Month: September 2024

If you’re reading this, Wheel of Fortune contestant Vivian Tran, please know that you have our deepest sympathies.

During Monday’s episode of the game show, now hosted by Ryan Seacrest with newly-paid Vanna White, Tran made it all the way to the bonus round. The category was “What Are You Doing?” and she chose the letters C, H, M, I and P, along with the gimmes R, S, T, L, N, and E. The board read “_ _ _ E R I N G S _ M E HELP.” Tran fired off a number of guesses, including “Wondering Some Help,” “Answering Some Help,” and “Finding Some Help.” She got two of the three words right, but not the full correct answer: “Offering Some Help.” Ouch.

How much would Tran have won? $1 million (fun fact: the last non-celebrity to win $1 million on Wheel of Fortune was 10 years ago this week, on September 17, 2014). However, according to The New York Post, “Despite missing out on the grand prize, she was in good spirits as she managed to walk away with $27,300 and a trip to Europe.” Still, Tran was (understandably!) disappointed that she couldn’t land the correct answer, as seen here.

Forget offering help. Get Danny DeVito to offer her a nice egg in this trying time. You can watch a clip from the episode here.

(Via The New York Post)

If Jenna Ortega needs a new Wednesday Addams dance for season 2, maybe she can ask Chappell Roan for help.

The Wednesday star took time off from filming season two of the hit Netflix series to attend Roan’s concert in Dublin, Ireland this week. Also in attendance was Ortega’s co-star Emma Myers, who plays Enid Sinclair. In fan-shot videos, Ortega can be seen conversing with Myers, enjoying a glass of wine, and doing the “Hot To Go!” dance, as seen here and here.

Roan wrote “Hot To Go!” so she could “live out my cheerleader fantasy!” she explained. “I just wanted to make something simple and silly that I could do with the audience because I’m a huge fan of audience participation. Also, selfishly (and shamelessly) I wanted to bounce around on stage singing a song about being hot.” Roan also said she was inspired by one of Queen’s many hits. “I saw a Queen video where they’re singing ‘Radio Ga Ga’ at [Wembley Stadium] and the whole crowd was doing this thing,” she shared to Teen Vogue. “I was like, how do I make the crowd do that?”

That was in 2023. A year later, the star of the biggest movie in the country is doing her dance.

Throwback R&B girl group FLO is just two months from the release of their debut album, Access All Areas, and are currently building awareness as openers on Kehlani’s Crash World Tour. While they don’t have a tremendous collection of hits to perform just yet, they’re hitting all the right notes, with a setlist that includes fan favorites such as their breakout hit, “Cardboard Box,” “Summertime,” “Fly Girl” “Walk Like This,” and the ATL bass revival “Check.” You can check out their full setlist below, courtesy of setlist.fm.

FLO 2024 Tour Setlist

01. “Cardboard Box”
02. “Immature”
03. “Summertime”
04. “Fly Girl”
05. “Caught Up”
06. “Walk Like This”
07. “Losing You”
08. “Check”

FLO and Kehlani 2024 Tour Dates

09/18 — Fairfax, VA @ EagleBank Arena
09/20 — Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center
09/21 — Portsmouth, VA @ Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion
09/23 — Louisville, KY @ The Louisville Palace Theatre
09/24 — Atlanta, GA @ Lakewood Amphitheatre
09/25 — New Orleans, LA @ The Fillmore New Orleans
09/27 — Miami, FL @ FPL Solar Amphitheater at Bayfront Park
09/28 — Tampa, FL @ Yuengling Center
10/01 — Raleigh, NC @ Red Hat Amphitheater
10/02 — Charlotte, NC @ Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre
10/08 — Houston, TX @ 713 Music Hall
10/11 — Dallas, TX @ The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
10/12 — Rogers, AR @ Walmart AMP
10/15 — Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
10/16 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Rockwell at The Complex
10/18 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
10/19 — Portland, OR @ Theater of the Clouds
10/21 — Vancouver, BC @ Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre
10/23 — Wheatland, CA @ Hard Rock Live
10/25 — San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena
10/26 — Las Vegas, NV @ Michelob ULTRA Arena
10/29 — Phoenix, AZ @ Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
10/30 — Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum
11/02 — San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center

Back in 2019, Florence Pugh was still a newbie in Hollywood with a promising career, so of course her love life was of interest to tabloids. She famously began dating Zach Braff when he was 45 and she was 24, and the age gap led to scrutiny from fans online. The relationship lasted roughly three years before they called it quits, and the experience has affected how Pugh now approaches relationships.

