Month: August 2024

Taylor Swift attracted countless celebrities to London’s famed Wembley Stadium during her three sold-out The Eras Tour shows in late June. Travis Kelce performed with Swift for the first time. Gracie Abrams and Swift debuted “Us,” their duet from Abrams’ The Secret Of Us. Swift could say, “So Long, London” knowing it could not have gone any better.

But this is Taylor Swift. And it is August, her unofficial month. So, of course, she’s going back to Wembley to close our her European and UK leg.

On Monday, August 5, Swift announced five new openers who will grace the stage in addition to Paramore, who have been opening throughout this leg for Swift.

“Just wanted to tell you about something coming up that I’ve been so excited about: We’re adding 5 incredible artists to our 5 Wembley shows, going on right before Paramore!!” Swift wrote on her Instagram Story. “I asked them to play on this tour because I love their music and think they’ll absolutely smash it in Wembley Stadium!! Go check out their music if you haven’t already. Gonna be a fun 5 nights!!!”

Swift then tagged Sofia Isella, Holly Humberstone, Suki Waterhouse, Maisie Peters, and Raye.

According to Swift’s official website, the opener schedule will go as follows:

Thursday, August 15: Paramore and Sofia Isella
Friday, August 16: Paramore and Holly Humberstone
Saturday, August 17: Paramore and Suki Waterhouse
Monday, August 19: Paramore and Maisie Peters
Tuesday, August 20: Paramore and Raye

Peters served as Uproxx’s July 2023 cover star, and she spoke about the integral role Swift played in her musical upbringing. When Swift announced her as an opener on Monday, Peters wrote on Instagram, “supporting taylor swift has been my dream since i was 12 years old and watched the love story music video for the first time. it is such an honour to be part of something so special and iconic and i already know im gonna have the time of my life :’) thank u dr @taylorswift . SCREAM !!!!!”

See all some of the openers’ reaction posts below.

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 Billie Eilish deliver a rare feature and Ice Spice extend the shelf life of her debut album. 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.

Charli XCX — “Guess Featuring Billie Eilish”

It happened: Charli XCX and Billie Eilish collaborated to bust out a club-ready remix of Brat track “Guess” and climb a mountain of undergarments for the accompanying video. And to think Eilish might have tried to get out of this collab.

Ice Spice — “Gyat”

Ice went light on the Y2K! bonus tracks, delivering just one: “Gyat.” The tune touches on the not-uncommon Ice Spice theme of having a big and desirable posterior, and it’s also not-uncommonly a catchy banger.

ASAP Rocky — “Highjack” Feat. Jessica Pratt

If you were making a list of who you thought Rocky might work with this year, Jessica Pratt likely wouldn’t have made the cut. It’s also not out of his wheelhouse, though, and Pratt is a natural fit on the atmospheric new song “Highjack.”

Big Sean — “On Up”

Sean’s first album since 2020’s Detroit 2 is dropping this month, but an even bigger thing in his life right now is family. He makes that clear with “On Up,” an ode to his son and all the lessons he hopes to impart.

Khalid — “Heatstroke”

The start of August isn’t a bad time to bust out a song called “Heatstroke,” and that’s just what Khalid did. Indeed, it’s a warm-sounding tune that’s perfectly peaceful and summery, despite its heavy subject matter of comparing romantic turbulence to global warming.

Polo G — “We Uh Shoot” Feat. Lil Durk

Days before Polo G unveils H.O.O.D. P.O.E.T., he showed off the Lil Durk collaboration “We Uh Shoot.” As Uproxx’s Aaron Williams notes of the two Chicago natives, “Both rap a lot about how their experiences shaped them — and yes, traumatized them — but also have more optimistic outlooks in their music than many of their Second City compatriots, many of whom went the other way and got downright nihilistic during the drill days.”

Jack White — “Old Scratch Blues”

Some Third Man Records shoppers were surprised last month when they were given a mysterious, unlabeled vinyl record. It turned out to be a new Jack White album, but now White has given up the secret and given the project a proper wide release. The way Uproxx’s Steven Hyden sees it, the project is a “genuine comeback.”

Suki Waterhouse — “Blackout Drunk”

Robert Pattinson “couldn’t really give a sh*t” that fiancée Suki Waterhouse is writing songs about her exes, as she recently revealed. That’s great because Waterhouse can have no reservations about dropping songs like “Blackout Drunk,” on which Waterhouse isn’t here for a less-than-stellar partner.

MJ Lenderman — “Joker Lips”

Wednesday’s MJ Lenderman is continuing his successful solo career with Manning Fireworks, a new album out soon. The album was previously described as featuring Lenderman and “the intersection of wit and sadness,” and as Uproxx’s Megan Armstrong notes, “Joker Lips” “might prove to be the Manning Fireworks thesis statement.”

