Category: News

This week in pop music saw some sizzling collaborations and soulful releases. The Weeknd teamed up with electronic trio Swedish House Mafia for a highly anticipated track, DJ Snake tapped some of today’s top stars for a certified banger, and Khalid offered another taste of his upcoming album with an earnest single.

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

The Weeknd, Swedish House Mafia — “Moth To A Flame”

After weeks of teasing, The Weeknd and Swedish House Mafia’s slow-burning collaboration “Moth To A Flame” is finally here. Swedish House Mafia, who were just confirmed to play a Coachella 2022 set, offer a thumping and dance-ready chorus, creating the perfect backdrop to The Weeknd’s comforting vocals.

DJ Snake — “SG” Feat. Ozuna, Megan Thee Stallion, Lisa

DJ Snake revealed he would be teaming up with Blackpink’s Lisa for a new tune, and this week it arrived along with verses from Ozuna and Megan Thee Stallion. The star-studded track “SG” draws influences from Reggaeton while Megan and Lisa add refreshing refrains that flaunt their self-worth.

Khalid — “Present”

After an eventful year that included preparing a new album and performing at a rocket launch, Khalid is back with another instant hit. His new track “Present” opens up space for him to enjoy life as it comes alongside a hip-swinging beat.

Lana Del Rey — “If You Lie Down With Me”

Lana Del Rey’s album Blue Banisters debuted this week. The LP sees the singer going back to her Americana roots, perhaps best showcased by the track “If You Lie Down With Me.” The song is a forlorn piano ballad that features Lana’s resonating vocals reclaiming her reputation of singing about unhealthy relationships and recycles several verses from her previous releases.

Sean Paul, Sia — “Dynamite”

DJ Snake wasn’t the only producer to make a collaborative single this week. Early aughts club playlist mainstay Sean Paul teamed up with Sia for the infectious tune “Dynamite,” their first joint track in five years. “‘Dynamite’ started out as just a good vibe song,” Paul said in a statement. “After recording ‘Cheap Thrills,’ Sia and I knew we would record another single and ‘Dynamite’ is the second installment.”

Dreamer Boy — “Are You Letting Go?” Feat. Benee

It’s been about a year since New Zealand pop newcomer Benee took the world by storm with her debut album, Hey U X. Now, the singer returns to team up with Nashville singer/songwriter Dreamer Boy for the endlessly wistful tune “Are You Letting Go?” The collaboration was written in the stars, as both singers’ dreamy vocals melt over a shuffling beat.

Parcels — “TheWorstThing”

Boundary-pushing electropop artists Parcels debuted another song from their upcoming album Day/Night with the nostalgia-inducing slow jam “TheWorstThing.” The track features Parcels’ signature groovy bassline, but this time infused with a hint of morose. The song was born out of an hours-long practice session during quarantine that refined the groove with a “touch of country.”

Morgen — “Sweet 16”

While most teenagers are spending their Sweet 16 party hoping for a new car, bedroom pop songwriter Morgen spent hers gearing up for her debut EP, Unaccompanied Minor, with the track “Sweet 16.” The lush and catchy song highlights an all-too-common existential crises over a shimmering beat. “I wrote a song to convince myself that parties and being social sucked because even if I could go out and party, I probably wouldn’t enjoy it,” she said about the single. “That being said partying isn’t horrible…all of the time

Honne — “Three Strikes” Feat. Khalid

Honne dropped their mouthful of an album this week, titled Let’s Just Say The World Ended A Week From Now, What Would You Do?. But just before its debut, the bold London duo shared the heartwarming tune “Three Strikes” featuring Khalid. The song gives just a taste of what the album has in store, showing off Honne’s slow grooves and soulful lyrics.

Charlotte Cardin — “Scorpio Season”

This week officially marked the beginning of Scorpio season, and Charlotte Cardin celebrated by dropping the perfect anthem for doomed lovers. Her single “Scorpio Season” showcases her captivating vocals while telling the story of a painful ending to a ill-fated relationship.

