Before Taylor Swift drops The Tortured Poets Department tomorrow night at midnight, she is giving fans a ton of cryptic clues to build the mystery. Yesterday, alongside her Spotify pop-up taking place in Los Angeles, she posted a video to her Instagram that hints at the release timetable. For context, Swift did a similar thing ahead of dropping her 2022 album, Midnights, but this takes it to another level.
The 3D-style video starts in the room seemingly for Midnights, with the vinyl records for it scattered on the floor. Viewers are then led into a hallway, which some Swifties have compared to a hospital — but it also gives off a horror video game energy. After peering through a keyhole, we enter the room for The Tortured Poets Department, which ends with the timetable on the wall.
As of right now, only Friday, April 19 is visible on the calendar. Swift notes it as the release day and that there will be a music video at 8 p.m. ET. It then includes fourteen tally marks, which, once again, has sparked a bunch of fan theories.
Unlike Swift’s timetable for Midnights, she appears to be keeping the rest of the week a secret, for reasons that are still unknown.
However, the teasers also haven’t stopped there. Throughout this week, Swift has been revealing words by changing her lyrics of past songs on streaming services, so far unveiling the phrase, “We hereby conduct this post,” with the final one arriving tomorrow.
She has also shared a few Tortured Poets Department lines through the Spotify event, including: “Lost the game of chance / What are the chances,” “One less temptress / One less dagger to sharpen,” and “Even statues crumble / If they’re made to wait.”
Only a month ago, Olivia Munn revealed that she had been diagnosed with a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer that mammograms have been known to miss. An MRI detected the troubling issue, and Munn quickly underwent a series of four surgeries, including a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction. The latter, as you might suspect, presents decisions that must be made, and when getting down to the nitty gritty on the process, Munn told People that she seized the opportunity to… downsize.
Here’s how Munn insisted that her reconstruction surgeon “go smaller” and made sure that her preference was heard:
When it came time for reconstruction, “I know a lot of women want to go bigger, but [I said] go smaller,” says Munn, recalling her frank discussion with her doctors. “It’s so important to say what you want out loud—and don’t stop. Even as the anesthesia was making its way into my body, the last thing I said was ‘please go smaller.’”
And honestly, good for her. This decision might also mean a happier back in the long run. Ladies, you know what I’m talking about.
The full article is well worth reading and includes Munn’s account of how John Mulaney pulled out the stops to take over baby-bedtime duties while she focused on treatment. She has also gone into “medically induced menopause” to reduce the risk of recurrence, and that means that “my hair is thinning, and I’m tired a lot.” Still, Munn counts herself lucky to have come through her ordeal, and she’s optimistic about the future.
Khruangbin is making waves. Earlier this month, the Texas-founded indie band dropped their fourth album, A LA SALA. This week, Khruangbin has kicked off their A LA SALA TOUR.
A LA SALA marks the bands first album in four years. As the band is known to take their time between releases, it’ll likely be a while before they drop an album and go on tour. So fans are going to want to get their hands on merch and memorabilia to remember this moment.
Here is the Khruangbin merch available at the A LA SALA Tour
According to a fan post on Reddit, attendees at the A LA SALA Tour will be able to purchase short-sleeved black t-shirts with the tour dates on the back for $40. White long-sleeve shirts and black long-sleeve shirts, featuring a door — presumably leading to la sala — are available for $45. The long sleeve shirts also feature the dates for the A LA SALA tour.
Tote bags and hoodies will also be sold at the concerts.
You can see the remaining dates for the A LA SALA tour below.
