Category: News

As Candace Cameron Bure geared up to promote her tenure as the new star and chief creative officer of the newly formed Great American Family network, she sparked a wave of controversy by confirming that the channel would only feature “traditional marriage.” (Read: No gay couples.) It was a jarring but not entirely surprising stance from Bure who, like her brother Kirk Cameron, has well-known evangelical beliefs. Even her longtime Full House co-star, Jodie Sweetin, threw shade at Bure despite the two recently working together on the Netflix revival series Fuller House.

However, just as the controversy seemed to die down, actor Neal Bledsoe has announced his resignation from Great American Family. Like Bure, Bledsoe has been a fixture in Hallmark holiday movies and was wooed over to Great American Family where he’s now starred in two films. In a lengthy statement to Variety, Bledsoe made it very clear that he cannot continue to work with a company that actively discriminates against the LGBTQIA+ community:

As someone who struggled as a young man with our society’s extremely narrow definition of masculinity, it was their community that provided me with refuge and a guiding light when my life felt lost. And now, if I cannot stand up for that community in their time of need, my debt to them means nothing. So, I want to be very clear: my support for the LGBTQIA+ community is unconditional – nothing is worth my silence or their ability to live and love freely in a world that we are lucky enough to share with them.

“I hope GAF will change, but until everyone can be represented in their films with pride, my choice is clear,” Bledsoe wrote in the closing paragraph. “I look forward to working with creators who put no limits on the stories we tell and follow through on their message of values with open arms.”

You can read the full statement here.

(Via Variety)

“Time is tickin’, time, time is tickin’, tickin’” until the new year begins.

And even before we close out the year 2022, there’s already labels and artists dropping dates and cities for tours set for 2023. Acts like BLACKPINK and P1HARMONY have announced theirs as well as other rising acts in the K-pop scene. But if you lean towards more into hip-hop and rap, Tablo, Mithra Jin, and DJ Tukutz, also best known as the legendary Korean hip-hop trio Epik High, just announced their new tour today (December 5).

First seen on Tablo’s Twitter, the Epik High frontman shared the tour poster for their All Time High Tour set for the first half of the new year. The tour will take take place in Europe and North America with seven stops in Europe followed by 28 stops across the US and Canada. Epik High will kick off the tour in Manchester, UK on February 6 at the O2 Ritz Manchester and may, or may not conclude their European leg at the MIK Festival in Paris, France (considering a date is blurred out on the poster and the huge European K-Pop Festival will be happening around the same time).

The US leg of the tour will embark just a week after on February 26 in San Diego, CA at Observatory North Park and will continue through the month of March, and conclude in April at The Chelsea in Las Vegas, NV.

Tickets for the All Time High tour will go on sale this Thursday, December 9 at 10 a.m. local time. You can purchase tickets on epikhigh.com.

‘Tis the season to be jolly, indeed. And while many are turning up and blasting Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” or Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me,” some of us are mixing the Christmas festivities with some of the best K-Pop Christmas song in the mix.

In case you are looking to spice things up a bit and want to bring in some Hallyu cheer into your holiday playlist this year, then you’ve come to the right place. Whether you want a simple lighthearted Christmas track to sit down and listen to, or an upbeat dance track to throw it back, there’s a K-Pop song for that. So without further ado, here are some of the best K-Pop Christmas songs sung by some of K-Pop’s finest acts.

NMIXX – “Funky Glitter Christmas”

JYP Entertainment’s youngest girl group caps off their 2022 debut year with a special Christmas song that can get you into the holiday spirit. Compared to their prior releases, this Christmas special isn’t experimental at all but rather a simple, cheerful holiday song that’ll get you to bob your head to the beat.

EXO – “The First Snow”

In Korean culture, it’s considered utterly romantic if you experience the first snowfall of the season with someone you love. In this case, the members of EXO reminisce about a former lover and wonder how they’re doing as the first snow of the season falls. The acoustic R&B instrumental uplifts the heartbreaking lyrics of loss and regret but still serves a perfect bittersweet love song.

