Category: News

Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.

This week saw Megan Thee Stallion dive back into the K-pop world and ASAP Rocky link up with J. Cole. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.

For more music recommendations, check out our Listen To This section, as well as our Indie Mixtape and Pop Life newsletters.

Megan Thee Stallion — “Neva Play” Feat. RM

Megan Thee Stallion finds herself back in the BTS universe after collaborating with the K-pop titans on a remix of “Butter.” This time, she links up with just RM on “Neva Play,” of which Meg said she’s “never heard [RM] rap in this style before.”

Halsey — “Ego”

Halsey has so far leaned into a rock-influenced sound on the songs we’ve so far heard from The Great Impersonator, and that’s true of last week’s “Ego,” which sees her grappling with her personal demons.

ASAP Rocky — “Ruby Rosary” Feat. J. Cole

J. Cole has remained relatively under the radar since bowing out of the Kendrick Lamar feud. ASAP Rocky just got him to resurface, though, on “Ruby Rosary,” an Alchemist-produced number that just might have a Drake diss in there.

Toro Y Moi — “Madonna” Feat. Don Toliver

There’s a ton of variety on Toro Y Moi’s new album Hole Erth, from the dreamy “Heaven” to the more hip-hop-leaning “Madonna,” the latter being a collab with Don Toliver.

MJ Lenderman – “Wristwatch”

Uproxx’s Steven Hyden says of MJ Lenderman’s new album Manning Fireworks, “Manning Fireworks would be my favorite album of most years, but in 2024 it feels like an especially precious commodity. It’s the kind of record that makes me want to write like Jon Landau after seeing Bruce Springsteen in 1974.”

Central Cee and Raye — “Moi”

Central Cee and Raye have both emerged as stars in their circles in recent years, and now they’ve combined forces on “Moi.” They lean heavy into the French on this one, on which the two flex their current success.

Rex Orange County — “2008”

Of his new album The Alexander Technique, Rex Orange County previously said it feels “as though this is the first time I’m trying to make a project about everything in life.” Part of that is a nostalgic look back on “2008,” which includes references to Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, and Kanye West.

The Dare — “All Night”

The Dare has been on the rise (he popped up in Charli XCX and Billie Eilish’s “Guess” video recently). That culminated last week with the new album What’s Wrong With New York, along with a sold-out tour.

LE SSERAFIM — “Crazy” Feat. PinkPantheress

LE SSERAFIM dropped “Crazy” a week ago, but that didn’t mean they were done with the song. They quickly followed it up with a remix, which taps PinkPantheress to add her spark to the track.

Fred Again.., Duskus, Four Tet, Skrillex, and Joy Anonymous — “Glow”

Fred Again.. has followed up his star-making 2023 with an active 2024 that includes a new album, Ten Days. He reunites with his Coachella buddies Four Tet and Skrillex on the project’s “Glow,” which also features Duskus and Joy Anonymous.

Beyoncé was not nominated for a single CMA Award, but her efforts didn’t go totally unnoticed thanks to her Cowboy Carter collaborator Shaboozey. Shaboozey, whose breakout single “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” topped the charts in August, was nominated for two awards: best new artist and single of the year. In acknowledging his nominations — and, seemingly, Beyoncé’s snub — he addressed the opportunities created by the Renaissance singer, even if she didn’t get to enjoy the benefits herself.

“That goes without saying,” he wrote on Twitter (never calling it “X”). “Thank you @Beyonce for opening a door for us, starting a conversation, and giving us one of the most innovative country albums of all time!”

In explaining the inspiration behind Cowboy Carter ahead of its release, Beyoncé shared her intention to create space for Black artists after being made to feel unwelcome at the 2016 CMA Awards. “This album has been over five years in the making,” she wrote. “It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed…and it was very clear that I wasn’t. But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive. It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while also amplifying the voices of some of the people who have dedicated so much of their lives educating on our musical history.”

There’s little doubt which experience she referred to, and Beyoncé herself is probably unsurprised by the snub, as she signed off the above message by noting, “This ain’t a Country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album.” The “Texas Hold ‘Em” singer likely knew exactly how her latest project would be received — or not — by the country establishment. But it looks like they can’t keep her out completely, thanks to Shaboozey.

Sabrina Carpenter is committed to the bit. Each ad-libbed “Nonsense” outro is better than the last, but Carpenter’s flair for suggestive humor isn’t limited to her live shows.

On Monday morning, September 9, Redken announced Carpenter as the brand’s first-ever Celebrity Ambassador. The first ad spot shows Carpenter brushing her hair, smirking, and asking, “Are you ready for a big bang?”

