Year: 2024

A new Dua Lipa album is perhaps the poppiest punctuation imaginable to any week, and for the first time since March 2020, we got that exclamation mark. But plenty of other artists held their own. WILLOW released Empathogen, the most significant artistic statement of her career, and Gracie Abrams set the bar high for her forthcoming sophomore album, The Secret Of Us, with “Risk,” a perfectly uninhibited pop song. Meanwhile, Sam Tompkins hopped off tour with The Kid Laroi and dropped a tear-jerker, and Imagine Dragons recruited J Balvin for an “Eyes Closed” upgrade.

Check out the rest of Uproxx’s Best New Pop Music roundup below.

Dua Lipa — “End Of An Era”

As far as album openers go, Dua Lipa did well with “End Of An Era.” Dazzling, psychedelic soundscapes sustain Radical Optimism, and it starts with “End Of An Era.” Lipa chronicles the beginnings of a relationship by acknowledging her “hopelessly romantic” tendencies, but that “makes me an optimist, I guess.” She has a choice: Doom it from the start or open herself up to the possibility that it “could be forever.” Best wishes to Dua and Callum Turner.

Gracie Abrams — “Risk”

“Risk” is the first single from Gracie Abrams’ forthcoming sophomore studio album, The Secret Of Us. The song is pure catharsis — melodically capturing the frenetic, impulsive emotional surge when consumed by a crush. Abrams co-wrote “Risk” with her best friend, Audrey Hobert, who also directed the video. You can tell “Risk” is a song co-written by two best friends because it sounds like eavesdropping on two love-drunk best friends venting on the couch, which might be the ultimate compliment.

WILLOW — “Run!”

WILLOW sat down with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe and opened up about her attempt to “separate that need for validation” around her brand-new Empathogen album. “The music industry kind of pushes artists to be in that state where it’s like, ‘Well, maybe I should dye my hair because people are liking this color now, or maybe I should wear [these] kind of clothes because people like that now. It’s like, what people really want is to see you. That’s it.”

WILLOW lets people see her throughout Empathogen. Her transparency is especially vivid in “Run!” because she takes listeners into her intrusive rumination: “No, I can’t get out / This pattern, it’s maddening / Making a tragedy happen that’s not even real.”

Sam Tompkins — “Numb (Live From The Champ)”

Dynamic UK singer-songwriter Sam Tompkins is gearing up to release his debut studio album, Hi, My Name Is Insecure on July 26. The release date was pushed to allow for Tompkins to continue grieving his father, who died by suicide last November. “Numb,” Tompkins’ April single, was already potent enough to induce tears, but this week’s “Numb (Live From The Champ)” video is particularly poignant because it shows Tompkins performing the song as a stripped-back piano ballad at his father’s pub.

“Numb” encapsulates Tompkins’ one-two punch. His distinctive voice is evocative by itself, but when paired with lyrics that are equal parts dense and delicate, he’ll stop you in your tracks every time.

Nicholas Galitzine — “The Idea Of You (Acoustic Version)”

Some people win the genetic lottery, and two of those people were cast as opposing leads for The Idea Of You, the romantic Amazon Prime Video movie adaptation of Robinne Lee’s novel of the same name. Anne Hathaway is the moment, which we have known since she was Mia Thermopolis, but The Idea Of You solidifies Nicholas Galitzine as a true triple threat. Not only does he act like that (and look like that), but he can also sing like that.

The Idea Of You chronicles the unlikely love story between Hathaway’s Solène, a 40-year-old mother and art dealer, and Galitzine’s Hayes Campbell, a world-famous member of the fictitious boy band August Moon. The movie’s original soundtrack feels like a legitimate August Moon album full of pop bangers, which was the point, but Galitzine’s “The Idea Of You” stands out because who among us can’t relate to relying on the idea of Anne Hathaway to get through life? I need someone more technologically savvy than I am to edit an August Moon song over the below January 2023 clip of Hathaway dancing.