The Boyz – “Christmassy!”

Forget about prom. Have you ever been asked to go to a Christmas party? Well, if you consider yourself The B (The Boyz’s fanclub name), then I’m pretty sure your fantasies of living the Y/N life as all members of The Boyz are fighting for your attention as they show and sing about clever ways to ask you out to a Christmas party.

TWICE – “Merry & Happy”

There’s something about TWICE that immediately brings a smile to my face whenever they release wholesome content like this. Holding a Secret Santa and filming the reveals and unboxings as part of the music video are peak Christmas spirit. The music video just showed how much of a bond the members have with each other and showcased the true meaning of Christmas.

Jimin of BTS – “Christmas Love”

Jimin’s angelic voice suits the Christmas season. But the only unfortunate thing missing from all of this is a music video.

Stray Kids – “Christmas EveL”

“Feliz navidad, feliz navidad, feliz navidad but Felix, never bad.” Arguably one of the best Christmas songs to come out of K-Pop in the last few years was from Stray Kids. Not only did this song have everyone banging their heads to the beat, but it also got TikTok shaking their jingle bells as well.

Super Junior – “Santa U Are The One”

Back in the day, SM Entertainment thrived off having compilation albums that would include original holiday and winter-themed songs sung by its artists. Dating back to 2011, and considered the last time the label did a winter album, Super Junior released an all-English, giddy Christmas song that was meant to be enjoyed by all.

GOT7 – “Confession Song”

We all know Christmas is the season of giving. But it’s not always about giving presents or other materialistic things. Sometimes it’s your heart. GOT7’s “Confession Song” is a love letter to the listener of the group confessing their love. In the music video, however, the group plays wingmen (or matchmaker) to help two students confess their love for one another.

Girls’ Generation-TTS – “Dear Santa”

One of Girls’ Generation’s most iconic sub-units releases a Christmas ballad that turns into a jolly pop song that brightens up your spirits. “Dear Santa” sung by GG’s three power vocalists (Taeyeon, Tiffany, and Seohyun) sing about romanticizing Christmas as a season to yearn about being loved and also wanting to profess love to another.

TVXQ – “Magic Castle”

Perhaps one of the most classic titles on this list comes from one of the legendary K-Pop acts of all time — TVXQ. Known to have strong vocal abilities in the industry, the former quintet swoons the listeners in their fairytale serenade in a winter wonderland setting.

The 45th Annual Kennedy Center Honors took place in Washington D.C. last night, honoring lifetime achievements for the arts with President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden in the building. This year’s honorees included U2, soul music legend Gladys Knight, Christian pop singer Amy Grant, blockbuster actor George Clooney, and Cuban composer Tania León. Eddie Vedder honored U2 with renditions of two of their songs, but it was an appearance from Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat that raised eye brows and low key stole the show by roasting Kanye West and then some friendly ribbing of Biden.

Vedder sang both U2’s “Elevation” and “One” and there was also a tribute to Knight with a performance from Brandi Carlile, Sheryl Crow, CeCe Wynans, and BeBe Wynans. But Borat, let’s talk about Borat, because the (fake) Kazakh television reporter got super spicy. “I know the president of US and A is here,” Borat said, according to The Guardian. “Where are you, Mr Trump?” The audience roared, before Borat kept playing along saying how he thought the President looked different than he remembered. “But I see you have a new wife. Wawaweewah! She is very erotic. I must look away before I get a Bono.”

Soon, the audience response became a bit split when Borat joked about antisemitism, namely as it relates to Kanye West. “Before I proceed, I will say I am very upset about the antisemitism in US and A. It not fair. Kazakhstan is No 1 Jew-crushing nation. Stop stealing our hobby. Stop the steal! Stop the steal!” The joke was received tepidly, but Borat continued: “Your Kanye, he tried to move to Kazakhstan and even changed his name to Kazakhstanye West. But we said: No, he too antisemitic, even for us.”

