I think they wanted Uma Thurman,” said Fox.

The actress added, “But when you think about it, it’s a little bit more fitting for SZA and Vivica to be together because we’re both African American women, and when it came out, people just ran with it. They were like, ‘They’re going to make Kill Bill 3, finally.’ Because people have been waiting for Kill Bill 3 for such a long time and see my daughter get revenge on Uma.”

Fox holds no bad blood over the matter, saying that SZA’s delayed response due to her supposedly trying to secure Thurman was “Cool,” she remarked, saying, “I mean, it is her franchise, as well as mine.”

Contrarily, when outlining the inspiration behind the video, SZA made it clear that Fox’s appearance was always the goal. “I love Vivica A. Fox’s character. I love Lucy Liu’s character. I even love Bill because he’s super complex. I feel like he doesn’t understand why he did what he did. He’s void of emotion, but he loved The Bride so much that he couldn’t stand her to be with anyone else,” SZA told EW.