Earlier this month, Kehlani released their new single, “Folded,” marking the beginning of their next era in the wake of 2024’s Crash. The song finds Kehlani flip-flopping between wanting to move on from a relationship and continuing it, instructing their ex-lover to pick up their things and go before they “fold.”
In the alluring music video for the single, which Kehlani released today, they fittingly run a dry cleaning shop called Nini’s Fluff ‘n’ Fold, where a line of women waits to drop off their laundry while Kehlani rings them up at the register. However, once they takes the hampers to the back of the shop, the visuals shift to present a fantastical representation of the process, with Kehlani and a team of dancers doing sensual choreography with full hampers and gliding over a pool of water.
Although Kehlani has yet to officially announce the next project, fans have had plenty of new music over the past year. After the release of Crash, Kehlani followed up with While We Wait 2, which offered another 14 tracks to hold their fans over until the next album. That project now looks like it’ll be coming sometime this year, and with “Folded” already generating a buzz, you can bet the album will continue Kehlani’s run of excellence.
Well, according to the algorithms over the past week — both digital and universal — a lot of people, including us.
Through conversations with friends in person and on social media, and through TikTok’s curated feed, this point came up repeatedly over Juneteenth weekend. But a counterargument was equally prevalent; pointing out that musical theater has roots and branches throughout Black history and culture, as do so many other aspects of American pop culture. Those roots extend to nearly a century worth of musical movies, which disprove the above theory; Black people really do love musicals.
On Sunday (June 22), Bob The Drag Queen posted a YouTube video in which the popular Drag Race veteran posed the question “why do Black people hate musicals?” to both a roundtable panel of commentators and folks out in the real world, a la “man on the street” segments. In the video’s intro , Bob recalls encountering experiences in which friends, family, neighbors, and the like declared their distaste for musicals, joking that a Pew Research poll found that “97% of Black people in America believe that Broadway musicals are… ‘some white people sh*t’.”
While Bob’s joke is clearly meant to be a lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek generalization, there have, however, been a number of commentaries on the double meanings of “the Great White Way,” including in The New York Times and Broadway trade publication Playbill, noting the overwhelming lack of representation in traditional productions. Even one of the most successful production of the past decade, Hamilton, went out of its way to cast almost exclusively people of color as a rejection and indictment of that standard.
There have even been informal, yet still insightful polls pointing to the belief that a majority of Black folks at least claim to dislike musicals, often citing all the usual concerns. They say the songs break their immersion in the story, that it’s “unrealistic” for people to “spontaneously” break out in song and choreographed dance when confronted with strong emotions, or that the style of music is simply not appealing to their personal sensibilities.
These concerns aren’t exclusive to Black folks; The Ringer noted a couple of years ago that, as Hollywood musicals proliferate, with studios returning to the old standards that once supported the entire industry, their marketing departments are going to great lengths to hide the fact that films will feature characters singing and dancing. Consider the rollouts for films like Mean Girls, Wonka, and most relevantly here, The Color Purple. There seems to be a fear that if the musical aspect is played up in trailers, no one will go see the movies.
But here’s where that fear falls apart; people — especially Black people, as we’ll see in a moment — absolutely LOVE musicals. They are an indelible part of our cultural history and one of the ties that binds us together. The Wiz is often cited as one of the cherished family viewing traditions by nostalgic commenters on social media apps, as is Dreamgirls. Both movies made stars of some of their featured companies; a young Michael Jackson’s performance is widely considered a standout of the former, while one could argue that Jennifer Hudson’s infamous, viral “spirit tunnel” would never have happened without the latter.
How many of us grew up on the animated films of the Disney Renaissance: The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King? Yes, those films and other staples of the ’90s might have featured traditional Broadway songwriting, but when it came time to release single versions of their hit, show-stopping songs, Black singers like Peabo Bryson (Aladdin‘s “A Whole New World” with Regina Belle and “Beauty And The Beast” with Celine Dion) and Vanessa Williams (Pocahantas‘ “Colors Of The Wind”) were tapped to give them a soulful flair.