It says something about the state of American arts culture, when Kanye jokes and his despicable behavior became a topic of conversation at an otherwise prestigious arts ceremony. And it threatened to take away the shine from honorees like U2. But actor Sean Penn tried to keep the focus on the honorees, praising U2 as “four scrappy Dublin punks” and “great musical poets of the ages.”

DDG gushed on The Breakfast Club last month that he’s “never been with nobody that’s really motivated me like she do.” He was referring to his girlfriend, Halle Bailey, who admitted she was “for sure” in love with DDG in August. Their romance was on full tilt in the Michigan rapper’s lustful video for “If I Want You,” an August single from September’s It’s Not Me It’s You.

The 12-track received the deluxe treatment in October, but DDG promised fans he wasn’t done releasing music. “I’m dropping new music every Wednesday starting tomorrow..,” he captioned an Instagram post teasing “Vegan” on November 22. “Forbes List” followed last Wednesday, November 30, and then DDG bent the rules and dropped “In Love With A Mermaid” over the weekend.

Of course, Bailey is starring as Ariel in Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid due in theaters May 26, 2023 — a casting that caught DDG by suprise. “I didn’t know people was this racist — I didn’t know this was a thing,” he told the Bootleg Kev Podcast in September. “I thought this sh*t was gone already.”

On “In Love With A Mermaid,” DDG showers Bailey with the love she should have received from the world for the groundbreaking role. The video finds DDG standing before a microphone. The colorfully lit Christmas tree in the background juxtaposes the slow-burning ode, as DDG smoothly promises to “love you from Thursday to Thursday / Not a human, I’m in love with a mermaid” and even admits he “can’t wait till we have kids.”

Watch the “In Love With A Mermaid” video above.

Season two of The White Lotus comes to a chaotic close next week, which means that while we will no longer get to see Aubrey Plaza’s perfectly timed facial expressions, we will be one step closer to another rollercoaster season featuring miserable vacationers and their beautifully picturesque hotel!

The hit anthology series was renewed for a third season earlier this year, so there is even more madness to come. Details about season three have been sparse, but we do know that it will take place in another one of the iconic White Lotus hotels, probably on some luxurious island or remote cabin somewhere that just conveniently doesn’t have any cell service.

Season one took place in Hawaii, while season two took a new crew to Sicily. Of course, the one constant (besides the titular hotel) is Jennifer Coolidge, who will hopefully be on board for season three. Maybe it will take place in a colder climate this time?

Since we don’t have any details for the next season, Twitter users have taken it upon themselves to cast their own third season with various ensembles from previous shows. Honestly, most of these would make for some great television. How do you think the Roy family would handle that kind of situation? What kind of drama would Julie Cooper cook up? And who will be the next cast member to have so much gratuitous nudity? There is so much to be explored here! Here are some potentially great options for season three:

The White Lotus airs on Sundays on HBO.

With Jacob deGrom going to Texas, the New York Mets found themselves with a massive hole in their starting rotation to plug and did just that on Monday when word broke that Justin Verlander was leaving Houston for New York.

Jeff Passan of ESPN reported the Mets had agreed to a two-year, $86 million deal with a “vesting third-year option” to bring the soon to be 40-year-old ace to Queens.

That’s obviously a massive commitment to a pitcher entering his 40s, but Verlander is coming off another Cy Young winning season in which he led the majors with a 1.75 ERA and a 0.829 WHIP. The three-time Cy Young award winner (and 2011 AL MVP) will join Max Scherzer at the top of the Mets rotation that will continue to boast two of baseball’s best starters, even after seeing deGrom walk. The question, of course, will be whether Verlander’s health will hold up after Tommy John surgery cost him the 2021 season, but he certainly didn’t show signs of losing anything in his first year back in 2022.

