Category: News

Despite its massive four-hour-and-two-minute runtime, Stephen Colbert isn’t ashamed to admit that he still wanted more of Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Turns out, The Late Show host is a big fan of the original post-credits scene from the 2017 theatrical version of Justice League that featured Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke meeting up with Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor to form the Legion of Doom. But when that scene didn’t get the expanded screentime that Colbert was hoping for in the Snyder Cut, he made his own post-credits scene by combining the existing footage of Deathstroke with Colbert himself playing Lex Luthor. It did not go well for Deathstroke.

In the expanded “The Colbert Cut” scene, Colbert’s Luthor ruthlessly dunks on Deathstroke over everything from his name to the fact that his comic book origins involve him mostly battling Robin and the Teen Titans. “Where do you fight?” Colbert’s Luthor ask. “At the mall.” He also gets Deathstroke confused with Will Smith’s Deadshot, which prompts Colbert’s Luthor to hold up pictures of Deadpool and Deadshot and quip that all three of these guys basically have the same name. “How does anyone tell you apart?” Colbert asks Deathstroke before going in for the kill. “Oh wait, these two don’t fight teens.”

It’s a pretty funny scene that makes great use of the Deathstroke footage to deliver joke after joke about how he’s basically “Pirate Deadpool,” which is a burn on a whole other level considering Deadpool was literally created as a spoof of Deathstroke, and yet, look who has his own movie franchise. That’s gotta sting.

This week in the best new pop music saw the release of some anticipated LPs. Lana Del Rey dropped her long-awaited Chemtrails Over The Country Club, Justin Bieber debuted his album Justice, and J Balvin returned with a fiery new single.

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

Lana Del Rey — “White Dress”

Lana Del Rey has been teasing Chemtrails Over The Country Club for months, and it’s finally here along with her fan favorite song “White Dress.” About the track, co-writer/producer Jack Antonoff says it’s one of his favorites on the album. “What I like about that song is that for all of its weirdness, when you get to the end of it, you understand exactly what it’s about,” he said.

Justin Bieber — “Peaches” Feat. Daniel Caesar, Giveon

Other than getting hit with a cease and desist letter for his album’s logo, Justin Bieber’s Justice album rolled out this week without a hitch. The 16-track release dove deeper into his R&B sound, which can be heard on the song “Peaches,” featuring Daniel Caesar and Giveon. The track displayed Bieber’s positive lyricism over a snappy beat while offering an opportunity for his collaborator to show off their moving vocals.

J Balvin — “Tu Venemo”

J Balvin may have released his acclaimed album Colores just last year, but he’s showing no signs of slowing down since. The Colombian musician returned this week to debut his dark pop track “Tu Venemo,” where he sings of the addictive nature of a toxic relationship.

Addison Rae — “Obsessed”

TikTok star Addison Rae was highest-paid person on the platform in 2020, and now she’s pivoting to her music career. Rae released her debut single “Obsessed” this week, which is a sparkling anthem about maintaining self worth.

Glaive — “I Wanna Slam My Head Against The Wall”

Though he’s only been making music for about eight months, 16-year-old North Carolina native Glaive has already made a name for himself with his art-pop sound. Now, “I Wanna Slam My Head Against The Wall” marks Glaive’s latest release. The song offers another view into his psyche, this time contrasting relationship woes with upbeat instrumentals.

Dasha — “None Of My Business”

Up-and-coming pop songwriter Dasha released her shimmering debut EP $hiny Things this week, showing off her knack for catchy yet relatable tunes. In a statement about the project, Dasha said: “The mood of the entire project swings from crying on your birthday, to being so innocently in love with someone, to getting cheated on, to finally being the confident bitch you’re supposed to be. This EP is the epitome of all the ups and downs I’ve felt over the past year.”

Daniyel — “It’s Ok”

19-year-old musician Daniyel released the bittersweet anthem “It’s Ok” this week as a reminder to stay positive about mental health. Speaking about the track in a statement, Daniyel said: “At first listen, the song sounds like a love song. But the true inspiration is a quote I always tell myself when I’m feeling out of place and down. In the end everything will be okay. Whether it’s my mom’s living situation, my mental health, or when I get to the end of a show I’ve been binging for weeks…it will be okay.”

