Category: News

For a significant part of this year, Matthew McConaughey has been toying with making a run for Texas governor, but despite being a noted straight-shooter, the actor has been uncharacteristically non-committal about tossing his hat in the ring. (His policy positions have been even tougher to nail down because they essentially don’t exist.) However, McConaughey is bumping up against a deadline, and he’s now facing a sh*t or get off the pot decision that, to his credit, he’s not taking lightly.

While sitting down for a new interview after being named “Philanthropist of the Year” by The Hollywood Reporter, McConaughey explains why he appears to be unusually “indecisive” when it comes to entering the gubernatorial race:

It’s a whole new thing. I prepare for everything. I’m a big preparer. I am not until I am — OK? Is this something I’ve been thinking about for 20 years, and I know what I want to do, but I’m just holding on to my answer? No. It’s a new embassy of leadership that I have really been doing my diligence to study, to look into, to question what it is, what would it be for me. Not the question of, “Hey, do you think I could win?” No. Let’s talk about what Texas politics is. Talk about a policy statement.

As McConaughey explains, his concern is less about whether he could win (and according to a recent poll, he very well could) but whether it’s in the best interest of Texas for an actor with no political experience to become governor. However, he knows that December 13 deadline is fast approaching, and so is his decision.

“I’m a storyteller. I’m a CEO. But being CEO of a state? Am I best equipped for the people in the state, and for my family and myself? There’s great sacrifice that comes with a decision,” McConaughey elaborated. “That’s what I’ve been doing, and there’s no tease to it. There’s me doing my diligence, and I will let you know shortly.”

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

After posting his initial thoughts on the death of his mentor and friend Young Dolph, Memphis rapper Key Glock has followed up with a heartfelt tribute in which he describes the Paper Route Empire boss as his coach, comparing Dolph to the great Phil Jackson. Of course, that makes Key Glock the Michael Jackson of this analogy.

“Damn bro, I’m LOST,” he wrote. “My heart is torn my brain ’bout to explode. It HURTS when I breathe… Why you leave me so soon?? I’ll never be the same, you was my lefthand man, my brother, my cousin, my mentor, and drank partner. For the past 2 years I been taking LOSS AFTER LOSS and still can’t understand why… You was Phil Jackson and I was yo MJ.”

Key Glock had been signed to Dolph’s label for nearly the entirety of his rap career so far, truly taking off in 2019 when he and Dolph collaborated on the joint mixtape Dum And Dummer. Since then, he had flourished under Dolph’s guidance, dropping no less than four projects over the last two years, including his debut album Yellow Tape and mixtape Son Of A Gun, in 2020, Dum And Dummer 2 earlier this year, and Yellow Tape 2 earlier this month. He also contributed to the Paper Route Empire label compilation Paper Route Illuminati this summer.

With Dolph gone, the future of the label remains uncertain but for those who were closest to Dolph, the true loss is of their friend, mentor, and greatest champion.

It has felt like at least once every couple months or so, there was news about some chart record that The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” broke or set. The latest of those came in August, when the single officially became the longest-charting song in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Now, unsurprisingly, there’s more chart news for “Blinding Lights”: Billboard has declared that the single is the No. 1 song of all time, as it is now on top of the Billboard Greatest Songs Of All Time Hot 100 Chart. It dethroned the previous chart-topper, Chubby Checker’s 1960 hit “The Twist.”

Billboard notes, “[The chart] factors in total weeks on the chart as well as exact chart positions, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at No. 100 earning the least. (Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, eras are weighted differently to account for chart turnover rates during various periods.)”

The Weeknd told Billboard, “I don’t think [the success of ‘Blinding Lights’] has hit me yet. I try not to dwell on it too much. I just count my blessings, and I’m just grateful.”

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Hot 100 in 2018, Billboard unveiled the full Greatest Songs of All Time Hot 100 Chart. At the time, the top ten featured, from No. 1 to No. 10, “The Twist” by Chubby Checker, “Smooth” by Santana featuring Rob Thomas, “Mack The Knife” by Bobby Darin, “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars, “How Do I Live” by Leann Rimes, “Party Rock Anthem” by LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett and GoonRock, “I Gotta Feeling” by Black Eyed Peas, “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix) by Los Del Rio, “Shape Of You” by Ed Sheeran, and “Physical” by Olivia Newton-John.

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

This week in pop music saw some buzzworthy releases. Adele returned with her first album in six years, Taylor Swift managed to make one of her sad songs even sadder, and Kacey Musgraves officially released a cover of a Coldplay classic.

Each week, Uproxx rounds up the best new pop releases. Listen up.

