The Beyhive is frantically running out to lock down a Western look for the Cowboy Carter Tour. Just in the nick of time, Beyoncé has swooped in with a simple yet fashionable suggestion.
In a limited-edition t-shirt drop, supporters can purchase Beyoncé’s reimagination of the company’s logo to mirror the double “i” used throughout Cowboy Carter. Fans can currently grab a tee in white with red trim or all black for $45 on Beyoncé’s official online store.
Beginning on May 16, the logo shirt will b made available global with the retailer, by way of their website Levi.com, the Levi’s clothing app, and in select Levi’s stores.
Beyoncé and Levi launched their collaboration with a series of teaser and two commercials (“Chapter 1: Launderette” and “Chapter 2: Pool Hall“) emphasizing the brand’s rich denim legacy. Now, their new t-shirt collaboration shows off another staple in Levi’s longline of causal goodies.
The Beyoncé X Levi’s Graphic Essential Sporty Ringer tees are available now. Find more information here.
Reneé Rapp has kept a pretty low profile this year. Outside of a few commercials reprising her Mean Girls role, the “Not My Fault” singer’s professional plans have been kept tightly under wraps–until today (May 13).
Over on Instagram, Reneé Rapp confirmed her musical hiatus will soon come to an end. In a teaser clip (viewable here), Rapp announced her forthcoming single, “Bite Me.”
“MAY 21,” she captioned the risqué video.
Rapp let it all hang out (literally) as she ditched a shirt and bra opting only for cap with the song’s title, and a pair of gray sweatpants barely covering her animal print panties.
The topless visual set the mood for what’s to come as Rapp’s singes the lines, “I’m a real bad girl, but a real good kisser / Leave me alone b*tch I wanna have fun.”
Following news of Oasis’ live performance schedule, whispers of a comeback album began to circulate online. In September 2024, Liam Gallagher seemingly confirmed that band had in fact finished recording a new body of work.
“Yep it’s already finished,” chimed Liam in response to a fan’s probe on X (formerly Twitter).
However, it appears circumstance have changed. During an interview with Music Week, Oasis’ co-manager Alec McKinlay put an end to claim.
When asked if Oasis’ new album would be released on Big Brother Recordings, just in time for the label’s 25th anniversary Mckinley firmly said a project is not coming at all.
“This is very much the last time around, as Noel’s made clear in the press,” he said. “It’s a chance for fans who haven’t seen the band to see them, or at least for some of them to. But no, there’s no plan for any new music.”
Oasis’ last studio album, Dig Out Your Soul, was released in 2008. After that the band dropped a live recording (Knebworth 1996) in 2021, which was originally recorded in August 1996 at the Knebworth Festival in England.
Move over, Netflix? Paramount Plus is proving itself as a streaming force to be reckoned with, not only as the home of Taylor Sheridan’s countless shows but also hits like The Chi, MobLand, and the many lives of Dexter and frenemies. Then there’s Criminal Minds, which is currently continuing as Criminal Minds: Evolution with Matthew Gray Gubler finally reprising Dr. Spencer Reid during the current season, albeit only for one episode.
For his day job, Gubler has moved onto another procedural, in which he will portray Albert Einstein’s slacker great grandson, Lew Einstein, who has been coasting as a tenured professor and misguided genius. Via CBS, he will finally find purpose in “using his gift to help solve homicides.” That will happen after “his bad-boy antics land him in trouble with the law and he is pressed into service helping a local police detective.” For this series, Einstein, CBS recently unleashed this doozy of an image (dem feet):
CBS/Paramount
Does Einstein Have A Release Date Yet?
No precise date exists yet, but the show has been pushed back to the 2026-27 TV season by CBS.
CBS Entertainment President Amy Reisenbach describes this as a strategic move that positions Einstein for long-term success as reported by Deadline:
“We felt like Einstein could really benefit from this path, even if it means changing course. We are not afraid to do that when it means that we are setting the show up for its best chances of success.”
The scheduling switch-up also “result[ed] in the departure of female lead Rosa Salazar,” who was set to portray Maddie Paris, a New Jersey State Police detective inspector. CBS provided no further elaboration on who will replace Salazar, but Reisenbach did stress that Einstein will contain a “really high mix of comedy and procedure.” And that description sounds perfectly suited to the generally quirky Matthew Gray Gubler’s talents and what his fans want.