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

The post All The Best New Pop Music From This Week appeared first on UPROXX.

A grumpy Dave Chappelle listed demands for meeting with trans Netflix employees, and in the process, he took a low blow at Hannah Gadsby. That’s essentially what happened when Chappelle posted a Instagram clip of a live set, during which he complained about being cancelled by everyone but Ted Sarandos at Netflix for a string of homophobic “jokes” in his The Closer. During that stand-up special, he declared that he is “Team TERF” and in agreement with author J.K. Rowling’s TERF-aligned remarks. He’s also proclaimed, “gender is a fact,” and let’s just say that the backlash (including a Netflix employee walkout) continues.

Part of that pushback included the Emmy-winning Hannah Gadsby (of Netflix’s Emmy-winning Nanette special) calling out Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos for an “amoral algorithm.” She expressed disappointment in Netflix handing Chappelle “20 million dollars to process his emotionally stunted partial world view,” and Gadsby declared that Sarandos’ namecheck of her meant, “Now I have to deal with even more of the hate and anger that Dave Chappelle’s fans like to unleash on me.” Well, Dave wasn’t thrilled with Hannah standing up for herself. He pushed back while announcing that one of his conditions for meeting with Netflix employees would be to “admit that Hannah Gadsby is not funny.”

Yeah, that wasn’t a necessary remark, but Dave just couldn’t (or rather, wouldn’t) restrain himself. Social media, by and large, rose to Gadsby’s defense.

Meanwhile, Dave also changed his tune, apparently. Previously, he declared (of being “cancelled”) that “I love it.” His defensiveness and issuing of demands toward Netflix employees (who aren’t biting yet) sure feels like a shift.

The post People Are Rolling Their Eyes At Dave Chappelle For Swinging At Hannah Gadsby While Demanding Conditions To Meet With Netflix’s Trans Employees appeared first on UPROXX.

As Joe Biden’s Build Back Better plan continues to stall in the senate, The Daily Show turned its attention to Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema who, along with Senator Joe Manchin, have been the notable Democrat holdouts impeding the bill’s progress. While it’s easy to decipher Manchin’s motivation (he hates clean air, according to host Trevor Noah), figuring out Sinema’s game has been next to impossible.

“That’s right, Kyrsten Sinema is the Sphinx of the Senate,” Noah said. “Partly because nobody knows what she’s thinking, and partly because she won’t give anyone the bathroom key before answering her riddle.”

So to try and solve the mystery of who the heck Sinema is, Noah delved into her early life (which was steeped in poverty) that led to her path to the Senate. “Basically she was the kind of person you’d hope would run for office, and then that’s exactly what she did.”

However, once Sinema got into the Senate, and particularly after Biden’s election, her policy positions became tough to nail down. “It’s almost like she got bitten by a radioactive Ted Cruz.”

As it stands now, no one can ascertain what Sinema wants, and there’s no easy answers to what she’s doing. She’s “a once-committed progressive who now changes her political beliefs like they’re wigs,” Noah concluded.

The post ‘The Daily Show’ Trevor Noah Roasts Kyrsten Sinema For Changing Her Political Views ‘Like They’re Wigs’ appeared first on UPROXX.

Following the recent premiere of You‘s third season, the hit Netflix series is back at the forefront of the pop culture conversation. Now, we find ourselves here, where Cardi B and star Penn Badgley (aka Joe) have forged a delightful online relationship, which the actor discussed on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last night.

To summarize the situation (which Junkee did well): In a recent interview, Badgley spoke about his admiration for Cardi’s relationship with social media. Cardi was delighted, tweeting, “OOOOMMFFFGGGGGG HE KNOWS ME !!!” From there, the two set their Twitter profile pictures as photos of each other, and Cardi even started pitching an episode of the show featuring herself. Netflix then changed its Twitter bio to read (as it does still), “Petition to get Cardi B to guest star in Season 4 of You!”