Adele — “Woman Like Me”

This week was dominated by the release of Adele’s hotly anticipated album, 30, which encompasses a range of the singer’s emotions following her divorce. Adele’s track “Woman Like Me” became a quick fan-favorite on the album, as it’s an empowering survey of her self-worth after the breakup. Adele sings of being the best woman her former partner could ever find while calling him out for being “lazy” and complacent.

Taylor Swift — “All Too Well (Sad Girl Autumn Version)

Taylor’s version of her album Red debuted at No. 1 this week. So to celebrate, the singer decided to lean into “sad girl autumn” by releasing yet another version of her song “All Too Well” after the internet was buzzing with her previous 10-minute rendition. The new version of “All Too Well” is also 10 minutes long, but trades in an acoustic guitar for a mournful piano, playing on the lyrics’ melancholia.

Kacey Musgraves — “Fix You”

Coldplay may have just released an album, but their 2005 track “Fix You” remains one of their most popular songs. This week, Kacey Musgraves put her own tender spin on the emotional track in order to bring awareness to the struggle of farmers in America in partnership with Chipotle. “I reimagined Coldplay’s classic song ‘Fix You; for [Chipotle’s] new film about the struggles facing the next generation of family farmers in America,” Musgraves said. “To be able to make music while supporting such a great cause means a lot to me.”

FKA Twigs — “Measure Of A Man” Feat. Central Cee

Returning with a new track following her well-received 2019 album Magdalena, FKA Twigs teams up with British rapper Central Cee for the cinematic tune “Measure Of A Man.” The song is touched with an almost theatrical playfulness as FKA Twigs leans on her far-reaching vocals before up-and-comer Central Cee fires off a swaggering verse.

100 Gecs — “MeMeMe”

Hyperpop duo 100 Gecs made a big splash with their 2019 debut album 1000 Gecs, and now they’re back with another genre-defying tune. “MeMeMe” pulls influences from genres like pop-punk, ska, industrial, and electro-pop for a wildly energetic anthem that sheds a little light on the musicians’ personal lives.

Fletcher — “Cherry” Feat. Hayley Kiyoko

Fletcher teamed up with fellow pop singer Hayley Kiyoko for the blissed-out anthem “Cherry.” The irresistibly seductive track is an ode to finding love in unexpected places. “It’s the curiosity you have about someone before you’re intimate with them and kind of wondering what it would be like,” Fletcher said. “When I was creating it I couldn’t get the idea out of my head of having Hayley Kiyoko on it. We then went into the studio together and made it a million times better. It’s a moment for the girls gays and theys.”

Kaytranada — “Intimidated” Feat. HER

After dropping a handful of singles over the last year, Kaytranada returns in an official capacity with his three-track EP Intimidated. The project’s shimmering title track is one of the stand-out numbers on the project and features vocals by Grammy Award-winning artist HER. The song’s clapping beat offers the perfect atmospheric backdrop to showcase HER’s heart-tugging vocals as she sings of making the most of night with her love interest.

Glaive — “Prick”

Rising hyperpop star Glaive fired off the honest new song “Prick” this week. The gleaming track is Glaive’s version of a breakup song. He gets honest about his shortcomings in a relationship while the airy instrumentals offer a juxtaposition to Glaive’s lyrics. “Sonically, this song feels like a step forward for me,” the singer said. “I recorded it in July and it’s since gone on to become my favorite song I’ve ever made.”

Alesso — “Somebody To Use”

With the soaring new track “Somebody To Use,” Alesso expertly combines a dance-ready beat with an emotional subject matter. The Grammy-nominated dance artist builds a glistening beat to perfectly accompany the singer’s honeyed vocals — creating a track that’s sure to be heard in clubs everywhere this winter.

Aldn — “M Box”

Anti-pop newcomer Aldn is fresh off a tour announcement with Glaive and has just dropped the brand-new EP Predictable. His gritty track “M Box” is an example of Aldn’s innovative sound. It couples a pounding, blown-out bass with Aldn’s reverberating vocals to create a song that shows the singer is definitely one to watch.

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

After the 10 deaths at Astroworld Festival this year, it was clear to many observers that music festivals as a whole would experience some big shakeups in response. While fests like Day N Vegas and Head In The Clouds were able to continue as (mostly) normal, it looks like the first of those expected big changes has arrived ahead of the touring hip-hop festival Rolling Loud’s latest LA edition.

Posting an update to social media, the Rolling Loud organizers advised the festival’s new safety precaution for the upcoming event: An age limit. The new policy limits attendees to 18 years of age and up in an effort to prevent a possible repeat of Astroworld’s crush, in which a nine-year-old boy suffered injuries that eventually led to his death a few days later.

