The live-action Little Mermaid movie has seemingly been in production forever. Remember when Harry Styles was in talks to place Prince Eric? That was almost four years ago! Time flies when you’re living in a simulation.
Last year, fans got a first glimpse of Halle Bailey as the Disney princess who gives up her voice in order to live among the people, kind of like what Prince Harry tried to do before he just went and told us everything anyway. We finally have a first trailer for the inevitable blockbuster that will hit theaters just in time for Memorial Day weekend, which shows off the highly anticipated reveal of Melissa McCarthy as Ursula.
The adaptation will feature an ensemble cast led by Bailey, along with Daveed Diggs, Javier Bardem, Jacob Tremblay, and Awkwafina. But the role everyone is talking about is McCarthy as the evil sea with Ursula who manages to trick the young mermaid into giving up her Grammy-nominated voice.
McCarthy beat out Lizzo for the gig after the pop star said she fumbled the audition by wanting to “make Ursula a THOT.” While McCarthy might not have the same amount of enthusiasm, she does have an evil laugh and a whole slew of fans who are ready for her villainous debut. Even though we got one split second of one (very dark) glimpse at the sea witch, it was enough to set the excitement into full gear.
Yes, many people are ready for her underwater reign, but others are looking to get their eyes checked since that trailer is too dang dark! Haven’t we been through this? It did not go unnoticed.
While NBA 2K is such a dominant force in sports games today, it took a minute for basketball video games to take off on the earliest consoles and in arcades like football did with Tecmo Bowl and others (do check out our previous episode on the very best football video games of all time).
In this edition of Recon, hosts Noelle Miller and Ray Apollo look back fondly on some of the best and most influential titles and developments in the long history of basketball video games, including the one that crossed over into broad cultural popularity.
Midway’s first edition of NBA Jam in 1993 was a huge step for basketball video games, timed well with the ascent of Michael Jordan (even though he wasn’t in the game) and the NBA turning into a global brand. So naturally, Noelle and Ray are going to talk about NBA Jam and how it blended high-adrenaline gameplay with real NBA stars pulling off cartoonish high-flying dunks. Talk about EA’s NBA Live follows before they dive into the NBA2K franchise and EA’s NBA Street games (which mixed elements from sims and the 2 on 2 fun of NBA Jam). Then they wrap things up with a quick look at how virtual headsets like the Meta Quest 2 are bringing the court into your living room.
Check out the episode above for all that and more.
Despite not having toured together in over a decade, RBD has become the hottest ticket of the summer. Last month, the Mexican pop group reunited to announce the Soy Rebelde Tour. The first round of shows that went on-sale in the US, Mexico, and Brazil sold out faster than recent tours by Bad Bunny and Daddy Yankee.
RBD was first formed in 2004 as part of the Mexican telenovela Rebelde. Anahí, Dulce María, Maite Perroni, Christian Chávez, Alfonso “Poncho” Herrera, and Christopher von Uckermann comprised the group that released anthems like “Rebelde” and “Sólo Quédate En Silencio,” which defined the generation of millennial fans that grew up with them. You can count Bad Bunny and Karol G as part of that group of fans. Bad Bunny name-checked RBD in his global smash “Me Porto Bonito” from his Un Verano Sin Ti album while Karol G recently convinced them to extend the Soy Rebelde Tour to her country of Colombia.
During RBD’s initial run in the 2000s, the band proved to become a legitimate Latin pop force with two Latin Grammy nominations. The group’s global success led to the release of a crossover album, 2006’s Rebels, where they translated a bunch of their hits into English. RBD officially disbanded in 2009 with the farewell LP Para Olvidarte De Mí. With RBD back in action (sans Herrera) and ready to return to the stage this summer, here’s 20 of the RBD’s best songs to revisit while the nostalgia is running high.
20. “Para Olvidarte De Mí” (from Para Olvidarte De Mí)
After performing their final concert in Madrid in December 2008, “Para Olvidarte De Mí” served as RBD’s swan song. In the nostalgic ballad, the members take turns sharing their heartfelt farewells to fans.
19. “Siempre He Estado Aquí”
“Siempre He Estado Aquí” is RBD’s newest taste of music on this list. In 2020, Anahí, Maite Perroni, Christian Chávez, and Christopher von Uckermann staged a one-off reunion to thank the fans who have stuck by RBD over the years.
