Category: News

Gracie Abrams cried “real tears” when Taylor Swift called “Wish You Were Sober” by Conan Gray, Uproxx’s August 2022 cover star, a “masterpiece” in March 2020. Now, Abrams is set to serve as one of the openers on Swift’s The Eras Tour, which starts on March 17 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Abrams will have a bunch of new material to perform, too.

Today, January 9, Abrams announced that her debut studio album Good Riddance will drop on February 24, and then, she’s embarking on a headlining tour of her own. It all begins this Friday, January 13, with lead single “Where Do We Go Now?”

“It’s difficult to imagine these songs living anywhere other than my most secret places, but @aarondessner reminded me that holding space for brutal honesty in songwriting is kind of the whole point,” Abrams wrote on Instagram alongside the presumed cover art. “I feel an unbelievable amount of gratitude for the opportunity to have made this album. Writing this record allowed me to grow up in ways I needed to. It forced me to reflect and be accountable. It allowed me to walk away from versions of myself that I no longer recognized. It allowed me to let go.”

She continued, “There will never be enough words to describe the gift that is Aaron’s friendship. He is one of the very few people in this world capable of making others feel safe to their core when they are exploring the parts of themselves that are most raw. He is rare and generous. Thank you all for your support. I’m so nervous. I’m so relieved. I hope with my whole heart that there’s something in here that makes you feel less alone. I’ll be thanking you all for the rest of my life for taking this record and making it yours. FEBRUARY 24TH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHH.”

The Good Riddance Tour is scheduled to start its 17-date North American run on March 7 in Chicago. Tickets will go on public sale this Friday beginning at 10 a.m. local time. Fans can additionally sign up here to gain early access tomorrow, January 10.

Abrams and Dessner, acclaimed founder of The National and favored Swift collaborator, previously worked together on her 2021 EP This Is What It Feels Like. Last April, Abrams released the acoustic-driven, introspective single “Block Me Out,” produced by and co-written with Dessner. “Difficult” followed in October, also produced by Dessner.

Good Riddance is out 2/24 via Interscope Records. Pre-save it here.

Someone should do a study about conservative and/or kooky politicians (mainly Donald Trump) using recording artists’ music without permission because it really seems like an ongoing, baffling trend. It’s like they do no research into the musicians’ politics or the songs’ meanings before hijacking them for rallies and campaign ads that don’t really do much to endear them to people outside their increasingly contracting bases.

The latest to join this trend is Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a well-known far-right conspiracy theorist (and Trump disciple) whose wacky antics have drawn criticism throughout her short tenure in Congress and helped throw the Republican party into complete disarray over its embrace of the tinfoil hat set. In a video posted to her social media, she struts around the Capitol in a red trenchcoat to the tune of Dr. Dre‘s 1999 hit “Still D.R.E.,” apparently connecting the “guess who’s back” ad-lib from the song’s intro to her return to the Capitol after all the shenanigans over the House Speaker vote last week.

Unfortunately, “MTG” didn’t get the song cleared with D.R.E., who lambasted the Congressperson in a statement to TMZ. “I don’t license my music to politicians, especially someone as divisive and hateful as this one,” he reportedly said. While he didn’t reveal if he was taking legal action as many of his peers have (although I wouldn’t be surprised to see a DMCA takedown forthcoming), it’s pretty clear he isn’t happy to be even tangentially associated with someone who was removed from literally all her committee roles by a unanimous vote from Democrats and 11 of her own party members.

Joe Goldberg has a new life and a new beard, but that doesn’t mean that he can quit his stalker ways. Someone’s onto him.

That’s the vibe on display in the trailer for You Season 4. The Penn Badgley-starring series brings back Netflix’s disturbingly popular (even to Badgley himself) serial killer, who has traded out identities over the seasons, but he always stays loyal to his greatest love of all: books. This time around, he’s moved to England, where he’s adopted a new title, Jonathan Moore, and he’s somehow become a professor.