We welcome everyone to experience our festivals, however, in light of recent events, we will be implementing AN 18+ policy specific only to our upcoming 2021 California festival. We will be giving all ticket purchasers who are under the age of 18 the option to either roll their tickets over to next year’s 2022 California festival or receive a refund.

Refund or rollover requests must be made through the original purchaser’s front gate account during the period beginning November 23RD at 9 AM PST and ending November 26TH at 12 PM PST. Additional information will be made available on our FAQs at rollingloud.com/help.

For now, it appears the change is temporary, but considering the fallout from Astroworld still has yet to completely settle, it’s possible we could see this change and similar ones become permanent for the foreseeable future. Rolling Loud is scheduled for December 10-12 at the National Orange Show Event Center in San Bernardino.

The announcement of Chris Pratt as the voice of nipple-baring Italian plumber Mario was greeted with an “oh no” by the internet. But Chris Meledandri, a producer for Illumination (the home of the Minions) who is working on the Super Mario Bros. movie, thinks everyone should hold their judgement until they hear Pratt’s first “yippee.”

“All I can tell you is the voice that he’s doing for us, and Mario, is phenomenal. Yeah I can’t wait for people to hear it,” he told TooFab. Meledandri said that as an Italian-American himself, he “understand[s] the comments” and backlash, but “Charlie Day, who’s playing Luigi, actually comes from Italian heritage. Yeah, so, that’s our nod.”

Meledandri hinted that the accent issue would be a self-referential joke within the film. “We cover it in the movie,” he promised. “So you’ll see we definitely nod to that.” He vowed that Pratt would not be leaning too heavily into the “It’s a-me, Mario!” “That’s not the tenor of the performance throughout the film,” he said.

And if it doesn’t work out, Pratt can always be re-cast with Matt Berry. Or another Chris.

The still-untitled Mario movie, which also stars Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Jack Black as Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong, Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek, and no one as Toadette (so far), is scheduled to come out on December 21, 2022.

(Via TooFab)

Comedian Bill Burr stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live on Monday night to promote the new season of his Netflix series F is for Family, but it didn’t take long for the conversation to veer towards Burr’s newfound fame in the world of Star Wars. The actor/comedian has now appeared in two seasons of The Mandalorian, and he even has his own action figure hitting shelves soon. However, Burr is still adjusting to dealing with his new category of fans, who are notably different from the loud, obnoxious sports fans who listen to his podcast.

Here’s what he told Kimmel:

So it’s been interesting to go into that world because, you know, those fans are just as rabid as sports fans. But their vibe is totally different. Star Wars fans are like, “Hey, wow, I really, really liked you in that episode.” They’re all like respectful and stuff. And then like I always know it’s a sports fan because I’ll just be walking down the street with my wife and they’ll just say, “Hey, Billy B*tch Tits! Hey, the Pats suck!” And I’ll be like, “Hey, thank you! Thanks for listening to the podcast.”

While Burr appreciates how polite Star Wars fans can be, they’re not without their faults. The comedian definitely gets a weird vibe from them sometimes.

“Oh, the Star Wars people can get a little creepy. Like they seem like they’d be in your bushes, possibly,” Burr quipped. “Where a sports fan would just be urinating on your bushes. [The Star Wars fan] would be in it trying to think, I don’t know, ‘He held the Baby Yoda. I need to see what his living room looks like.’”

Dave Chappelle’s The Closer (on Netflix) continues to churn up controversy, mostly due to his unapologetic stance. To briefly recap, he called himself “Team TERF” (in agreement with JK Rowling’s trans-exclusionary radical feminist stance). Film festivals subsequently dismissed him, and his alma mater disinvited him (to which Chappelle responded with a slight slam) to a fundraiser for naming a theater in his honor. Meanwhile, the situation at Netflix continues to play out after fired and suspended employees filed unfair labor charges, which they have now withdrawn. However, Terra Field (who’s the Netflix employee that Netflix suspended for attending a meeting, for which she wasn’t invited, and who also spoke out about The Closer) has announced her resignation from the streamer.

“I resigned from Netflix yesterday,” Field tweeted. “[Y]ou can read my resignation letter below. I’m not happy that this is how things turned out, but I do think this outcome is the best for all parties involved.” Her resignation letter stands in solidarity with B. Pagels-Minor, the employee who was terminated as she helped to plan a Netflix walkout.

Via NBC News, Netflix, Pagels-Minor, and Field reached a resolution:

“My clients have resolved their differences with Netflix and will be voluntarily withdrawing their NLRB charge,” Laurie Burgess, a labor lawyer representing Pagels-Minor and Field, said. She declined to elaborate.

