Month: April 2024

Last night at the iHeartRadio Music Awards in Los Angeles, Beyoncé appeared to accept the special Innovator Award from none other than Stevie Wonder — making it her first major outing since releasing her country album Cowboy Carter.

“Whenever anyone asks me if there’s anyone I could listen to for the rest of my life, it’s always you,” she first told Wonder. “God bless you.”

Beyoncé then started her moving speech. “Innovation starts with a dream, and the road to execute that dream can be very bumpy,” she said. “Being an innovator is doing what everyone believes is impossible… Being an innovator often means being criticized, which often will test your mental strength. Being an innovator is leaning on faith and trusting that God will catch you and guide you.”

“To all the record labels, every radio station & every award show, my hope is that we are more open to the joy and liberation that comes from enjoying art with no preconceived notions,” she said.

To close out the speech, Beyoncé then thanked her inspirations in Prince, Tracy Chapman, Linda Martell (who appeared on the new album), and more.

Check out a video of Beyoncé’s speech while accepting the award below.

Cowboy Carter is out now via Parkwood/Columbia. Find more information here.

Warner Bros. Pictures wisely wasted until today, the day after April Fool’s Day, to release the first poster for Joker: Folie à Deux. If it had come out on April 1, no one would have believed it was the real thing. That’s how twisted the Joker is. Along with the poster, which has the Joker (played by Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix) dipping Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga) while they dance, Warner Bros. also released the first audio clip from the sequel to 2019’s Joker.

“You can do anything you want,” Gaga’s Harley says, sounding a lot like actual Lady Gaga, in a video released on the film’s TikTok page. “You’re Joker.” If someone whispers that in your ear, run. You can listen to the audio here.

Here’s the poster:

Joker: Folie à Deux was originally thought to be a full-blown musical, but it’s reportedly more of a jukebox musical. “It’s got some music. It’s not a musical per say. But it just has music in it,” director of photography Lawrence Sher said in an interview. “Music is a part of the movie and the characters, but I don’t know if it’s a musical. But there’s a lot of music in the first Joker as well.”

Joker: Folie à Deux comes out on October 4. Look out for the first trailer next week, on April 9.

Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign have yet to release the second installment of their ongoing(?) trilogy project, Vultures, and now, they’ve even canceled multiple planned listening events for the first two parts, according to Billboard. They were planning to hold the listening parties in arenas across the US, but did not give a reason for the cancelations — only a vague promise that new dates will be announced.

Cities touted on Ticketmaster included dates in Washington, DC; Tampa, Florida; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Nashville, Tennessee; and Charlotte, North Carolina. A listening on April 21 at the Pyramids at Giza in Egypt is still selling tickets.

Although Vultures 1 was a commercial success, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and spawning a No. 1 single on the Hot 100 in “Carnival,” Vultures 2 did not materialize on its scheduled release date, March 8, and Kanye appeared to debate a direct-to-consumer release. However, that still hasn’t happened, and the third release date is already rapidly approaching.

The rocky rollout could possibly be attributed to reports that the distributor for Vultures 1, FUGA, released a statement shortly after it hit DSPs alleging that the album had been released without clearance. FUGA claims it was submitted by a different partner after the company declined a partnership with Kanye and Ty due to Kanye’s antisemitic comments and other erratic behaviors. It was removed from Apple Music, but not Spotify, which allowed it to reach its impressive milestone, but apparently left Kanye without a distributor for the second and third installments.

Meanwhile, this isn’t the first time Kanye has canceled listening sessions. Several of the events promoted for the first Vultures release were also canceled at the last minute. However, according to some fans’ responses to Kanye and Ty’s Rolling Loud “performance,” it doesn’t sound like fans missed much.

Bonnaroo 2024 is approaching, as the annual festival is set to kick off on June 13. In anticipation of that, organizers shared the day-by-day set times today (April 2), so check out the highlights and beyond below.

Bonnaroo 2024 Set Times For Thursday, June 13

Things kick off relatively slowly on Thursday, although there’s still plenty to look forward to: Pretty Lights takes the What Stage at 9 p.m., Nation Of Language will hit This Tent at 7:45, and Militarie Gun will also be at This Tent at 11:15.