04/18 — Alex Madonna Expo Center @ San Luis Obispo, CA*
04/21 — Coachella @ Indio, CA
04/23 — Brooklyn Bowl @ Las Vegas, NV*
04/24 — Brooklyn Bowl @ Las Vegas, NV*
04/26 — Revel @ Albuquerque, NM*
04/27 — Revel @ Albuquerque, NM*
05/22 — The Met @ Philadelphia, PA^
05/23 — The Met @ Philadelphia, PA^
05/25 — Boston Calling @ Boston, MA
05/26 — Saratoga Performing Arts Center @ Saratoga Springs, NY^
05/28 — Rockin’ At The Knox @ Buffalo, NY^
05/29 — Jacob’s Pavilion @ Cleveland, OH^
05/31 — History @ Toronto, ON^
06/01 — History @ Toronto, ON^
06/02 — History @ Toronto, ON^
06/04 — The Masonic Temple Theatre @ Detroit, MI^
06/07 — The Salt Shed @ Chicago, IL
06/08 — The Salt Shed @ Chicago, IL^
06/09 — The Salt Shed @ Chicago, IL^
06/11 — Red Hat Amphitheater @ Raleigh, NC
06/14 — Bonnaroo @ Manchester, TN
08/15 — Greek Theatre @ Berkeley, CA%
08/16 — Greek Theatre @ Berkeley, CA%
08/18 — Edgefield @ Troutdale, OR%
08/19 — Edgefield @ Troutdale, OR%
08/21 — Kettlehouse @ Bonner, MT%
08/22 — Kettlehouse @ Bonner, MT%
08/24 — Granary Live @ Salt Lake City, UT%
08/27 — Red Rocks @ Morrison, CO&
08/28 — Red Rocks @ Morrison, CO%
09/20 — Forest Hills Tennis Stadium @ New York, New York+
09/21 — Forest Hills Tennis Stadium @ New York, New York+
09/23 — The Anthem @ Washington, DC$
10/02 — The Factory @ St. Louis, MO$
10/03 — The Factory @ St. Louis, MO$
10/09 — Saenger Theatre @ New Orleans, LA$
10/10 — Saenger Theatre @ New Orleans, LA$
* with Hermanos Gutiérrez
^ with John Carroll Kirby
% with Peter Cat Recording Co.
+ with Men I Trust
$ with Arooj Aftab
A few weeks after Ariana Grande‘s “Ordinary Things” charted on the Billboard Hot 100, following the release of her Eternal Sunshine album, a special plaque came in the mail.
In Grande’s recent Instagram post, her grandmother, who is featured in the song, poses with her very own award that features the chart placement and a giant photo of her. Adding to the importance, Grande’s “Nonna” now holds a special record on the chart.
“Celebrating the one and only, most beautiful Nonna who has now made history for being the senior most person to ever appear on the @billboard Hot 100,” Grande captioned.
“Never go to bed without kissin’ goodnight,” Nonna shared in the song, giving Grande some relationship advice, and earning herself a songwriting credit in the process.”That’s the worst thing to do; don’t ever, ever do that. And if you don’t feel comfortable doing it, you’re in the wrong place – get out.”
Billboard also confirmed the fact that Nonna is the oldest charting Hot 100 performer at 98 years old. The record was previously held by the 96-year-old Fred Stobaugh who charted back in 2013 for being a writer of “Oh Sweet Lorraine.” (Stobaugh has since sadly passed away.)
Check out Grande’s photo of her grandmother posing with her chart plaque below.
Louisiana rapper YoungBoy Never Broke Again (known colloquially as NBA YoungBoy) has been arrested for possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person and a pattern of unlawful activity, according to Variety. Both are Class 2 felony charges. In addition, he was also charged with procuring or attempting to procure a drug/prescription, identity fraud, forgery, and possession of other controlled substances. YoungBoy — whose real name is Kentrell DeSean Gaulden — has been on house arrest in Utah since 2021, awaiting trial on separate charges of possession of two weapons as a felon and distribution and manufacturing of drugs.
No bail was set after his most recent arrest by the Cache County Sheriff’s Office, which occurred at around 3:00 pm yesterday.
The arrest is the latest in a long line of run-ins with the law for the 24-year-old rapper, who has become as well known for his legal issues and beefs with other hip-hop personalities as he has for his fan-favorite collaborations with rappers like Tyler The Creator.
His original felony, from which most of his issues appear to stem, was in 2016, when he jumped out of a vehicle and shot at a group of people in Baton Rouge. He pled guilty to a reduced charge of aggravated assault with a firearm and sentenced to probation.