Imagine Dragons Feat. J Balvin — “Eyes Closed”

Imagine Dragons first dropped “Eyes Closed” in early April. Then, the Dan Reynolds-led pop-rock band released an acoustic version, and now, they’ve unleashed “Eyes Closed” featuring J Balvin. And “unleashed” is absolutely the appropriate verb here. I don’t know about you, but I can’t recall a time when J Balvin rapping in Spanish made something worse.

Quinn XCII Feat. KYLE — “Cruel Love”

Quinn XCII released his five-track EP Breakfast alongside the tweet, “This year you’ll be getting some of my favorite music I’ve ever made so chew slowly.” The Breakfast track “Cruel Love” featuring KYLE fits the bill. Quinn XCII’s signature upbeat melodies plus KYLE’s signature conversational flow equals groovy hypnosis. You’ll be vibing so much that you will completely forget that they’re singing about betrayal.

Kane Brown, Marshmello — “Miles On It”

Kane Brown and Marshmello? Sure, why not! Marshmello infuses Brown’s country-adjacent tone with dance-pop beats to make the summer-ready “Miles On It,” which indulges a metaphor that elicits the sort of clumsy romance everyone needs to experience at least once: “Put some miles on it / Back of the Chevy with the engine running / Just you and me in a truck bed wide like a California King / We could break it in / If you know what I mean / Put some miles on it.”

NIKI — “Too Much Of A Good Thing”

“We could be too much of a good thing,” NIKI sings in the funky, silky song “Too Much Of A Good Thing” ahead of her forthcoming Buzz album, “but isn’t that a real good thing? / Oh baby, look me in the eye and say you don’t got it bad.” NIKI said in a statement that the song is “about that initial anticipation we all know and love where there’s a little extra pep in your step, and “Too Much Of A Good Thing” only generates more anticipation to hear the rest of Buzz.

Dayglow — “Every Little Thing I Say I Do”

“‘Every Little Thing I Say I Do’ is a song where I’m poking fun at my perfectionism and my desire for control,” indie-pop standout Dayglow said in a statement. “It’s a pretty ridiculous claim — that I not only do everything perfectly, but also for your benefit — but that’s the point.”

His elevated sense of self-awareness is illustrated in his self-directed video, in which his features are creatively exaggerated and obnoxiously imperfect. Dayglow also described the song as “pretty damn catchy,” which is probably what I should have written and left it at that.

The Minnesota Timberwolves took it to the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. Despite Rudy Gobert missing the game, the Wolves walked into Denver and put the clamps on the defending champions, as the best defense in the NBA flexed its muscles en route to a 106-80 win that put them in total control of the series as it shifts to Minnesota.

Seeing the Nuggets get punched in the mouth like this really resonated with Charles Barkley, who discussed the state of the series on Inside the NBA. Barkley, as it turns out, is so impressed with the Timberwolves that he predicts they’ll go on to win Games 3 and 4 on their way to a sweep.

“This series is a wrap,” Barkley said. “Minnesota is better than the Nuggets. No disrespect, they don’t have an advantage, the MVP is getting outplayed. They don’t have an advantage anywhere. Jamal Murray, I think he’s still hurt a little bit, but other than that, they don’t have an advantage anywhere. This series is a wrap, the Minnesota Timberwolves — you know, I said before the season I didn’t believe in them. They have changed my mind 100 percent. They are going to win this series, I don’t know who they’re gonna play in the other series, could be very entertaining.

“But man, they are for real,” Barkley continued. “They have that guy. If you have that guy, and that Bulldog, he might well be a damn wolf. Because he ain’t messing around. He’s like, ‘Boys, y’all come on and follow me.’ And the other guys are following him.”

Barkley then went on to discuss Nikola Jokic, who struggled from the field and had eight assists to four turnovers in Game 2. While he knows that Jokic is great, Barkley said that the Timberwolves are making life hard for him, even without Gobert, saying, “you know how rough it’s gonna be going to Minnesota against those two guys?”