Bonnaroo 2024 Set Times For Friday, June 14

Taking over the What Stage are Khruangbin at 8:45 and Post Malone at 11, the Which Stage will host Maggie Rogers at 9:45 and T-Pain at 12:30 a.m., This Tent will see Interpol at 9:45 and The Mars Volta at 12:30 a.m., and performing at That Tent at 12:45 a.m. will be Thundercat.

Bonnaroo 2024 Set Times For Saturday, June 15

Red Hot Chili Peppers will be at the What Stage at 10:45, Diplo will take over The Other Stage at 12:30 a.m, the Dashboard Confessional Emo Superjam at 8:15, and Idles will close out That Tent at 12:45 a.m.

Bonnaroo 2024 Set Times For Sunday, June 16

On the final day, the What Stage will host Megan Thee Stallion at 7:15 and Fred Again.. at 9:30, Which Stage will see Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit at 8:15, Four Tet will hit The Other Stage at 5, Taking Back Sunday will take over This Tent at 7:45, and Joey Badass will be at That Tent at 8:30.

Find the full day-by-day set times below or here.

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

Comedian Jerrod Carmichael had his new TV show premiere over the weekend. Since then, a clip of him confessing his feelings to Tyler The Creator has gone viral. “You laughed and called me a stupid b*tch,” Carmichael jokingly said in the scene.

Carmichael putting this on the show left many who saw it online wondering what exactly the back story was. Here’s what to know.

What Happened Between Jerrod Carmichael & Tyler The Creator?

During the Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show, he revealed that he developed feelings for Tyler The Creator and decided to text him about it, according To Entertainment Weekly. Carmichael also invited him to possibly be his date to the 2022 Emmy Awards, but he was busy.

“I fell in love with my best friend. 1 out of 10, don’t recommend,” Carmichael told the audience in one of the show’s clips. “I knew I had to tell him. Things started getting kind of weird between us. I had these feelings… so I texted him.”

“I remember saying, ‘I know you didn’t ask for this, but somewhere down the line I developed feelings for you and I don’t know what to do with that,’” he added. “Then I immediately turned my phone off and went into therapy.”

This text conversation led to Carmichael asking Tyler to sit down and talk about how their friendship turned awkward after that.

Check out the clip above.

Jack Black is the benevolent king of the video game movie (he’s appeared in actual video games, too). The Tenacious D singer deserved an Oscar nomination for his performance in Bowser in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and he’s also set to provide the voice for Claptrap in Borderlands and Steve in Minecraft, respectively. What video game movie would he like to see next?

“I can’t believe they haven’t already started making a movie of any of the Rockstar Games – Grand Theft Auto, but especially Red Dead Redemption,” Black told Total Film. “Those things are already like movies, you know? I guess that’s the thing. Some video games are already halfway there to telling those kind of stories, and there are some movies that are like video games.”

Grand Theft Auto V, Red Dead Redemption, and Red Dead Redemption 2 are among the best-selling video games of all-time (GTA 6 will join them… eventually). The Red Dead sequel, in particular, is a masterpiece that would translate well to a film. Jack Black could voice the horse you punch in the face.

Borderlands comes out on August 9, 2024 (watch the trailer here), while Minecraft has a scheduled release date of April 4, 2025.

(Via Total Film)

Indie music has grown to include so much. It’s not just music that is released on independent labels, but speaks to an aesthetic that deviates from the norm and follows its own weirdo heart. It can come in the form of rock music, pop, or folk. In a sense, it says as much about the people that are drawn to it as it does about the people that make it.

Every week, Uproxx is rounding up the best new indie music from the past seven days. This week, we got new music from DIIV, Hovvdy, Microwave, and more.

While we’re at it, sign up for our newsletter to get the best new indie music delivered directly to your inbox, every Monday.

Teens In Trouble – What’s Mine

Combining the fuzzy hooks of Pup and the animated angst of Jeff Rosenstock, Lizzie Killian’s work as Teens In Trouble is disarmingly immediate. What’s Mine, the full-length debut from Teens In Trouble, is a sub-30-minute breakthrough of kinetic tempos, bristly yet bubbly guitar riffs, and Killian’s incisive songwriting. Meeting the middle point between pop-punk and indie rock, What’s Mine cements the California native as an exciting new voice.

