Category: News

There is not a television show out that does a better job of capturing the authenticity of sports fans — both casual and diehard — than ABC’s Abbott Elementary.

The Philadelphia-set comedy has done an unbelievable job of working in sports references, jokes, and appearances that feel incredibly natural, which is quite the accomplishment for a sitcom based around elementary school teachers. Already this season they have turned the parking lot into an Eagles tailgate and had a delightful Gritty appearance in the season premiere, following it up with a rather incredible one-liner about Melissa (Lisa Ann Walter) having to go to court for throwing things at Ben Simmons in last week’s episode.

Tonight’s episode will continue the Philly sports references as they do their Halloween episode, where Janine (Quinta Brunson) dresses as James Harden, complete with cornrows and an incredible fake beard. The still shots from the episode hit Twitter early this week and on Monday they even made it to Harden (which is an accomplishment since he famously “doesn’t have the internet”), who is seemingly a fan of Brunson’s cosplay.

The beard really makes this, as it’s so preposterously big that it’s perfect, and it’s all incredibly on brand for a show that has captured the essence of Philly sports fandom extremely well in its first season-plus.

Two of Puerto Rico’s rising stars, Alejo and Robi, are taking on the music of reggaeton music’s pioneers. Today (October 4), they released their covers that are re-imagining classics by Daddy Yankee and Wisin y Yandel.

Alejo and Robi have become breakout stars this year thanks to the success of their hit “Pantysito.” After teasing the song on TikTok late last year, Colombian singer Feid heard it and wanted to be a part of it. In May, Alejo and Robi released “Pantysito” with Feid and their collaboration has amassed over 175 million streams on Spotify. The alluring music video that the trio shot in Las Vegas has over 53 million views on YouTube.

As part of the Amazon Original series, Alejo and Robi are singing the music reggaeton music’s pioneers. First up, Alejo covered “Sexy Movimiento” by Wisin y Yandel. The duo first released the song in 2007 as part of the Wisin vs. Yandel: Los Extraterrestres album. Alejo had his work cut out for him because he sang both Wisin y Yandel’s parts by himself. He perfectly captured the aggressive attitude behind Wisin’s rhymes while channeling Yandel’s romantic flow. Alejo’s cover can be streamed in full on Amazon Music here.

Robi also had some big shoes to fill. He covered the Daddy Yankee’s classic “Tu Príncipe.” Daddy Yankee first released the song as collaboration with Zion y Lennox from his groundbreaking 2004 album Barrio Fino. The sound of Robi’s version is faithful to the original with the perreo-ready beats. Robi turned up the heat to match the song’s sexy swagger. His cover can be streamed in full here.

Back in June, Alejo released the electronic-infused EP Full Discoteka. Robi is exploring more pop-driven sounds in his recent singles like “Garabatos” with Jay Wheeler and the funky “Robot.”

While many of the women in rap share the consensus opinion that it’s the fans and media who stoke the fires of beef between them, let’s not kid ourselves: The clapback queens of the rap business certainly don’t help the situation by always being willing to throw gasoline on the flames. In the latest example, what appeared to be a possible misunderstanding between “Twerk” collaborators Cardi B and JT of City Girls escalated into all-out timeline warfare. After fans brought a supposedly shady JT tweet to Cardi’s attention, insults were flung on both sides, even as they vowed to settle things in the DMs.

So, why were Cardi B and JT arguing on Twitter?

As with the majority of Cardi’s timeline feuds, it looks a little bit like this one started with Cardi/Nicki stan accounts and the coincidental timelines of both rappers’ most recent releases. Last month, Nicki Minaj shared a remix of her single “Super Freaky Girl (QueenMix)” featuring JT along with a slew of other female rappers — the first time Nicki had participated in a collaboration with more than one female rapper in her career. Meanwhile, Cardi hopped on a remix of a viral GloRilla song called “Tomorrow 2,” which skyrocketed to the Hot 100 top ten. When a fan pointed out the varying degrees of success between the two tracks, JT tried to keep the peace, but seemingly misidentified GloRilla’s top-ten song as a remix of her calling card breakthrough hit “F.N.F. (Let’s Go).”