After falling short in the Wild Card, the Mets clearly had ideas on how to upgrade their roster and Verlander is the first big piece, but few expect New York to be done making significant acquisitions.

It’s tough to beat Costco’s $1.50 hot dog and drink combo. It’s probably the best deal in fast food, all things considered. On its own, it’s also a pretty damn good hot dog (and notably large, compared to the frank you’d get at a game). It’s truly a meal in which you only need one to be full.

That said, how does that iconic hot dog stand up to UPROXX’s favorite grocery store brand dog? Are the size and price (and nostalgia) driving our flavor receptors to love it more? Or is really as good as a high-end brand of specially-made sausage from the hipster paradise of Portland, Oregon? That’s what this taste test aims to answer.

For this hot dog battle, I’ve pitted Costco’s classic Kirkland Signature dog against our favorite grocery store sausage, Olympia Provisions Frankfurter. To keep this as balanced as possible, I’m cooking these dogs in dirty hot dog water (like Costco would), serving them both dressed and plain, and putting them on a steamed Chicago bun from S. Rosen’s. For the dressed dogs, I’m using Stone Delicious IPA Dijon Mustard (which is a nice and spicy mustard with a little seed to it) with SuckerPunch Classic Dill Pickle Chips. It’s straightforward but tasty AF.

The rest is kind of a no-brainer. I’m looking for texture, snap, seasoning, and overall feel of each dog. Moreover, I’m looking for what truly delivers a classic hot dog experience. And since Olympia Provisions Frankfurter is modeled after German sausages, I also had my sons (who have spent their entire lives in Germany until recently) and my wife (who spent 14 years living in Berlin) sample these too and give their opinions. I figured their palates are about as dialed into German-style sausages as anyone else living in America right now.

Let’s dive in!

Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Blind Taste Test Posts Of The Last Six Months

• We Put A Whole Bunch Of Bourbons To A Giant Blind Test And Discovered Some Absolute Gems
• The Affordable Vs Expensive Blind Bourbon Bottle Battle
• Blind Soda Taste Test: Can Any Cherry Soda Beat Cherry Coke?
• The Best-Known Basic Bottles Of Bourbon, Blind Tasted And Ranked
• The 30 Best Bourbon Whiskeys For Fall, Blind Tasted & Ranked

Part 1: The Tasting and Ranking

2. Taste 1 — Costco

Tasting Notes (undressed):

From the jump, this is a classic hot dog. There’s a mild snap, it’s meaty, and it’s moist. There’s almost zero mealiness to the sausage. It’s well-spiced with a hint of nutmeg and maybe some very mild white pepper next to a whisper of chili pepper.

It is very salty though. It’s not a deal-breaker, but you need something to cut through the savoriness. One or two bites in and the saltiness almost overwhelms the whole thing, which is why this is ranked second.

Tasting Notes (dressed):

There we go. The spicy mustard and sharp vinegar of the pickle really cut through the saltiness of the sausage. It’s very needed to make this enjoyable. I kind of wish there was ketchup involved to add a hint of sweetness to the big savory notes, but alas here we are.

The spice does hold up nicely to the toppings and you still get a nice and meaty sense of big hot dog energy.

Other Notes:

The family’s consensus was that this tastes like a classic American hot dog. It’s meaty, delicious, and filling (when dressed) but a little salty.

1. Taste 2 — Olympia Provisions

Tasting Notes (undressed):

This was all about the spices and meat involved in the dog’s makeup. There’s a real sense of a merguez sausage with cumin, chili pepper, and lamb gaminess. I like that … but … this doesn’t taste anything like a classic hot dog, especially without toppings.

All of that said, there’s an excellent snap to the casing, the sausage filling has a mild mealiness, and the overall taste is very European but not specifically so. In fact, it feels more French-Algerian than, say, German thanks to that spice profile and use of lamb. That said, this was perfectly spiced and seasoned with just the right touches of savory and sharpness to balance the gamey meatiness.

