Charli XCX’s album Brat is one of the year’s biggest hits. Charli didn’t think that would be the case, though, and she actually would have been alright with Brat not being a smash.
“I really had this very concise, strong and strict vision for what it was and how I wanted to work. I also was truly, genuinely OK with it not being successful. When I started making the record, I was telling everyone around me: ‘This is going to be a record with no sacrifices.’ I remember telling the label: ‘You’re probably not going to feel like there are any hits on this record, but that’s just what it is.’”
Of the remixes and the album’s long tail, she also noted, “I’ve always been anti this idea that once an album comes out, that’s its peak. I feel like there are so many more possibilities of what those songs can become.”
Charli’s words echo what she recently said about the now-iconic Brat album cover: “Where the actual first idea of doing a text cover came from was to save money. I was like, ‘This album is not going to appeal to a lot of people.’ I was like, ‘I think I will do a press shoot and maybe save on the album cover.’”
It’s been 10 years since Taylor Swift has appeared at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. Will she be there tonight? Maybe, maybe not, although she was in New York City, where the show is being held, as recently as last night (she and boyfriend Travis Kelce caught the New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Guardians playoff game). Either way, the VSFS will at least feature an homage to the “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart” singer.
Model (and friend of Taylor) Gigi Hadid toldEntertainment Tonight that “there’s something on the runway tonight that is new, at least for me on this runway.” She continued, “I can’t remember if it’s ever been done on the VS runway. But there’s an aspect to it that I was trained to do by Taylor on her tour. In one of her rehearsals, she was like, ‘I’m gonna show you how we do this.’ Did that, and now I’m using it tonight.”
Swift has performed during the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show twice: in 2013, when she joined Fall Out Boy for “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)” and later sang “I Knew You Were Trouble” by herself; and in 2014 to promote her 1989 album with singles “Blank Space” and “Style.” The 2013 show, in particular, is a wild throwback to the last time it was Fall Out Boy featuring Taylor Swift, not the other way around.
You can watch the 2024 fashion show on Victoria’s Secret’s social media channels, including Instagram and YouTube, or stream it on Prime Video.
MJ Lenderman dropped his well-received solo album Manning Fireworks last month, and he’ll be performing it live for essentially the foreseeable future with his many scheduled tour dates. Now his dance card is even more full, as today (October 15), he announced additional North American tour dates for April, May, and June 2025.
New shows include a stop at Chicago’s The Salt Shed, which will be Lenderman’s biggest headlining performance so far.
Tickets for the new shows go on sale October 18 at 10:00 a.m. local time, via Ticketmaster.
Find Lenderman’s upcoming tour dates below.
MJ Lenderman’s 2024 & 2025 Tour Dates
10/16/2024 — Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall &
10/17/2024 — Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall &
10/18/2024 — Detroit, MI @ El Club &
10/19/2024 — Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace &
10/21/2024 — Montreal, QC @ Theatre Fairmount &
10/22/2024 — Boston, MA @ The Royale &
10/24/2024 — Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer &
10/25/2024 — Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg &
10/26/2024 — Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg &
10/27/2024 — Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg &
10/29/2024 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Thunderbird Music Hall &
10/30/2024 — Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club &
11/01/2024 — Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel &
11/11/2024 — Berlin, DE @ Privatclub ~
11/12/2024 — Hamburg, DE @ Hafenklang ~
11/14/2024 — Amsterdam, NL @ Bitterzoet
11/15/2024 — Brussels, BE @ Botanique Witloof Bar
11/16/2024 — Paris, FR @ Point Ephemere ~
11/18/2024 — London, UK @ The Garage ~
11/19/2024 — London, UK @ The Garage ~
11/21/2024 — Manchester, UK @ YES Pink Room ~
11/22/2024 — Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club ~
11/23/2024 — Dublin, IE @ Workman’s Club ~
11/24/2024 — Dublin, IE @ Whelan’s ~
01/29/2025 — Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle ^
01/30/2025 — Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle ^
01/31/2025 — Athens, GA @ 40 Watt ^
02/01/2025 — Birmingham, AL @ Saturn ^
02/02/2025 — Oxford, MS @ Proud Larry’s ^
02/04/2025 — New Orleans, LA @ Tipitina’s ^
02/05/2025 — Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall (Upstairs) ^
02/06/2025 — Austin, TX @ Emo’s ^
02/08/2025 — Oklahoma City, OK @ Beer City Music Hall ^
02/10/2025 — Santa Fe, NM @ Tumbleroot ^
02/11/2025 — Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole ^
02/13/2025 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda ^
02/14/2025 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda ^
02/15/2025 — Santa Cruz, CA @ Rio Theatre ^
02/17/2025 — San Francisco, CA @ The Independent ^
02/18/2025 — San Francisco, CA @ The Independent ^
02/20/2025 — Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall ^
02/21/2025 — Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre ^