Redken’s official YouTube description reads, “‘Beauty and especially my hair is a big part of my identity…’ says Carpenter. The destined collaboration was born and bred in the salon throughout Sabrina’s rise to fame. She has been a longtime lover of the esteemed professional haircare brand, attributing her signature blonde exclusively to Redken’s Shades EQ, the #1 demi-permanent hair gloss worldwide. Sabrina’s blonde bangs and bouncy style have captivated consumers around the globe, a trade secret her longtime hairstylist, Scott King, and colorist, Laurie Heaps, both credit to Redken.”

According to a press release, Carpenter’s debut Redken campaign for Acidic Bonding Concentrate will launch on September 19, “with additional campaigns spanning both customer and salon professionals to come.”

Carpenter is riding the high of scoring her first-ever Billboard 200 No. 1 album in Short N’ Sweet. The multi-platinum-certified pop star will kick off her subsequent Short N’ Sweet Tour on September 23. See all of her dates here.

The Boys‘ fourth season introduced two members of The Seven to replace departing Supes. Fortunately, Annie January/Starlight was still onscreen for plenty of time on the vigilante side (and Erin Moriarty killed as the Shifter). Filling the onscreen void left by Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott), however, was no small feat, but Sister Sage (Susan Heyward) and Firecracker (Valorie Curry) held their own while heading straight to the dark side. In particular, Firecracker (who Eric Kripke based on a certain congresswoman) is utterly reprehensible and will stop at nothing to earn Homelander’s favor.

As Firecracker even admitted, she would do “anything” for Antony Starr’s character, and that seems to be the basis of what Curry was hinting at when she described a European Comic-Con incident, in which a fan or fans were (presumably) dressed like Homelander and decided to “demand” certain acts of Curry. She alluded to the incident, thereby becoming the latest public figure who sadly needed to set real boundaries regarding “fans” who don’t know when to stop. Here’s how Curry described this issue via an Instagram story:

“Just got back from the first day of Comic-Con in Northern Ireland in Belfast, and by and large, everyone was fantastic… everyone for the most part has been so kind and so lovely. It’s really been wonderful. But we do need to talk about boundaries and what is appropriate in terms of behavior. I know people saw a character that I played do some pretty extreme things on The Boys. And I don’t care if you’re in costume, I don’t care if you’re in character, it’s not okay and it’s not funny to demand those things from me in person at my booth. It’s not okay.”

Curry didn’t elaborate on what acts were demanded of her, but in all likelihood, this refers to a Season 4, Episode 6 scene in which Firecracker reveals to Homelander that she took a dangerous drug cocktail in order to satisfy his milk fetish. This was the “anything” that Firecracker had suggestively alluded to, and indeed, this is one of the more extreme things that The Boys includes as satire on television. This is also nothing that it is appropriate to ask a celebrity to do, joke or not.

Following her initial post, Curry updated the situation in another Instagram story, in which she wrote, “Thank you to everyone who reached out after my post yesterday, and especially to @comicconnorthernireland for taking it so seriously.” Fingers crossed that Curry won’t be subject to this treatment anymore, and if anybody that you know was responsible for this mess, here’s some advice that might prompt some reflection.

The Olympics are over, but if there were an event called “missing the point,” you can go ahead and give the entire Country Music Association a gold medal for it.

Despite creating her new album, Cowboy Carter, with the intent of highlighting Black Americans’ cultural contributions to the country genre (and American music as a whole), Beyoncé was nominated for exactly zero of the upcoming 58th CMA Awards.

Maybe their fee-fees were hurt by being called out for snubbing Beyoncé at the 2016 CMA Awards ahead of Cowboy Carter‘s release. In a statement on her social media, Beyoncé revealed the album was inspired by “an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed…and it was very clear that I wasn’t.”

It wasn’t hard for music listeners to put two and two together and figure out that the experience in question was Bey’s foray into Nashville to perform her Lemonade song “Daddy Lessons” with The Chicks (then called Dixie Chicks); while the performance was well-received on some corners of the internet but hated in others, the CMA was accused of scrubbing the performance from its social media accounts after racist backlash (some of the posts were later restored after fans called out the CMA).

Of course, the CMA will issue its usual mealy-mouthed response about Beyoncé not being a “traditional country artist,” and the world will keep spinning. By the way, Post Malone, who started his music career in cornrows and a gold grill, is nominated for four awards, while Jelly Roll, who most extensively collaborated with Lil Wyte, Haystak, and Tech N9ne before switching to crooning less than three years ago, is nominated for three. On the bright side, Beyoncé collaborator Shaboozey’s nominated for two.

The CMA Awards will be on November 20 and air on ABC at 8 PM PT/ET — two weeks later due to the election.