Been Stellar – “All In One”

You’d think that with such a cheeky name like Been Stellar (what actor does that sound like?), they’d be a fifth-wave emo band. But that’s not the case. Instead, the NYC quintet makes abrasive, fiery post-punk that has landed them opening gigs for Shame and Fontaines D.C. As evidenced by their latest single, “All In One,” from their forthcoming debut LP, Scream From New York, NY, the indie rockers don’t shy away from even their rowdiest inclinations. The song is punctuated by rapid-fire drum fills and a finale that kicks everything into overdrive. Post-punk has lately been inundated to the point of oversaturation, but Been Stellar proves that this subgenre hasn’t lost its luster quite yet. It can still be stellar.

Microwave – “Huperzine Dreamz”

Much like André 3000’s instrumental, flute-driven self-discoveries on last year’s New Blue Sun, the Atlanta trio Microwave’s latest record is fueled by an ayahuasca experiment. Frontman Nathan Hardy and drummer Timothy “Tito” Pittard traveled to Peru, participated in an ayahuasca ritual, and reported their enlightened findings to bassist Tyler Hill. Thus, their fourth album, Let’s Start Degeneracy (what acronym does that make?), was born. Although they’ve been putting out records since their 2014 debut LP, Stovall, Let’s Start Degeneracy, out April 26, is a noteworthy level-up. On its latest single, “Huperzine Dreamz,” a moody tune that Hardy describes as “a nod to the wide variety of nu-tropic supplements” he and Tito experimented with, Microwave elevates their punchy strain of emo to psychedelic new heights.

Ekko Astral – “Devorah”

Illuminati Hotties’ Sarah Tudzin says she makes tender punk. Midwife’s Madeline Johnston says she makes heaven metal. Ekko Astral’s Jael Holzman says she makes mascara mosh pit. Just as the former two artists demonstrate, self-coined genre descriptors can be pretty accurate, encapsulating their nuanced music within a pithy phrase. Holzman, the frontwoman of the D.C. punk five-piece Ekko Astral, has achieved a similar feat with mascara mosh pit. Pink Balloons, the forthcoming debut album from Ekko Astral, combines gritty DIY signifiers with the glitzy ambiance of a theater dressing room. It’s the sonic equivalent of ferociously smearing lipstick all over a gilded Victorian mirror. Its new single, “Devorah,” is no different. Opening with uneasy, distorted guitar drones and Holzman’s phantasmic vocals, the fog soon lifts to reveal a muscular, pugnacious punk track that declares “solidarity with all the missing murdered people.” It’s the perfect distillation of Ekko Astral’s strengths, uncompromising in its empathy and aggression alike.

DIIV – “Everyone Out”

Dream-pop-meets-shoegaze four-piece DIIV are on the cusp of sharing their next LP, Frog In Boiling Water. Following up “Brown Paper Bag” and “Soul-net” is the foreboding, tactile “Everyone Out,” a track built on distant harmonics and soft acoustic guitar that, after nearly five minutes, fades like cloudy mist. As mentioned in the single’s press release, DIIV archly says “Everyone Out” “may or may not be a character study” that centers on the bridge from “youthful naivety to bitter disillusionment.” Given the song’s dystopian sonic backdrop, I’m willing to bet that it may, in fact, be that.

Hovvdy – “Make Ya Proud”

The self-titled double album from Hovvdy is officially less than a month away. But the Texas alt-country duo has shared one more single before its imminent release. “Make Ya Proud,” as member Charlie Martin explains in press materials, is one of the few songs on the album that he penned for his paternal grandfather, Pete, who passed away last summer. The song’s gentle, lulling sway feels like as much of a lamentation of his death as it does a celebration of his life.