“You never thought that Denver was gonna win that game tonight,” Barkley said. “The Minnesota Timberwolves are for real. They’re gonna sweep the Denver Nuggets, period.”

Tom Brady, otherwise known as “Eli Manning’s bitch,” was a good sport during his celebrity roast over the weekend — with one exception. The former MVP-winning quarterback nearly played the part of Will Smith to Jeff Ross’ Chris Rock following a massage joke about New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. “Don’t say that sh*t again,” he warned the comedian.

Celebrity roaster Nikki Glaser confirmed Brady’s reaction was legit.

“I believe that was for real,” she told host Howard Stern on Monday’s episode of The Howard Stern Show, according to The Wrap. “Robert Kraft was not a confirmed guest to be there. I didn’t know he was going to be there until I was there. And I knew everyone else. I was like, ‘Oh my god, Robert Kraft’s here?’ Because I think there was a vibe that Robert Kraft is kind of like a dad figure to Tom, he doesn’t want to sit here and listen to all these jokes about him, so maybe he wouldn’t show. And so I was surprised when Jeff made that joke, but I do think that Tom actually was looking out for him.”

Glaser also shared a joke that she left out of her set. “We just decided not to involve his kids too much in anything because they didn’t ask for that,” she revealed. “So I couldn’t say, ‘Tom I hope we make out at the afterparty – you can pretend I’m your son.’”

Only the Minions are brave enough to speak the truth.

You can watch Nikki Glaser on The Howard Stern Show above.

(Via The Wrap)

A shooting near Drake’s Toronto mansion has left one man injured, CBC reports. Police have since taped off Drake’s property.

As an X (formerly Twitter) post from Toronto police notes, the shooting took place at 2:09 a.m. on May 7, in the Bridle Path neighborhood near the corner of Bayview Avenue and Lawrence Avenue E. A suspect of an unknown description fled the scene in a vehicle. A man was transported to a hospital with “serious injuries.”

Local news channel CityNews Toronto reported that the person injured in the shooting is not Drake.

CityNews also reported the person’s injuries are “not considered life-threatening.”

Toronto’s CP24 reported at 8:31 ET this morning that there was a “large police presence” outside of Drake’s home, and also noted that it’s currently unclear if the investigation outside of Drake’s property is connected to the shooting.

This news arrives amid Drake’s ongoing beef with Kendrick Lamar; Lamar released the diss track “Not Like Us” on May 4 and used an aerial photo of Drake’s home, the same one near which today’s shooting occurred, on the cover art. On May 5, Drake released the latest song in the beef, “The Heart Part 6.”

There is currently no evidence indicating that the shooting is related to the feud.

The Met Gala annually brings out the best looks and creativity the fashion world has to offer, and given that Doja Cat is Doja Cat, she leaned into the creativity element of the whole thing at yesterday’s event. This year’s theme was “The Garden Of Time,” and Doja showed up in a white t-shirt dress that appeared to be soaking wet, and as a result was largely see-through (making the videos below at least slightly NSFW).

While the connection between Doja’s outfit and the Met Gala theme may not be immediately evident, she explained in an Entertainment Tonight interview. She said, “I know that people are going to do flowers, but my flower of choice is the most-used flower, and it’s cotton. And so I wanted to do a white t-shirt, also because a white t-shirt is timeless and it felt very poetic to choose this, and I knew it wasn’t going to blend in too much and I don’t really like to blend in.”

As for how she achieved the wet look, Doja initially said it was water before conceding (“I’m not supposed to give the secret,” she said) that she used hair gel to maintain the saturated appearance.

Check out the interview and another video of her outfit below.

George Miller, you’ve done it again.

