Category: News

After an epic return last year with the rock-centric album, Plastic Hearts, Miley Cyrus has been marching to the beat of her own drum when it comes to just how her music is going to sound moving forward. She’s reportedly working with producer Andrew Watt once again on another rock-oriented record, and is making it clear she’d like to keep collaborating with fellow musicians of all persuasions.

Plastic Hearts featured old school legends like Billy Idol, Joan Jett, and Stevie Nicks, but also rising pop star Dua Lipa. And given just how singular Miley has always been, it’s no surprise she’s drawn to one of pop’s other most rebellious newcomers — Billie Eilish. In an interview with British Vogue Cyrus gushed over Billie when asked about who she would most want to collaborate with that she hasn’t work with yet. “There are always new emerging artists that are super interesting,” Cyrus told the magazine. “I love Billie Eilish. I think she’s just the coolest. I love her, her messaging. I’d love to work with her.”

Given Billie is on the cusp of releasing a new album of her own, Happier Than Ever, in July, she just might have a few weeks free to get in the studio. A joint track between these two would be incredible to hear, so let’s hope they can make it happen.

Simone Biles is the greatest gymnast to ever live, with 23 gold medals at the Olympics and World Championships since 2013 — even with a year hiatus in 2017. Most recently, she became the first to ever land a Yurchenko double pike on the vault, and dominates at a level rarely seen in world class gymnastics.

Her road to the Tokyo Olympics later this summer made its final stop at the U.S. Championships this weekend, and on Sunday she delivered her final floor routine that she fittingly set to “Tokyo Drift” by the Teriyaki Boyz — aka the song from Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift. The routine is outrageous, as it starts with a tumbling pass that the announcer very calmly tells us has “never been done before” and she sticks with ridiculous ease.

Every time Biles steps into an arena it is another opportunity to simply marvel at one of the greatest athletes to ever live. The physical dominance coupled with the mental fortitude to push through the training that has to go into not just being great but pushing boundaries and doing skills no one has ever even considered is simply unreal. The best way illustration of that is that at the end of her routine, after 90 seconds of the announcers sitting in silence to let her gymnastics speak for themselves, the best the announce crew can do is offer a stunned laughter at what they just witnessed followed by a matter of fact “the greatest of all time” that no one would dare dispute.

The as-yet-untitled fourth Matrix film wrapped principal photography back in November, but we’re only now learning that its already huge cast has an additional key player. According to Deadline, Christina Ricci’s name was quietly added to the roster, tucked away in a mere press release in the middle of a murderer’s row of others.

It’s unclear who she’ll play, nor is it known if her role was intentionally kept a secret or if she has been added during additional shooting dates or what. But it will reunite her with director Lana Wachowski, who, along with her sister Lilly, worked with her on their 2008 film adaptation of the animated favorite Speed Racer.

That cast, by the way, includes not only returning talent like Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Jada Pinkett Smith, but also Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Jonathan Groff, Neil Patrick Harris, Jessica Henwick, Telma Hopkins, Eréndira Ibarra, Toby Onwumere, Max Riemelt, and Brian J. Smith.

The fourth Matrix began filming in Germany back in February and, as you can imagine, had to go on a long hiatus a month later, when the pandemic went next level. They returned to shooting in August, wrapping a few months later. The film is due later this year, on December 22.

(Via Deadline)

When it comes to Democratic lawmakers who aren’t helping their party pass key legislation, Kyrsten Sinema tends to get most of the hate, even from Joe Biden. But Joe Manchin seems to be trying to eclipse her. On Sunday an op-ed by the West Virignia senator was published in the Charleston Gazette-Mail. Entitled “Why I’m Voting Against the For the People Act,” it laid out his case for why he won’t support a far-reaching bill intended to combat voter suppression. And, at least for now, Manchin found himself more infamous than Sinema.

According to The New York Times, the bill, which now seems poised for defeat, would roll back dozens of laws passed by Republican state legislatures that curb voting laws, such as limiting early and mail-in voting. It would also end partisan gerrymandering — the tool that has helped people like Dan Crenshaw assume power — tighten controls on campaign spending, and restore many of the ethical norms Trump shattered.

But Manchin wasn’t having it. In his piece, he said the debate over voting has “become overtly politicized.” He seemed to argue that the bill, which seeks to reverse policies that target potential Democrat voters, should be bi-partisan. “Today’s debate about how to best protect our right to vote and to hold elections, however, is not about finding common ground, but seeking partisan advantage.”

He added, “I believe that partisan voting legislation will destroy the already weakening binds of our democracy, and for that reason, I will vote against the For the People Act.”

Manchin also doubled down on his opposition to ending the filibuster, the tool Republicans have long used to thwart Democratic bills from passing. Sinema has also stated she opposes its removal.

And so Manchin, who’s usually only discussed when people are calling out Sinema, found himself getting scorched solo.

Some implied he was a Democrat in Name Only.

Others dismantled his logic.