02/22/2025 — Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theatre ^
02/23/2025 — Boise, ID @ Shrine Ballroom ^
02/24/2025 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Soundwell ^
02/26/2025 — Fort Collins, CO @ The Aggie ^
02/27/2025 — Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre ^
02/28/2025 — Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theatre ^
03/01/2025 — Colorado Springs, CO @ Black Sheep ^
03/03/2025 — Lawrence, KS @ Bottleneck ^
03/04/2025 — Urbana, IL @ Rose Bowl Tavern ^
03/06/2025 — Lexington, KY @ Green Lantern ^
03/07/2025 — Lexington, KY @ Green Lantern ^
04/28/2025 — Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel $
04/29/2025 — Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel $
04/30/2025 — Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel #
05/02/2025 — Woodstock, NY @ Levon Helm Studios
05/03/2025 — Woodstock, NY @ Levon Helm Studios
05/04/2025 — Portland, ME @ Stage Theatre
05/10/2025 — Buffalo, NY @ Asbury Hall at Babeville
05/11/2025 — Detroit, MI @ Masonic Cathedral Theatre
05/14/2025 — Harrisburg, PA @ XL Live
05/15/2025 — Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
05/17/2025 — Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall
05/19/2025 — Richmond, VA @ The National
05/20/2025 — Charlotte, NC @ The Underground
05/21/2025 — Winston-Salem, NC @ The Ramkat
05/29/2025 — Bristol, UK @ The Fleece *
05/30/2025 — Brighton, UK @ CHALK *
05/31/2025 — Nottingham, UK @ Rescue Rooms *
06/02/2025 — Glasgow, UK @ St. Luke’s *
06/03/2025 — Manchester, UK @ Gorilla *
06/05/2025 — London, UK @ Electric Ballroom *
06/18/2025 — Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed
& with Ryan Davis & The Roadhouse Band
~ with Hollow Hand
^ with Wild Pink
$ with This Is Lorelei
# with Nap Eyes
* with Trace Mountains
The Buffalo Bills are 4-2 this season and in firm control of the AFC East after beating the Jets on Monday night, but that 23-20 win also showed the issues that remain for the passing game, namely the lack of a consistent top target for Josh Allen.
After trading Stefon Diggs to Houston this offseason, the Bills never got a true replacement No. 1 receiver. Rookie Keon Coleman has had some flashes, but his lack of top end speed and quickness makes it difficult for him to consistently get separation. In total, three Buffalo receivers have 200 to 249 yards receiving through six games, but the lack of a guy Allen can look to in key situations has been noticeable in recent weeks.
Adding Cooper gives them a clear top receiver and should help their current receiving corps find more comfortable roles — Coleman, in particular, seems to operate best out of the slot and now could spend more time inside than on the perimeter. For Cooper, he moves on from trying to catch passes from the worst quarterback in the league to one of the best, and gets to compete for a contender, which he doesn’t seem too broken up about.
The Browns, meanwhile, recoup some draft capital for Cooper, who was clearly (and understandably) unhappy in his current situation watching Deshaun Watson put up horrific passing performances not seen since JaMarcus Russell was in Oakland. Cleveland is insisting on sticking with Watson, and now will go forward without their most dynamic playmaker, taking away just about any remaining hope that things will turn around there.
Sick New World is new to the festival scene, but the event — focused on rock, goth, and alternative music — launched with a bang with the 2023 edition. 2024 delivered more of the same greatness, and now we have news of the 2025 edition.
It’s going down at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds on April 12, and it’s headlined by Metallica and Linkin Park. Aside from them, the lineup also includes Queens Of The Stone Age, The Flaming Lips, Mastodon, Evanescence, Gojira, AFI, Tomahawk, 311, Daron Malakian And Scars On Broadway, The Sisters Of Mercy, Meshuggah, Cradle Of Filth, and more. The fest will also feature a reunion of Acid Bath, giving their first performance in nearly three decades.
As for tickets, there’s a pre-sale that starts October 18 at 10 a.m. PT, and fans interested can receive an access code for that by signing up for the festival SMS list now via the festival website. Tickets that remain after the pre-sale will be sold in the general on-sale starting October 18 at 2 p.m. PT.
GA, GA+, VIP, and Platinum tickets will be available. VIP tickets include “preferred viewing areas, shaded seating, charging stations, air-conditioned restrooms, a dedicated entry lane into the festival,” and more. Platinum tickets, meanwhile, offer “all amenities of VIP, plus complimentary curated bites, hors d’oeuvres, beer, wine, cocktails, and nonalcoholic beverages within the Platinum Lounge, transportation between stages, a dedicated concierge team, complimentary locker rentals,” and more.
It’s Always Sunny premiered on August 4, 2005, but that’s not the “true” anniversary of the record-breaking comedy. “20 years ago these three kids made a pilot for FX called It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Today… 20 years later we start filming season 17,” star Glenn Howerton (Dennis) wrote on Instagram. “These kids didn’t know what they were doing, but they had a vision. Thank you to FX for trusting that vision. Thank you to our fans who preached the gospel from the start. We are eternally grateful.”
What can fans expect in season 17? Well… creator and star Rob McElhenney (Mac) recently shared a Standards and Practices note for an upcoming episode on Instagram. “Sunny Standards and Practices are something else,” he wrote.