That’s right, Badgley will soon be staring into the souls of unsuspecting college students and those whose adult lives also involve academia. Penn Badgley previously admitted to feeling “icky” about how intense Joe looks in a poster, yet as this trailer shows, not everyone is unaware of his tricks. In fact, he’s got a stalker of his own. Who could it be? Well, he’s killed Love and Beck and Benji and several other people. Tati Gabrielle’s Marienne is shown in the trailer looking afraid of him, so that probably rules her out, but someone is messing with Joe and knows what he’s done. From the season synopsis:

After his previous life went up in flames, Joe Goldberg has fled to Europe to escape his “messy” past, adopt a new identity, and, of course, to pursue true love. But Joe soon finds himself in the strange new role of reluctant detective as he discovers he may not be the only killer in London. Now, his future depends on identifying and stopping whoever’s targeting his new friend group of uber-wealthy socialites…

He may also now be obsessed with a new character played by Charlotte Ritchie, so yep, Joe will never change. A new poster continues to provide teasers with this Twitter caption from Netflix: “There’s an imposter among us.”

You returns on February 9.

Rauw Alejandro is gearing up to tour the US this year. Yesterday (January 8), the Puerto Rican superstar revealed when tickets for his hotly-anticipated Saturno World Tour will go on sale.

Back in December, Alejandro announced the tour dates for his Saturno World Tour. On March 5, he will kick off the US leg of the tour in Tampa, Florida. Alejandro will visit all the major cites across the country up until May. The venues where the concerts will be held will be unveiled when tickets go on sale on Wednesday, January 11. Fans can sign-up at discoversaturno.com for information on the tour.

Alejandro will be joined on the Saturno World Tour by the Jabbawockeez. Back in November, the acclaimed dance troupe joined Alejandro for his performance at the Latin Grammy Awards. Alejandro sang a medley of songs from his Saturno album that included “Lejos del Cielo,” “Más De Una Vez,” and “Punto 40.”

Alejandro spent Christmas and New Year’s Day with his girlfriend, Spanish pop star Rosalía, in Tokyo, Japan. For the latter holiday, the Latin music power couple had an epic karaoke session to classics by Lady Gaga, Cher, and Daddy Yankee. Alejandro is also nominated at the 2023 Grammy Awards. His EP Trap Cake, Vol. 2 faces Bad Bunny, Daddy Yankee, Maluma, and Farruko in the Best Música Urbana Album category.

HBO’s The Last of Us will remain faithful to the games that it’s based on, but it won’t be identical. “I have played The Last of Us about 12 times. I know how it ends. I love the journey. And we promise, there will be surprises along the way,” co-creator Craig Mazin said. “If you’ve played the game, I promise you there are things that you don’t know that are coming that will blow your mind.” One of the changes is how the Infected-causing virus that wipes out much of humanity spreads — say goodbye to spores; hello, tendrils.

One similarity between the much-anticipated TV show and games, however, is the fear you’ll feel after learning that the “Cordyceps brain infection,” which causes the civilization-destroying fungus, isn’t science-fiction gobbledygook; it’s a real thing.

Naughty Dog developers [the studio behind The Last of Us] created the idea for the Cordyceps brain infection after they were inspired by an episode of the BBC documentary Planet Earth titled “Jungles,” narrated by Sir David Attenborough. In the episode, it features an infected ant being killed by Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, as well as showing a variety of other insects and arachnids that were killed by different species of the fungus.

“It was all based on the idea that the more numerous a species becomes, the more likely it is to be preyed on by this fungus,” The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann told Mashable in 2013. Fortunately, the likelihood of fungus bursting through your skull is low.

That won’t stop me from adding this to my list of worst ways to die, however.

The Last of Us premieres on HBO on January 15.

(Via Fandom)

Los Angeles’ geography is a confusing, expansive wonder. Long Beach is a good 20-30 minutes (and a couple of freeways) away from Inglewood. But the two cities are inextricably linked by culture and demographics — and especially by music. Consider that on Dr. Dre’s 1999 hit single “The Next Episode,” the producer shouts out both alongside his hometown, Compton. His guest on the song, longtime rhyme partner Snoop Dogg, was also instrumental in the rise of Inglewood indie rapper D Smoke, in addition to Dre, Snoop, and a colorful cohort of longtime collaborators taking over the recently constructed SoFi Stadium for the Super Bowl’s halftime show last year.