And some, wrestling with the idea that the future of democracy is in the hands of a 73-year-old millionaire who thinks Republicans in the Trump era can be reasonable, treated the news with gallows humor.

(Via The New York Times)

Game 7 of the Mavs-Clippers series began as so many have, with Luka Doncic dominating with 29 first half points, getting seemingly anything he wanted against the L.A. defense.

But unlike Dallas’ previous wins in L.A., the Clippers were able to match Doncic’s early offensive onslaught shot for shot to take a 70-62 lead into the break. That the Mavs were trailing by eight after a Herculean effort from Luka seemed to not bode well for them, but they made a quick run to take a five-point lead themselves early in the third quarter with some hot shooting and the Clippers going cold.

In a series filled with wild swings and runs, it was reasonable to wonder if L.A. was once again going to let Dallas march out to a big lead in their own building, but Kawhi Leonard had different ideas. Leonard had 13 points in the first quarter and none in the second, but he took over on both ends of the floor in the second half after Dallas’ initial burst and the Clippers ripped off a 24-4 run to close the quarter and take a 15-point lead into the final frame.

As big as the two top stars played in Game 7, it was about the others who were able to step up for L.A. in a way the Mavs simply couldn’t. Ty Lue pressed all the right buttons with his rotation, while Rick Carlisle was seemingly scrambling, trying to find anyone who could provide support for Doncic. Terance Mann was sensational getting early minutes off the bench and scoring 13 points in the first half to give the Clippers a big lift.

Luke Kennard, who had barely been used to this point of the series hit three big three-pointers in Game 7 on his way to an 11-point night in 14 minutes, including a few big buckets during L.A.’s third quarter run.

Marcus Morris hit a new playoff career high with seven three-pointers on nine attempts as he provided a much-needed 23 point effort.

On the other side, the Mavs just couldn’t consistently knock down shots, a combination of a swarming Clippers defense, headed up by Kawhi Leonard at the point of attack on Luka and just some flat out misses on good looks on the perimeter. Luka, after going cold and looking gassed for much of the second half, found a second wind late and got the Clipper lead down to as few as seven with just over two minutes to play in the fourth quarter with some ridiculous shot-making.

But as they had all game, L.A. had the answer to keep them at arm’s length in the form of threes from Reggie Jackson and Marcus Morris to put the dagger in the Mavs as they went on to win 126-111.

In the end, Doncic had 46 points, 14 assists, and seven rebounds, but he just couldn’t keep up the scoring pace by himself to keep Dallas close. Unlike early in the series, his teammates went cold from three-point range at the wrong time, with the non-Luka Mavs shooting a dismal 5-of-25 from three (and Dorian Finney-Smith was 4-of-7). On the other side, Kawhi was magnificent with 28 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists, and four steals, but it was the shooting of the others that was the difference. L.A. was 20-of-43 from deep, led by Morris’ 7-of-9 performance, while Jackson, Mann, and Kennard combined to go 8-of-16 from deep. Paul George gave a strong performance as well with 22 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds, as he and Leonard took turns orchestrating the Clipper offense and ran it beautifully.

The Mavs will now enter an offseason where they will be tasked with figuring out how to upgrade the roster to be more consistent in terms of two-way contributions. We know Mark Cuban will be aggressive if able to make that happen, but what that entails remains to be seen. The Porzingis pairing is clearly not maximizing the team upside in the way Dallas had hoped when they brought him in and it’s unclear if that can be fixed with a different rotation around them or if the Mavs will look to explore trade avenues to completely shuffle the deck around their young superstar.

For the Clippers, it was a show of resilience, both in Game 7 and in the series as a whole that could be massive for them as a franchise. After how they finished in the Bubble and how this series started, coming away with a seven-game series win and getting the best of Kawhi Leonard in two win or go home situations was the type of performance that will go a long way in building their confidence that they can in fact make a deep run in this year’s playoffs, with a stiff test against the top-seeded Jazz up next.

Kehlani has been known to date both men and women, but at the end of April she came out as strictly lesbian. “Wanna know what’s new about me?” she said during an Instagram Live. “I finally know I’m a lesbian.” A couple of weeks later, she doubled down in a TikTok video, saying, “I am gay gay gay gay gay.” Recently, Kehlani, who has a two-year-old daughter, shared how her child’s father, Javaughn Young-White, reacted to her coming out as lesbian.

“I have a two-year-old daughter…She’s the best,” Kehlani said during Facebook Watch’s Pride On! Kehlani & Larray’s Excellent Pride Ride. “Me and her dad are like really, really close friends, and the decision to start a family was really easy for us because we both believed in each other’s ability to be good parents.” She added, “We just focus on being a team, honestly, and when I was able to tell him, like, I’ve come to newer terms with my sexuality and he’s super super super supportive.”

Kehlani also detailed how she and Young-White normalize different parental relationships with their daughter, saying, “Like usually where people would bring up ‘mom and dad,’ we also say ‘mom and mom’ and ‘dad and dad.’”