In a new interview with British Vogue, Pugh explained why she would try to defend her relationship with Braff, who is 21 years her senior. “Mine and Zach’s relationship was actually quite private until it was nasty, and I could see the toll that it was taking on him and us and our families. And that’s when I spoke out,” Pugh said, referring to how she came to Braff’s defense online.

She continued, “I think for anyone I’m with, I want to protect them. It’s not nice knowing that people are saying the worst things I’ve ever read about someone that I love. So that was necessary. I needed to talk about it. I think any relationship in this limelight is going to be stressed.” And after she was spotted with Will Poulter in 2022, she promptly shot down rumors there, too.

Now, Pugh doesn’t want to put a spotlight on her relationships. She confirms that she is dating someone new, and while she has been spotted with Peaky Blinders actor Finn Cole, she did not reveal who her new partner is. “We are figuring what we actually are,” she revealed. “And I think for the first time, I’m not allowing myself to go on a roller-coaster. I’m allowing myself to take time to let something evolve and let it be completely real to its core, as opposed to racing into that.”

Pugh soon stars in a different dramatic (but fictional) love story alongside Andrew Garfield and a weird looking horse in We Live In Time. The movie will get a limited U.S. release on October 11th.

(Via British Vogue)

This Friday, Future releases his third album of the year(!), Mixtape Pluto, following We Don’t Trust You and We Still Don’t Trust You with Metro Boomin earlier this year. With their tour for the diptych wrapping up this month, Future has turned his attention to his latest solo effort, with which he apparently vows to return to his mid-2010s heyday of fast-paced releases of ruthless trap rap. See below for all the information you’ll need about Mixtape Pluto.

Release Date:

Mixtape Pluto is due on September 20 via Freebandz. You can find more info here.

Tracklist:

Future revealed the tracklist earlier this week without features, which could mean he’s going to do the heavy lifting himself, or surprise listeners with the guest appearances that will assist him.

01. “Teflon Don”
02. “Lil Demon”
03. “Ski”
04. “Ready To Cook Up”
05. “Plutoski”
06. “Too Fast”
07. “Ocean”
08. “Press The Button”
09. “MJ”
10. “Brazzier”
11. “South Of France”
12. “Surfing A Tsunami”
13. “Made My Hoe Faint”
14. “Told My”
15. “Oath”
16. “Lost My Dog”
17. “Aye Say Gang”

Features:

As mentioned above, Future hasn’t revealed any potential features, but Travis Scott is rumored to be on “South Of France.”

Singles:

Unlike the rollout for his albums with Metro, Future has not released any singles ahead of Mixtape Pluto.

Artwork:

Tour:

With his tour with Metro ending earlier this month, Future probably isn’t going back on the road right away… but considering the work ethic he’s shown this year, don’t be surprised if he announces dates as early as spring 2025.

The WNBA is in the midst of an aggressive period of growth, as the league has sky-rocketed in popularity and is looking to capture the excitement for women’s basketball around the country by expanding their footprint. Two expansion teams have already been announced in the last year, as the Golden State Valkyries will join the league in 2025, while Toronto will add a team in 2026 (name TBA).

The league has been pretty clear in its goal to expand, but to do so in markets (at least initially) that already have the infrastructure for professional basketball. As such, it comes as little surprise that the 15th team in the league will be coming to Portland in 2026, joining the same year as Toronto’s new franchise. The WNBA officially announced the news on Wednesday, releasing statements from commissioner Cathy Engelbert and the new ownership group of RAJ Sports, led by Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal.