18. “Tu Amor” (from Rebels)
For the crossover album Rebels, RBD covered the classic “Tu Amor” by Jon B. Christian Chávez belts his heart out in English in the ballad that reached No. 65 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, RBD’s highest peak.
17. “Celestial” (from Celestial)
“Celestial” lives up to its name as one of RBD’s most psychedelic tracks. In the charming love song, the members traded verses about a romance that felt out of this world.
16. “Este Corazón” (from Nuestro Amor)
“Este Corazón” is a tender ballad between the couples among the group on the Rebelde series. Dulce María, Christopher von Uckermann, Anahí, and Alfonso “Poncho” Herrera share sweet duet moments about stealing each other’s hearts.
15. “México, México” from (from México, México)
Proudly representing their country, RBD recorded the song “México, México” for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The three women, Anahí, Dulce María, and Maite Perroni, led the charge for Mexico in the ranchera-infused club banger.
14. “Aún Hay Algo” (from Nuestro Amor)
RBD don’t give up on love in “Aún Hay Algo.” In the punchy pop-rock anthem, the members hold out hope for rekindling a romance that was on the verge of flickering out.
13. “Cariño Mío” (from Rebels)
RBD translate the reggaeton music sound into English in “Cariño Mío.” The sultry club banger where Alfonso “Poncho” Herrera shines was produced by RedOne, who later went on to work with Lady Gaga.
12. “Así Soy Yo” from (from Nuestro Amor)
The empowering “Así Soy Yo” is one of the most playful tracks in RBD’s discography. Backed by a rush of rock-infused electronica, Anahí sings about celebrating who you are despite any naysayers. It’s gone on to become one of RBD’s anthems for their fans in the LGBTQ+ community.
11. “Tras De Mí” (from Nuestro Amor)
“Tras De Mí” is RBD’s most hypnotic track where they give their sound an electronica and rock-infused makeover. The members trade verses about leaving the past behind in search of a better future.
10. “Bésame Sin Miedo” (from Celestial)
RBD blend their pop-rock sound with elements of electronica in the alluring “Bésame Sin Miedo.” The voices of each member soar as they sing about sharing one last kiss as if the world is about to end.
9. “No Pares” (from Live In Hollywood)
The standout song on RBD’s Live In Hollywood album is the empowering “No Pares.” In a concert at the Pantages Theatre, Dulce María shined as she sang about never losing sight of your dreams.
8. “Lento” (from Mas Flow: Los Benjamins)
RBD dabble in reggaeton music in the “Lento.” The band’s sexy club banger is produced by Luny Tunes, who were behind many of Daddy Yankee’s classics, and Tainy, who later shaped Bad Bunny and J Balvin’s hits.
7. “Inalcanzable” (from Empezar Desde Zero)
“Inalcanzable” is one of the RBD’s most vulnerable releases. In the heartfelt ballad, the six members deliver some of the best vocal performances of their career as they sing about a romance that was sadly out of reach.
6. “Nuestro Amor” (from Nuestro Amor)
“Nuestro Amor” is one of RBD’s most spellbinding releases. The group channele their lyrics about an otherworldly love into an electrifying anthem that truly feels larger than life.
5. “Ser O Parecer” (from Celestial)
The sassy “Ser O Parecer” is the biggest Spanish-language hit of RBD’s career. The song impressively climbed to No. 84 on the Hot 100 chart in 2006.
4. “Empezar Desde Cero” (from Empezar Desde Cero)
“Empezar Desde Cero” is RBD’s punchiest Latin pop song and it still packs a wallop years later. Maite Perroni takes on lead vocals and knocks the anthem about a love that feels timeless out of the park.
3. “Sólo Quédate En Silencio” (from Rebelde)
“Sólo Quédate En Silencio” is one of the RBD’s earliest classics and also one of their best. In the electrifying love song, the men and women of the group sing to each other about enjoying the final moments of a fleeting romance.
2. “Rebelde” (from Rebelde)
“Rebelde” is the song that started it all. In the pop-rock banger, RBD channel their teenage angst at the time into an anthem that rallied their fan base to embrace their inner rebels.
1. “Sálvame” (from Rebelde)
“Sálvame” is the most iconic song to exist in RBD’s vast discography. Anahí takes center stage and sings her heart out about trying to survive the fallout from a crushing breakup.