So it makes sense that Snoop Dogg already has a store, Snoop Dogg Clothing, in Inglewood, right across from the stadium on the corner of Praire Ave. and Arbor Vitae St. It also makes sense that when he was looking for a home for Tha Dogg House, his new retail partnership with the Funko toy company, he’d take over a former 7-11 in the same corner strip mall, where he held a neighborhood launch party on Friday. The store — modeled after a convenience store like the one it replaced — houses Snoop’s new collection of Funko Pop! figures and an impressive array of recording artists, athletes, and pop culture icons from the collectible giant.

But what makes the store special is its location; historically, there haven’t been many hobby shops in the hood. South LA hasn’t exactly been a hotbed of nerd culture, but from the boom in media specifically targeted to the “Blerd” demographic — from the 2015 coming-of-age comedy Dope (which is set, of course, in Inglewood) to the wealth of social media influencers in that space like Julian Green (bka Straw Hat Goofy) — it’s clear that the demand has always been there, even if it was obscured by the one-dimensional gangland perception of LA’s inner-city neighborhoods.

“The beauty of Inglewood is the only thing changing about Inglewood is everything,” Snoop told Uproxx at the store’s opening. “And to be able to have a relationship with the city and to be able to have a plaza like this to bring some businesses that normally you would see in Hollywood or Beverly Hills or different areas like that is something the city needs. Inglewood’s been good to me and we’re gonna keep adding on, business after business.” He also admitted to being an avid Funko collector himself, saying that his favorite is “the one with the pigtails and number 20 jersey on with the football,” as only befits a Long Beach Eastsider.

The opening was attended by Los Angeles luminaries like radio royalty Big Boy and Inglewood’s own D Smoke, as well as social media stars such as Straw Hat Goofy (a Compton native) and other influencers from the Black geek space. Packing into the store, fans were able to be the first to purchase the Snoop Dogg Pops — mine has pigtails and a basketball jersey, a nod to the Doggfather’s close friendship with the late, great Kobe Bryant, and his Lakers fandom (Snoop insists that the only Clippers Pop, Kawhi Leonard, being on a bottom corner shelf was a coincidence). As always, Snoop graciously offered photo ops to practically everyone in attendance, even granting a fun moment to one fan when he learned her selfie was a video.

On a personal note, Tha Dogg House represents something I would have loved to have in my neighborhood growing up as a lonely nerd thinking no one else in Compton shared my interests. To see an icon like Snoop Dogg so openly embracing the hobbyist space in a place where such a thing would have once been considered weird and worthy of bullying doesn’t just give kids affirmation, but it also offers a look at the value of such hobbies. After all, if Snoop can have a Pop, and bring so many celebrities to the hood, it also shows there’s a bridge to more opportunities outside of it — not to mention, creating some of those same opportunities at home, which is just as important. That kids can grow up feeling like it’s okay to be a geek and not a gangster makes Tha Dogg House a worthy new addition to Inglewood’s changing landscape.

Just a couple months after their debut, LE SSERAFIM‘s Huh Yunjin (or Yunjin, for short) was adamant on changing the idol industry. While she may still be considered a K-pop rookie with less than a year under her belt, the Korean-American artist is already doing so with the music she’s putting out by herself and as a member of LE SSERAFIM.

Releasing her second self-produced single “I ≠ DOLL” today (January 9), Yunjin delivers a Konglish (Korean and English) pop rock track with trap elements that conveys some of her personal thoughts since debut, and the spectacle of being an idol.

“Sometimes appearance becomes the main criteria by which one judges another,” Yunjin says in an official press release. “‘I ≠ DOLL’ expresses these moments that I have experienced myself and is also told from the third-person perspective of someone who could have experienced them. I hope the song’s message will resonate with many people.”

Releasing an animated music video with the track, to which Yunjin herself illustrated the main character, shares the inspiration behind it.

“I wanted to make a character who is at heart multi-dimensional appear two-dimensional and flat on purpose. I thought it’d be interesting to portray a subject that is not so simple in a simple manner.”

“I ≠ DOLL” is now available on all streaming platforms and LE SSERAFIM’s official YouTube channel. Her first self-produced single “Raise y_our glass” from LE SSERAFIM’s 100 day anniversary is also available for stream as of today as well.

Ariana Grande returned as a guest judge on season premiere of RuPaul’s Drag Race. On Friday (January 6), the pop superstar made quite the entrance dressed as a past drag queen icon. She also had invaluable advice for the contestants.

