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Is ‘The Great British Bake-Off’ Okay? An Investigation!

For over a decade, The Great British Bake-Off has been reliable, mostly drama and conflict-free entertainment. The endearing program, which puts Britain’s best home bakers in a tent and asks them to compete in themed challenges each week that challenge their creative and technical skills for a grand prize of… nothing except the title of winner of The Great British Bake-Off, was once the television equivalent of a weighted blanket. The tent is filled with pastel cabinets and appliances, plants, and fairy lights. All contestants are super nice to each other. When sending contestants off the show, hosts spend valuable screen time explaining how sad they are to do so. Judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith (and formerly Mary Berry), while honest, were never mean. Even when they complained of soggy bottoms or underbaked cakes, they did it softly and kindly, with a compliment to balance out the criticism.

Not much has changed visually: same tent, same pastel cabinets, and appliances, same fairy lights, the contestants are still obsessed with each other and the hosts still give their long, dramatic speeches about how much they regret sending anyone home. But the series, now in its 13th season (the 10th collection on Netflix) has made a dark, weird pivot that is so different from what the show used to be that I wonder if I am hallucinating.

Despite its wholesome quality and overall pleasantness that was never too nauseatingly pleasant, the show has had its dilemmas. There was Iain’s disastrous baked Alaska in season five, which sent the contestants, judges, and world into a tailspin. But now, the show has gotten darker. In the current season, the quirky collection of bakers, who are the truest home bakers the show has ever seen, are sloppier than ever (although who am I, someone who can barely make boxed brownies, to say). This has made judges Paul and Prue meaner, and quite honestly tired of it all. Hosts Noel Fielding and Matt Lucas’s unhinged, occasionally admirable bits feel like they were conceived ten minutes before call time, and you can see and feel their guilt as Paul and Prue are harsher and harsher on the humble contestants. The season’s themes, from “Mexican Week” to “Halloween Week,” and challenges which include tacos, masks, and weird s’mores, have completely lost the plot.

While the earlier episodes contained a hint of the series’ new “am I on drugs or am I watching The Great British Bake-Off?” vibe, it was Mexican Week that really solidified its dark turn, with offensive stereotypes and ignorance of an entire culture that was meant to be celebrated. There were also some very interesting pronunciations of quite common Mexican dishes including pico de gallo and guacamole.

GBBO season 13
Netflix
GBBO season 13
Netflix

Then during “Bread Week,” there was a pizza that looked like this, although to be fair to contestant Carole, she knew that she put too much cheese on it immediately.

GBBO season 13
Netflix

The judges are snappier, and so are the contestants. This is, of course, The Great British Bake-Off’s version of snappy, so it is still a quite pleasant version of snappy, but it’s a huge departure from the chummy precedent. In one episode of the current season, contestant Dawn fires back at judge Paul Hollywood when he says that she reminds him of his mother.

GBBO season 13
Netflix

In another episode, Prue suggests that not many people make spring rolls (which is more ignorant than weird).

GBBO season 13
Netflix

In the quarter-final, co-host Noel Fielding says that he is “traumatized” and Paul Hollywood straight up says that he is disappointed with the contestants.

GBBO season 13
Netflix

Alas, this all seems to be a result of the series deal with Netflix. Since 2018, the series has had a deal with Netflix. New seasons air in the U.K., and the episodes are available to stream on Netflix stateside days later. A few years into the deal, and Netflix’s signature and exhausting gimmicky meme-thirsty influence is all over The Great British Bake-Off. An attempt to make the show younger and goofier has worked against it. What was once a relaxing, reliable, and already goofy time, is now a vaguely depressing and exhausting one for all involved from hosts to judges, contestants to the audience.

Essentially, the answer to the question, “is The Great British Bake-Off okay?” is a resounding, trembly no.

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Channing Tatum Gives Salma Hayek A Lap Dance To Remember In The ‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance’ Trailer

The Magic Mike empire — a pair of very good movies, an HBO Max series, a live Las Vegas show — is about to get bigger with Magic Mike’s Last Dance.

Directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Soderbergh, the “Super Bowl of stripper movies” will have a Magic Mike first (“You’ve seen me dance onstage, but you’ve never seen me give an intimate, straight-up one-on-one lap dance,” star Channing Tatum teased) and a “splash zone,” which is exactly what it sounds like. Abs will be felt up.