A Netflix spokesperson said the company and employees “have resolved our differences in a way that acknowledges the erosion of trust on both sides and, we hope, enables everyone to move on.” The spokesperson would not confirm whether the employees had signed a settlement agreement.

Then on Monday night, Chappelle continued to tell trans jokes at Madison Square Garden. Via The Daily Beast:

The 48-year-old had a running gag about pronouns, said the f-slur, joked about claiming to identify as a woman to get a cushier prison placement, and waved off a previous declaration that he would stop making jokes about the LGBTQ+ community, saying that rule only counts when cameras are rolling.

Chappelle further remarked, “Week four of being cancelled, it’s crazy.” His jokes included introducing H.E.R. while adding, “It’s a pronoun you don’t hear much!” When Jon Stewart joined him onstage, Chappelle joked that the two should form a trans-tribute musical act called “They.” In other words, Chappelle isn’t done with his trans-joke shtick yet.

(Via NBC News & The Daily Beast)

Adele knows how to sell albums. Her debut, 19 is only certified 3-times Platinum by the RIAA. She bumped those numbers up with her next two LPs, though, as 21 is 14-times Platinum and 25 is 11-times Platinum. Now, Adele is fresh off the release of 30 and it appears that album is also on its way to sales greatness. In fact, it’s only been out for a few days and it’s already making substantial waves.

Billboard reports that through November 21 (so over the first three days of its release), 30 has sold over half a million copies in the US, which makes it the top-selling album of the year so far. 2021’s previous best-seller, Taylor Swift’s Evermore (which came out in late 2020), has moved 462,000 copies through the week ending November 18.

To clarify, these numbers don’t including streaming figures, so it’s likely that when the final first-week numbers for 30 are unveiled, they’ll be notably higher than 500,000.

If 30 debuts atop the Billboard 200 (which seems all but guaranteed at this point), it will be her third No. 1 album, following 21 and 25. It also won’t be her first chart-topper in recent weeks, as “Easy On Me” was No. 1 on the Hot 100 for four straight weeks before Taylor Swift took its place on top.

On Friday, Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges related to him fatally shooting two people, and injuring a third, on August 25, 2020, amidst protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin after the shooting of Jacob Blake. By Monday night, the 18-year-old had already sat down to give his first post-acquittal interview, with his longtime cheerleader, Tucker Carlson.

Carlson, who once memorably claimed that Rittenhouse was “maintain[ing] order when no one else would,” provided some color commentary while teeing up his pre-taped interview on Monday’s show, where he described Rittenhouse as “bright, decent, sincere, dutiful, and hard-working. Exactly the kind of person you’d want many more of in your country.”

As the baby-faced shooter told his tale of woe, he took some more shots—these ones only figuratively, fortunately—at, well, pretty much everyone. According to Rittenhouse, the police where nowhere to be seen and “the City of Kenosha failed the community. The governor, Tony Evers, failed the community.” If Carlson’s facial expressions throughout were any indication, he was clearly intrigued.

As for that weapon of war Rittenhouse was carrying? Carlson pretty much dismissed that, noting that a lot of other people were carrying guns so, hey, why not?

As Rittenhouse tells it, his only goal that evening was to help protect his community. And after that required him shooting a few people, he desperately tried to turn himself in. He told Carlson about how he found a police officer and, after confessing to having just killed someone, was told to “go home.” He also explained how he attempted to go to the Kenosha police station to turn himself in, but he wasn’t able to “because they weren’t accepting visitors apparently.”

After having a chuckle about Rittenhouse driving “across state lines, as we’re now calling it” (LOL!), Rittenhouse explained that “I agree that everybody has the right to protest and assemble, but… I don’t appreciate that people are burning down American cities to try and spread their message.”

There are a few other things Rittenhouse doesn’t appreciate, including a September 2020 tweet from then-presidential candidate Joe Biden, which criticized Trump’s refusal to disavow white supremacists and included a video that featured footage of Rittenhouse and his rifle.

“It’s actual malice, defaming my character, for him to say something like that,” Rittenhouse claimed, adding that, “the lies that they can get away with spreading is just sickening and it is a disgrace to this country.” Carlson—one of the biggest perpetrators of falsehoods and misinformation—agreed, clearly unaware of the irony. Rittenhouse went on to lament the fact that his case became political in any way:

“No matter what your opinion is or where you stand, this wasn’t a political case, it shouldn’t have been a political case, it was made a political case. It has nothing to do with race and the ways people are twisting this is sickening. I’m not a racist person. I support the BLM movement, I support peacefully demonstrating. This case has nothing to do with race. It never had anything to do with race. It had to do with the right to self-defense.”