The first reactions to Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga have arrived, and based on the early buzz, it sounds like another action-packed triumph from the director of Mad Max: Fury Road, Babe, and Happy Feet (what a wild filmography). The praise for the “epic” is equally spread among Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth‘s performances, the explosive set pieces, and Miller’s direction.

Indiewire‘s David Ehrlich tweeted, “brings me great joy to report that Furiosa is really, *really* fucking good. operates in an extremely different gear than Fury Road (in ways that i suspect will frustrate some people), but also manages to make that movie even richer while carving its own legend in the wasteland.”

Fandango‘s Erik Davis added, “George Miller’s #Furiosa is powerhouse action filmmaking at its absolute best! A ferocious & relentlessly paced epic that expands the story of Furiosa and the Wasteland while delivering the craziest chases, the most bombastic characters & just plain stunning cinematography.”

Or as New York Film Critics Circle member Esther Zuckerman put it, “Well, I saw Furiosa tonight and it was great.”

Here’s more thoughts on Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Here’s the official synopsis for Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga:

As the world fell, young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of a great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus. Sweeping through the Wasteland, they come across the Citadel presided over by The Immortan Joe. While the two Tyrants war for dominance, Furiosa must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga rides eternal into theaters on May 24.

In case you missed it, for weeks now, there have been pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University, and they have taken over to the point that the school’s main commencement ceremony was just canceled. Macklemore is now showing support for these protestors with a new song, “Hind’s Hall.” The song is titled after the new name protesters have given the school’s Hamilton Hall, in honor of a 6-year-old girl who died in Gaza.

The track starts with a direct backing of the protestors as Macklemore raps, “Yeah, the people, they won’t leave / What is threatening about divesting and wanting peace? / The problem isn’t the protests, it’s what they’re protesting / It goes against what our country is funding.”

He also goes after President Joe Biden, rapping, “The blood is on your hands, Biden, we can see it all / And f*ck no, I’m not voting for you in the fall.”

Macklemore later nods to the ongoing Drake/Kendrick Lamar feud, saying, “What happened to the artist? What do you got to say? / If I was on a label, you could drop me today / I’d be fine with it ’cause the heart fed my page / I want a ceasefire, f*ck a response from Drake.”

This isn’t Macklemore’s first time speaking up about Palestine: At a November 2023 rally, he said, “They told me to be quiet. They told me to do my research, to go back, that it’s too complex to say something, right? To be silent in this moment. In the last three weeks, I’ve gone back, and I’ve done some research. […] I’m teachable. I don’t know enough. But I know enough that this is a genocide.”

Listen to “Hind’s Hall” above.

Despite the fact that Rudy Gobert was not with the team to celebrate the birth of his first child, the Minnesota Timberwolves used Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals to grind the defending champions to dust. Minnesota took on the Denver Nuggets, which looked to tie the series up at one game each after the Wolves stunned them in Game 1. But instead, we were treated to one of the most impressive efforts that we’ve seen all season by Minnesota, and as a result, the Timberwolves took a 2-0 series lead with an emphatic, 106-80 win.

The first quarter was a duel between a pair of frontcourt players: Karl-Anthony Towns and Aaron Gordon. Gordon led all scorers with 13 points, but Towns was not far behind with 11. And unfortunately for Gordon, the rest of his teammates were just a bit off — the rest of the Nuggets shot 3-for-12 from the field in the first, while Nikola Jokic had three turnovers in the frame. As such, Minnesota took a 28-20 lead into the second quarter.

And then, in the second quarter, the Timberwolves played one of the most impressive quarters that any team has played all postseason. They outscored the defending champs by a 33-15 margin, and showed off defensive highs that no other team in the league can reach.

The lead got up to as many as 28 points, and ultimately, Minnesota was able to take a 61-35 lead into the locker room at the half. Towns’ 20 points and Edwards’ 16 points led the way, while the team tore up Denver’s defense, as they shot 22-for-44 (54.5 percent) from the field and 7-for-17 (41.2 percent) from three. As for Denver, Gordon had 15 points, making him the only player to hit double-digits. It was all ugly going up against the Wolves defense, as the Nuggets turned it over nine times, shot 14-for-43 (32.6 percent) from the field, and only connected on four of their 14 attempts from three.