Bodysync / Dazy – “Back Of My Mind”

On paper, James Goodson seems like a strange voice to hear on an effervescent electronic track. As Dazy, the indie-rock songwriter draws from Green Day and Oasis and adds a hardcore edge. “Pressure Cooker,” Dazy’s 2022 single with Militarie Gun, is a great example of his typical style, heavy on big riffs and bigger hooks. Whereas Bodysync’s Ryan Hemsworth previously worked with Dazy to produce 2023’s “Forced Perspective,” both members of Bodysync, Hemsworth and Giraffage, linked up with Dazy for “Back Of My Mind.” It’s a summery, groovy tune fit for the poolside. Who would have thought that Bodysync and Dazy would combine powers to make the best chillwave song since the 2010s?

Treanne – “Sharing My Body”

Born in London and raised in Jamaica and, eventually, Kansas City, Treanne’s music evokes the halcyon days of youth and the growing difficulties of early adulthood. 20/20, her debut EP out in May via Young, is a world-weary meditation on that transitional phase. Alongside the announcement comes “Sharing My Body,” littered with plaintive piano and grounded by Treanne’s lush, hypnotizing vocals.

Mdou Moctar – “Imouhar”

The Tamasheq language is seldom spoken anymore. The North African tongue is one of three main varieties of Tuareg, but, as Tuareg guitarist, bandleader, and songwriter Mdou Moctar explains, it has been nearly supplanted by French. “We feel like in a hundred years no one will speak good Tamasheq,” he explains in a press release. As one of the few left in his community who can write it, that places a significant weight on Moctar. “Imouhar,” the latest single from the band’s upcoming record Funeral For Justice, is an urgent missive to fellow Tuareg people to preserve the Tamasheq language. Over the course of five minutes, it slowly builds up to a searing shredder of a guitar solo, conveying the exigencies of what’s at stake.

Local Natives – “April”

Last year, SoCal alt-rockers Local Natives released Time Will Wait For No One. They’re following it up with what they’ve billed as its companion piece, But I’ll Wait For You, finishing the first half of that sentence. “April,” its lead single, is grounded by frontmen Kelcey Ayer’s and Taylor Rice’s mesmerizing, silky vocal timbres, just like most Local Natives songs are. This time, however, they’ve adorned their music with squelchy, Currents-esque octave synths that function as the main hook. Light, panning congas and tasteful wah-guitar litter the mix, creating a musical stir fry that all comes together in the end despite its varied textures.

Even though St. Patrick’s Day has come and gone, it’s nice to know that we can always celebrate the best and brightest of the Irish people. After all, Ireland has given us so many important Irish actors of today, like Cillian Murphy, Paul Mescal, and Ayo Edebiri, so it’s no wonder Colin Farrell has been feeling particularly patriotic.

Farrell, who was nominated at last year’s Academy Awards, is proud of his roots and told ET that it’s “amazing” how such a small country can be home to so many talents.

“I mean, we punch so far above our weight, you know? We’re only a country of five million people and I don’t know, Irish people — just whether it’s through music, the written word, whether it’s prose of poetry, film, theater of course, we just — we have a deep connection to,” Farrell said. “I think just to the importance of story and to leaning into stories and meanings with which we understand ourselves and the world around us,” he added. Perhaps this story could include a certain romantic comedy?

Farrell couldn’t compliment his fellow Irishmen without mentioning former costar Barry Keoghan. The two appeared in Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Killing Of A Sacred Deer in 2017, and Keoghan has had a breakout year after starring alongside Farrell in The Banshees Of Inisherin.

“Barry’s off to the races,” Farrell added. “He’s killing it, he’s doing amazing,” he said, unintentionally giving a Saltburn spoiler. You’ve probably seen it by now anyway.

Farrell is currently starring in AppleTV’s Sugar. Next up, Farrell will take his talents to the very non-Irish land of Gotham in The Penguin, where his spunky Irish accent is of no use to him.

(Via ET)

After X-Men ’97 Episode 3 put its own unique spin on the classic Madeline Pryor/Goblin Queen saga, Episode 4 will reportedly bring back a classic X-Men villain: Mojo.

Streaming this week on Disney+, “Motendo/Lifedeath — Part 1” will reportedly see Jubilee and Roberto Da Costa/Sunspot get zapped inside a video game that’s a clever nod to the fan-favorite X-Men arcade game from the ’90s, according to Polygon. However, Episode 4 is not the first time the mighty mutants have been pulled into the Mojoverse that’s basically a hellish, ultra-violent reality show that never stops filming.