Badgley and Kimmel ran through that history, with Kimmel suggesting that Cardi’s name might stand for “Cardi Badgley.” Kimmel wondered if all this means Cardi will find her way onto the show, and Badgley responded, “Well I… I don’t know. I definitely can’t say.” He then noted he heard there’s a Change.org petition to get her on the show, and indeed there is.

Kimmel pressed for more info about the Cardi cameo, going back to Badgley’s answer, saying, “You said, ‘I don’t know,’ ‘I can’t say.’ It can’t be both of those things, can it?” Badgley responded, “I can’t say because I don’t know. I actually don’t know. I’m not being coy.”

Check out the full interview above.

Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The post ‘You’ Star Penn Badgley Discusses His Delightful Cardi B Friendship And A Potential Cardi Cameo appeared first on UPROXX.

No one on Succession, with the possible exception of Greg and, like, Jess, is “good.” They’re morally repugnant at best, irredeemably evil at worst monsters who are driven by greed and selfishness. But I would die for all of them. Well, maybe not Connor. I’m sorry to the Conheads, but he’ll be fine as long as he has Willa and a box of donuts.

The point is, nearly everyone on Succession is evil, but who is the most evil? That was a question posed by Arian Moayed, who plays fashionable money vulture Stewy, on Twitter on Monday. “Question for all of you: Who do you think is the most EVIL person on Succession?” he tweeted. “I’m getting into debates about this all the time but…who do you think is the worst of the worst? Just dying to hear what people have to say!”

The most popular answer is probably the right answer:

There are cases to be made for other characters, though, including the infamous Uncle Mo (“this man is in the deept of hell right now”), Shiv (“The easy answer is Logan. The correct answer is my sweet baby Shiv”), the lawyer at Greg’s door during Sunday’s episode (“Evil vibes def”), Gerri (“She’s sneaky as hell, with no agenda but her own”), and Kendall (“so y’all just gonna act like KENDALL didn’t off a kid??? oh okay”).

But the correct answer is:

The post A ‘Succession’ Star Asked Fans Who The Most Evil Person On The Show Is — One Character Finished Far Ahead Of The Others appeared first on UPROXX.

On Thursday, October 21st, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was tragically killed while filming the new Western Rust near Santa Fe, New Mexico, when she struck and killed by a bullet from a gun fired by Alec Baldwin. As the incident continues to be probed by authorities and the Hollywood unions that oversee movie set safety protocols, new information is emerging about the production. As The Wrap reports, veteran property master Neal W. Zoromski came forward to say that he was in discussions about coming aboard as Rust’s property master, but ultimately passed on the job after getting a “bad feeling.”

Zoromski—who has more than 30 years of experience as a prop master and has worked on a number of well-known film and TV productions, including Criminal Minds, Scandal, Grace and Frankie, and Snowfall—spoke with the Los Angeles Times about how excited he initially was at the prospect of working on the project, as he has never filmed a Western. But that after spending four days speaking with Rust’s filmmakers, Zoromski passed on the project as “there were massive red flags.” According to the Times:

“He said he felt that Rust was too much of a slapdash production, one with an overriding focus on saving money instead of a concern for people’s safety. Production managers didn’t seem to value experience and were brushing off his questions, he said.”

“After I pressed ‘send’ on that last email, I felt, in the pit of my stomach: ‘That is an accident waiting to happen,’” Zoromski told the Times. But now, he’s reportedly questioning whether he made the right decision to pass on the project, as “he believes that had he accepted the Rust job, things would have turned out differently.”

“I take my job incredibly seriously,” Zoromski said. “As the prop master, you have to be concerned about safety. I’m the guy who hands the guns to the people on set.”

