Category: News

New music from Lizzo is a good thing in most people’s books, but a new single and a live debut on Saturday Night Live? Now that’s an embarrassment of riches. The pop star and now inclusive shapewear line designer took to the SNL stage tonight after her latest single, “About Damn Time” had only been out for a few days. That didn’t stop her from dubbing it the “song of the summer,” before it even dropped, and showing out for the retro song’s disco-themed music video.

Replicating some of that video’s style for tonight’s live debut, Lizzo and her dancers were clad in glittery neon outfits and performed on a stage lit with colorful bands of lights. The R&B star and her all-female, all women of color band turned out a super funky version of the song, with light choreo and lots of feeling. Check out that performance up top and check out her second performance below. For her second song of the night, Lizzo chose to perform “Special,” the title track off her forthcoming album of the same name, this time in a glamorous pink gown. Since Lizzo was both the musical performer and guest star on tonight’s episode, she appeared in a whole host of skits too, so check those out if you want more.

CL was dealt a rough hand when the 2020 pandemic hit right around the time she was planning to release her debut solo album. Pushing the record back until the fall of 2021, when Alpha did drop, it flew a bit under the radar. That’s partially because she was releasing the album completely independently, on her own label Very Cherry. The K-pop star has been off the grid for a few years following her split from former girl group, 2NE1, one of the biggest acts to ever come out of Korea.

Though the band hasn’t performed together since their split back in 2015, which is when CL decided to launch her solo career, they reunited today onstage at Coachella during 88 Rising’s slotted time. Following up a short performance from CL by herself, which included live renditions of Alpha singles “Spicy” and her classic “Hello Bitches,” she returned to the stage with the rest of the group following her performance. All four of the girls — CL, Park Bom, Dara, and Minzy — hit the stage to perform their 2011 hit “I Am The Best,” in the kind of surprise reunion that Coachella is becoming renowned for. Check out footage from their performance above, and look out for more surprise guests likely coming soon.

Wherever she goes, Megan Thee Stallion makes news. So it’s not that surprising that the Houston hottie was making waves even before she took the stage at Coachella 2022 by letting fans know she was planning to debut a brand new song. Megan is
constantly giving fans new music, as her most recent collaboration with Dua Lipa, “Sweetest Pie,” clearly proves, and tonight’s new song might be called “Dick Don’t Run Me.” As she already predicted on Twitter, this one really goes out to the ladies and resonates with women most deeply, with a message of female empowerment and a kiss off to an ex lover.

After her disappointment that the fest was initially canceled way back in 2020, The Stallion was clearly more than ready to take the stage this evening. And with her unique combination of spitfire bars, incredible breath control, and all that twerking, her set was a highlight of the night, preceding headliner Billie Eilish by just a few hours. Check out footage from Megan’s set below, particularly these clips of her brand new song. Odds are, this new single is going to hit streaming services sooner than later, so keep an eye out for updates on that, too.

The Philadelphia 76ers have drawn first blood against the Toronto Raptors. Game 1 of the first-round series between the Atlantic Division foes took place on Saturday evening, and in the most emphatic performance that we have seen on the first day of the 2022 NBA playoffs, the Sixers were able to defend their home court with a 131-111 win.

The story of the night was the play of second-year guard Tyrese Maxey. After appearing in 12 playoff games for Philadelphia last year and coming off the bench in all of them, Maxey got the start in the backcourt alongside James Harden on Saturday and submitted one of the best performances of his career. The No. 21 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft scored a playoff career-high 38 points on 14-for-21 shooting in 38 minutes of work — Maxey missed his career-best mark by one point.

Beyond the fact that he made five of his eight attempts from three, Toronto’s defense struggled mightily to stay in front of him, as his lightning quick ability off the bounce gave the Raptors headaches. That was especially true in the game’s third quarter, when Maxey exploded for 21 points.

The Sixers’ three most highly-paid players all chipped in with very good evenings, as Tobias Harris had 26 points with six assists and six rebounds, while both James Harden (22 points, 14 assists) and Joel Embiid (19 points, 15 rebounds) put up double-double performances. But the man of the evening was Maxey, who is in the midst of establishing himself as one of the brightest young guards in all of basketball.

Game 2 between the Sixers and Raptors will take place on Monday night at 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT.

Scottie Barnes, one of the best rookies in the NBA this season and a crucial piece to the Toronto Raptors’ plan of attack on both ends of the floor, left Saturday night’s Game 1 against the Philadelphia 76ers with a foot or ankle injury. During the game’s fourth quarter, Joel Embiid had the ball just below the free throw line and attempted to spin into the paint for before throwing a pass to Tobias Harris on the perimeter.

While OG Anunoby was manning Embiid up, Barnes came over to help, and Embiid appeared to accidentally step on his left foot and ankle. Barnes immediately went down in a ton of pain, and after play stopped a few seconds later, got tended to by the Raptors’ medical staff.

Barnes was helped to the back, and ultimately, Cassidy Hubbarth of ESPN reported that Barnes was ruled out with a sprained ankle, although they were still awaiting further information on the extent of his injury. Barnes was excellent on the night at the time of his departure, scoring 15 points with 10 rebounds and eight assists.

The No. 4 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Barnes has averaged 15.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.7 blocks in 35.4 minutes per game for Toronto, which started him in all 74 games in which he appeared. He was not Toronto’s only injury on the night, as Thaddeus Young likewise had to leave the game after suffering a sprained left thumb.

With the return of Coachella — a festival with no use for masks or mandatory vaccinations — the advent of festival season is officially back in swing. Though the event ran into a little bit of trouble with Kanye West dropping out last minute, they quickly subbed in The Weeknd, and kicked off last night with an epic Harry Styles performance that included several new singles and a Shania Twain cover or two. But even with Harry taking up all the oxygen on the lineup last night, other artists were quietly on the move, too.