You can watch the full Pride On! Kehlani & Larray’s Excellent Pride Ride episode here.

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

Taylor Swift’s second 2020 album, Evermore, was released a surprise follow-up to her summer record, Folklore. Something of a wintry counterpart to the earlier release, it took a few months for Evermore‘s vinyl production, so orders placed for the December 2020 album were only shipped out a few days ago. When those vinyl numbers were tallied, it became clear that sales of the album would set a new record for single-week purchases of a vinyl album, and now, the vinyl boost has taken the project back to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard albums chart.

With its return, Evermore has four non-consecutive weeks at the No. 1 slot, and that figure boosts Taylor’s total weeks with a No. 1 album to 53, breaking her out of a tie with Garth Brooks at 52 weeks, and giving her the third most weeks in the No. 1 spot. The Beatles have the most with 132 and Elvis Presley comes in second at 67. Hey, she might still be a long way off from the Fab Four, but if we get another pair of new records anytime soon, Elvis doesn’t stand a chance.

With 202,000 equivalent units sold, Taylor breaks her own record for biggest opening of 2021, when Fearless (Taylor’s Version) sold 179,000. And off the 202,000 units, 102,000 were from vinyl sales, no mean feat! Read more about the album’s record-breaking sales week on Billboard.

A lot of NBA teams have their very own high profile fans, sitting courtside, passionately supporting their team. The New York Knicks have Spike Lee. The Dallas Mavericks have Mark Cuban. (He, of course, is also the team’s owner, but his in-game support is uniquely fervent.) And the Atlanta Hawks have Quavo, who showed off his zealotry during their Sunday playoff game with the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Migos rapper attended the game, which took place in Philadelphia, not in his hometown of Atlanta. The final score was 128-124 in favor of the Hawks, but there was one point in the game where the Hawks led by a whopping 22 points. In-game clips show Quavo absolutely loving his team’s success, breaking out raise-the-roof gestures and a pair of three-point celebrations. Fans of the rapper watching the game at home took note of his antics on Twitter.

“Quavo in philly cheering for the hawks with this 26 point lead!!!” one person wrote, accompanied by a Spongebob meme. Another asked, “Is Quavo our Spike Lee?”

Quavo’s courtside celebrations come less than a week before he and his Migos counterparts are set to release their fourth album, Culture III.

You can check out more reactions to Quavo below.

The Brooklyn Nets won Game 1 of their first round series against the Bucks thanks in large part to the efforts of Mike James and Blake Griffin, who combined for 30 points in the opener to help fill the significant hole left behind by James Harden leaving the game a minute in after aggravating the hamstring injury that caused him to miss time late in the regular season.

Harden came up limping after his first drive of the game and never returned, but with the efforts of Griffin and James, alongside strong nights from Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, they still got the win. That said, the margin for error against a good Milwaukee team is much slimmer without Harden, and the team confirmed on Sunday that the star point guard would not play in Game 2 with what is officially being deemed right hamstring tightness.

That will put a premium once again on the Nets to find not just scoring from others beyond Durant and Irving, but most importantly more playmaking to keep their offense humming. Kyrie Irving will play more of that point guard role and he facilitated well in the opener with eight assists. James figures to get ample opportunity to continue his strong play from Game 1, and if there is a positive it’s that the Nets injury issues all season have given Steve Nash plenty of time to try different lineups and he knows what bench players play best with his starters and vice versa.

As for when Harden could return, Nash said Harden hopes to be back soon but that the team will protect his health first and foremost.

As president, Donald J. Trump wasn’t just evil and he wasn’t just stupid. He was also weird. Every day, it seemed, he gifted the world with something uniquely bizarre. You probably forget about some of them. Remember the orb? Him telling a seven-year-old Santa isn’t real? Kim Jong-un’s giant letter? The hidden Coke bottle? The weirdness, it piled up. We don’t get that every day, like we used to. But perhaps one can take comfort in this: On Saturday, he gave a speech while appearing to have his pants on backwards. He’s still got it!

The president-turned-failed blogger made a now-rare public appearance at a to-do for North Carolina’s Republican party. It was a greatest hits show. He bashed Biden. He spread 2020 election lies. He tried to take credit for the COVID-19 vaccine. He slurred words. In other words, he gave the people what they wanted. And he did it all while appearing to wear pants that didn’t have a zipper, at least in the front, where it’s supposed to be.

This was probably not true. The professional debunkers at Snopes declared the claim that he had backwards or elastic dress pants false, saying there was other footage from the same speech where he clearly had pants.

But the damage was already done.

Some remarked on how far he’s fallen. Sort of.

Others made Kris Kross jokes.

And other comparisons.

Some said Trump was making his successor look even better.

Others made jokes about Hope Hicks, his former political advisor, who he reportedly once chastised for not steaming his pants.

And there were other jokes.

True or not, it left some people outraged that they had to once more think about Donald Trump’s crotch.