When some fans interpreted this as a deliberate move to dismiss Cardi B’s contribution to Glo’s success, Cardi seemingly responded with a one-word tweet: “Lapdog.” This too was seen as a diss by fans, who believed Cardi was calling JT Nicki’s lapdog — and to be fair, it’s not like there wasn’t precedent after fellow “QueenMix” feature Akbar V launched a similar attack on Cardi just a week before. It didn’t take long until Cardi and JT were arguing via quote tweets, comparing YouTube views, and accusing each other of using ghostwriters.

Incidentally, City Girls denied having beef with Cardi back in 2020, when fans perceived a lack of support from them toward Cardi’s hit single “WAP.” While those fans attributed this to friction between the women, Yung Miami denied any discord, and both shut down the accusations on a podcast. Unfortunately, it looks like the good vibes have since dissipated, leaving behind the air of enmity that gives fans so many reasons to assume beef between female rappers.

Jamie Lee Curtis has been constantly delivering iconic roles throughout her forty-plus years of being on the screen. She might be known for her scream queen antics in Halloween and Prom Night, but her comedic roles are often overlooked. When she starred as Lindsay Lohan’s uptight therapist mother in Freaky Friday, she single-handedly brought back plaid skirts with fishnets and showed the world who she really is: a rockstar!

“Freaky Friday was a fabulous movie, also very freeing creatively,” Curtis recently told EW. The movie followed Curtis and Lohan as they accidentally switched bodies. “You know, being a teenager again, it was super fun. I had a good time with Lindsay. She was terrific.” Freaky Friday came out in 2003 when Lindsay Lohan was at the height of her career. Though she took a break from acting shortly after, Curtis reveals that she and Lohan are still close. But since it can be hard to be close with a fellow celebrity who probably gets hundreds of texts a day, Curtis says they have a secret message to ensure that she is actually talking to her former co-star and not a Fake Lindsay.

“When she texts me, she’ll say, ‘Hey, Jamie, it’s Lindsay,’” Curtis explains. “I’ll be like, ‘Prove it.’ Here’s our proving it: I say, ‘What was the song that we both tried to learn the rap to when sitting in the car for an entire day together?’ If she answers correctly, then I know it’s Lindsay. If it’s somebody fishing, pretending to be Lindsay, they won’t know that answer. So, for all you fake Lindsays out there, that’s going to be your question!” Curtis added. Of course, this opens up the possibility that there is footage somewhere of Jamie Lee Curtis and Linsday Lohan trying to rap, which sounds like an internet goldmine.

Considering that the movie was shot in October 2002, maybe we can assume their secret song was probably “Lose Yourself” by Eminem. But don’t try pulling a fast one on Jamie Lee, all you Fake Lindsays out there!

(Via EW)

It looks like SZA fans will be waiting much longer than expected for the singer’s second album: The “Go Gina” singer recently opened up about her progress on the follow-up to 2017’s Ctrl but has made it very clear she is in no rush to release it.

“I don’t even know what this album is about and what it sounds like,” SZA said during a recent interview with Complex. “Which is why I had to go to the mode of what feels good to my brain and to my energy and the songs that I think are hot, I just have to go with them.”

SZA said she has “no idea” what the long-anticipated album “sounds like to anybody else,” sharing that it was hard to pinpoint an exact sonic direction. “It’s a little bit of everything,” she said. “It’s a little aggressive. Some parts are incredibly soft. Some of them are ballads. I don’t know. It’s all over the place. It’s just where my heart is.”

Additionally, the singer said despite dealing with relentless questions about the album, she is not feeling pressure to release the album any time soon. The artist is creating her “ideal situation” regarding the time frame for putting out album two, she said.

“I don’t have any deadlines because, at the end of the day, when my sh*t comes out, it comes out,” she said. “And if ever I lose my ability to choose, I have no problem vacating my current life and doing something different. I’m not glued to being an artist for the rest of my life or anything for that matter. I’m seeing where it takes me.”

