Month: September 2023

On Wednesday there was a second GOP debate. It’s not clear why. Donald Trump, who’s polling in double digits above his rivals, didn’t even feel compelled to be there. So who was the winner? According to Ron DeSantis, it was Ron DeSantis. He’s doing so well that talk show hosts are zinging him to his face.

On Friday the Florida governor went on Real Time with Bill Maher, where he tried to laugh off how terribly his campaign has gone thus far. Maher started with Wednesday’s non-event.

“The debate, it was a sh*tshow,” Maher told DeSantis. “I heard you won, I heard the polling said you won. What did you win? No, honestly. With Trump not in the race, what did you win?”

DeSantis tried to spin it, saying, “In the midst of all the show that happened. I was the one guy that people said, ‘You know what, this guy’s actually acting like a president,’ when the rest were not.”

But Maher continued to pelt him. “Why run against Trump? You’re trying to thread this needle that will never happen,” before adding, “I mean, let’s face it Ron, if this campaign was going well, you wouldn’t be on this show.”
After a nervous laugh, DeSantis said that wasn’t “true.” He then elaborated:

“One, I don’t think he could win the election. I could win the election. Two, I don’t think he could actually get the job done that we need to do. For example, Covid. I think we need accountability for what this government did to this country with the Covid restrictions, mandates, and lockdowns. Donald Trump is not gonna do that. He says he did everything right!”

It’s not clear why he thinks Trump can’t win. Maybe it’s all those indictments? But not even finally getting his legal comeuppance — or saying one embarrassingly bizarre thing after another — may be enough to stop him.

(Via Mediaite)

Nearly 40 years into their career, U2 continues to make history. Last night (September 29), the band kicked off their U2:UV Achtung Baby residency at Sphere at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas.

Sphere is a fresh new venue in Vegas, and U2 are the inaugural performers in the colorful, vibrant venue. As the name of the residency suggests, the show consists of a performance of the band’s 1991 album Achtung Baby in full. While the setlist primarily features songs from the Achtung Baby era, fans in attendance can expect to hear some of the band’s other hits, like “One,” “With Or Without You,” “Vertigo,” and “Beautiful Day.”

U2:UV Achtung Baby runs until December 16.

You can see a clip from the show above, and the setlist below.

1. “Zoo Station”
2. “The Fly”
3. “Even Better Than The Real Thing”
4. “Mysterious Ways”
5. “One (with “Purple Rain” and “Love Me Tender” snippets)”
6. “Until The End Of The World”
7. “Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses”
8. “Tryin’ To Throw Your Arms Around The World”
9. “All I Want Is You”
10. “Desire”
11. “Angel Of Harlem”
12. “Love Rescue Me.”
13. “So Cruel”
14. “Acrobat”
15. “Ultraviolet (Light My Way)”
16. “Love Is Blindness”
17. “Elevation”
18. “Atomic City”
19. “Vertigo”
20. “Where The Streets Have No Name”
21. “With Or Without You”
22. “Beautiful Day”

Is Donald Trump done in New York? Possibly. Last week a state judge found the former president, his two eldest sons, and others in the Trump Organization guilty of fraud. The looming trial, brought on by state district attorney Letitia James, will likely merely be a formality to determine damage to the plaintiffs. That could mean an end to decades-old family real estate business started by his notorious father. But Trump may have an improbable ace up his sleeve: his loving (?) wife.
Per Newsweek, legal experts have floated a back-up plan that could keep Trump tentatively in his hometown. New York University law professor Michael Kahan told The Washington Post that while Trump will “almost certainly” sell of his properties, he could also “have a company that is owned by Ivanka, or other members of his family. They are not subject to this order.”

Anti-Trump Republican Ron Filipkowski had another idea. “Look, Trump can just transfer all his properties and businesses in NY to Melania. Problem solved,” he posted on X/Twitter. “I’m sure he can trust her because she really loves him unconditionally.”

Therein lies the possible rub. Newsweek argued that Melania may be looking to separate herself from her husband in one way or another:

This week, Page Six reported that Melania renegotiated her prenuptial agreement with Donald as he and his presidential campaign move closer to the 2024 election and that a trust for their shared son Barron and property are among top items for the former first lady. Those reports also come as Trump is embattled in a number of costly legal fights against his four indictments, the defamation case he lost to columnist E. Jean Carroll and his recent defeat in the Trump Organization civil case.

As for Ivanka, it’s possible she’s in the midst of flipping on her dad to save her hide. Should she be called to testify, the fact that she’s Trump’s daughter — who he looks very, very much — won’t stop his lawyers from eviscerating her on the stand. But hey, it’s been argued from those close to Trump that he’d happily throw his kids under the bus to stave off his comeuppance.