Disney Plus has a whole documentary about the cultural impact of A Goofy Movie, with its New Jack Swing-inspired pop star Power Line voiced by Tevin Campbell; Donald Glover’s Atlanta dedicated a whole episode of its final season to the same concept (arguably providing the inspiration for the more official version released this year). And even though the recent musical version of The Color Purple fell short of commercial expectations, those who did go see it, loved it; audiences polled by CinemaScore gave it an average grade of “A”, and 92% of filmgoers gave it a positive score according to PostTrak.
More contemporarily, Wicked not only became the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2024, with similar audience responses, but it was also the subject of pop-cultural memes and trends that saw poor Cynthia Erivo deluged with fan reproductions of her “Defying Gravity” “warcry.” The song was nominated for a BET Her award, and Erivo’s performance earned her Best Actress at that award show; clearly, Black folks loved Wicked.
Another musical that audiences — mainly Black ones — loved: Sinners. Perhaps that characterization of the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2025 surprises you, but along with a riveting crime drama and a truly incisive horror film, Sinners is also one hell of a musical. As author and culture critic Jason Pargin pointed out on his TikTok (months after the film’s release, mind you, proving its staying power for all kinds of audiences), Sinners is structured as a musical; he notes that the film’s centerpiece, showstopping musical scene hits right at the hour mark — just as it would in any other musical.
As with many stereotypes — maybe even most of them — it seems there isn’t much to this one other than the stereotype perpetuating itself through its repetition (and perhaps some folks just being unwilling to do a little self-examination). After all, nearly all of us have at least one song rattling around in our heads from a musical stage show or Hollywood film. For me, it’s “Good Morning” from “Singin’ In The Rain,” but I knew the song long before I’d ever seen the movie. For as long as I can remember, its infuriatingly catchy chorus had been used as a jingle for the local hip-hop station’s Big Boy In The Morning radio show. If you ever thought Black people don’t love musicals, consider this your wake-up call.
We are now hours away from the release of Lorde’s latest album, Virgin. As the world waits to hear it, some people close to her have naturally already gotten a listen. Perhaps surprisingly, though, one of those people is Jack Harlow. He and Lorde don’t seem to have a known working or personal relationship, but it sounds like he was happy to hear some pre-release Lorde tunes.
In a new Apple Music interview with Zane Lowe, discussing her song “Hammer,” Lorde said, “It’s, like, funny to me, it’s fun. Like, I’m sort of making myself laugh.” She continued:
“Jack Harlow was working at Electric Lady [Studios in New York] when we were there towards the end of the record and somehow ended up getting most of the album played to him. It was a very funny, cool link. He’s such a sweetheart. But he was like, ‘Your bars are…’ He was like, ‘These are bars!’ [laughs] I was like, ‘Your words, not mine.’”
She concluded, “But it just is this sort of rolling cadence and physicality and within that, I’m trying to make myself laugh, I’m trying to make my eyebrow raise, I’m trying to kind of… I don’t know, just keep it feeling super alive.”
Watch the full interview above.
Virgin is out 6/27 via Republic Records. Find more information here.
With Sparkling Ice and Uproxx setting the stage, Grammy-winning artist Lucky Daye lit up a New York City rooftop with a soulful live performance of his hit single “Over,” bringing the Sparkling Sessions 2.0 Tour to an unforgettable high point ahead of Governors Ball weekend.
Armed with his signature velvety vocals, funk-infused R&B, and emotionally-charged lyrics, Date’s headlining set – a highlight reel of hits from his latest album, Algorithm – had the dancefloor swaying, Instagram-worthy Sparkling Ice cocktails in hand, as fans grooved to the artist’s undeniable energy. Crowds lined up around the block to catch a glimpse of the icon-in-the-making, buzzing to a pre-performance, 4LoversOnly-curated lineup of the city’s hottest spinmasters (Sounds of Reality and Moochie included). The pre-festival concert — a follow-up to Sparkling Ice and Uproxx’s unforgettable desert bash during Stagecoach — was more than just a party; it was a cultural summit.