Among the concerns that led to Zoromski saying “no” to the project was the fact that he was initially contacted on September 20th, just two weeks before production was set to begin, whereas often a prop master is brought in months ahead of time. He also claimed that the producers were “evasive” when he was asking about the specifics of the job, including the list of props he’d need to gather and oversee.

“In the movies, the prep is everything,” Zoromski said. “You also need time to clean, inspect and repair guns. You need time to fix old clocks. In period films, you are sometimes using antiques. But here, there was absolutely no time to prepare, and that gave me a bad feeling.”

The “deal breaker,” according to the Times:

Zoromski said he initially asked for a department of five technicians. He was told that “Rust” was a low-budget production and that plans were to use items from a local prop house. He modified his request to have at least two experienced crew members: one to serve as an assistant prop master and the other as an armorer, or gun wrangler, dedicated to making sure the weapons were safe, oiled and functioning properly.

But the “Rust” producers insisted that only one person was needed to handle both tasks.

“You never have a prop assistant double as the armorer,” Zoromski said. “Those are two really big jobs.”

The job of “property key assistant/armorer” ultimately went to Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, a 24-year-old with just two other credits to her name—one as a costume assistant and the other as head armorer on The Old Way, which is set to be released in 2022. That lack of experience is part of what’s now being questioned, with the Los Angeles Times writing that:

“According to search warrants, [Gutierrez-Reed] left three weapons on a rolling cart outside the church setting at midday Thursday. [Joel] Souza, the film’s director, told a Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office investigator that multiple people had been handling the guns and that he wasn’t sure whether anyone had checked them for safety after the group came back from lunch.”

(Via Los Angeles Times)

The post A Veteran Prop Master Says He Turned Down A Job On ‘Rust’ Due To ‘Massive Red Flags’ appeared first on UPROXX.

Ever since Jamie Spears was suspended as the conservator of Britney Spears’ estate a month ago, the pop star has been active in speaking out against her family. She did so again on Instagram yesterday, saying that while her conservatorship is about to be over, she still wants “justice” beyond that.

Spears started by vaguely addressing some recent misdeeds that had been done against her, writing:

“Don’t you find it weird when you jump through hoops to organize trips or set up lunch dates with people you love only to know they’ll bail on you or leave after 10 minutes ??? It’s humiliating and it’s like every person I’ve ever opened to immediately says they’ll be gone on a trip for two weeks after … OK I get it … they’re only available to me when it’s convenient for them … well I’m no longer available to any of them now !!! I don’t mind being alone … and actually I’m tired of being this understanding Mother Teresa … if you’re rude to me then I’m done … peace out !!!”

She then got more specific and mentioned her family directly, continuing, “This message is to my family … for hurting me deeper than you’ll ever know !!! I know the conservatorship is about to be over but I still want justice !!! I’m only 5’4″ and I’ve played the bigger person my entire life … do you know how hard that is ???”

Find Spears’ post below.

The post Britney Spears Has Words For Her Family: ‘The Conservatorship Is About To Be Over But I Still Want Justice’ appeared first on UPROXX.

Sasami’s 2019 breakthrough self-titled debut was a wonderful modern expression of shoegaze. On her upcoming album, though, the classically trained Los Angeles native is getting more experimental and exploring everything from nu-metal to folk-pop. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s followed her output this year, like the heavy-hitting cover of Daniel Johnston’s “Sorry Entertainer” and the gentle “Graves” by Hand Habits (which Sasami produced.)

Out February 25th on Domino, Squeeze is largely inspired by her deep-dive into her Japanese-Korean mixed roots and an anthropomorphic Japanese yōkai folk spirit she discovered called Nure-onna. The god-like creature has the head of a woman and a snake’s body and according to lore “is feminine and noble, yet powerful and vicious enough to brutally destroy victims with her blood sucking tongue.” This spirit inspired them as she wrote and produced an album that addresses everything from injustices in the world around her to relationship dynamics.