Godzilla’s longevity streak has endured since the 1950s with no signs of him fading into the ocean for good. Lately, G-fans have been feasting and can look forward to a sequel for Toho’s Godzilla Minus One and a followup for last year’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire from Legendary’s Monsterverse. The nuclear lizard’s fanbase has also been devouring Legendary and Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters, which showcased Kurt and Wyatt Russell as the same character, the older version of which likely kicked the bucket in the first season finale.
The Apple TV+ series didn’t take time to (potentially) mourn, though. The tech giant announced multiple spin offs, but let’s get down to business on what’s to come in Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters‘ second season.
Cast
Apple TV+
Well, Wyatt Russell will return as Lee Shaw (as we will discuss below), but nobody is saying jack about whether Kurt Russell’s version survived and/or will return. Consider that a mystery.
An Apple TV+ wrap image has revealed Ren Watabe, Kiersey Clemons, and Takehiro Hira on Skull Island, and we can assume that there will be so much Kong in addition to Godzilla. Presumably, Anna Sawai will also be back as Cate Randa as more is revealed about her family legacy.
Joining the cast this season? Prey‘s Amber Midthunder will portray Isabel, “an intelligent and powerful businesswoman,” according to Variety.
Plot
First thing’s first. The 1950s version of Lee Shaw will definitely be back, as Wyatt Russell acknowledged while speaking with Collider to promote Thunderbolts*. However, the generation-spanning series had a ball with ambiguity in the first season regarding Kurt Russell’s older version of Shaw, who probably (?) did not survive that portal entry, and Kurt previously suggested that a baton passing was likely. However, we didn’t see a body, so hang tight for further clues there. Perhaps older Shaw will pop up in a spin off. No matter what, though, there will be more Shaw from Wyatt, who cautiously acknowledged to Collider that although “I haven’t been briefed on what I can tease and what I can’t,” he can promise “more monsters”:
“I can say that the mystery deepens. There are more monsters that arrive that are really fun to explore in the story. We wanted to level it up, I guess you could say, and in the Monarch way, ratchet up the stakes of the relationships as well. I can tease that the relationships really get ratcheted up.”
Those monsters will surely still include Godzilla because otherwise, viewers would riot. Also, expect to see this dude:
Legendary/Apple TV+
Yup, Apple TV+ hasn’t been subtle in throwing signs that this season will heavily feature Skull Island, which translates into Kong action.
Legendary/Apple TV+
While chatting with Gold Derby, series co-creator Chris Black (who wrote the second season scripts) stressed that more Kong is obviously on the table, but also, do not sleep on the human story:
“Where we left the season gave us so much fertile territory for storytelling. We want to continue to tell the human story. But there also was a hunger for more spectacle, for more monsters. So how do we make it bigger and better? We revealed Kong at the end of the first season. So there’s going to be an expectation you’re going to see more of Kong and we want to deliver on that. It’s the blessing and the curse of making a hit show: On the one hand, you’re like ‘Oh, we made a hit show’ Then you also, ‘Oh crap we made a hit show.’”
This newer image also shows Skull Island again, but what of the other Kaiji menaces that Wyatt Russell has teased? All lips appear to be zipped.
Release Date
Nada yet. The first season did arrive in November 2023, so it’s realistic to expect at least two years to pass between seasons with such heavy effects. Bet on late 2025 or early 2026.
Trailer
Apple TV+ is keeping second season footage under lock and key at the moment, but it’s worth revisiting the moment when Lee Shaw realizes that what doesn’t kill the nuclear lizard only makes him stronger.
It’s the next best thing to attending the Anime Awards with Megan Thee Stallion.
On Tuesday (May 13), Airbnb launched Airbnb Originals, which is described as “extraordinary experiences hosted by the world’s most interesting people.” The music-based opportunities include a day of “glam, dancing, and espresso” with Sabrina Carpenter; hanging out on a rooftop in Colombia with Karol G; and celebrating “a decade of memories” with Seventeen. There’s also an “Otaku Hottie Quest” with anime fan Megan Thee Stallion. Here’s more:
“Welcome to the Otakuverse, a dimension I created where your Otaku Hottie journey officially begins. Everyone starts with an empty quest bracelet. If you bring the right energy and serve the best looks, you’ll collect charms along the way.