There are a lot of words you could use to describe Ron Howard as a director: steady, good with actors, journeyman, etc. But “weird” is not one of them. However, six decades into his second career as a filmmaker, it sounds like Howard has finally let his freak flag fly with Eden.

The survival thriller stars Jude Law and Vanessa Kirby as Dr. Friedrich Ritter and Dora Strauch, a married couple in the 1920s who escape to a quiet life on the island of Floreana in the Galápagos. But their peaceful oasis is interrupted by the arrival of a very pregnant Margaret (Sydney Sweeney) and her husband Heinz (Daniel Brühl), and later, Eloise Bosquet de Wagner Wehrhorn (Ana de Armas) and her two “crazy threesome” male companions (Felix Kammerer and Toby Wallace). Will they be able to co-exist on the island together?

We’ll have to wait until Eden is released to find out, but the film had its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this weekend, and the reviews are all over the place. One critic praised Howard for allowing himself “to lose his mind,” while another called Eden “a movie that makes you want to get off that island and go back to a place where the people are sane.” The closest thing to a consensus among reviewers is that Sweeney gives the best performance.

Below, you’ll find what critics are saying about Eden.

Chase Hutchinson for The Wrap:

Though built around an excellent ensemble cast of Jude Law, Vanessa Kirby, and Ana de Armas, it’s Sydney Sweeney who runs away with the whole thing. She doesn’t always give the loudest performance of the bunch, though it’s her subtle looks and a growing agency that turns Eden into something more. Also, if you thought you would never again see a movie where Sweeney plays a character going through the most hellish pregnancy imaginable after this year’s magnificent horror Immaculate, think again. This and every moment with her at the forefront is Eden at its best.

Owen Gleiberman for Variety:

Eden, which is based on events that unfolded 100 years ago on one of the Galápagós Islands, is a difficult movie to characterize. It’s been labeled as a “thriller,” but I would describe it as a misanthropic survivalist Robinson Crusoe meets Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? with deranged footnotes by Friedrich Nietzsche. For Howard, the film sure is different (it has sex, murder, and animal slaughter). Yet there’s another word for it — the word is terrible.

Ross Bonaime for Collider:

But for as much fun as Eden does eventually become, it’s still a mostly uneven thriller that doesn’t really take off until it embraces its darkness. While Eden seems to be attempting a story that shows normal people (well, 1920s Germans who decided to live on a desert island) fighting against fascism after running away from the world, that mostly gets lost to dive into the more base desires of these characters.

Benjamin Lee for The Guardian:

Our attention is still secured by some of the performances – a fully naked and fully toothless Law and an underused yet alluring Kirby are magnetic throughout – and their bizarre, shaky accents and also by our desire to see just how far Howard will go with the material. At points, he goes further than we might expect with some moments of wince-inducing violence (no spoilers, but scenes involving a placenta, an infected tooth and a side-stab all provoked loud reactions at the premiere), but it’s all too silly and the writing too hokey for us to keep up and by the end, truly care about who survives or not.

Kate Erbland for IndieWire:

But what we do get from Howard’s latest is a strong reminder of his handle on not just craft and casting, but also story and tone. No film about the utter demise of a supposed utopia — a real one, to boot! — and the utter infallibility of human beings should be this fun, but we’re lucky this one is. It helps the hard truths go down easier, especially about who we all are as people (you know, hellish).

Bilge Ebiri for Vulture:

Margret is young and impressionable (Dore calls her “a child bride” at first, erroneously) but she’s also pregnant, and watching her raw, snarling instincts start to take over the course of the film is one of Eden’s great pleasures. Sweeney, who was already put through the tortures of the damned in Immaculate earlier this year, again gets to play an innocent who discovers inner, almost mythical reserves of survival. She gets the film’s most gruesome, most intense set piece, about which the less said right now, the better.

Eden does not have a release date yet.

On paper, Selena Gomez has it all. She even finally scored an elusive Primetime Emmy nomination for her role in Hulu’s Only Murders In The Building, and she’s attracting Oscar buzz for the upcoming Emilia Pérez. Not to mention, Gomez owns a reported billion-dollar company, Rare Beauty.

But Selena Gomez does not have it all because she is human, and no human has ever had it all.

On Monday morning, September 9, Vanity Fair unveiled Gomez as its October 2024 cover star. The accompanying profile, written by Yohana Desta, contains several revelations about Gomez’s relationship with acting, Benny Blanco, music, and social media, but none more vulnerable than the below.

“I haven’t ever said this, but I unfortunately can’t carry my own children,” Gomez told the publication. “I have a lot of medical issues that would put my life and the baby’s in jeopardy. That was something I had to grieve for a while.”