Fousheé — “Still Around”

Former Uproxx cover star Fousheé is gearing up to drop her anticipated sophomore album Pointy Heights. Her latest tease of the project is “Still Around,” which is built on a strong rhythm section dynamically juxtaposed by the relatively chill activity level of the other instrumentation.

In July 2023, Adele was still staging her Weekends With Adele residency in Las Vegas, and she addressed the strange trend of fans throwing objects toward artists on stage while touting a handheld T-shirt cannon.

Over the weekend, Adele opened a short residency in Munich, Germany, and she brought an upgraded T-shirt cannon.

Fan-taken videos circulating on X (formerly Twitter) show Adele hilariously trying to operate a massive, rotating T-shirt cannon. She did so quite successfully — until the cannon appeared to malfunction, at which point she asked staff to throw shirts to the crowd. A woman of the people.

Adele announced these Munich shows in January.

“So a few months ago I got a call about a summer run of shows,” she wrote on Instagram at the time. “I’ve been content as anything with my shows in London’s Hyde Park and my residency in Vegas, so I hadn’t had any other plans.”

The all-world singer continued, “However, I was too curious to not follow up and indulge in this idea — a one off, bespoke pop-up stadium designed around whatever show I want to put on? Ohh!? Pretty much slap bang in the middle of Europe? In Munich? That’s a bit random, but still fabulous! Right after the Euros? Come on England! With the Olympics next door? Go on Simone! And some of my favourite artists playing shows too? Why…YES!! I haven’t played in Europe since 2016! I couldn’t think of a more wonderful way to spend my summer and end this beautiful phase of my life and career with shows closer to home during such an exciting summer. Guten Tag babes x.”

On Saturday, August 3, Adele paused her concert to repurpose her screens to show the women’s 100 meter final from the 2024 Paris Olympics in real time. The Munich Messe was “exclusively created for these special shows,” as per press release (and Variety), so Adele can do whatever she wants with it.

Adele’s remaining Munich dates are August 9, 10, 14, 16, 23, and 24.

The final half-season of Yellowstone doesn’t premiere until November, but the show’s cast is already saying farewell to Dutton Ranch.

Wendy Moniz, who plays Governor Lynelle Perry on Taylor Sheridan’s Paramount Network mega-hit, recently filmed her final scene for the show and commemorated the occasion in an Instagram post. “Series wrap for me on Yellowstone and been having alllll the feels; sentimental, proud, grateful to name a few. What a beautiful experience I’ve had here; just incredibly fortunate to have worked with so many talented, dedicated, and kind people since 2017,” she wrote. “There’s been a lot to reflect on, because this place, with the exceptional people who make it live and breathe, has often felt like a home away from home over these last 7 years.”

Moniz also shared some of her favorite photos from her time on Yellowstone, which you can see here.

Yellowstone wraps up its, let’s say, dramatic five-season run beginning on November 10 of this year, but don’t worry, there’s plenty more Yellowstone-related shows to come. 1923 (the one with Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren) season 2 is currently filming, and it was reported that 2024 has a new title (The Madison) and a star-studded cast, including Michelle Pfeiffer, Kurt Russell, and Patrick J. Adams, but not Matthew McConaughey.

The Sun recently published a report claiming that Cardi B is millions of dollars behind on mortgage payments and is otherwise in poor financial health. Well, Cardi wasn’t going to just sit there and let those claims go unchecked, so she hopped on X (formerly Twitter) and said her peace.

As HipHopDX notes, in a now-deleted tweet, Cardi wrote:

“First of all, The Sun is posting rumors that y’all are making up and sending blind items about… that’s why it’s NO DOCUMENTS, just word of mouth. Everybody gets a loan to buy a house and I never been behind on any of them.. i bought my house in 2021 and put almost 12 million in it now look how much I got left. I’m very responsible with money, my bills come before luxury and I just spent 400 thousand on jewelry this month because I also still know how to BUDGET… stop playin wit me.”

The tweet also included screenshots of a text conversation with somebody who seems to be Cardi’s manager or publicist, who writes about Cardi’s healthy financial status and their intent to get The Sun to take down their article. The article in question does appear to now be unavailable.

This is the greatest and best cover song in the world… tribute.

During the acoustic portion of a Foo Fighters show at Empower Field in Denver, Colorado, over the weekend, Dave Grohl performed a surprise cover of “Tribute” by Tenacious D. Although, does it count as a cover when Grohl is on the original album track? “I only played the drums on that song,” he joked to the crowd. Grohl also memorably played Satan (or “Beelzeboss”) in the song’s music video and the movie Tenacious D In The Pick Of Destiny.

You can watch a video of the performance above.