I’ll be your senpai and official hype-hottie, awarding special charms needed to level up your Otaku Hottie-status — like a stallion charm awarded for strength or a booty charm earned for dancing. My trusty butler, a.k.a. my right-hand woman, will be running the show behind the scenes, ensuring everything is up to THEE highest standards.”
The Airbnb Originals experiences are free, but there’s limited availability on a “first-come, first-serve basis” to users who sign up. You can find out more here.
For a little while now, Abel Tesfaye has teased that he intends to retire his The Weeknd stage name. But, now he appears to be leaving the door open on continuing with his pseudonym.
“It feels like it. I mean, I’ve kind of toyed with the idea in the past with albums. But it could also just be a rebirth. Who knows?”
This is a shift in tone from a January interview in which he spoke more definitively, saying, “It’s a headspace I’ve gotta get into that I just don’t have any more desire for. I feel like it comes with so much… You have a persona, but then you have the competition of it all. It becomes this rat race: more accolades, more success, more shows, more albums, more awards and more No. 1s. It never ends until you end it.”
He also said, “Everything needs to feel like a challenge. And for me right now, The Weeknd, whatever that is, it’s been mastered. No one’s gonna do the Weeknd better than me, and I’m not gonna do it better than what it is right now. I think I’ve overcome every challenge as this persona, and that’s why I’m really excited about this film, because I love this challenge. But I just want to know what comes after. I want to know what tomorrow looks like.”
The 2025 American Music Awards are set to be broadcast from Fontainebleau Las Vegas on May 26, Memorial Day. We don’t know much yet about who’s going to be there, but we know a little: Jennifer Lopez is hosting, and it was just revealed that Janet Jackson will be on hand to receive the Icon Award.
This isn’t an annual honor, as it’s only given out on occasion. Before Jackson, the only recipients have been Rihanna in 2013 and Lionel Richie in 2022.
Additionally, Jackson is also set to perform during the broadcast, for her first television performance since 2018.
This comes after Lizzo gave Jackson her flowers, saying, “I said Janet Jackson is the queen of pop, and here is why I said Janet is the queen of pop: Britney Spears is doing a Janet impression, and she said it. Janet is her diva. There were no such things as pop divas before Janet. Janet was first; She was famous when Madonna was a kid watching her on television. And I’m just putting it out there: It’s not because someone is better than the other, she was just first, and she is Janet. She invented this sh*t.”
The AMAs are set to air live at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and stream via Paramount+.
With her new album, Sincerely, out now, Latin R&B star Kali Uchis has announced the dates for her Sincerely tour. Supported by soul band Thee Sacred Souls, Uchis will play arenas on 24 dates, including The Kia Forum, Madison Square Garden, United Center, and more.
Tickets for the Sincerely tour will go on sale on Friday, May 16 at 10 AM local time, while presale will begin on Wednesday, May 14 at 10 AM local time. Verizon will offer an exclusive presale from Wednesday, May 14 at 10 AM local time until Thursday, May 15 at 10 PM. You can find more information about tickets at KaliUchis.com, and see tour dates below.
Kali Uchis Sincerely Tour Dates
08/14 – Portland, OR @ Moda Center
08/15 – Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
08/17 – Sacramento, CA @ Golden 1 Center
08/18 – San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center
08/20 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Kia Forum
08/23 – Palm Desert, CA @ Acrisure Arena
08/24 – San Diego, CA @ Pechanga Arena
08/27 – Phoenix, AZ @ PHX Arena
08/28 – El Paso, TX @ UTEP Don Haskins Center
08/30 – Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
08/31 – Austin, TX @ Moody Center
09/02 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
09/04 – Orlando, FL @ Kia Center
09/05 – Miami, FL @ Kaseya Center
09/07 – Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena
09/08 – Raleigh, NC @ Lenovo Center
09/11 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
09/14 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden
09/16 – Laval, QC @ Place Bell
09/17 – Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
09/19 – Baltimore, MD @ CFG Bank Arena
09/20 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
09/23 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
09/25 – Denver, CO @ Ball Arena
In our modern era of micro-content and YouTube original programming, you might be surprised at how much work actually goes into those videos. They may only take you a few minutes to watch, but they take a team of camera operators, directors, editors, producers, lighting techs, make-up artists, managers, and assistants to bring to life. Take, for instance, Red Bull‘s Spiral Freestyles the series of one-take group cyphers featuring fan-favorite rappers like Coast Contra, Earthgang, IDK, Mick Jenkins, Pusha T, Saba, Souls Of Mischief, and more. One of hip-hop heads’ go-to outlets to see some of the best rappers dropping intricate, tongue-twisting verses, the show is shot at Red Bull’s studio/headquarters in Santa Monica, California.