From golden-hour selfies and show-stopping style moments to bespoke citrusy creations and pulse-pounding beats, this latest stop on Sparkling Ice’s “Anything But Subtle” run proved perfectly-curated live music experiences just hit different.
Watch the Daye’s full performance in the video above and don’t forget to check back here to see where Sparkling Ice and Uproxx are heading next!
Before becoming a mainstream celebrity thanks to Stranger Things, Joe Keery was a member of the band Post Animal. He later found musical success solo as Djo, but it was announced recently that he had reunited with the group on their upcoming album, Iron.
As the project’s July release approaches, the group has shared a new single and video, “What’s A Good Life.” Everybody gets a turn on this one, as all six members alternate performing lead vocals.
Keery previously said of reuniting with the group, “When we made [2018’s] When I Think Of You In A Castle, that was near the start of Stranger Things. And now with it kind of coming to an end in my own life, we all felt it’d be great to do something like that again, to go somewhere and be isolated and work on music together. It was a labor of love.” Drummer Wesley Toledo added, “We all agreed that even if we went and just hung out, we’d be happy with it. We’re just heartfelt, sentimental, and emotional, but there was a real positivity and optimism among us.”
Watch the “What’s A Good Life” video above.
Iron is out 7/24 via AWAL. Find more information here.
We haven’t heard much from Blood Orange recently, but Dev Hynes is changing that today with the release of “The Field,” a new song that’s his first in three years.
He got a lot of friends to help him out with this one, as it features contributions from Caroline Polachek, Daniel Caesar, The Durutti Column, Tariq Al-Sabir, and Eva Tolkin.
In a 2024 interview, he discussed balancing his various creative endeavors, saying, “I’m still doing a lot of film and TV scoring, and then I’m also working on a Blood Orange album at the same time. […] But it’s also continuous. Because of how I write and record, it never stops. I do it at home and in hotel rooms and I find studios and it’s kind of always happening. […] Yeah, I’m definitely working on an album. But I have no idea when it will exist. But it’s definitely something.”
It’s been a musical month for Jake Shane on his Therapuss podcast: He had Addison Rae on as a guest a couple weeks ago, and PinkPantheress joins him on the latest episode.
Notably, she discussed how having OCD impacts her mentality surrounding live performances:
“I don’t necessarily have many of the fears that you might have about certain things and I don’t need to touch anything, and I don’t really care about neatness. I’m actually very untidy, obviously. However, I do have this thing where once I have a thought, it loops, loops, loops for a month and it will never stop, and I get it over some of my biggest fears. My biggest fears are always just in the loop. […] One thing OCD does make me personally do is it means if I don’t consider myself a certain standard at what I’m doing, I don’t see the point doing it. Or I don’t enjoy it because I feel like sh*t. […]
And that’s something that’s birthed from my OCD, by not being satisfied by anything less than perfect. So, all that to say with performing. I love performing, yes. […] I simply don’t think I’m that good yet. So, until, I’m that good, then I’m always going to be a bit, like, ugh.”
She also added of touring, “I enjoy the elements that I enjoy but no, I don’t love being away from home.”
Oasis’ forthcoming reunion tour is a major deal that has been years in the making. Some have wondered what the shows are going to be like and Liam Gallagher is indicating that they’ll be relatively straightforward.
On X (formerly Twitter), a fan asked Gallagher, “have you decided what your entrance will be on the 4th,” referring to the band’s first reunion concert that’s set for July 4 in Cardiff, Wales. Gallagher replied, “We’re just gonna walk on and get on with it we’re not at the f*cking circus we’re not getting fired out of a cannon ball and we’re not SHOWOFFS.”
