Category: News

In November of last year, Ed Sheeran stirred conversation with an Instagram post: “So, ‘Shivers’ has just hit a billion streams on Spotify, which makes it my 11th song as an artist and 15th song as a writer. I’m over the moon about it. Thank you everyone who’s been streaming that song,” the “Shape Of You” singer said in a video. “I’m gonna celebrate by shooting a music video for my brand new album, which will be out next year. See you in a bit.”

Nearly three months into the year and we finally have an update on this. On his Spotify account, there’s a video of an equal sign in the sand being washed away by the water into a subtraction sign. A fan posted it on Twitter, asking why no one is talking about this. “SUBTRACTION IS COMING,” they wrote. Sheeran quote-tweeted it, writing, “Getting excited now?”

He’s quite the busy man, even outside of the music realm. Also this month, he shared Tingly Ted’s, a line of hot sauce. It comes in two flavors: the medium heat “Tingly” and the extra spicy “Xtra Tingly.”

Ed Sheeran is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

A little over a year since the release of his colossal album Dawn FM, The Weeknd is still the center of attention. Just this month, there’s been the unveiling of The Weeknd: Live At SoFi Stadium and the collaboration with Ariana Grande for the “Die For You” remix.

Now, he’s broken a new record. As of today, February 27, he became the first artist in Spotify History to reach 100 million monthly listeners.

Last month, he broke Spotify’s record for most monthly listeners in the world with 94.73 million listeners.

Also in January, he spoke about his song for Avatar: The Way Of Water, “Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength),” being placed on the shortlist for the upcoming Academy Awards. “I feel honored to be part of that list,” he said about the milestone. “Any kind of recognition for it feels like a blessing.”

“I didn’t know if I was going to be able to live to see tomorrow,” he added about when the original Avatar came out in 2009. “And I remember I somehow got to see the film in theaters. I don’t know how I got in. It was such an escape from my real life that the film is tattooed in my brain.”

Since her first appearance halfway through the first season of The Mandalorian, Cara Dune has proven one of the show’s breakout characters. Unfortunately she was played by Gina Carano. The mixed martial artist-turned-actress eventually decided it was more important to say offensive crap on social media than to get her own Disney+ spinoff. What would the Mandalorian team do with her in the forthcoming Season 3? Sounds like not much.

Deadline spoke with two of the show’s executive producers, Rick Famuyiwa, who’s also directed a handful of episodes, and Dave Filoni, asking how they would handle Cara’s presumptive departure. They wouldn’t go into specifics and they stayed vagueish. But while there may be some way they handle her exit (e.g., “Cara Dune died on the way to her home planet”), it doesn’t sound like they’re in any rush to go farther than that.

“Cara was a big part and continues as a character to be part of the world,” said Famuyiwa, using his words carefully. But it sounds like they came up with a solution: Just narrow the focus. Famuyiwa said “the heart of the show are the two characters — Din Djarin and Grogu — so ultimately it felt like a servicing of that, and around the Mandalorians.”

As for Filoni, he said, “It’s a big galaxy and we have many characters in it — many characters are fighting for their screen time.” He added, teasingly (if not exactly optimistically), “We’ll just have to see as the season unfolds what the adventures are, but it’s a great character, someone who was vital to Din Djarin’s beginnings; we’ll see if he has evolved beyond that.”

Filoni made it sound like Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin has moved on, that there are “different characters he’s met since Bo-Katan (who) take a lot more prominence, which makes sense where his arc is going, the story of him and Grogu specifically.”

Since leaving the show and burning down a wing of her career, Carano did what the famous often do when “cancelled” by the left: She teamed up with the far right. But not even that is going so hot.

The Mandalorian Season 3 begins its run on March 1 on Disney+.

(Via Deadline)

There’s no wonder why Kelly Clarkson was missed on NBC’s music competition show The Voice. As the talk show host gears up for her return to the show alongside Niall Horan and the release of new original music, Clarkson has continued to put her vocal chops on full display on her beloved self-titled show’s segment Kellyoke.

On the latest installment of the series, Clarkson tackled pop band Muna’s 2019 song, “Stayaway.” The track featured on their sophomore album, Saves the World, has a dark mystique surrounding it, however, once Clarkson gets her hands on a song, she has the unique ability to make you find ways to connect even if there aren’t any.

Singing, “If I go driving, then I’ll put on music / If I put on music, then I’ll play your song / If I play your song, then I think I’ll lose it / End up pulled up at the front of your lawn / So I don’t go driving, no, I just stay in,” Clarkson is performing the antithesis to her breakout single, “Since You Been Gone.”