This viciousness channeled through Nure-onna comes through instantly on new single “Skin A Rat.” The track’s dark metal lean even features drums from Megadeth drummer Dirk Verbeuren and a deep gang vocal arrangement that features Vagabon’s Laetitia Tamko. In a statement, Sasami calls it “a soundtrack to cathartic release of anger and frustration with oppressive systems and humans.”

Meanwhile, “The Greatest” is all about guitars: The electric strum that opens the track as Sasami starts painting the tale of one-sided emotions. The drums hit and the guitar just keeps building, almost like they’re begging for feelings to be reciprocated. Sasami says it’s “like power born out of a black hole. All fantasy.”

Watch the videos for “The Greatest” and “Skin A Rat” above. Below, find the Squeeze album and tracklist, along with Sasami’s upcoming headlining tour dates, as well as those supporting Mitski and Japanese Breakfast.

1. “Skin A Rat”
2. “The Greatest”
3. “Say It”
4. “Call Me Home”
5. “Need It To Work”
6. “Tried To Understand”
7. “Make It Right”
8. “Sorry Entertainer”
9. “Squeeze (feat. No Home)”
10. “Feminine Water Turmoil”
11. “Not A Love Song”

10/29/2021 — Dallas, TX @ Studio at the Factory ^
10/30/2021 — Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall ^
10/31/2021 — Austin, TX @ Stubb’s (Levitation)
11/01/2021 — San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger ^
11/03/2021 — Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress (Outdoor Plaza) ^
11/04/2021 — Tempe, AZ @ Coca-Cola Sun Deck at Sun Devil Stadium ^
11/07/2021 — Berkeley, CA @ UC Theatre ^
11/09/2021 — Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades ^
11/11/2021 — Sonoma, CA @ Gundlach Bundschu Winery ^ –
11/12/2021 — San Luis Obispo, CA @ Madonna Inn ^
11/13/2021 — Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst ^
11/15/2021 — Pomona, CA @ The Glass House ^ –
11/16/2021 — Pomona, CA @ The Glass House ^ –
03/04/2022 — Brattleboro, VT @ The Stone Church
03/05/2022 — Woodstock, NY @ The Colony
03/06/2022 — Rochester, NY @ The Bug Jar
03/08/2022 — Lakewood, OH @ Mahall’s
03/10/2022 — Charlotte, NC @ Snug Harbor
03/11/2022 — Savannah, GA @ Savannah Stopover
03/21/2022 — Nashville, TN @ The End
03/22/2022 — Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade Purgatory Stage
03/24.2022 — Washington, DC @ Black Cat
03/25/2022 — Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
03/26.2022 — Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
03/27/2022 — Cambridge, MA @ Sonia
03/30/2022 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Cafe
03/31/2022 — Columbus, OH @ Rumba Cafe
04/01/2022 — Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
04/02/2022 — Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
04/03/2022 — Omaha, NE @ Reverb Lounge
04/05/2022 — Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
04/07/2022 — Salt Lake City, UT @ The State Room
04/08/2022 — Boise, ID @ The Shredder
04/09/2022 — Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
04/10/2022 — Seattle, WA @ Barboza
04/12/2022 — San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
04/13/2022 — Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
04/21/2022 — Bristol, UK @ Marble Factory * –
04/22/2022 — Leeds, UK @ University Union Refectory *
04/23/2022 — Glasgow, UK @ Barrowland Ballroom *
04/25/2022 — Dublin, IE @ Vicar Street * –
04/26/2022 — Manchester, UK @ Manchester Academy *
04/28/2022 — London, UK @ The Roundhouse * –
04/29/2022 — London, UK @ O2 Academy Brixton *
04/30/2022 — Brussels, BE @ Les Nuits Botanique Festival *
05/02/2022 — Tourcoing, FR @ Le Grand Mix * –
05/03/2022 — Paris, FR @ L’Olympia *
05/04/2022 — Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso * –
05/06/2022 — Zurich, CH @ Kaufleuten *
05/07/2022 — Lausanne, CH @ Les Docks *
05/09/2022 — Berlin, DE @ Metropol * –
05/10/2022 — Copenhagen, DK @ Vega * –
05/11/2022 — Stockholm, SE @ Fallan
05/12/2022 — Oslo, NO @ Sentrum Scene * –
05/14/2022 — Hamburg, DE @ Fabrik * –
05/15/2022 — Cologne, DE @ Carlswerk Victoria * –
05/17/2022 — Vienna, AT @ WUK * –
05/18/2022 — Prague, CZ @ Archa Theatre *
05/19/2022 — Munich, DE @ Strom * –