PJ Harding, Noah Cyrus — “You Belong To Somebody Else”

Best New Artist Grammy nominee Noah Cyrus released the folksy collaboration “You Belong To Somebody Else” with PJ Harding this week. The track arrives as another preview of the two songwriter’s joint EP People Don’t Change, which is slated for a release later this spring. “At heart, this is really a raw, homemade record,” Harding stated about the song. “There’s a strong folk tradition in Australia, which you can possibly feel. There’s certainly a lot of Nashville in there too. I feel like Noah is really the guiding force here. She’s the soul of this record.”

Babygirl — “Nevermind”

Toronto alt pop songwriting duo Babygirl returned this week to share the single “Nevermind” and announce the upcoming EP Losers Weepers. About the new song, Babygirl told Nylon that they are drawn to the word in particular: “I like the word ‘never mind. It’s often said after you’ve said something you immediately want to take back or undermine, and we like pointing to that nervous tick in the context of a romantic relationship.”

Madeline The Person — “As A Child”

Rising singer Madeline The Person offered a glimpse into her colorful world of pop with the euphoric single “As A Child.” “With my music, I’m trying to normalize the sad and hard and really gross stuff and make it more acceptable and less scary, because to me, as a person, I am all of those things combined. I’m super sad and also really happy and joyful and grateful. I have a lot of emotions and I don’t like to boil it down to just a few.”

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

Selena Gomez’s recent Revelación EP was an important release for the singer, as she has long expressed a desire to release a Spanish-language project. The effort has worked out for Gomez, as it has debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart dated March 27, and Gomez is pretty stoked about it.

Gomez told Billboard:

“I never go into anything expecting a No. 1 so I do not take it for granted. It’s always a bit nerve-racking before releasing any music because as artists we put so much of ourselves out there. For this EP specifically, I was the most nervous I have been in a long time because my heritage means so much to me and I have been talking about doing this for over 10 years. I wanted it to be perfect. I am thrilled to see the response from my fans and also from people who might not have listened to my other music.”

This comes weeks after Gomez said she has considered retiring from music, saying, “It’s hard to keep doing music when people don’t necessarily take you seriously. I’ve had moments where I’ve been like, ‘What’s the point? Why do I keep doing this?’ ‘Lose You to Love Me’ I felt was the best song I’ve ever released, and for some people it still wasn’t enough. I think there are a lot of people who enjoy my music, and for that I’m so thankful, for that I keep going, but I think the next time I do an album it’ll be different. I want to give it one last try before I maybe retire music.”

It seems like every day brings another “BeatBox” freestyle, but Lil Yachty has arrived to shut it all down with his offering to the trend, “No More Beatboxing Freestyle.” As you may have guessed from the title, the first half of the song utilizes the beat from Coi Leray’s viral hit “No More Parties,” while the second half sees Boat taking a swing at SpotemGottem’s “BeatBox” instrumental.

In the accompanying visual, a solo Yachty roams his playhouse-like home, showing off his art collection. I use “art” here loosely, because the setup mostly consists of pop culture ephemera like life-size Batman and Ninja Turtle statues (shout out Leonardo), a clear-top piano, and a truly jaw-dropping collection of sneakers. In his rhymes, the former self-declared “king of the teens” recalls his explosive entry into the rap game and touches on his recent forays into Michigan’s underground rap scene with tracks like “Not Regular” and “Royal Rumble.”

Yachty, who is fresh off the dual releases of his tracks “Asshole” and “In My Stussy’s,” is the latest rapper to tackle the viral hit since DaBaby turned in a scene-stealing “Beat Box” freestyle of his own. Since then, Deante’ Hitchcock, Mulatto, and Polo G have all tried their hands, with Polo adding the twist of connecting the “No More Parties” beat, along with CJ’s “Whoopty.”