If you want to dive into the rabbit of recent noteworthy Kellyoke covers. Clarkson’s cover of Chris Stapleton’s “You Should Probably Leave,” Blink-182’s “All The Small Things,” Katy Perry’s “The One That Got Away,” and Taylor Swift’s “Better Man” are all good places to start.

Watch Kelly Clarkson’s full performance cover of “Stayaway” above.

Kelly Clarkson is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Megan Thee Stallion has kept a relatively low profile following the conviction of Tory Lanez for assaulting her, leaving fans to worry. However, after publicly being spotted at a surprise dinner to celebrate her birthday nearly two weeks ago, the chatter began to slow down. Even Carl Crawford, the CEO of her estranged record label, even took a vow to refrain from addressing her on social media.

Although the parties are still tied up in an ongoing legal battle due to Crawford’s seemingly declaration of peace, some are beginning to wonder, is Megan still signed to 1501 Certified Entertainment? Despite winning a minor victory against the label back in late December that cleared the rapper of any further albums under the company, according to TMZ, the war hasn’t been won just yet.

Despite her latest album, Traumazine, released in August, being her fourth album and final album on the label, to which the presiding judge over the case agreed, Megan Thee Stallion remains on 1501 Certified. In the meantime, the case will proceed to trial as Meg is also suing for $1 million in damages.

The trial date has not yet been set.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The seventh episode of The Last of Us was another heartbreaker, and another heartbreaker centered around an LGBTQIA+ couple (which has sadly led to some homophobic backlash). It followed Bella Ramsey’s Ellie reflecting on a key moment from her pre-Joel (Pedro Pascal) life. She recalled a night she spent with her friend Riley (Storm Reid) inside an abandoned mall. There’s a carousel. There’s a video. Then there’s a tragic occurrence that would forever scar Ellie.

But before that, there’s that mall — a once-strong fixture of the American landscape that itself has fallen a bit by the wayside. But how did the Last of Us make that mall?

In a new interview with Variety, production designer John Paino said it was part real, part CGI. The show was shot in Calgary, Canada, so they sought to simply look around.

“We found an abandoned mall that was completely stripped and didn’t have a second floor,” Paino revealed. “We built the rooftops and the stores, but what they look from the balcony, it’s all CGI because our mall didn’t have a second floor.”

They wound up building between 20 and 25 storefronts inside the old mall, including Victoria’s Secret, Foot Locker, and Panda Express, all covered in dust and grim. The carousel was brought in from another location, taken apart and put back together on set. Others were real, too:

Paino says all the games in the arcade set actually worked because creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann wanted everything as real as possible. However, those retro game screens were made from cathode-ray tube (CRT), which meant when the cameras were rolling, the images were not clear. “We rebuilt them on LED screens,” Paino explains.

(Via Variety)

All eyes are on indie music this year. Fans have their list of highly anticipated albums, but Feeble Little Horse wants to ensure they aren’t left off. The Pittsburgh, PA quartet made some noise on the scene last year with the release of their song, “Chores,” but the group’s latest single takes the cake.

“Tin Made,” the lead single off Feeble Little Horse’s forthcoming sophomore album, Girl With Fish, and its accompanying music video, is perfectly imperfect. Directed by the band’s co-lead vocalist Lydia Slocum, the visual features a mix of candid behind-the-scenes footage as well artistically framed shots of the members jamming out as vintage overlay treatments add a layer of gritty texture as Slocum’s melancholy vocals heighten the overall listening experience.

In a statement, drummer Jame Kelley shared that the theme for the band’s upcoming album was, in his words, “focusing on intuition over intention. Letting the magic of collaboration come first. Anything that makes us laugh or puts a smile on our faces, we usually end up keeping in the songs.”

By the sound of it, there’s no doubting vocalist Kelley, Slocum, guitarist/bassist Sebastian Kinsler, and keyboardist Ryan Walchonski are having fun all across “Tin Man.”

Indigo De Souza isn’t the only Saddle Creek signee firing off on all cylinders so far this year.

Watch the video for “Tin Man” above.

Girl with Fish is out 6/9 via Saddle Creek. To pre-order, click here.

Kali Uchis is worried about your health. The singer, who just recently dropped her new song “Moonlight,” is preparing to head out on her Red Moon In Venus Tour, but you might not want to buy a beer at the venue.