(Via Newsweek)

Yesterday (September 29), Ed Sheeran dropped his sixth studio album, Autumn Variations. For this particular album, Sheeran deviated from his traditional strategy in which he drops a single or two before the album. For this particular album, Sheeran wants fans to enjoy the project in full, from beginning to end, without the pressure of having to match the success of his previous records. Still, he and his fans had every reason to celebrate this new album, as they painted the town red in New York City.

In a video shared to Instagram, Sheeran announced that he would visit random bars throughout the city, buying strangers drinks over the course of the night.

The video then cuts to a montage of Sheeran partying in bars, playing beer pong with and other bar games, chatting up strangers on the subway, and simply having a good time.

By the end of the video, Sheeran proves to have had a productive night out.

“I’m very drunk right now. Very drunk,” he said, concluding the video montage.

You can see a clip from the bar crawl above.

Autumn Variations is out now via Gingerbread Man Records. Find more information here.

Ed Sheeran is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Donald Trump claims Joe Biden is the one with the broken brain, but what if that’s mere projection? The former president has been particularly mind-mushy of late, claiming his successor wants to start World War II and that it was Jeb Bush, not George W., who kicked off the Iraq War. There’s also been stuff about windmills killing whales. His latest leftfield target? Smelly rich people from Beverly Hills.

Per ABC 7, Trump spoke at a Republican convention in Orange County, California on Friday. In between his usual fascist-y threats and making fun of Nancy Pelosi’s husband for being savagely beaten by a home invader, to the delight of the crowd, he went on some bizarre detours. One was about water consumption in the Golden State, particularly in wealthy Beverly Hills, where he claimed they can’t take long showers and therefore stink.

“They pay millions of dollars in taxes. They’re taking a shower, they’re told to hurry up, you’re only allowed a small amount of water when you’re taking a shower,” Trump told the Anaheim crowd. “That’s why rich people from Beverly Hills generally speaking don’t smell so good. Their hygiene is not good. But it’s forced to be that way.”

He added, “So when you meet somebody with a beautiful house in Beverly Hills, you know that person is sort of disgusting under there.”

He also launched into an extended bit about his tragicomic attempts to wash his weird hair.

Is Trump right about California’s water restrictions? Of course not. According to ABC 7:

California does not have mandatory restrictions on shower times and did not impose any during the worst of the drought, though Gov. Gavin Newsom at one point did ask residents to make voluntary cutbacks in their overall household water usage.

During the drought, the state did have restrictions on outdoor water usage, such as watering of lawns. But after a very wet winter this year, the state eased most of those limits.

Needless to say, it doesn’t matter if what Trump told his fans is true. They’ll eat up anything he says.

(Via ABC 7)

After releasing his fifth studio album, Subtract, back in May, Ed Sheeran shared another gift with fans. Yesterday (September 29), the illustrious singer-songwriter released Autumn Variations, his sixth album and his second release this year.

Over the course of the past decade, Sheeran has dominated the charts with hit singles from each of his albums. Some of his biggest hits include “The A-Team,” “Thinking Out Loud,” “Shape Of You,” “Bad Habits,” and “Eyes Closed.” But with Autumn Variations, Sheeran has put out music on his own terms.

It doesn’t look like Sheeran will continue his run of hit singles with Autumn Variations. Upon the album’s release, he took to Instagram to share a message with fans, encouraging fans to listen to the record in full, from beginning to end, as a soundtrack for the fall.

“So Autumn Variations is out now!,” said Sheeran in the post’s caption. “This is an album purely for you, the fans. There’s no singles, no videos, it’s on my own label, so no pressure for anything. I just want you guys to have a soundtrack for autumn/fall that feels like a warm hug. I hope you love it. Lemme know what your fav songs are and il see some of you this week at random pop ups we are doing. Love you all x.”

Autumn Variations is out now through Gingerbread Man Records. Find more information here.

Ed Sheeran is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Taylor Swift is approaching the release date of her The Eras Tour concert film, which is going to hit theaters on… you guessed it, October 13. Now, it’s reportedly set to be having a premiere in Los Angeles.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, AMC Theaters confirmed that they would be hosting the event on October 11. Swift did an exclusive distribution deal directly with the theater chain rather than going with a studio.

Fans also started reportedly receiving emails from Spotify, notifying them that for being a top listener of Swift’s, they could respond to confirm their availability — giving the email’s receiver and a guest the chance to attend.

However, Swifties who received one of the lucky emails had to respond already, as the deadline was yesterday (September 28).

Given the location of the premiere has not been revealed for obvious reasons, Swifties are still encouraging others who get an official ticket to wait until after the movie to tell anyone.

Others are either sharing their pleas as fans on social media to hope to get one through Taylor Nation — who previously invited fans to Swift’s secret sessions for past albums. Or are hoping that she’ll magically be able to arrive in NYC by the 13th — so both coasts can celebrate. (It is also being released worldwide.)