Since Ctrl, SZA has has kept busy: Back in 2018, she teamed up with Kendrick Lamar for the Black Panther soundtrack single “All The Stars.” She later released two singles on her own in 2020 with the Ty Dolla Sign-assisted “Hit Different” and “Good Days,” and 2021’s “I Hate U.” She also collaborated with Doja Cat on “Kiss Me More,” which earned both artists their first Grammys for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at this year’s ceremony.

House of the Dragon is one of the biggest shows on TV, but not everyone is watching it. Heck, some people haven’t even gotten around to Game of Thrones yet. Ben Schwartz, of Parks and Recreation, Sonic, and The Afterparty fame, was one of those people — until he tested positive for COVID, giving him an excuse to watch an old TV show. Not that anyone needs one. Normalize watching old TV shows with no other responsibilities.

On September 29, Schwartz tweeted, “After playing it super safe since 2020, somehow I got COVID. It is a bummer. I’m looking for switch game recommendations and movie recs. I tried writing to occupy the time and my brain has decided that’s a no go for another couple days.” He added, “I have also started Game of Thrones for the first time, so I can finally get the references everyone made 10 years ago.”

It’s now October 4, and he’s already up to Tyrion’s trial in season four.

Here are some highlights along the way:

Schwartz, like the rest of us, had a visceral reaction to the Red Wedding:

He’s already halfway through, but anyone who spoils Game of Thrones for Schwartz gets a golden crown.

(Via Twitter/Ben Schwartz)

The above logo belongs to Velma, which will be Mindy Kaling’s much more grown-up take on the brains of the Scooby-Doo gang. Kaling anticipates that the series will make some people “freak out” because Velma will be South Asian, and Scooby won’t be a focus of the show. That’s not the HBO Max Velma project that we’re here to talk about today. Instead, people are talking about the new Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo movie that slid onto HBO Max on October 4.

This movie will also be a more adult version of the turtlenecked character than we’re used to seeing in pop culture history. Actually, that’s not entirely true because Variety reminds everyone of what James Gunn (who wrote two Scooby-Doo movies in the aughts) confirmed about Velma Dinkley (played by Linda Cardellini): “In 2001 Velma was explicitly gay in my initial script.” Gunn added that “the studio just kept watering it down” before making her “ambitious” and “then nothing” before giving her “a boyfriend” (played by Seth Green) in the sequel. And over on Instagram, Tony Cervone has also declared (while posting a Pride image starring Velma and Marcie) of the Mystery Incorporated series, “We made our intentions as clear as we could ten years ago.”

Fast forward to 2022, and Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo has Velma crushing on Coco Diablo, who is (via the film’s synopsis) “the head of the notorious costume crime syndicate that colludes The Black Knight, Space Kook and the Ghost Diver.” In other words, yep, Velma is outwardly lesbian in this movie, which is nothing new for her (offscreen), but people love to see it.

Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo is currently streaming on HBO Max.

Every year, John Schumann of NBA.com (now the NBA App) does a survey of all 30 general managers in the league to get their predictions for the upcoming season, and the 2022-23 edition was released on Tuesday morning, with 50 questions being answered by the league’s top decision-makers.

It’s always an interesting glimpse into how GMs view the league, and this year’s edition offers some rather unsurprising predictions for who will win the championship and who will take home the NBA’s top honors this season.

The Bucks are the favorite to win it all, pulling in 43 percent of the votes for who will win the championship, with the Warriors (25 percent) and Clippers (21 percent) splitting the votes in the West, and Boston in fourth at 11 percent. It’s worth noting that last year, the overwhelming choice of GMs was Brooklyn at 73 percent before everything fell apart for the Nets.

In the MVP race, the frontrunner on the odds sheet also takes the top spot, with Luka Doncic getting 48 percent of the vote, followed by Giannis Antetokounmpo (34 percent), Joel Embiid (14 percent), and one vote for Stephen Curry. What was maybe more fascinating is that when posed the question of who you’d start a franchise with today, only Giannis (55 percent) and Luka (45 percent) received votes.