^ with Japanese Breakfast
* with Mitski

Squeeze is out 2/25/2022 via Domino. Pre-order it here.

The post Sasami Announces The New Album ‘Squeeze’ And Drops Two Contrasting Lead Singles appeared first on UPROXX.

Details are still emerging about the accidental shooting last week on the set of the low-budget Western Rust, which resulted in its director, Joel Souza, being wounded and its cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, being killed. Over the weekend, it was revealed the prop gun, which was unwittingly discharged while in possession of star Alec Baldwin, was handed to him by Assistant Director David Hills. But now there’s another turn to this part of the story.

As per Deadline, a similar, albeit non-fatal, gun discharge incident happened on the set of Freedom’s Path, a period piece about slavery filmed in Arkansas in 2019. And the A.D. on that film was David Hills. In this case, a member of the film’s sound department had to jump back from a close-by blast but was nonetheless injured.

“I can confirm that Dave Halls was fired from the set of Freedom’s Path in 2019 after a crew member incurred a minor and temporary injury when a gun was unexpectedly discharged,” the producer told Deadline. “Halls was removed from set immediately after the prop gun discharged. Production did not resume filming until Dave was off-site. An incident report was taken and filed at that time.”

The injured crew member returned to set less than a week later, but both Hills and the armorer — the member of the props department who oversees the prop weapons — were replaced immediately.

Halls’ résumé includes titles like The Crow: Salvation and The Matrix Reloaded, but he reportedly has a personal-behavior complaint filed against him two years ago while on the set of Blumhouse’s TV show Into the Dark. As per Deadline, he was fired for “lack of respect’ to fellow crew members, who described him as “very aggressive” and “intimidating on set.”

A.D.s are often responsible for overall set safety, though it is currently unclear why Hall, and not the armorer, handed Baldwin the prop gun, nor if he performed a visual check on the weapon beforehand.

Other reports from the set of Rust detail a troubled production, with deplorable conditions for the crew, resulting in things being rushed. Both internal and police investigations are underway.

(Via Deadline)

The post The Assistant Director On ‘Rust’ Was Reportedly Fired From A Previous Film After Another Gun Discharge appeared first on UPROXX.

Rumors have been swirling around The Weeknd and Angelina Jolie ever since the pair were spotted out at dinner together in Los Angeles. So even though the actress is currently engaged in a round of press interviews to promote her role in the new Marvel movie, The Eternals, you had to know an enterprising young journalist was going to try to get an answer out of her about Abel Tesfaye. An E! News reporter for the Daily Pop had to ask — “Now I have to know, Angelina, because your kids are at the age where they have opinions, so I have to know,” he began. “Were they more excited that you were in The Eternals, or that you are friends with The Weeknd?”

For her part, Jolie dodged the question like the professional she is, not even dropping a hint about Abel and focusing entirely on the movie. “They’re very excited about this film, if that’s what you’re asking,” she responded coyly. But, what she couldn’t hide was a pretty big smile, and a grin and fellow star Salma Hayek who was part of the press blitz alongside Jolie. It’s not quite a hint, but maybe it’s something? The Weeknd won’t stop teasing a new era, so maybe we’ll get more answers out of him in coming weeks.

The post Angelina Jolie Expertly Avoided A Reporter’s Question About Her Relationship With The Weekend appeared first on UPROXX.