As evidenced by the trailer above, Magic Mike’s Last Dance is both a “one last job” and a Muppets-style “put on a show” movie. Except I don’t remember any episodes of The Muppet Show where Gonzo dances on a stage, shirtless, while people (and/or chickens) throw dollar bills at him. Maybe I missed it. Anyway, here’s the official plot synopsis:

“Magic” Mike Lane takes to the stage again after a lengthy hiatus, following a business deal that went bust, leaving him broke and taking bartender gigs in Florida. For what he hopes will be one last hurrah, Mike heads to London with a wealthy socialite who lures him with an offer he can’t refuse… and an agenda all her own. With everything on the line, once Mike discovers what she truly has in mind, will he — and the roster of hot new dancers he’ll have to whip into shape — be able to pull it off?

Magic Mike’s Last Dance opens on February 10, 2023. The perfect Valentine’s Day movie.

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Yes, ‘The Avengers’ Teased Chris Evans For Being The ‘Sexiest Man Alive’

Every year, the world waits patiently for People magazine to declare the most important title of our time: the Cutest Rescue Dog contest. A cute little pup named Gordon won this year! Congrats, Gordon!

Anyway, People also does this little feature on the Sexiest Man Alive, which just so happens to be Chris Evans this year. The former Captain America was crowned Sexiest Man Alive for 2022, and while many agree, there are some others who partook in some light teasing. While on Jimmy Kimmel Live! a fellow Avenger said that the group of superheroes participated in some light bullying after the cover was revealed.

“We have an Avengers group chain,” Chris Hemsworth explained. “It very quickly was like, ‘What are you doing with your hands back there?’” He joked, referencing the cover photo of Evans with his hand suspiciously out of frame.

The Thor actor continued, “Downey said he’s being arrested. I said it was a beautiful mugshot. Then Jeremy Renner said a series of things which we won’t repeat.” Hemsworth then said that Renner often texted “filthy” things which seem to be on-brand with his reputation.

Evans knew this would happen, as he joked in his People issue that he is expecting some good-natured “bullying” and “harassment” from friends, which has to include Jeremy Renner by default.

Of course, all joking aside, Kimmel asked if Hemsworth was proud of his co-star for snagging the title after Hemsworth was crowned the Sexiest Man Alive in 2014. “Absolutely. He’s indeed a sexy man,” Hemsworth said, speaking for all of us. Now imagine if they combined the world’s cutest dog and the sexiest man alive into one issue. Things would never be the same! Check out the clip above.

(Via EW)

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The Complete List Of 2022 Grammy Awards Nominations

The 65th Annual Grammy Awards are going down on February 5, 2023. That’s still a while away, but today (November 15) is a big day, too: The full list of nominations is being announced starting at noon ET.

If they’re still ongoing by the time you read this post, it’s easy to watch them live: The Recording Academy has made the broadcast available in a number of ways, including the live.grammy.com site, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Participating in the announcement are Olivia Rodrigo, Machine Gun Kelly, John Legend, Luis Fonsi, Smokey Robinson, Jimmie Allen, and Ledisi, along with Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. and CBS Mornings co-anchors Gayle King and Nate Burleson.

In order to be eligible for the 2023 Grammys, a work must have been released between October 1, 2021 and September 30, 2022. Just don’t expect to see any Silk Sonic on the list: Last month, Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak revealed they were bowing out of consideration this time around after “Leave The Door Open” won all four awards for which it was nominated in 2022.

Check out the full list of 2023 Grammy nominees below. The list will be updated as nominations are revealed.

This post is being updated.

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

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What Was Taylor Swift’s Biggest Tour Of Her Career?

Taylor Swift’s tickets for her 2023 The Eras Tour are causing chaos amongst fans by going on sale today, as the demand seems to be the highest it’s ever been. Following the record-breaking release of her Midnights album, Swift’s first live shows in years are turning out to be her biggest US tour to date.

In addition to the first round announcement tour dates, Swift has since added seventeen more, including multiple stops in cities like Las Vegas, Tampa, Nashville, Chicago, and more. There are now 52 shows. She is also playing five nights at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium, which will be the final dates of the US leg of this tour in August.

Her last time touring was for the Reputation Stadium Tour. According to Economic Times, that tour consisted of 38 stops — which is nothing compared to The Eras Tour now. It grossed $266 million with two million fans attending in total.

Swift had also planned for a number of shows in 2020 in support of her Lover album. Those were eventually canceled due to the pandemic. Since then, she has turned out three new studio albums and two re-recorded versions, boosting her popularity immensely.

Based on this current trajectory, Swift’s The Eras Tour is truly gearing up to be a massive tour. And hey, it even crashed Ticketmaster.