The season 15 premiere of RuPaul’s Drag Race was split into two episodes. When the first batch of drag queens entered the Werk Room, Grande made a surprise entrance of her own. She channeled season six contestant Vivacious who had made her entrance with the foam head Ornacia. Grande donned an outfit that was similar to Vivacious’ iconic look with an Ornacia of her own. “Mother has arrived!” Grande said just like Vivacious eight years ago.

While meeting the drag queens, Grande talked about the first time she appeared on RuPaul’s Drag Race during season seven in 2015. She filmed her episode right after shooting the “Bang Bang” music video with Jessie J and Nicki Minaj, so she felt exhausted and didn’t get to fully enjoy the experience. Grande encouraged them to embrace the moment. She also highlighted the important work that drag queens are doing for LGBTQ+ representation around the world.

“I think drag is the most infectious and joyous art form that there is,” Grande said. “Thank you guys for bringing so much joy to the lives of the Drag Race fans and to everyone.”

While hanging with RuPaul, Grande added that she was excited to be a part of the season premiere and that her “p*ssy was on fire.” She also took pride in saying RuPaul’s catchphrase: “Good luck and don’t f*ck it up!”

Grande appeared on the second episode of the season premiere as well. Amethyst and Irene Dubois ended up as the bottom two drag queens of the week. They had to Lipsync For Their Lives to Grande’s smash hit “7 Rings.” Amethyst was deemed safe to stay for another week while Dubois became the first drag queen to sashay away this season.

M3GAN is sweeping the nation. The Gerard Johnstone-directed film centers around “a life-like doll programmed to be a child’s greatest companion and a parent’s greatest ally,” according to the film’s official synopsis. The murderous, terrifying doll was designed by a roboticist named Gemma (Allison Williams) and voiced by Jenna Davis — and the latter has a song on the official soundtrack.

In the movie, M3GAN’s chosen lullaby to serenade Cady (Violet McGraw) with is “Titanium” (as analyzed by The Daily Beast). The 2011 hit by David Guetta featuring Sia peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 over a decade ago, and apparently, one of M3GAN’s underrated abilities is that of reviving a dance-pop earworm.

Previously, at the December world premiere of M3GAN in Los Angeles, the titular doll aligned herself with Taylor Swift. More specifically, eight M3GAN-looking dancers made “It’s Nice To Have A Friend” way creepier than Swift likely ever intended. There was also some Meghan McCain discourse sparked by McCain tweeting, “I feel personally attacked by this movie and the entire premise.”

M3GAN hit theaters on Friday, January 6, and debuted with $30 million across North American box offices, per Variety. The full official soundtrack from Anthony Willis can be found here.

Coming into the 2022 NFL season, the Arizona Cardinals spent a lot of money locking in their quarterback, head coach, and GM to longterm deals. Kyler Murray inked a massive extension, while Kliff Kingsbury and Steve Keim each re-upped through 2027, as they were coming off of an 11-win season and a Wild Card appearance.

Exiting this season, the Cardinals are in disarray after a 4-13 campaign that saw them take steps back in just about every area, particularly on offense where Kingsbury is supposed to bring his expertise. After such a poor showing, the Cardinals decided on Monday they couldn’t bring Kingsbury back, firing him despite the long extension he just signed after a 28-37-1 record with the team through four seasons as head coach.

Along with Kingsbury, Keim will also depart Arizona, citing health concerns that forced him to take a leave during the season, meaning the Cardinals will be restarting in total with their lead decision makers in 2023.

The Cardinals now join the Texans (who fired Lovie Smith on Sunday night after he led the Texans to a Week 18 win that cost them the No. 1 pick in the Draft), Broncos, and Panthers as teams currently seeking new head coaches. With Kyler Murray likely out for most, if not all, of next season after tearing his ACL late in the season, it’s going to be a reset year in Arizona next season, as they’ll focus on retooling the roster and bringing in a new staff with an eye on 2024 as a big bounce back when Murray is fully healthy.

As for Kingsbury, his future will be interesting to watch as he never seemed to have the best handle on NFL head coaching duties, but would have plenty of suitors for his services as an offensive coordinator at the pro level as well as prospects to return to the college level as a head coach.