While Rihanna is still hot off of her spectacular performance at the Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show, speculation about her next album, fondly dubbed R9 by longsuffering fans, is at a fever pitch. Fortunately, Rihanna threw those fans a bone in her new cover story for British Vogue, gamely answering a question about just when we can expect to hear her first album since 2016’s Anti.
“I want it to be this year,” she told Vogue. “Like, honestly, it’d be ridiculous if it’s not this year.” Her main reason has more to do with getting to play around with fashion and beauty though. “I just want to have fun,” she admitted. “I just want to make music and make videos.”
However, she has a few caveats in place. “And I need the right background music with the visuals,” she declared. “I can’t just go shoot a video to me talking.”
That said, she’s always said that she’s approaching this album “differently” than any before it, and that’s consistent with her statements here. So, fingers crossed, Rihanna fans — your long wait might be coming to an end this year.
Jon Stewart is not having Tucker Carlson‘s faux-outrage over the Ohio train disaster. The former Daily Show host unloaded on Carlson for pretending to be concerned with the working class while repeatedly championing Republican initiatives that lead to environmental catastrophes like the one unfolding in East Palestine.
“I’m so annoyed at, you know, you’ve got some of these like very on the Right populist figures talking about how we’ve gotta fix this,” Stewart said on Wednesday’s episode of The Problem with Jon Stewart podcast. “Meanwhile, these are the motherf*ckers that would never spend money on infrastructure that always shoot those budgets down, that make it impossible for any government to regulate anything.”
Stewart also put recently-elected Ohio Senator J.D. Vance on blast for acting like Republican legislation isn’t directly responsible for the train derailment.
“Man, they get up on that high horse,” Stewart ranted. “Well, you know what caused it in the first place? Your f*cking policies. Man, that drives me nuts.”
“He and and Tucker go on and they play act. They play act this concern for working people and populism. Meanwhile, everything that they put in place politically in their infrastructure is against regulatory improvements and help for working class people. It’s baloney,” Stewart said.
The Ohio train disaster hits perfectly close to home for Stewart, who has spent years fighting for veterans to get necessary health care after being exposed to toxic burn pits overseas. Now, that very same issue is unfolding on American soil, and Stewart is clearly showing he’s up for another fight.
The NBA likes to find ways for people outside of the world of basketball to get involved in its All-Star festivities. The obvious way is for folks to participate in the Celebrity Game on Friday, but over the years, the league has made the entire weekend into a larger and larger event, with some of the biggest names in the world of entertainment playing prominent roles.
On Wednesday, the NBA announced the various celebrities and artists who will participate in All-Star weekend this time around. Things will begin on Friday night, when Ben Affleck will hop on the mic for the Celebrity Game to announce the participants — you can see who is playing in this year’s game right here.
Sunday’s game will be a star-studded affair right from the jump. Jewel and Jully Black will sing the national anthems of the United States and Canada, respectively, while Post Malone will put on a pregame show after the All-Star Draft. And before things tip off, Vin Diesel is slated to do the intros for this year’s game.
Maisie Peters has announced her much-anticipated sophomore album, The Good Witch.
Arriving this summer, The Good Witch shares a new chapter in Peters’ story, as it details her seeking balance with her rise to fame, as well as hard times in her own personal life. A press release describes the album as “the older, wiser and scorned counterpart” to her 2021 debut album You Signed Up For This.
“This is my heart and soul, my blood on the page, the collection of stories that I’ve managed to capture in the past year,” Peters said in a statement. “A true chronicle of my life in recent history, it is my own twisted version of a breakup album and it all draws upon the same couple of months’ worth of experiences and inspirations. It ducks and weaves between the real and surreal, and centers my own universe, of which I am of course the keeper of the keys and the holder of the cards – the good witch, if you will. It goes from light to dark in the flip of a switch and I hope takes you on a journey whereby the end you feel like you’ve gotten lost in someone else’s planet for a bit.”
You can check out The Good Witch cover art and tracklist below.
Gingerbread Man/Elektra
1. “The Good Witch”
2. “Coming Of Age”
3. “Watch”
4. “Body Better”
5. “Want You Back”
6. “The Band And I”
7. “You’re Just A Boy (And I’m Kinda The Man)”
8. “Lost The Breakup”
9. “Wendy”
10. “Run”
11. “Two Weeks Ago”
12. “BSC”
13. “Therapy”
14. “There It Goes”
15. “History Of Man”
The Good Witch is out 6/16 via Elektra/Gingerbread Man Records. Pre-save it here.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are currently embarking on their 2023 tour, and it appears they’re adding some setlist changes sprinkled into different cities. During their recent concert at Houston’s Toyota Center, Springsteen played his 1972 song, “If I Was The Priest,” for the first time in over fifty years.