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Will.I.Am Explains How He Sampled One Of Black Eyed Peas’ Biggest Hits For One Of Usher’s

When you’re a superstar producer and you need a hit, it helps when you already have one to sample for it. As Will.I.Am tells Just Blaze and Katty Customs on the latest episode of Fresh Pair, inspiration can strike at any time — and have some unlikely origins. In this case, the hit he needed to produce was for Usher after being asked by RCA Records President Mark Pitts for “an international smash” with little other guidance.

At the time, Will was on tour with his band Black Eyed Peas promoting their 2009 album The E.N.D. and its No. 1 hit single “I Gotta Feeling,” which was a worldwide hit. According to the hitmaking producer, the group had just done a French TV show and after performing “I Gotta Feeling,” the crowd began a now-familiar chant. After getting the show’s host to email him the recording of the episode, he pulled the crowd’s cheering, turning into the foundation for Usher’s “OMG.”

It’s a good thing he did, at least for Just Blaze, who said the song has “saved my ass many times in a DJ set.” “OMG” did become the international smash Pitts wanted, topping charts in Australia, Ireland, The UK, and New Zealand, as well as the US, and selling 7 million copies worldwide in 2010 alone. Mission accomplished!

Watch the preview clip of this week’s Fresh Pair above, and stay tuned for the full episode tomorrow.

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Bobby Shmurda Mistook Klay Thompson For One Of His Fellow Former Inmates

Bobby Shmurda has been an absolute delight since his return, sharing all kinds of surprisingly wholesome stories about his prison experience as he works his way back into the spotlight with new music and charming interviews. In his latest of the latter, he sits down with Drink Champs to share stories about he’s still getting used to being a star on the outside.

As he explained, he still doesn’t always recognize his fellow celebrities, recalling one particularly hilarious instance in which he mistook NBA star Klay Thompson for one of his former fellow inmates. “Deadass, I meet basketball players, and I don’t even know they’re basketball players,” he chuckled. “I met Klay Thompson the other day; why I thought this n**** was in Clinton [Correctional Facility, here Bobby served his six-year racketeering sentence] with me? I’m like, ‘Yo, I know this n**** from somewhere!’ Bro came to me like, ‘You dumb-ass n****, that’s Klay Thompson.’ I’m like, ‘Who? Klay Thompson? N**** look different on TV.’ I’m like, ‘Bro I don’t watch much TV like that, I be in the streets, my bad.’”

Of course, Thompson, one of the nice guys of the NBA, told him not to worry about the case of mistaken identity, laughing it off.

You can watch the full interview up top.

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All The Best New Pop Music From This Week

By the time this week’s Best New Pop roundup drops, the nominations for the 2023 Grammys will finally be out in the world. While the eligibility period for submissions ended months ago, a bunch of major pop stars returned with new songs this week — which could easily be strong contenders for 2024. Although that feels wildly far away, you can get a headstart early by being a fan of the following tracks below. (You know, so you can say you listened before it was cool.)

From another soundtrack release from RiRi to a current TV star making waves with her new EP, here is Uproxx’s roundup of the best new pop songs you don’t want to miss this week.

Rihanna – “Born Again”

The second Rihanna release from the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack, “Born Again” is a powerful ballad that’s arguably even stronger than the previously-released “Lift Me Up.” Here, her voice (and the production on it) is crystal clear as it takes center stage in the song. By the bridge, the added harmonies and instrumental change emphasize the scene that the movie’s viewers have described as emotional.

Ava Max – “Weapons”

Ava Max’s “Weapons” immediately commands attention as she directs listeners to “Stop!” in the opening line. And it works brilliantly. While this eventually gets re-introduced in the song’s chorus, listeners can’t help but continue to hear what comes next — a synth-driven that encourages living in the moment.

Reneé Rapp – “Too Well”

While fans might recognize Reneé Rapp from her role on HBO Max’s The Sex Lives Of College Girls, she is also shining in the music industry this year. With a single from her new debut EP, Everything To Everyone, “Too Well” opens with a twinkling, lullaby-like instrumental before Rapp begins detailing the somber aspects of a relationship. With so many great singles this year, she truly is a rising pop presence to watch.

Kim Petras – “If Jesus Was A Rockstar”

Petras’ “If Jesus Was A Rockstar” is primed to be a major hit, following in the footsteps of her chart-topping collab with Sam Smith. On the surface, the radio-ready release finds Petras shifting away from her hyper-pop sound that was prevalent in previous records. However, this was intentional, as she also used the song as a way of examining her own relationship with religion.