“As the WNBA builds on a season of unprecedented growth, bringing a team back to Portland is another important step forward,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “Portland has been an epicenter of the women’s sports movement and is home to a passionate community of basketball fans. Pairing this energy with the Bhathal family’s vision of leading top-flight professional sports teams will ensure that we deliver a premier WNBA team to the greater Portland area.”

“For decades, Portland has been the global epicenter of sports lifestyle and today, we are now the global epicenter of women’s sports,” said Lisa Bhathal Merage. “We believe in the transformative power of women’s sports and are thrilled that the W will call Portland home. We know that Portland’s vibrant and diverse communities will highly support and rally around this team. Our goal is to grow this organization in partnership with the Portland community and we look forward to supporting the best women’s basketball players in the world when they take the floor at the Moda Center in 2026.”

Portland previously had a WNBA team from 2000 to 2002, the Portland Fire, and it’s not clear if the new franchise will look to bring back the Fire name or rebrand completely. The return of the WNBA to Portland was expected to happen last year after Golden State got its team, but there were some apparent hiccups in the process that took an extra year to get the deal finalized.

The league’s expansion from 12 teams to 15 over the next two years is exciting, but it also means some considerable change is coming across the WNBA. With three teams needing to fill out rosters, the impending expansion drafts will be fascinating to watch, as will free agency as most players have structured contracts to end in 2025 due to the potential for a new CBA.

While some in hip-hop were adamant that Lil Wayne should perform at the Super Bowl Halftime Show in New Orleans next year, Snoop Dogg — who actually did perform in LA in 2022 — was more measured in his response to the controversy over the NFL booking Kendrick Lamar instead. Appearing on Nightcap with hosts Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson, Snoop addressed fans’ concerns while offering up a perspective some might not have considered.

“I don’t really have no opinion,” he said. “But what I do wanna say is that, just remember where the NFL was 15 years ago when it comes to hip-hop. How many hip-hop artists was able to grace that stage 15 years ago? So, I understand both sides of the coin and I understand how people feel.”

However, he acknowledged his own performance two years ago, noting, “I didn’t do any Snoop Dogg songs. I was up there helping Dr. Dre and it became a great moment for all of us.” Then, he reminded viewers that “it’s a 12-13-minute performance and you’re not getting paid. It’s more or less you have to spend money to upgrade your show to make it mass appealing for the audience that’s home watching.”

And that, more than anything, might be the reason for Kendrick’s selection over Wayne. Totally separate from the conversations we’ve already discussed here and here, what are the odds Wayne — who spent 15 years fighting Birdman for the rights and royalties to his music — would have the budget for a Super Bowl-level show? We’ve seen Kendrick do it time and time again, whether on tour for Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers or on the Grammy stage.

While it would have been cool for the local act to get some shine in his hometown, the fact is, the show isn’t about the venue — it’s about keeping 100 million people from changing the channel between halves of The Big Game (true story; the Super Bowl Halftime in its current incarnation is the result of a ratings war with In Living Color). Those brands pay a lot of money for those Super Bowl ads, and they want people to see ’em. If the NFL feels that’s more likely with a contemporary superstar like Kendrick than a cult favorite like Wayne, then that’s just how it’s going to be.

Basketball fans are going to have to get used to a major change, as there will be no more Woj Bombs going forward. On Wednesday morning, ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski announced that he will leave the network and retire from the news industry altogether, as he posted a statement onto his Twitter account indicating that his time reporting on the league has come to an end.

“This craft transformed my life, but I’ve decided to retire from ESPN and the news industry,” Wojnarowski wrote. “I understand the commitment required in my role and it’s an investment that I’m no longer driven to make. Time isn’t in endless supply and I want to spend mine in ways that are more personally meaningful.”

Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reported that Woj told his bosses at ESPN this morning, and they were surprised by his move. Wojnarowski, who turned 55 earlier this year, already has his next move lined up. In a bit of news that Woj told Pete Thamel of ESPN, he’s heading back to his alma mater, as Wojnarowski will take over as the general manager for the men’s basketball program at St. Bonaventure.