For instance, Justin Bieber came out and joined Daniel Caesar for a rendition of “Peaches” right before Harry took the stage, and several hours before, on a stage far, far away, cult favorite Carly Rae Jepsen was letting fans know what the “Western Wind” billboard teasers have been all about. Performing the song live for the first time during her set, Jepsen also shared a snippet of the track on Twitter, which you can hear above. Along with the track came what looks very much like an album cover, and if it is, then Western Wind is the name of her upcoming new album, too. In the meantime, look out for the official single release coming soon.

For the second time since the conclusion of the 2004 postseason, the Minnesota Timberwolves have won a playoff game. Minnesota, the 7-seed in the Western Conference, traveled to Memphis to take on the 2-seed Grizzlies on Saturday afternoon, and despite a productive game from Ja Morant, the Timberwolves were able to steal homecourt advantage away with a 130-117 win.

The charge was led by Anthony Edwards, who was nothing short of magnificent in his playoff debut. After having a monster play-in game against the Los Angeles Clippers to secure a postseason berth for the Timberwolves earlier in the week, Edwards went out and had the fourth-highest scoring debut in NBA playoff history. The former No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft went for 36 points on 12-for-23 shooting and connected on four of his 11 attempts from deep. Only two players in Timberwolves history — Sam Cassell and Troy Hudson, with the former hitting the 40-point mark twice — have scored more points in a playoff game.

There was nothing that the Grizzlies could do, as Edwards — as confident as ever — was in total control of his game. His ability to scorer was nothing short of effortless, as he kept getting to his spots and knocking down shots.

He even flashed some comfort as a distributor, racking up six assists on the day.

Edwards was not the only Timberwolves player to show out. Karl-Anthony Towns responded to a bad game against the Clippers be going for 29 points and 13 rebounds, including a poster dunk on potential Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr.

Morant’s 32 points and eight assists led the way for Memphis, will Dillon Brooks providing another 24 and the frontcourt combination of Jackson and Brandon Clarke combining for 25 points, 16 rebounds, and seven blocks.

Game 2 between the Grizzlies and Timberwolves will tip off on Tuesday night at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBA TV.

Earlier this week, NLE Choppa shared a video on his social media where he claimed that he made a BBL supplement. The Me Vs. Me rapper claimed the “herbal concoction” is made up of akpi, fennel, fenugreek, basil, and “other sacred ingredients that I cannot get all into for the people that be stealing.” Here’s the issue so far: a BBL, which stands for Brazilian butt-lift, is a surgical procedure that transfers fat from one part of the body and injects it into the buttocks for a voluminous look. The odds of a supplement being able to do this are none to zero, and with that being said, fans wasted no time roasting the Memphis rapper.

However, that wasn’t all. Four days after releasing the supplement, NLE Choppa returned to Twitter with a claim that it was “such a success.” As a result, he added that he is currently “looking for things to reverse autism, Dwarfism, Down syndrome, and many other disorders.” As expected, NLE Choppa’s latest message earned him more roasts, but that didn’t distract him from his goal of providing BBLs with an all-natural, non-FDA-approved supplement.

“They gone tear a man down when you try to help but let em die it’s long live this RIP that, he was woke this, tryna heal his people that,” NLE Choppa tweeted in response to the criticism he received. “Naw b*tch he gone now should’ve embraced him instead of disgraced him. Sad ass putrid ass generation. He gone keep doing him tho. HE/HIM, I AM.”

You can check out some of the roasts fans had for NLE Choppa below.

NLE Choppa is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

For the second game in a row, a protest occurred while the Minnesota Timberwolves were playing basketball. During Saturday afternoon’s Game 1 between the Timberwolves and the Memphis Grizzlies, someone threw what appeared to be a number of flyers onto the floor at FedExForum, interrupting play so the flyers could be all cleared off.

But before that could happen, the protestor took tied themself to the stanchion that holds up the backboard and the rim. Security in the arena managed to get them untied before they were ushered into the back.

A close-up view showed that the protestor used a chain — which they somehow were able to get into the arena — to secure themself to the stanchion before they were carried out.

At one point during the Timberwolves’ play-in win over the Los Angeles Clippers in Minnesota, a protestor made their way onto the court and glued their hand to the floor. They were, likewise, taken into the back by security. Per several media reports, the protestor in Memphis was part of the same organization as the person who glued themself to the floor. As they revealed during the Clippers game, the organization seeks to raise awareness for a factory egg farm owned by Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor that has allegedly conducted an inhumane mass killing of chickens suffering from a form of avian flu.

After three years away, Coachella returned to Indio, CA this weekend. And while some might have expected young fans to rage across the polo fields with all the angst of two previous cancelations in the rearview mirror, the sense on site was a lot more tepid, as if everyone wanted to get their feet wet before fully diving in. It’s far too early to say if the past few years have changed Coachella’s identity or changed how young people approach these massive cultural events, but the initial sense is that things have slowed down a little, and the traditional revelry has given way to something more appreciative and understated.

All that said, the fashion-forward appeal of Coachella remains. There were costumes and skin, lots of transparent lace and vibrant colors. With years of opportunities to show off festival fashion squandered by a pandemic, fans dressed their best and made 2022’s edition count. Below we have some photos of our favorites, who returned to one of the world’s best festivals with a commitment to show off exactly why Coachella is what it is. As they prepared for a day that included Harry Styles, Arcade Fire, Lil Baby, and more, everyone looked predictably great with the giant art structures and palm trees as a backdrop.