On the day of my visit, Red Bull was able to bank plenty of footage for several pieces of entertainment, including Red Bull’s head-to-head trivia game show, Rap IQ. Both Red Bull shows appear on the Red Bull 1520 YouTube channel, named after the building where hip-hop was birthed. The premise for Spiral is simple: a group of three or more performers rap their verses as the camera rotates in place, a la the “session” scenes from That ’70s Show. The dynamic show kicked off in 2023 with the Coast Contra episode, taking advantage of the group’s viral status and then-burgeoning reputation as undeniable freestylers; to date, it’s the most-watched episode, with over 1 million views since it was posted.
Since then, the one-take format has benefitted a growing number of bars-first MCs, from the silver-tongued wordplay masters of Griselda Records to more raucous groups like one made up of Bay Area party rappers ALLBLACK, DaBoii, and MBNel. Usually, there’s some unifying theme, whether that’s shared geography (one popular cypher joined Texas natives Maxo Kream, Monaleo, and That Mexican OT, while there have been multiple episodes of Chicago rappers, with one pairing The Cool Kids with Mother Nature and another connecting Saba and Mick Jenkins), gender (there have been a handful of all-women cyphers), or label affiliation (shout out to Dreamville).
Red Bull
The day I dropped in, the talents for the day included Ab-Soul, Big Sean, and Joey Badass, a group mostly linked by reputations for being among hip-hop’s top tier of punchline-laden double entendre slingers — and by their tangential connection to rap’s recent row over the so-called Big Three kerfuffle involving Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and J. Cole. Sean commented on feeling left out of the discussion despite frequently collaborating with all three, Joey drew attention for throwing his hat in the ring for inclusion earlier this year, and Ab-Soul’s connection to Kendrick is well-documented, with the Carson native sometimes standing in as a proxy for his better known West Coast compatriot in rap debates.
On the day in question, the talents arrived with their retinues early in the day, taking over a handful of conference rooms as their headquarters for a full day of shooting content. It’s around lunch by the time the rappers are funneled into another studio with Rap IQ host Patrick McCloud. This time, they’re going head-to-head with each other, testing their hip-hop knowledge with a buzz-in quiz show. Of course, considering the names involved, the competition is friendly but fierce — a preview of the scintillating performances ahead.
The sun’s starting to set outside, and the office workers just beyond the studio doors say their goodbyes as our trio of rappers shuffles into the Spiral room: an actual recording studio booth decked out like some someone’s living room, where a cameraman will spin himself dizzy — several times — capturing the equally dizzying feats of freestyle wizardry from the three rappers.
Red Bull
A couple of weeks before this shoot, Joey made waves online with his song “The Ruler’s Back,” in which he ostensibly called out Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar after the Pulitzer winner’s combative 2024. The resulting fallout saw Joey being called out by Kendrick’s onetime labelmate Ray Vaughn, doubling down with the ornery “Sorry Not Sorry,” and fielding a swell of speculation from rap fans about who all would respond and whether the All-Amerikkkan Badass would be able to keep up with his West Coast counterparts.
Well, during the shoot, Joey addressed all that and more with a raucous verse that even drew his fellow performers in for a one-of-a-kind performance that may send a few aftershocks reverberating through the rap world. The rappers shot a few takes, drawing expressions of amazement from the onlookers in the control room — “How does Sean do that?” — and then, when they were completely satisfied that they’d all delivered flawless performances, they retired to the control room to watch the footage back.
After that, though, there’s still tons to do over the next few weeks: the footage must be edited together, the sound must be leveled, schedules must be coordinated again to optimize the release dates for the completed episodes. A full day’s work turns into weeks of meetings, tweaks, concessions, and cuts for maybe an hour’s worth of content. But for the team of creators who makes it all happen, it’s worth it. That content will live on, giving endless hours of entertainment to countless viewers over the years.
You can check out the latest Spiral Freestyle with Ab-Soul, Big Sean, and Joey Badass below.
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