At Upworthy, we’ve shared a lot of memorable “America’s Got Talent” auditions, from physics-defying dance performances to jaw-dropping magic acts to heart-wrenching singer-songwriter stories. Now we’re adding Angelina Jordan’s “AGT: The Champions” audition to the list because wow.

Jordan came to “AGT: The Champions” in 2020 as the winner of Norway’s Got Talent, which she won in 2014 at the mere age of 7 with her impressive ability to seemingly channel Billie Holiday. For the 2020 audition, she sang Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” but a version that no one had ever heard before.

With just her Amy Winehouse-ish voice, a guitar and a piano, Jordan brought the fan-favorite Queen anthem down to a smooth, melancholy ballad that’s simply riveting to listen to.

Especially considering that Jordan was only 13 years old when she did this.

Watch:

What this video doesn’t show is Heidi Klum hitting the Golden Buzzer faster than you can say, “Nothing really matters to me.” The judges were blown away by Jordan’s performance, as were the people in the comments.

“That’s a ONE in A BILLION voice right there. Just amazing,” wrote one commenter.

“I am typically not a fan of songs being redone particular to such a magnitude,” shared another. “They almost always fall short of the original. But to completely rearrange a song in the manner that she has, from a legend, and then make you forget about how the original even sounded because her rendition is so good is utterly amazing.”

“As Freddie once said, ‘Do whatever you want with my music as long as you don’t make it boring.’ I think he’d really like this,” shared another.

Though Queen’s lead vocalist Freddie Mercury is no longer with us, the band did offer words of praise for Jordan’s performance, retweeting her audition video with the comment, “Wow! What a rendition of #BohemianRhapsody.”

“Bohemian Rhapsody” is such an iconic song, it’s hard for anyone to do a cover of it justice. But 13-year-old Angelina Jordan managed it masterfully.

Jordan would move on to the Top 10 in “AGT: The Champions,” and though she didn’t take home the top prize, she did impress the audience with another classic rock tune, Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.” You can enjoy that performance below, and you can follow Angelina Jordan—who is now 17 and still singing her heart out—on YouTube and TikTok.

Become Angelina’s patron at Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/angelinajordanThis performance on Angelina Jordan’s TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@angelinajor…

“Love” is one of the most powerful words in the English language, yet it’s also one of the most broadly defined. We use the word “love” for so many things that are neither the same nor equal—our families, our friends, our romantic partners, our hobbies—even our favorite foods.

When we think of a “love story,” we almost exclusively imagine a tale of romance, but that’s not the only kind of love story there is. Sometimes the strongest, most meaningful loves of our lives aren’t romantic at all.

David Shane creates videos in which he approaches couples in public and asks them to share three things they love about each other, resulting in some major #couplegoals moments. But one “couple” he approached had a surprising answer to that question, one that moved both them and the people watching the video afterward to tears.

Blane approached a man and woman sitting on a bench at a mall and asked his signature question—”Excuse me, could you give me three things you love about each other?” The woman responded, “Well, this is my brother,” and proceeded to share that she loved that they were related and that they care about each other—typical family stuff. But as she started elaborating, the beautiful bond they share became more and more apparent.

This is one you just have to watch:

See on Instagram

People were understandably moved seeing this brother and sister express their love for one another through serious life challenges.

“This is what love looks like. 🥹 What a truly beautiful sibling relationship, 😭🫶🏽” wrote one commenter.

“I gotta stop watching these right after I do my makeup,” wrote another.

“Gosh, I love questions like this that remind us to SEE two people sitting in a mall as the true, precious humans they are,” shared another. “We walk past people every day, all day long and never get to know their story. There must be so many stories we miss. This is the beauty of social media. I wish both of these sweet souls the very best. So glad they have each other.”

Many of us have people with whom we share a deep connection but may not always share our feelings freely. This video is a good reminder to let our loved ones know what they mean to us and to treasure all the love stories in our lives, whether romantic, platonic or familial.

While Taylor Swift is currently on a break between legs of her massive Eras Tour, that isn’t stopping Swifties from reminiscing about everything that went down during the North American shows. One fan in particular created a Twitter thread titled “The Eras (Errors) Tour” with all of the chaotic mishaps.

The thread starts off with a TikTok video of Swift attempting to recognize the cue that she needed to dive under the stage — which became a popular bit of the three-hour concert. The trap door apparently didn’t open, so she stands around and appeared to say “What the f*ck?”

Some other clips had moments of microphone malfunctions during songs like “Lover” and “The Man.”

One of the other wild memories was Swift continuing the concerts through a rainstorm. However, this affected her on-stage equipment in a chaotic way. When she sat down at the piano, it apparently started playing by itself from the water damage. She then stares and gasps in the video.

Swift swallowed a bug. She had some wardrobe malfunctions. She had some lyrical slip-ups. And at one point her earpiece stopped working, so she had to get help from her band member Amos.

Check out some more of the errors on the Eras Tour thread below.