You should know better than to underestimate Cardi B. From her initial rise as a social media personality, to her status today as the reigning Queen of Rap, Cardi has shown herself to be an immensely durable and versatile figure within the popular imagination: a true renaissance (wo)man, capable of flitting between several different spheres while remaining completely and authentically herself.

This is no mean feat. Historically, the general public has reserved a great deal of suspicion for celebrities who have worn several hats. We’ve all sniggered at Gwyneth Paltrow’s transition from Hollywood actress to wellness guru under the banner of her tiresome lifestyle brand GOOP. We’ve all rolled our eyes at another Hollywood star flogging a vanity album of themselves crooning their way through an uninspiring selection of jazz or folk standards. Reality TV stars who have transitioned into music have an even more dubious track record. Who can forget Kim Kardashian’s first and last single, “Jam (Turn It Up)” (apart from almost everyone?)

Cardi B was born Belcalis Almanzar in 1992 in The Bronx, to a Trinidadian mother and a Dominican father. After being fired from several jobs (including working at a deli counter and as a cashier), in 2013 Cardi began to work as a stripper – a decision which she credits with “saving her,” giving her the ability to leave an abusive relationship and go back to school. It is during this period that Cardi first appeared in the public consciousness, when she began posting videos on Instagram and dearly-departed microblogging site, Vine.

Despite being several years away from starting her rap career, the star of these Vines is instantaneously recognizable as Cardi B. All the ingredients are there: the distinctive accent (part abrasive New Yawker, part melodious Spanish), the outrageous cackle, the outsized personality (part silly, part sexy, part campy), the filthy sense of humor and carnal preoccupation that, several years later, would result in endless criticism from conservative Americans. By 2013, the full range of Card B-isms were already in place: the trills and exclamations, the tongue-pop she uses like punctuation.

A 2017 cover story with The Fader describes the moment Cardi B’s manager encouraged her to “give rapping a try,” citing her distinctive accent as evidence that she’d do well as a rapper: “She had a natural ear for music. Her speaking style, in certain scenarios – like when she yelled at a dude on the phone – were proof of a unique voice.” While it’s true that Cardi raps how she speaks, she also raps what she speaks. Many of the snappy, vivid punchlines from Cardi’s Vines were recirculated, several years later, as rap verses. In one clip, Cardi B addresses the camera, faux-seriously: “People be asking me, like ‘what do you does? Are you a model? Are you like a comedian or something?” She smirks: “Nah, I ain’t none of that! I’m a hoe. I’m a stripper hoe. I’m about this shmoneyyyyy.” Two years later, Cardi would release “Stripper Hoe” and “What a Girl Likes” (the chorus of which goes, ‘gimme shmoney, gimme gimme shmoney’) – a crafty repurposing of comedic material which had been years in percolation.

Indeed, it is very easy to imagine a reality in which Cardi is a model or a comedian. A VP of a New York celebrity talent agency described her as “A TV personality – she was born to be famous.” Unsurprising then, that Cardi excelled when she was cast on VH1 reality show Love & Hip-Hop, quickly becoming the show’s break-out star. One standout moment from the show went viral: while discussing an ex-friend, Cardi declares “if a girl has beef with me, she gon have beef with me -” a loaded pause, a pirouette – “forevah.” Again, a year later the zinger would reappear, as the chorus of excoriating single, “Forever.”

This phenomenon has begun happening without Cardi B’s input. In the first few months of the pandemic, Cardi posted an impassioned monologue imploring her followers to take the virus seriously, which resulted in several, ahem, viral remixes.

If you are a martian who somehow hasn’t heard a single Cardi B song, you would be forgiven for thinking, from these accounts, that Cardi makes novelty music. That her music is an extended joke, an overplayed meme, the commercially-driven over-extension of a social media personality. This isn’t the case, at all – Cardi B’s rhymes may be superficially amusing, but her songs frequently have great soul and depth. In this instance, the things that make her great at social media – her charm, her scrutiny, her self-awareness – translate into being great at making music.