Others have been asking about Gallagher’s nerves ahead of the shows and he seems characteristically full of confidence. One user asked, “ONLY ONE WEEK LEFT LIAM, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT IT” and Gallagher replied (laying on the sarcasm thick, presumably), “I’m absolutely sh*tting it nerves have kicked in I’m scared.” Another user asked if he has “a little bit of nerves for the opening night” and he answered, “Karen if you ask me that stupid question again me n you are gonna fall out.”
Somebody else asked, “Are you going to give Noel a big hug on stage the first night?” Gallagher responded, “Eh don’t be expecting us to be holding hands and kissing n cuddling we got a gig to do and people to move no time for all that nonsense.”
Laufey is in album mode with the recent announce of A Matter Of Time. It’s shaping up to be a diverse effort: Today’s new song “Lover Girl” is a departure from the previous single “Tough Luck” as it leans into a bossa nova influence.
Laufey says of the new song, “The hardest part of loving someone is being away from them. This is that story.”
Laufey previously said of her new album, “Every new album for me is a blank book of stories to write. […] I’m constantly thinking about classical and jazz, how to properly preserve them and pay homage. For this album, I just wanted to let my heart wander.”
Listen to “Lover Girl” above. Also check out Laufey’s upcoming tour dates below.
Laufey’s 2025 Tour Dates: A Matter Of Time Tour
07/30 — Norfolk, VA @ Virginia Arts Festival at Chartway Arena *
07/31 — Norfolk, VA @ Virginia Arts Festival at Chartway Arena *
08/02 — Chautauqua, NY @ Chautauqua Institution †
08/03 — Chautauqua, NY @ Chautauqua Institution †
08/07 — Cuyahoga Falls, OH @ Blossom Music Center ‡
08/09 — Saratoga Springs, NY @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center §
09/15 — Orlando, FL @ Kia Center **
09/16 — Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena **
09/18 — Fort Worth, TX @ Dickies Arena **
09/20 — Houston, TX @ Toyota Center **
09/21 — Austin, TX @ Moody Center **
09/23 — Phoenix, AZ @ Desert Diamond Arena **
09/24 — San Diego, CA @ Pechanga Arena **
09/26 — Los Angeles, CA @ Crypto.com Arena **
09/30 — San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center **
10/02 — Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena **
10/04 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena **
10/06 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Delta Center **
10/08 — Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre **
10/10 — Chicago, IL @ United Center **
10/11 — Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center **
10/13 — Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena **
10/15 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden **
10/19 — Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena **
10/21 — Laval, QC @ Place Bell **
10/23 — Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena **
10/24 — Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center **
10/27 — Boston, MA @ TD Garden **
* with The Virginia Symphony Orchestra
† with The Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra
‡ with The Cleveland Orchestra
§ with The Philadelphia Orchestra
** with support from Suki Waterhouse
A Matter Of Time is out 8/22 via Vingolf Recordings/AWAL. Find more information here.
Sabrina Carpenter isn’t afraid to rock the boat in the name of creativity: When she revealed the cover art of her upcoming album Man’s Best Friend earlier this month, some people thought it was offensive, as it featured Carpenter on her hands and knees, at the foot of a person (a man, it appears) holding her by the hair.
Carpenter has also established herself as having a great sense of humor, which she did again today (June 25) by sharing a new, more innocent alternate cover for the album. The latest art features a tamer scene, of her (on her feet) simply holding onto a man. Seemingly in a nod to the backlash of the original cover, she wrote in the announcement post’s caption, “here is a new alternate cover approved by God.”
On a related note, Carpenter recently spoke about the criticism she sometimes faces for her risqué concerts, saying, “It’s always so funny to me when people complain. They’re like, ‘All she does is sing about this.’ But those are the songs that you’ve made popular. Clearly you love sex. You’re obsessed with it. It’s in my show. There’s so many more moments than the ‘Juno’ positions, but those are the ones you post every night and comment on. I can’t control that. If you come to the show, you’ll [also] hear the ballads, you’ll hear the more introspective numbers. I find irony and humor in all of that, because it seems to be a recurring theme.”
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