The collaborative nature of the music business is critical to its success, but often that collaboration is done in the shadows, outside of the spotlight. The successes are loud; the planning, the building, the making, the doing –- that part can be all too quiet.
While fans may not think much about how and why these things come to life at live shows, that’s all the creative directors at the production company — which was founded in 2010 and has produced shows for everyone from Drake to Taylor Swift — think about. Alex Reardon, — the President of Silent House, creative director on Tyler The Creator’s Coachella set, and inaugural Sound + Vision Award winner for Tyler’s Camp Flog Gnaw performance — explains how he uses his 20 years of experience in creating live shows to pull all the pieces together to make the rapper’s wildest dreams a reality.
“T comes up with the overall, the 30,000-foot view ideas, and then we riff on things,” he says over Zoom a few days before the explosive Coachella performance. “If we are in this world that he is creating, what would that world look like?” That entails a lot of questions of both entertainment value and feasibility — and, in some cases, safety.
Philip Cosores
“I believe very strongly that a successful production design is not just about aesthetics,” he says. “It’s about aesthetics, logistics, and finance. One of those is fun, and two of them aren’t, but they are all equally important. And all those bars have to be set to exactly the same level.” When those elements are all aligned, the closest thing in the world to magic happens… like flinging Tyler through the air or outfitting him with a literal flamethrower for his Camp Flog Gnaw set a few months ago.
In order to build out a set like Tyler’s, the designers at Silent House first sit with artists and their teams as they spitball about their vision. While that can be highly informed by specificity and attention to detail, like Tyler’s set, it can also mean just getting the artists’ thoughts on what’s going on their lives, as Silent House’s creative director and designer for Doja Cat’s set Parker Genoway says in a separate interview on the same day.
“It all starts with very abstract conversations and a lot of listening,” he elaborates. “I never present anything, even if I am so excited about something and I am like, oh, this is going to be great for her show. I like to sit with her for hours — and Brett [Alan Nelson, Doja Cat’s Creative Director & Stylist] — and just have her download me on where her head is at, and then I start to pick up on certain things, [like] what materials fit into these descriptions that she is talking about.”
With Doja Cat’s set, her inspirations — or preoccupations, maybe — were clear even without knowing the behind-the-scenes process. Having dancers surround her in costumes make of wigs like really jiggy versions of Cousin It from The Addams Family played into fans’ obsession with her recent big chop, while that T-Rex skeleton evoked the titanic proportions reached by the conversation surrounding her bat skeleton tattoo (those dancers, by the way, were choreographed by Parris Goebel, who also coordinates dancers for Rihanna). Rather than telling a story, Doja’s set created a vibe, like a subconscious clash of imagery and ideas in a dream.
Philip Cosores
“She was always like, ‘I want a dinosaur. I really want a dinosaur,’” Genoway recalls. “And so when we started thinking about, ‘Let us work backwards. What kind of world could this be? Is this prehistoric or is this post-apocalyptic? Has society crumbled?’… I think when I like to create a world, I want layers and I want versatility, and I want to be able to deliver a show that evolves and does not just stay the same the whole time.”
Meanwhile, Tyler’s set plays into an existing world he’s created around his most recent album and his ongoing fascination with nature and the outdoors. For Reardon, making that world seem plausible and real is the key to success. “If the question ‘why’ has been asked and a legitimate answer to ‘why’ has been given, then a big video screen works,” he maintains. “If you’re doing it without intent, there is never a purpose to do anything other than lasers… We add more so it’s believable because you’ve got to sell the thing. Don’t just put a prop there. Make the prop do what the prop would do if it wasn’t a prop.”
Creating these expansive, detailed worlds from scratch can be a time-intensive process, but it’s also one that requires fine-tuned people skills. After all, artists can be both sensitive and fickle. As Reardon says, “Artists may say, ‘I want my stage set to look like an apple.’ And you give them an apple and then they say, ‘I hate apples.’”