In a controversial Instagram Story, Uchis begged her fans to “stop drinking liquor” because of the “spiritual consequences.” She typed out her reasoning, explaining the way alcohol “takes us away from our purest selves.” Read her full conspiracy theory below.

“Please stop drinking liquor !!!

There are spiritual consequences & no one can convince me otherwise. The root of the word ‘Alcohol’ comes from Arabic ‘al-kuhl’ which means ‘BODY EATING SPIRIT.’

In alchemy, alcohol is used to extract the soul essence of an entity. Hence its use in extracting essences for essential oil and sterilization.

By consuming it into the body, it extracts the very essence of the soul, allowing the body to be more susceptible to LOW frequencies & even demonic energies.

It takes us away from our purest selves & our Good soul

that’s why it’s legal y’all they want you all to become alcoholics for real.”

Meanwhile, on Twitter, gifs and memes involving alcohol are very much coming in clutch to encapsulate people’s feelings on the situation.

It’s been a lost season for the Charlotte Hornets. Even with a win over the Detroit Pistons on Monday evening, the Hornets are just 20-43 and battling for ping-pong balls, rather than for playoff positioning. The team’s brightest spot has, predictably, been standout guard LaMelo Ball but, on Monday evening, Ball suffered a non-contact injury in the second half against Detroit.

Shortly after the game ended, the Hornets announced that Ball suffered a fracture in his right ankle.

This is a rare instance in which the team simply announced something like this quickly after the injury was suffered and before national news-breakers could scoop the story. However, the Hornets did not list any kind of timetable for Ball’s potential return, leaving a great deal of uncertainty.

Further details will be needed to determine how long Ball will be out, but the Hornets have little to play for the rest of this season and Ball has suffered left ankle sprains on three different occasions this season. That could leave Charlotte with incentive to keep Ball on the sideline and, at the very least, it would be wise for the Hornets to be quite cautious with his recovery given the reality that Ball is the centerpiece of the franchise. Entering Monday, he is averaging 23.4 points, 8.5 assists, and 6.4 rebounds per game on the season and the Hornets will miss him significantly in what figures to be an extended absence.

It’s going to be a crazy summer for rock fans. There’s Blink-182, who will be hitting the road with hardcore heroes Turnstile, Fall Out Boy is embarking on a run with Bring Me The Horizon, and now Weezer has a big tour in store.

On certain dates, the “Buddy Holly” band will be taking along Modest Mouse, Spoon, Future Islands, Momma, Future Islands, Joyce Manor, and White Reaper. It’s a hell of a lineup, inclusive of alternative veterans and rising indie-rockers, sure to draw audiences of all ages.

Check out the dates for the tour below.

06/04 — Hunstville, AL @ The Orion Amphitheater *
06/06 — Irving, TX @ The Pavilion At Toyota Music Factory *
06/08 — Austin, TX @ Germania Insurance Amphitheater *
06/10 — Oklahoma City, OK @ Zoo Amphitheatre *
06/11 — Bonner Springs, KS @ Azura Amphitheater *
06/13 — Minneapolis, MN @ The Armory *
06/14 — Madison, WI @ Breese Stevens Field *
06/16 — Cuyahoga Falls, OH @ Blossom Music Center *
06/18 — Clarkston, MI @ Pine Knob Music Theatre *
06/23 — Columbia MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion #
06/24 — Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion #
06/25 — Alpharetta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre #
06/27 — Philadelphia, PA @ TD Pavilion at The Mann #
06/28 — Bridgeport, CT @ Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater #
06/30 — Bangor, ME @ Maine Savings Amphitheater #
07/01 — Worcester, MA @ The Palladium Outdoors #
07/03 — Canandaigua, NY @ Constellation Brands Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center #
07/04 — Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage #
07/09 — Gary, IN @ Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana # (no Future Islands)
07/11 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE #
07/13 — Queens, NY @ Forest Hills Stadium #
08/20 — Auburn, WA @ White River Amphitheatre %
08/22 — Bend, OR @ Hayden Homes Amphitheater %
08/24 — Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre %
08/27 — Magna, UT @ The Great Saltair %
08/28 — Denver, CO @ Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre %
08/30 — Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Federal Theatre %
09/01 — Las Vegas, NV @ Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood %
09/02 — Irvine, CA @ FivePoint Amphitheater %
09/03 — San Diego, CA @ Gallagher Square at Petco Park %

* w/ Modest Mouse, Momma
# w/ Future Islands, Joyce Manor
% w/ Spoon, White Reaper

Find ticket information here.

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