The cover comes weeks after Tenacious D, led by “two kings” Jack Black and Kyle Gass, found themselves in the middle of a controversy when Gass made a joke about the assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump. “I was blindsided by what was said at the show on Sunday. I would never condone hate speech or encourage political violence in any form,” Black wrote on Instagram. “After much reflection, I no longer feel it is appropriate to continue the Tenacious D tour, and all future creative plans are on hold. I am grateful to the fans for their support and understanding.”

Gass expressed regret for his comment, writing, “What happened was a tragedy, and I’m incredibly sorry for my severe lack of judgement,” although the apology has since been deleted.

Believe it or not, Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign actually released their long-awaited album Vultures 2. One track that’s generating some attention is “Lifestyle,” which sees Lil Wayne addressing Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.

On his opening verse, Wayne raps, “I twist my Taylor spliffs tight at the end like Travis Kelce.”

It didn’t take long for Swift to deliver what some have interpreted as a response to the line. She performed in Warsaw, Poland hours after the song was released, and at one point, she wore a t-shirt that says “I Bet You Think About Me.”

As Page Six notes, it’s a shirt Swift has worn on stage before, but some fans believe her choosing to wear it at that show wasn’t a coincidence.

One fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “She’s so funny for wearing the I bet you think about me shirt after Ka*ye name dropped her and Travis in his song an actual comedian.” Another said, “[When I] saw the k*nye thing a little bit ago and I knew she was gonna wear it lmao.”

In late 2023, Swift addressed her infamous phone call with Ye, calling it a “fully manufactured frame job.” Months later, Ye wrote on social media, “I’m sure I’ve been far more helpful to Taylor Swift’s career than harmful.”

Aside from the athletes, no one has had a better Olympics than Snoop Dogg, as he has been everywhere in Paris, serving as an NBC correspondent and Team USA superfan. Fans have loved getting to see Snoop’s various side quests during the Olympics, as he’s carried the torch, popped up at seemingly every event, hung out with Cookie Monster, toured the Louvre, and looked like he’s had a blast doing it all.

Over the weekend, Snoop joined his friend Martha Stewart at the dressage competition, where he got to take in the horse dancing that caused him to go viral back in 2021 when he lost his mind on his highlights show with Kevin Hart watching what he called “horse crip walking.” This time around, Snoop wasn’t going to miss a chance to see it in person, and on Sunday night he and Martha joined Mike Tirico in the NBC studio to talk about their trip out to the dressage competition. However, NBC had a surprise for Snoop, as they had video of a horse from Poland that did their routine to his song “Gin & Juice”, which led to an impromptu freestyle from the Doggfather.

As Snoop explained, after going with Martha he gained a real appreciation for the dressage competition and the way the horse and the “driver”, as he called them, are so in sync. There’s still no word if Snoop will be able to get one of the horses in a music video, but having one perform to one of his songs is pretty close.

Kali Uchis has being enjoying mommy life alongside her partner and fellow musician Don Toliver. Back in March, the couple welcomed their baby boy into the world.

In June, Kali Uchis treated supporters to “Never Be Yours,” an oldie but goodie from the vault. But next week, the “Labios Mordido” singer is set to drop a new full musical offering. On Instagram, Kali Uchis announced her next album, Orquídeas Parte 2, along with its official release date.

“Orquídeas Parte 2 next Friday 8/9 ,” she wrote.

The forthcoming body of work is the follow-up to Kali Uchis’ critically acclaimed, album Orquídeas, that hit streaming platforms in January.

The second half of the post’s caption provided a nugget of information about what fans should expect. “Young, Rich & In Love – The Kaytranada version,” she wrote. In the clip, followers got a taste of the infectious remix.

But don’t for a second think Orquídeas Parte 2 is just a bunch of electronic round-ups of past releases. In the comment section, fans asked for clarity about the upcoming project’s sound.

“Wait, is this gonna be various remixes or just this song,” asked a follower.

“This remix and some brand-new songs, hunny,” replied Kali Uchis.

Orquídeas Parte 2 is out 8/9 via Geffen. Find more information here.

A new camera developed at MIT can photograph a trillion frames per second.

Compare that with a traditional movie camera which takes a mere 24. This new advancement in photographic technology has given scientists the ability to photograph the movement of the fastest thing in the Universe, light.

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The actual event occurred in a nano second, but the camera has the ability to slow it down to twenty seconds.

For some perspective, according to New York Times writer, John Markoff, “If a bullet were tracked in the same fashion moving through the same fluid, the resulting movie would last three years.”

In the video below, you’ll see experimental footage of light photons traveling 600-million-miles-per-hour through water.

It’s impossible to directly record light so the camera takes millions of scans to recreate each image. The process has been called femto-photography and according to Andrea Velten, a researcher involved with the project, “There’s nothing in the universe that looks fast to this camera.”

(H/T Curiosity)

This article originally appeared on 09.08.17