Philip Cosores
“The way to mitigate that is by understanding a couple of things. First of all, anything you create, even if it’s for someone else, has your ego in it. And you have to understand the power of the unobserved ego. If you don’t accept that your ego is part of it, you will not be able to mitigate the effects your ego will try and have on you in that design process. And someone who hasn’t observed their ego, who doesn’t understand the power of it, the negative impact it can have will say, ‘But you said you liked apples and you have to have an apple and I’m going to make…’ No. Next idea. Okay. Don’t like apples? How about whatever palm tree? Banana. Go through the fruit bowl.”
Genoway echoes this sentiment. For him, what makes Silent House distinct as a production company is that “we are extremely practical in our designs. We make doable things. So the logistics of things are heavily considered in our initial design conversations. As much as we like to try to keep it very blue sky, we are from day one considering what can and can not happen, what the parameters are, how many trucks we have, how many buses are there, so we know how many crews.”
In describing the process of building the concepts — starting with concept art, which can be sourced from sources like magazines, design books, and even AI art, to decks of renders created with computer-aided design programs to concept models — Genoway says the process can take months, but that things can be done last-minute, as well, depending on when Silent House is contracted to build a set. The most nerve-wracking aspect for him, though, is knowing that even with rehearsals weeks before, there’s no telling how everything will really work until the night of, when any number of factors can affect the set.
One stunt involving a massive wall of flames that Genoway says has never been done at Coachella before was nearly nixed because of high wind (it went off went out a hitch on Sunday, and looked badass to boot). He also credits the on-the-ground teams for being able to handle problems on the fly, like broken wheels on the scaffolds used in the set — something to which he, like Reardon, credits to Silent House’s experience as one of the few big-name production agencies working at this scale.
Philip Cosores
But the most important aspect, both directors agree, is their rapport with the artists, whom they both praise as not just creative geniuses but genuinely great people. As Reardon muses, “I don’t know how it became part of our pop culture zeitgeist that diva is used as an accolade. It shouldn’t be. Don’t be the diva. Be the nice person. And [Tyler] is so genuine and considerate and curious and kind and respectful that everybody goes just that bit further because you want to. I’ve been doing this since I was 21, and I’m 58, and I can count on the fingers of one hand how many people that I just think, ‘You are a genuinely good human being. I am very happy to be here. I will work a bit harder. I will have a little bit less sleep’ because he’s worth it in the end.”
Of Doja, Genoway is equally effusive, “She is always moving into a new world, and so it is so exciting and challenging to be able to try to follow her in which direction she is trying to go and make sure that we are supporting her vision and executing it… I am so thankful for our entire crew and for Doja, for her whole management team and everyone just for putting in the work because it is going to pay off.”
That work, done out of the spotlight and away from the cameras for months and months to create a 90-minute moment for both the artists and their fans, may not always get the attention and appreciation it deserves, but the creators at Silent House know it’s worth it. After all, where else can a self-described “weird theater kid” like Genoway or a 38-year touring vet like Reardon get to make not only their own dreams come true, but also those of these talented artists? When the moments being built are all anyone will be walking about for days afterward, the work done in silence can often speak the loudest.
Jontay Porter’s NBA career is over after the league’s investigations into allegations that he purposefully manipulated his own prop bets found evidence that not only corroborated that activity, but also found he bet on at least 13 NBA games via an associate’s account.
The NBA released a statement on Wednesday with the findings of their investigation, as well as the news that Porter was receiving a lifetime ban from playing in the league (which Adam Silver said was on the table earlier this month).
According to the league’s findings, Porter relayed information to known sports bettors about his health status, allowing them to bet the unders on his prop bets. One bettor placed an $80,000 parlay that netted $1.1 million in winnings. Porter made sure his prop bets went active by playing in the game, but also ensured they came in as unders by checking out early by saying he “felt ill.” That large activity on Porter’s unsurprisingly prop bets raised red flags for the sportsbooks, who flagged the activity as suspicious and alerted the league.
They also found he bet on at least 13 NBA games from January to March of 2024 while traveling with the Raptors G League affiliate, including a parlay that included the Raptors losing (the parlay lost). In total, Porter won just north of $21,000 on those NBA bets in full, which will certainly not cover the loss of a paycheck from playing professional basketball ever again.