Gomez continued, “It’s not necessarily the way I envisioned it. I thought it would happen the way it happens for everyone. [But] I’m in a much better place with that. I find it a blessing that there are wonderful people willing to do surrogacy or adoption, which are both huge possibilities for me. It made me really thankful for the other outlets for people who are dying to be moms. I’m one of those people. I’m excited for what that journey will look like, but it’ll look a little different. At the end of the day, I don’t care. It’ll be mine. It’ll be my baby.”

Gomez has been publicly transparent about living with lupus since revealing her diagnosis to Billboard in 2015. The chronic autoimmune disease caused Gomez to need a kidney transplant in 2017.

As for becoming a mother, Gomez assured Vanity Fair that she isn’t in a rush. It has been playing on her mind long before she fell in love with Blanco, however.

“I was alone for five years, and I got really used to it,” Gomez told Time earlier this year. “A lot of people are afraid of being alone, and I probably tortured myself in my head for like two years being alone, and then I kind of accepted it. Then I came up with my plan, which was I was going to adopt at 35 if I had not met anyone.”

Gomez and Blanco publicly confirmed their relationship last December. Back with Vanity Fair, Gomez shared, “I’ve never been loved this way. He’s just been a light. A complete light in my life. He’s my best friend. I love telling him everything.”

Eminem is tied for the most MTV Video Music Awards in the show’s history (bet you can’t name who he shares the honor with… it’s Peter Gabriel!). This year, he’ll not only seek to get the record all to himself, he’ll also open the show.

The “Somebody Save Me” rapper will kick off the 2024 VMAs with the first TV show performance from his 12th studio album, The Death Of Slim Shady. It’s the first time Eminem has opened the VMAs since 2010, when he performed “Not Afraid,” followed by a duet with Rihanna for “Love The Way You Lie.” No word on whether the Hawk Tuah Girl will make a cameo.

Eminem landed eight nominations this year, including Artist Of The Year and Video Of The Year, Best Hip-Hop, Best Direction, and Best Visual Effects, all for “Houdini.” He’s also up for VMAs Most Iconic Performance for his “The Real Slim Shady” / “The Way I Am” medley at the 2000 ceremony.

You can find the full list of performers at this year’s VMAs below.

2024 MTV Video Music Awards Performers

Eminem
Chappell Roan
Sabrina Carpenter
Camila Cabello
GloRilla
Rauw Alejandro
Lisa
Halsey
Benson Boone
Lenny Kravitz
Anitta ft. Fat Joe, DJ Khaled, Tiago PZK
KAROL G
LL COOL J
Shawn Mendes
Megan Thee Stallion
Katy Perry (Video Vanguard Award)

The 2024 MTV Music Video Awards air on Wednesday, September 11, at 8 p.m. ET.

A pair of players were sent to the locker room early after a fight during Sunday afternoon’s game between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Las Vegas Raiders. The pair of AFC West opponents played a testy game in Week 1 — their first since an emphatic Raiders win late last season that led to Brandon Staley getting fired — and late in the fourth quarter, tension boiled over.

Justin Herbert found rookie wide receiver Ladd McConkey for a touchdown to make it 22-10, and the Chargers decided to go for two. Their effort was stuffed, but while that was happening, things spilled out into the back of the end zone, where players for both teams got into it with one another. And despite the fact that the referees tried to break things up, there was plenty of pushing and shoving between the two sides.

After the officials took some time to review what happened, Raiders cornerback Jack Jones and Chargers receiver Josh Palmer were hit with offsetting unsportsmanlike penalties and ejected. As for how the remainder of the game went, the Raiders threw an interception on the ensuing possession, which led to Herbert taking knees to run down the clock and Jim Harbaugh moving to 1-0 in his return to the NFL.

The Golden State Warriors lost a member of their core this offseason when Klay Thompson left the team to join the Dallas Mavericks. Thompson spent last year playing on an expiring contract, and upon hitting free agency, he agreed to a deal with Dallas and joined the franchise via a sign-and-trade.

It’s such a strange thing to imagine — the thought of Thompson suiting up for anyone other than the Warriors is pretty weird — but sooner rather than later, we’ll see Thompson take the floor alongside Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and co. In the meantime, Thompson is getting to know another one of his new teammates, as he took in Sunday’s New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces game with Dereck Lively. The catch: Steph Curry was also at this game, and when the three ran into one another, Curry gave Thompson a bit of a hard time.

Curry is, of course, doing this lovingly, but he does a very good job making the disgust in his voice seem real as he goes “eew!” In fairness, if Curry is simply unable to wrap his mind around the fact that Thompson is on the Mavs now, well, I can’t blame him one bit.