The original X-Men: The Animated Series pitted the classic team against Mojo once before, and saw them work alongside the mutant hero Longshot, who could very likely make an appearance.

When Will ‘X-Men ’97’ Episode 4 Be On Disney+?

X-Men ’97 Episode 4 will start streaming at 3:00 AM ET/12:00 AM PT on April 3. New episodes will stream every Wednesday until the Season 1 finale wraps things up on May 15.

Here’s the official synopsis:

Marvel Animation’s “X-Men ’97” revisits the iconic era of the 1990s as The X-Men, a band of mutants who use their uncanny gifts to protect a world that hates and fears them, are challenged like never before, forced to face a dangerous and unexpected new future.

X-Men ’97 streams new episodes Wednesday on Disney+.

(Via Polygon)

You gotta hand it to Taylor Sheridan. He ignores the plentiful drama that surrounds discussion about his Paramount Network (and Paramount+) shows, puts his head down, and simply works. That’s presumably how he can bang out what feels like 80 shows per year, but a specific show happens to be his most popular non-Yellowstone title. That would be the hard-to-resist Tulsa King starring Sylvester Stallone as the fresh-out-of-prison mobster who got shuffled off to the second-most populous Oklahoman metro area. He then proceeded to start running the town while assembling a new criminal empire.

The people responded to Dwight “The General” Manfredi, and even though this series has also seen its fair share of behind-the-scenes upheaval, a second season is in the works. Let’s roll into the Tulsa airport like Stallone and discuss what could come next.

Plot

Somehow, there will be no showrunner for Tulsa King going forward, which is not unusual for a Taylor Sheridan series but still somewhat unexpected because Boardwalk Empire‘s Terence Winter began the show in that seat. He previously stepped down from the position, although he is still on the scene as a writer and executive producer. Additionally, Deadline reports that Craig Zisk (Weeds) will be now directing and executive producing.

Deadline further reports that “comedy series” is now the official label here. Surely, that’s a testament to not only how this show pulled a few fast ones while portraying life’s absurdities but also in how much Stallone is embracing this shift in his career.

Production has also largely moved away (yet not entirely) from Oklahoma with Atlanta stepping in for Tulsa, which no doubt came as a relief to Stallone, who famously didn’t enjoy the blazing summer heat the Sooner State. Granted, it’s not clear how Atlanta will present any relief on that note, but we’ll go with it. Why not? Sadly, however, this means that Dwight will not be howling any more in the middle of Tulsa’s Center of the Universe attraction, but perhaps some livestock can still randomly wander by on the Atlanta set.

As the first season hammered home, Dwight’s loyal mafia capo saw himself get royally screwed a few times after keeping his mouth shut for 25 years in prison. What comes next? This week, Stallone marked the beginning of filming with an Instagrammed video: “[Y]ou have no idea what’s coming.”

What does that mean? There’s no synopsis yet, and hopefully that will come soon.

Certainly, we will find out if Manfredi is really going back inside after that ATF business, during which Stacy (Andrea Savage) handed over that zip drive to save her own butt. As a result, Dwight was apparently being carted back to prison during what was supposed to be a celebratory night for him. Sheridan and Winter aren’t saying jack about where the scripts go (and good for them), but we can probably assume that Manfredi somehow wiggles out of the situation because the series would not be Tulsa King if he’s running the show from behind bars. Also! We need to see more emotional growth from the guy, but with a comedic slant, which this show has been doing while growing legs.

Cast

Thank god that Stallone decided to take a second round because nobody else could embody Dwight Manfredi. Annabella Sciorra and Tatiana Zappardino have been bumped up to series-regular status, and returning cast members will include Andrea Savage and Garrett Hedlund with Vincent Piazza, Dana Delaney, Max Casella, Martin Starr, and Domenick Lombardozzi.

Release Date

Filming will be ongoing this summer, which means that Tulsa King should be back on screens in late 2024, possibly early 2025.

Trailer

Oh, we wish there was a trailer. Instead, here’s Stallone rallying his newfound mafia fam/troops and demonstrating why he is referred to as “The General.”