Martin Scorsese is lining up his next (two) bangers and he already has a star in mind for one of them. The Killers of the Flower Moon director is aiming to tackle a Frank Sinatra biopic starring — Surprise! — Leonardo DiCaprio. We bet you didn’t see that one coming. What are the odds?
Scorsese will reportedly take on the Sinatra biopic after filming a new movie about Jesus starring Andrew Garfield, which actually, sounds pretty great, too. Damn, Marty, slow down.
However, Variety reports that even with Scorsese’s clout and Leo’s star power, the Frank Sinatra biopic could run into a significant snag with his estate, and then there’s Jennifer Lawrence‘s potential casting:
The legendary crooner’s daughter Tina Sinatra controls her father’s estate and hasn’t yet given her blessing to the film. But that hasn’t stopped Scorsese from putting together a killer cast that would see frequent collaborator Leonardo DiCaprio playing the singer and Jennifer Lawrence portraying his second wife, actress Ava Gardner, sources say. It was Gardner who broke up Sinatra’s marriage with Nancy Barbato, Tina’s mother.
While Scorsese works out the rights issues with Sinatra’s estate, Variety reports that Apple “would love to stay in business” with the Killers of the Flower Moon director, but Sony is reportedly the “frontrunner” for the biopic.
Abigail is the upcoming horror/slasher/babysitting movie that follows a team of thieves who hold a little ballerina hostage in the hopes of getting some ransom money. Only the sweet little ballerina is actually a bloodthirsty vampire. You can’t trust any ballerinas these days!
The movie features a stacked cast, including Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, Giancarlo Esposito and Angus Cloud, who passed away in July 2023. Directors Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin shared what it was like to work with the young actor.
“It was just so evident how much fun he was having,” Gillett told Variety. “I don’t think we’ve ever worked with somebody that forces the other actors in the scene to pay attention. There’s not a false moment in anything that he does. He kind of gave everyone permission to be a little weird and take some swings that maybe they wouldn’t have otherwise, just because of how natural and charismatic he is in a scene.” Considering the absurdity of the promise, being a little weird was probably pretty beneficial.
Cloud died after he had finish filming, which means they didn’t have to do any reshoots or rewrites for the film. “Every single thing of Angus is Angus in the movie,” he says. “There’s not even an ADR line off-camera that we needed for story. It’s all Angus.” Abigail is one of two movies that Cloud had wrapped before his death, the other being Freaky Tales alongside Pedro Pascal and Jay Ellis.
Bettinelli-Olpin added, “Everybody involved really wanted to make sure that we finished the movie strong and did Angus justice. We felt a responsibility.”
The dynamic duo is back at it again. This summer, pop sensations Charli XCX and Troye Sivan are going on the hot queer tour of the summer. Today (April 17), the two announced the Sweat Tour, their co-headlining North American tour.
Over the course of their respective careers, Charli and Sivan have collaborated quite a few times, notably on the songs “1999” and “2099.” Both acts have large LGBTQ+ followings, many of whom are looking forward to seeing them when they come to town.
When do tickets for Charli XCX and Troye Sivan’s Sweat Tour come out?
Tickets for the Sweat Tour will be available for purchase beginning next Thursday (April 25) at 10 a.m. local time through a Live Nation presale. General onsale will begin next Friday (April 26), also at 10 a.m. local time. Fans can register for the presale and purchase tickets here.
See the tour dates below.
09/14 – Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
09/16 – Laval, QC @ Place Bell
09/18 – Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
09/20 – Columbus, OH @ Nationwide Arena
09/23 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
09/25 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
09/26 – Baltimore, MD @ CFG Bank Arena
09/28 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden
09/30 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
10/02 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
10/03 – Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena
10/05 – Miami, FL @ Kaseya Center
10/06 – Orlando, FL @ Kia Center
10/09 – Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
10/11 – Denver, CO @ Ball Arena
10/13 – Phoenix, AZ @ Footprint Center
10/15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum
10/18 – San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena
10/20 – San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center
10/22 – Portland, OR @ Moda Center
10/23 – Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
Charli XCX is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
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