In terms of how GMs viewed this offseason, the Cavs got high marks for their maneuvers, most notably the addition of Donovan Mitchell. 41 percent of GMs had the Cavs as having the best offseason, with the Timberwolves, Sixers, and Jazz all earning 17 percent of the vote — a particularly interesting look into what success means for GMs, as the Jazz traded their top players away but brought back a ton of first round picks. Donovan Mitchell also got 59 percent of the vote as the most impactful new addition to a team, with Rudy Gobert at 31 percent.

While the Cavs made the biggest offseason splash, they were second to the Clippers in terms of the team expected to make the biggest leap next year, as they get Kawhi Leonard and Paul George back healthy, adding to a deep and talented veteran roster.

Feid is going to be touring the US for the first time. The Colombian singer-songwriter revealed the news of his upcoming tour on Monday (October 3).

Since the release of his LP Feliz Cumpleaños Ferxxo Te Pirateamos El Álbum last month, Feid’s career has been on a high. After the album’s first week out, it was certified Gold in the US. Feliz Cumpleaños also became his first LP to crack the top 10 of Billboard‘s Hot Latin Albums chart when it climbed to No. 8 last week. The album also became his first to enter the all-genre Billboard 200 chart, at No. 188.

With that momentum going in his career, Feid announced his first solo headlining tour in the US. His US Trip Tour kicks off in Atlanta on October 15. The 14-date tour wraps up in LA on November 25. Last year, Feid was the opening act for Karol G‘s Bichota Tour in the US. Now he’s hitting the road all on his own. Tickets for Feid’s tour will go on-sale starting tomorrow on Ticketmaster.com.

Last week, Feid released a remix EP of his deep house track “Nieve.” He did the A&R for the project alongside Universal Music Latino’s Albert Piedrahita. Among the DJs that remixed “Nieve” for the 5-track EP are Benny Benassi, Armand Van Helden, and Good Times Ahead.

10/13 – Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre
10/16 – Charlotte, NC @ Fillmore
10/20 – Orlando, FL @ House of Blues
10/25 – Washington, DC @ Howard Theater
10/26 – New York City, NY @ Irving Plaza
10/27 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
10/30 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
11/01 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
11/08 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues
11/10 – San Antonio, TX @ Aztec Theater
11/13 – San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
11/14 – Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues
11/20 – San Francisco, CA @ Fillmore
11/25 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Belasco

It seems like Rage Against The Machine simply wasn’t meant to complete their reunion tour. Zack De La Rocha injured his leg during the band’s show in Chicago this July, which was later revealed to be a torn Achilles after the band canceled their UK and European dates in August. This morning (October 4), the Los Angeles alt-rockers canceled the 2023 North American leg.

“It’s been almost three months since Chicago, and I still look down at my leg in disbelief,” De La Rocha wrote in a note posted to Twitter. “Two years of waiting through the pandemic, hoping we would have an opening to be a band again and continue the work we started 30 some odd years ago. Rehearsing, training, reconciling, working our way back to form. Then one and a half shows into it and my tendon tears. Felt like a sick joke the universe played on me. As I write this I remind myself it’s just bad circumstances. Just a f*cked up moment.”

He continued: “Unfortunately it is a moment that requires a lot of work and healing. I have a severe tear in my left Achilles tendon and only 8% of my tendon was left intact. And even that portion was severely compromised. It’s not simply a question of being able to perform again but extends to basic functionality going forward. That’s why I’ve made the painful and difficult decision to cancel the remaining shows on our 2023 North American leg.”

This reunion tour was initially announced in February 2020 and was scheduled to kick off on March 26, 2020, in El Paso, Texas. It was punted due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, and their first show in 11 years finally took place at the Alpine Valley Music Theater in Wisconsin on July 9.

The band used their long-awaited set in Wisconsin to advocate against the Supreme Court after June’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. Days later, they spread awareness around violence against Indigenous people in Canada as headliners at Ottawa’s Bluesfest.

De La Rocha’s cancellation announcement included confirmation that refunds will automatically be provided within 30 days for those who purchased tickets online from AXS or Ticketmaster.