Denver was able to make a small dent in the lead over the course of the third quarter, but it wasn’t much. While Minnesota extended its lead in the quarter to as many as 32 points, the Nuggets were able to end the frame on a 14-4 run to give themselves just a hint of momentum — and a slightly less insurmountable mountain to climb — as the game entered the fourth with the Wolves leading, 82-60.

While the Nuggets got the lead down to 19 early on in the final frame, they never got any closer, as the Wolves always had a quick response whenever they sensed even the tiniest bit of danger. With 3:29 left in the game and Minnesota up by 24, Michael Malone decided to empty his bench, and Micah Nori was not far behind in doing the same thing. In fact, the most notable moment of the quarter came with the reserves on the floor, when the Timberwolves faithful chanted “Wolves in 4” in the opposing team’s arena.

Towns and Edwards both went for 27 points — the former pitched in 12 rebounds, while the latter had seven assists, two rebounds, and two steals. Both Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker provided a scoring punch off the bench, with each going for 14 points. Denver was led by a 20-point outing from Gordon, while Jokic had a bad game by his lofty standards, as the presumed 2023-24 NBA MVP had 16 points on 5-for-13 shooting with 16 rebounds, eight assists, and four turnovers. As a team, the Nuggets only shot 34.9 percent from the field and 30 percent from three.

Now, the series will shift back to Minnesota, where a startling truth is staring everyone in the face: If the Timberwolves can defend their home court, they will sweep the defending champions and earn a berth in the Western Conference Finals. Game 3 will take place on Friday night, and is scheduled to tip off at 9:30 a.m. EST on ESPN.

In case you have not watched the NBA playoffs yet up to this point, Anthony Edwards is currently in the midst of establishing himself as the most fun player in the NBA. Edwards was excellent as the Minnesota Timberwolves swept the Phoenix Suns in round one, and in the first game of the Western Conference Semifinals, Edwards had his playoff career high in a win over the Nuggets in Denver.

Part of what makes Edwards so good is how much fun he can be when he’s cooking. Unfortunately, Reggie Jackson learned this lesson the hard way during Game 2 of Nuggets-Wolves, as he tried to poke the ball away from Edwards while he was dribbling. It didn’t work, because Edwards coolly switched his dribble hand while Jackson lunged towards the ball, so he ended up hitting the deck and had both knees hit the ground.

Jamal Crawford saying “that was almost a proposal” was terrific, but even better was Edwards taking a moment to point right at Jackson after this happened. Kudos to Jackson for continuing to play after this, because if this ever happened to me while I was playing basketball, I would probably make my way to the locker room and then go home immediately.

A controversial call went against the Indiana Pacers late in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Finals matchup with the New York Knicks. With the game timed at 115 with less than a minute remaining, Jalen Brunson attempted to throw a pass that Aaron Nesmith broke up. But instead of the Pacers forcing a turnover and getting a fast break opportunity, the referees called a kicked ball on the floor. You can be the judge of this one:

I don’t know about you, but I sure did not think that this hit off of Nesmith’s foot — it was either his arm or it bounced of his, like, knee. This is not a reviewable play, so the call on the floor had to stand, and New York would go on to win, 121-117.

After the game, crew chief Zach Zarba spoke to pool reporter Fred Katz and admitted that the call was incorrect.

“On the floor we felt that would be a kicked ball violation,” Zarba said. “Post game review did show that it hit the defender’s hand, which would be legal.”

Zarba went on to confirm that this is not reviewable, telling Katz that “the three things that teams can challenge are fouls, goaltends and out of bounds.” It’s unclear why a kicked ball would not be on the list here.