Something particularly notable about Cardi’s debut album, Invasion Of Privacy, is that it feels retro – oddly so, for a star who has built their career through social media. In an age where albums are frequently formatted to appease Spotify algorithms (see: Drake’s Scorpion, which stretched to a whopping 25 tracks, presumably to wring as many streams out of each user as possible), Cardi’s debut is a very reasonable 13 songs.

It would have been easy for Cardi to pack Invasion Of Privacy full of racy raps and crowd-pleasing braggadocio, but instead, the album is nuanced, an emotionally varied piece of work. One example of this is “Be Careful,” a bruised ode to a cheating lover. Here, Cardi is measured and beneficent, rather than vengeful: “Do you know what you’re doing? Whose feelings that you’re hurting and bruising? You gonna gain the whole world, but is it worth the girl that you’re losing?”

In a 2019 article for The Guardian, Jia Tolentino described social media as humans “reproducing the lessons of the marketplace.” In many ways, Cardi has done this throughout her entire career – she’s just been one step ahead of the marketplace the entire time. Rather than waiting for the internet to make memes out of her, Cardi memes herself, exhaustively mining her own back catalogue and reprocessing her best bits. Rather than working with a label A&R department to form her image and to grow her fanbase, like a rapping Venus, Cardi arrived fully-formed. Watching back over her old Vines, we see a fully-fledged star, a totally cohesive media personality with a distinct vocabulary and a ready-made fanbase of millions of followers. All Atlantic had to do was ink the contract and send over the songwriters.

As streaming and social media has complicated the business of being a pop star, a new term has emerged in A&R circles. The ‘artist-brand’ – a marketing construct which presents the idealized pop star as a global media personality, who can command several streams of revenue, and who are able to communicate and promote themselves effectively across cultural contexts, and within many different forms of media. Cardi has intuitively taken to the spheres of social media, television, and music – what comes next? Interestingly, Cardi has proven herself to be a skilled political commentator. She was a valuable asset to the Bernie Sanders campaign, hosting a charming interview with the senator. Her presence loomed large during the New York Women’s March, with her tweets and song lyrics appearing on several signs held by attendees.

While Americans may be finished with reality TV stars becoming president, it isn’t difficult to imagine Cardi establishing herself as a maverick political influencer. Personally, I can’t wait for the next installment of The Cardi B Show.

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

Before The Falcon and the Winter Soldier landed on Disney+ on March 19, The Mandalorian and WandaVision were the top series for the streaming services as it continues to have a strong showing in its second year. In just 72 hours, Mando and Wanda were already moving down the bench. According to internal numbers from Disney+ — which, for the record, like Netflix are not verified by a third party — The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is now the most watched series premiere ever after besting WandaVision‘s debut and the Season 2 premiere of The Mandalorian. Via Marvel:

Disney+ Original series The Falcon and The Winter Soldier from Marvel Studios ranked as the most watched series premiere ever on Disney+ during its opening weekend, Friday, March 19 – Sunday, March 22, and the most watched title overall for the same time period on a global basis, including in Disney+ Hotstar markets.

Of course, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier‘s success wouldn’t have been possible without both WandaVision and The Mandalorian crushing it. Those series set the bar on what to expect from Disney+, so it only tracks that viewers quickly lined up for Falcon and Winter Soldier after Wanda and Mando became can’t miss, water cooler events each week like clockwork. Heck, as of this writing, Marvel fans are still buzzing about The Falcon and the Winter Soldier‘s surprise ending, and just like WandaVision, the fan theories are already working themselves into a lather as folks try to figure out what’s happening with the new Captain America.

And, no, he’s not Mephisto. Probably.

(Via Marvel)

Mannequin Pussy turned heads in 2019 with Patience, their third album overall and first on Epitaph Records, which landed them on a number of year-end lists. The group isn’t back with a new album quite yet, but they do have a batch of new music on the way pretty soon: Mannequin Pussy has announced their new EP Perfect, which is set for release on May 21.

They have previewed the album with a video for “Control,” an exciting new track that starts with quiet guitar strumming and equally subdued vocals before exploding into an aggressive rocker. In the clip, Marisa Dabice (aka Missy) finds herself in a three-wall outdoor bedroom set, which she eventually destroys.