Louis Tomlinson – “Silver Tongues”

Louis Tomlinson just dropped his new album, Faith In The Future, one that is rumored to be his first solo No. 1 debut in the UK. “Silver Tongues” opens with a piano for the first verse, before exploding into a carefree anthem with a guitar solo. It’s a song that he just truly seemed to enjoy creating. “It’s not trying to be anything that it’s not,” Tomlinson told Euphoria. “We were not trying to write a single, and there’s just a certain level of energy to it.”

Christine And The Queens – “Ma bién aimée bye bye”

The opening track from Redcar’s new album under the Christine And The Queens project, “Ma bién aimée bye bye” explores themes of grief and loss over a dreamy, retro pop instrumental — which tied into his personal life and experiences while writing.

Zolita – “Ruin My Life”

“I was holding my breath under shades of blue / Right there that was the moment I knew,” Zolita sings. Throughout the runtime, “Ruin My Life” weaves in details about an all-consuming, so-bad-its-good relationship through a sharp, synth-pop instrumental. This one easily got added to my favorite songs of the year playlist.

Joe Jonas, Khalid – “Not Alone”

Joe Jonas and Khalid teamed up to record “Not Alone” for the soundtrack of the upcoming film, Devotion, where Jonas also appears. This duo works incredibly well together, as each of their solo verses never wavers in terms of vocal ability.

Julia Michaels – “Sorry To Me Too”

“Sorry To Me Too” is Julia Michaels’ powerful way of grappling with anger in the wake of a breakup. “You’ll hear me working out what happened, where it went wrong, trying not to blame myself, and getting back to life without this person who I thought would be in it for a really long time,” Michaels said.

Saiah – “Blue”

Saiah’s “Blue” is a captivating track that is carried by the guitars and electronic production, with an even more emotional message embedded in the lyrics. “‘Blue’ is about me wanting to choose happiness,” they said. “And finding closure and resolutions and ultimately about moving forward through life choosing happiness and love.”

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

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Ariana Grande’s Brother Frankie Was Allegedly Assaulted And Robbed By Two Teenagers In New York

Theater actor, queer activist, and YouTube personality Frankie Grande was brutally assaulted and robbed in New York City, according to TMZ. While the report does not detail whether or not he was specifically targeted, as the older brother of pop superstar Ariana Grande, it is hard to rule it out.

The alleged assailants (aged 17-year-old and 13-year-old) were quickly caught after attempting to use Frankie’s stolen credit card to purchase items at a nearby smoke shop.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time the family has been subjected to physical harm. Over the past year, his sister has been dealing with a relentless stalker. After the deranged fan showed up at the “Thank U, Next” singer’s home wielding a knife, the courts granted Ariana a 5-year restraining order; the man violated the order by showing up again at her home for a second time.

New York City’s Mayor, Eric Adams, has not directly addressed Grande’s attack, but prosecuting violent crimes has become one of his administration’s core focuses. During an appearance on MSNBC, Adams doubled down on his views stating, “this catch, repeat, release system is just destroying the foundation of our country.”

Due to the age of the alleged attackers, their names will not be released to the public. No further details have been released regarding Frankie’s medical condition. Neither Frankie nor Ariana Grande has publicly commented on the matter.

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Meghan McCain Went Peak ‘McCain Daughter’ While Trolling Republican Arch-Nemesis Kari Lake After Her Arizona Loss

Despite both being Republican women whose stance on Donald Trump changes with the wind, Meghan McCain and Arizona gubernatorial Kari Lake freaking hate each other. The two have been feuding all the way back to the primaries thanks to Lake taking several public swings at John McCain‘s legacy still holding sway in Arizona. Considering Meghan’s sole source of relevancy is being conceived by the maverick senator, the former The View host was not thrilled.

Unfortunately for Lake, attacking John McCain was not a winning strategy in Arizona. After nearly a full wake of tallying votes, Lake lost to Democratic candidate Katie Hobbs. Meghan, of course, did not miss an opportunity to gloat. On Monday, evening she tweeted a photo of her father giving the thumbs up next to a photo of Lake with the word “Loser” written on it.

Clearly still in the mood to gloat, Meghan took another shot at Lake the next morning. On Tuesday, she shared a link to a National Review article titled “McCain Republicans Vote, Too” with the caption, “Beautiful morning to all of you.”

Of course, it didn’t take long for Meghan to start being trolled in the comments by MAGA Republicans who were angry that she backed a Democratic candidate. However, don’t look for Meghan to gain sympathy from the Left. She was recently lambasted for making hypocritical comments about John Fetterman following his debate performance. (Fetterman went on to defeat Dr. Oz despite attacks on health.)

You can see Meghan get dragged by her own party below:

(Via Meghan McCain on Twitter)