“I wrote this song,” Springsteen said. “I was 22. 50 years ago. I still don’t have a clue what the f*ck it’s about.”
As the story goes, he had played it during auditions that year for managers Mike Appel and Jim Cretecos and a try-out at CBS Records. Since then, there’s been no documentation that he’s played the song live since May 2, 1972, according to Rolling Stone… until now.
Springsteen went on to re-record the track for his 2020 album, Letters To You, as part of the three archival songs included. (The other two were “Song For Orphans” and “Janey Needs a Shooter.”)
“It’s fun to go back and see how wild my lyric writing was, and how uninhibited it was at a certain moment, and to be able to take that and bring it into the present with the band, and sing it in my voice right now, was a bit of a joy ride,” Springsteen told the New York Times that year. “The thing about those songs, every line is insane! And somehow they end up making sense about something. I’m not sure how I did it at the time.”
Watch Springsteen’s performance of “If I Was The Priest” above.
Fousheé is without question one of alternative music’s rising stars. Having collaborated with artists such as Lil Wayne, Lil Yachty, Vince Staples, Lil Uzi Vert, and Steve Lacy, there is no denying she is a fresh creative force. The singer, rapper, songwriter, and guitarist blends together several sonic elements into some painfully related music. Her 12-track sophomore project, softCORE, is the perfect showing how her musical genius.
Having already appeared on NPR’s Tiny Desk [At Home] Concert series as a guest of her friend, Vince Staples, the New Jersey native is finally making her solo debut in person at the network’s DC office. Fousheé wastes no time jumping start into “Spend The Money,” which originally features Lil Uzi Vert as her band, guitarist Lilly Graves (who also serves as the musical director), bassist Jake Strade, and drummer Tobias Kelly provides additional support.
Before transitioning to the next song of her setlist, Fousheé takes moment to acknowledge her joy in being there. She shares that it was a long day of traveling from Los Angeles, where she now resides, to NPR’s corporate office, but as she said, “I was raised on the East coast, so it feels good to be back on my home coast.”
Fousheé and her band then transition into her single, “I’m Fine.” The track is a melting pot of alternative r&b and metal as Fousheé graciously flows between her delicate yet endearing vocals to a scary, deeply projected scream. As the song ends, she tells the crowd, “Maybe I’m not fine, but are any of us,” before adding, “And it’s OK to not be fine. It’s all about balance.”
Next on the docket is her breakout song, “Single AF,” and in case anyone is curious, the singer confirms that even though she wrote the song years ago inside of her fourth-floor Harlem walkup, her relationship status remains single as f*ck. Fousheé reluctantly concludes her performance with the track “Candy Grapes.”
Breakout Michigan rapper Babyface Ray is storming the US on the heels of two 2022 albums, Face and Mob, with his Courtesy Of The Mob Tour. The 25-date tour starts on April 6th in Sacramento and will zigzag its way across the country before concluding in Ray’s hometown on May 13th. He’ll be supported on the tour by fellow Detroiter Veeze, and tickets go on sale this Friday February 17th. A presale begins today at 10:00 am local time. You can get more information here and see the full run of dates below.
4/06 — Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
4/07 — San Francisco, CA @ The Recency Ballroom
4/08 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Novo
4/09 — Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory
4/11 — San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
4/12 — Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
4/13 — Las Vegas, NV @ 24 Oxford
4/16 — Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
4/17 — Seattle, WA @ Showbox
4/20 — Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex
4/21 — Denver, CO @ Cervantes Ballroom
4/23 — Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live Ballroom
4/24 — Dallas, TX @ Studio at the Factory
4/25 — Austin, TX @ Emo’s
4/26 — New Orleans, LA @ Joy Theater
4/29 — Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre
4/30 — Charlotte, NC @ The Underground
5/01 — Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl
5/03 — Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of the Living Arts
5/05 — Washington, DC @ Fillmore Silver Spring
5/07 — New York, NY @ Webster Hall
5/08 — Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
5/10 — Chicago, IL @ Patio Theater
5/12 — Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues
5/13 — Detroit, MI @ Fillmore
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(@SpicyAABoy) February 15, 2023
(@Kail4yn) February 15, 2023