Tasting Notes (dressed):

The mustard worked really well with this sausage, but the pickles less so. The mustard added an acidic spiciness that cut through the bigger dark spicy notes of the sausage while the pickle kind of took away from it. It did add a nice textural element, but that wasn’t enough to warrant the pickle being there.

Overall, this is such a well-constructed sausage that it just needs a little mustard to help it pop even more.

Other Notes:

The family consensus was that this tasted nothing like a classic hot dog (or a German one, though the form was correct). They landed on more Mediterranean/Northern African notes as well. In fact, it reminded them of a sausage I used to buy from a Turkish butcher, which is pretty spot on. That said, they did say this tasted really good, just not in a hot dog format.

“It didn’t need the bun” was the main throughline of their review — which is about as European as you can get.

Part 2: Final Thoughts

Olympia Provisions make a better sausage and it’s not even close. They win this tasting for that alone. But it has to be said, if you’re looking for a classic hot dog experience with that quintessential “big hot dog energy,” then you have to go with Costco’s dog.

My recommendation is to enjoy the Olympia Provisions Frankfurter like a true German — on a plate with mustard on the side for dipping. And if you’re looking for a crowd-pleasing and meaty dog that you can slather in any topping, Costco is the play. But you’ll need a lot of ketchup and mustard because them’s some salty dogs.

Towards the end of last week, Caroline Polachek teased that she had a new song, “Welcome To My Island,” dropping today (December 5). Well, today is… today, and the new song is here. With it, though, also comes an album announce. Polachek is releasing Desire, I Want To Turn Into You next Valentine’s Day, February 14.

The song, which she co-wrote with Olivia Rodrigo collaborator Dan Nigro, actually came about during the Pang sessions and is the oldest song on the new album. In a new Rolling Stone feature, Polachek explained it didn’t make that LP because it represented a “brash and bratty and funny and chaotic and manic” new character.

Polachek also explained the meaning of the album title, saying, “One, it can be read as being about the ‘you.’ We all know that feeling of falling in love, of wanting to obsessively learn from and become that person. But on the other hand, maybe desire is the thing you want to turn into itself.”

Of the album, she noted, “I want to push back against ephemerality.” She also said of working with the project’s primary collaborator Danny L Harle, “I realized very quickly that all I needed for the album was just me and him.”

There’s no revealed tracklist yet, but previous singles “Bunny Is A Rider,” “Billions,” and “Sunset” will be on the album.

Listen to “Welcome To My Island” above.

Desire, I Want To Turn Into You is out 2/14/2023 via Perpetual Novice. Pre-order it here.

Aubrey Plaza is not only famous, she’s a famous woman, so she’s probably read some truly weird things about herself on the internet. This might explain why she’s not on Twitter. But in a video for GQ, “Aubrey Plaza Replies to Fans on the Internet,” the tWiStEd The White Lotus actress revealed the “creepiest shit” she’s ever read online.

In response to a photo on Instagram where she’s wearing a witch hat, one of her followers wrote, “How many witch hats do you own? I hope it’s a lot,” followed by the smile emoji. “All right, that’s the creepiest sh*t I’ve ever read,” Plaza said. “What do you care how many hats I own?” But if you must know, “I own a lot of them,” she added, “in all different kinds of colors and levels of power.” She’s a perfect fit for Coven of Chaos.

You can watch the video above.

Plaza also recently spoke to Deadline about what it was like filming The White Lotus. “It was incredible. We were shooting in Sicily for four months, living in a luxury hotel and staying in this gorgeous town. You walk outside and look at the ocean from these cliffs. It’s breathtaking,” she said. “You’ve got the backdrop of Mt. Etna volcano that can erupt at any second. Damn, that just kind of infuses the whole scene with this wild energy.”

Will the sexual tension on The White Lotus erupt in the finale? Probably!