The EP arrives after the band members spent most of 2020 apart before booking studio time to work together in person again. They had two pre-written songs before the session began but decided to write new material on the fly as well. The band’s Dabice says of that experience, “We just figured if we forced ourselves into this situation where someone could hit ‘record,’ something might come out. We’d never written that way before.”

Watch the “Control” video above and check out the Perfect art and tracklist below. Also revisit our 2019 interview with Mannequin Pussy here.

1. “Control”
2. “Perfect”
3. “To Lose You”
4. “Pigs Is Pigs”
5. “Darling”

Perfect is out 5/21 via Epitaph Records. Pre-order it here.

Who would’ve thought Atlanta would predict the entirety of Justin Bieber’s trajectory? A 2016 episode of Donald Glover’s popular FX series provides a cynical take on the pop star’s career: portrayed by Black actor Austin Crute, the fictionalized Bieber reveals the “real Justin” to a sea of reporters while exclaiming his love for Christ and introducing a single from his new album — aptly titled Justice.

Whether it’s merely a coincidence or a Simpsons-level peek into the future, it’s a spot-on reflection of Bieber’s 180 spin, from tortured teen star to content husband who solely lives for his wife and Christ. 2020’s fifth-career album Changes, released five years after Purpose, was meant to be a comeback following an infamous string of downfalls that scattered TMZ’s homepage. But it was ultimately marred by critics, as its stellar R&B-lite moments were overshadowed by tinny synths and too much emphasis on Bieber The Married Man.

For his new album Justice (released on March 19), Bieber makes it very clear that the honeymoon phase still isn’t over three years following his marriage to Hailey Baldwin. Unfortunately, Justice fails to honor the singer’s newly realized path to redemption.

The album opens with Martin Luther King’s famous statement “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” lifted from a 1963 letter during his stint in a Birmingham jail, which leads into “2 Much.” The song is actually a beautiful piano-laden ode to Bieber’s wife, yet its meaning is completely disjointed when paired with Dr. King.

The honored civil rights leader inexplicably makes another appearance on Justice’s “MLK Interlude.” Derived from a 1967 sermon titled “But If Not,” the track preaches about fiercely standing up for what you believe in: “If you have never found something so dear and so precious to you that you will die for it then you ain’t fit to live.” Standing on its own, Dr. King’s words are a powerful mission statement. But his presence on the record is quite jarring; it’s less a call for equality and more of a messy rephrasing for bettering one’s (in this case, Bieber’s) life.

Pushing the confusing racial undertones aside, Justice is a journey back to 2012’s Believe, with Bieber exploring the synth-driven sounds that initially skyrocketed his career. But rather than the EDM-pop that marked the early ‘10s era, the singer goes full ‘80s dance with sprinklings of ‘90s adult contemporary. It’s all captured on Justice’s neon-splashed artwork, with Bieber looking contemplative as he kneels in the middle of a freeway. The art is vaguely reminiscent of Alanis Morrisette’s Jagged Little Pill, Savage Garden’s Truly Madly Completely: The Best Of Savage Garden, Madonna’s True Blue, and Soft Cell’s Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret. But once you step inside the album, those thrilling inspirations fall flat.

“Holy,” featuring the preachy frequent collaborator Chance The Rapper, is a diluted attempt to recreate Bieber’s religious renewal as a Hillsong Church attendee. “Die For You” too closely follows the retro path of The Weeknd’s chart-dominating After Hours, with Bieber putting his passion for Hailey into overdrive while his vocals blends into guest artist Dominic Fike’s own. The “Ghost” memorial leans into the aforementioned adult contemporary genre with its radio-friendly acoustic guitar riffs, while the Khalid-assisted “As I Am” is a formulaic recreation of Believe’s poppier moments.