“It is a thrill of a lifetime to be able to return to a university and community that I love in a role of service to our student-athletes, coaches and institution,” Wojnarowski said, according to ESPN. “I am hopeful that I can bring value in a lot of areas to our basketball program and open doors for our young men’s futures in ways both professionally and personally.”

Wojnarowski has been the NBA’s most prominent newsbreaker for nearly two decades, as he joined Yahoo in 2007 before becoming ESPN’s top NBA reporter in 2017.

In July, Haley Heynderickx dropped “Seed Of A Seed,” which was her first new song in years. As suspected, the tune was a tease of more to come: Today (September 18), Heynderickx has announced a new album, also called Seed Of A Seed, and shared a video for the new song “Foxglove.”

In a statement, Heynderickx says of the new song, “‘Foxglove’ is my daydream tune craving a slower and simpler pace of life. Sometimes it all feels so far away — living in a city being so removed from a life entwined with nature.”

A press release notes the new album features “Heynderickx’s signature intricate finger-picking” and “a lush tapestry of sound that makes you feel like you’re enveloped in something bigger.” Thematically, the release notes the album “explores how distant we can feel from nature and ourselves in a world of technology, overconsumption, and consumerism.”

Watch the “Foxglove” video above and find Heynderickx’s upcoming tour dates below.

Haley Heynderickx’s 2024 Tour Dates

09/22 — Sisters, OR @ The Belfry
09/23 — Boise, ID @ Shrine Social Club
09/24 — Salt Lake City, UT @ The State Room
09/25 — Salt Lake City, UT @ The State Room
09/27 — Fort Collins, CO @ Washington’s
09/28 — Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater
09/29 — Boulder, CO @ eTown Music Hall
10/01 — Albuquerque, NM @ KiMo Theatre
10/03 — San Diego, CA @ Lou Lou’s
10/04 — Los Angeles, CA @ Aratani Theatre
10/05 — San Francisco,CA @ Hardly Strictly Bluegrass
10/06 — Menlo Park, CA @ The Guild Theatre
10/08 — Sacramento, CA @ Sofia Theatre
10/11 — Seattle, WA @ St. Mark’s Cathedral
10/18 — Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater
10/19 — Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater
11/08 — St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
11/09 — Milwaukee, WI @ Vivarium
11/10 — Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
11/11 — Lakewood, OH @ The Roxy
11/13 — Albany, NY @ The Egg
11/14 — Somerville, MA @ Somerville Theatre
11/15 — Philadelphia, PA @ Music Hall at World Cafe Live
11/16 — Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
11/17 — Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

Seed Of A Seed is out 11/1 via Mama Bird Recording Co. Find more information here.

King of chaos Robert Pattinson is back with another weird voice.

Last year, it was Studio Ghibli masterpiece The Boy and The Heron as the titular heron, who sounds like Willem DaFoe after finishing a pack of smokes. Pattinson debuted his new goofy voice in the trailer for Mickey 17, director Bong Joon-ho’s follow-up to Best Picture and Palme d’Or winner Parasite.

As Mickey Barnes, an “expendable” who dies again and again to supposedly move humanity forward, Pattinson went with a voice that’s somewhere between Joe Pantoliano and guy begging for his life in a mob movie. Chris Pratt as Mario and Garfield, this ain’t, and everyone loves him for it.

“Robert Pattinson doing another freaky little voice. We won,” one X user wrote, while another added, “pattinson is just an all time great. so many other actors would just do a normal american guy voice but not this dude. elevates the material.” He’s been compared to Porky Pig, Joe Pera, and nerd Bart Simpson.

Pattinson doing a freaky voice? Now that’s a good time. Here’s more on Mickey 17:

From the Academy Award-winning writer/director of Parasite, Bong Joon Ho, comes his next groundbreaking cinematic experience, Mickey 17. The unlikely hero, Mickey Barnes has found himself in the extraordinary circumstance of working for an employer who demands the ultimate commitment to the job… to die, for a living.

Mickey 17 comes out on January 31, 2025.