But there are songs that find Bieber at his brightest. The equally vibrant and motivating “Hold On” will satiate the diehard Purpose fans, as the singer perfectly taps into his Top 40 pop magic. “Deserve You” is one of the album’s most tender moments (its heartwarming melody is slightly reminiscent of R&B group Ruff Endz’s 2002 “Someone To Love You” single), while “Loved By You” showcases just how versatile Nigerian star Burna Boy remains when he steps away from his Afrobeat foundation. “Peaches” is the main highlight (the NPR “Tiny Desk” version is a must-watch), the most R&B-driven single that picks up where Changes left off. Its breeziness compliments Bieber’s sonic effortlessness, albeit could’ve been made stronger if guests Daniel Caesar and Giveon were substituted for artists who both better represent the song’s mentioned locations and the song’s flow: Atlanta’s 6lack, Los Angeles’ Miguel, and fellow Canadian Partynextdoor.

“Lonely,” the album’s closer and its second single, is one of Bieber’s more vulnerable songs. Co-written and produced by Benny Blanco and Finneas, it’s a raw insight into the struggles caused by instant fame. It’s admittedly become a bit watered down due to its appearance in Samsung commercials, but lyrics like “Everybody saw me sick and it felt like no one gave a shit / They criticized the things I did as an idiot kid” are still an emotional gut-punch.

Sure, being madly in love with your dream girl is a beautiful thing. But Bieber would’ve been better off finding justice for himself if, like on “Lonely,” he continued to turn the mirror on his own growth.

Justice is out now via Def Jam. Get it here.

Thanks to The Queen’s Gambit, chess sets were as hard to find last year as the Playstation 5. The New York Times reported that in the weeks following the premiere of the Netflix limited series, sales for chess sets increased by 125 percent, while an eBay spokesperson “said the company had recorded a 215 percent increase in sales of chess sets and accessories since the debut of the show in October.”

This is exactly what Anya Taylor-Joy hoped for when she signed up for the series.

“We used to joke on set that we were bringing sexy back to chess,” the Golden Globe-winning actress, who played Beth Harmon on The Queen’s Gambit, told Vanity Fair. “We didn’t really think that that’s what people would actually think. I love the fact that people are like, Yeah, I’m going to go play this guy at chess, it’s going to be really hot.”

“I don’t think you can be an even kind of sane person and be walking around, like”—she does a parodic hair flip of self-satisfaction and puts on a haughty voice to intone—“I have reinvigorated the game of chess!” Just that morning, one of her best friends had told her that their boyfriend was playing on chess.com against a Beth bot. A what now? “Oh, yeah, on chess.com you can play Beth Harmon at different ages.” (The Beth bots have, alas, been disabled.)

If only puppets had a chess-like renaissance. Then maybe there would be another season of Taylor-Joy’s other fantastic Netflix series, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. There’s still time. Bring sexy back to Skeksis, Netflix!

(Via Vanity Fair)

For the second time in less than a week, a U.S. mass shooting is dominating headlines after a gunman opened fire in a Boulder, Colorado grocery store. During the Monday afternoon attack, ten people (including one police officer) were killed at a local King Sooper’s store. CNN reports that a suspect is in custody, although his identity has not been revealed by authorities. According to USA Today, he was the only person “to receive non-fatal injuries” in the incident, and “[t]he man, wearing shorts but no shirt or shoes, was taken away by ambulance.”

The attack took place around 2:30 p.m. Mountain Time, and a handful of hours later, the National Rifle Association decided to, uh, add some shaded commentary. It’s not a good look, either, given that the organization tweeted out the Second Amendment: “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

Is this a failure or a refusal to read the room? Social media feels like it’s the latter.

Beyond that, it’s sadly obvious that the NRA has either completely ignored or misunderstood the words “well regulated.”

“We saw a well-regulated militia on Jan 6th,” tweeted user Susan Sewing. “No thank you. I’ll continue to support any efforts to further amend the existing Constitutional amendment that grants the right to bear arms, until senseless mass shootings and gun violence aren’t considered a necessary by-product.”

Then there’s the question of what the Founding Fathers would think of an endless cascade of mass shootings while a powerful organization continues to defend the purchase of assault rifles by civilians. Your move, Congress.