It read:
“Caution on a scene where Dennis [redacted text]. Any graphic bestiality simulation must be avoided for cuts airing on both FX linear channel & the Hulu platform. Given the nature of the scenes always shoot alternate angles and positioning so that there are options to work with should they be needed during Post Production. Please keep the [redacted text]”
It took about 10 seconds for fans to figure out what the blacked-out text reads: “Caution on the scene where Dennis shoots video footage of him masturbating a dog & when Dennis holds up a Tupperware container.” And for the final sentence, “Please keep the semen Tupperware as generic and nondescript as possible.”
Father John Misty previously announced some UK and European tour dates for April 2024, but now North American fans have something to look forward to as well. Today (October 15), he released the new single “She Cleans Up,” and he also announced some North American tour dates.
The newly announced shows run for about a couple weeks in February and early March. Destroyer will be on hand to provide support for all but one of the North American shows.
A fan pre-sale for tickets starts October 16 at 10 a.m. local time, while the general on-sale begins October 18 at 10 a.m. local time.
02/12/2025 — Chattanooga, TN @ The Signal (FJM only)
02/13/2025 — Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern *
02/14/2025 — Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium *
02/15/2025 — Louisville, KY @ Old Forester’s Paristown Hall *
02/17/2025 — Columbus, OH @ Kemba Live! *
02/18/2025 — Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore *
02/19/2025 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE *
02/21/2025 — Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall *
02/22/2025 — Boston, MA @ MGM *
02/23/2025 — Kingston, NY @ Ulster Performing Arts Center *
02/25/2025 — Brooklyn, NY @ Kings Theatre *
02/28/2025 — Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore Philadelphia *
03/01/2025 — Washington, DC @ The Anthem *
04/03/2025 — Oslo, NO @ Sentrum Scene +
04/04/2025 — Stockholm, SE @ Fållan +
04/05/2025 — Copenhagen, DK @ Copenhagen Opera House +
04/06/2025 — Berlin, DE @ Huxley’s +
04/08/2025 — Paris, FR @ La Cigale +
04/09/2025 — Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique +
04/10/2025 — Utrecht, NL @ TivoliVredenburg +
04/12/2025 — Edinburgh, UK @ Usher Hall +
04/13/2025 — Manchester, UK @ O2 Apollo Manchester +
04/14/2025 — Brighton, UK @ Brighton Dome +
04/15/2025 — London, UK @ Royal Albert Hall +
* with Destroyer
+ with Butch Bastard
Mahashmashana is out 11/22 via Sub Pop. Find more information here.
NBA League Pass has long been a product that fans both love and hate, as the ability to watch games around the country is a great thing, but the functionality of League Pass (and the blackout restrictions) can be frustrating. One of the things fans have wanted out of League Pass for awhile is the ability to watch multiple games at once. On many nights, there are a few games fans want to keep their eyes on, and bouncing back and forth between games isn’t always the smoothest process.
This year, the NBA App will deliver what fans have been asking for as they introduce a multiview option that will allow you to select up to four games to watch at once. Multiview options have become increasingly popular in the sports world, with YouTube TV making it a focal point of their presentation. One thing sports fans with YouTube TV have been calling for is the ability to pick and choose what games they put in — especially for college football — rather than having to simply pick from the pre-selected groupings of games.
NBA fans will have that ability on League Pass this year through the NBA App, and that’s a significant step forward in providing fans more opportunities to watch games from around the league.
“A high tide lifts all boats” might be a cliché — and a fraught one at that — but clichés are clichés for a reason. A recent reminder that proved the timeless truth of that age-old aphorism came from the Los Angeles Times‘ interview with Billie Eilish. While the question — whether Eilish feels threatened by the success of recent pop breakouts like Charli XCX and Chappell Roan — could be politely considered… well… dumb, it did give us a chance to think about why the question exists, and why it’s wrong. As counterintuitive as it may seem, the success of so many women in pop music benefits them all.
To her credit, Billie had the perfect response to the question, as did Charli, who replied on social media later. “I’m so happy for these b*tches,” said Eilish. “It’s a crazy world when you get to the level they’re experiencing right now, and they’re doing great. Fans are drawn to them because they’re f*cking awesome.” XCX laughed off the question herself, writing, “Pausing from ‘Brat’ completely different chaos to just say lol this is a crazy question.”
It’s easy to see how so many of us fall into the trap of pitting these women against one another. They operate primarily in an attention economy, and it largely seems like there is only so much attention (not to mention, actual money) to go around. An “investment” in Billie’s concert might mean missing Chappell’s concert. Every minute spent listening to Chappell is one you aren’t listening to Charli. And poor Dua Lipa is being completely overlooked in this long-winded, tortured metaphor, so she may as well not even exist, right?
This mindset is part of a larger problem with how we’re taught to view the world. When guys like Bezos, Musk, and Zuckerberg are all running around trying to make their products the only game in town (often bankrupting competitors and partners alike in their efforts to create their all-powerful, ego-stroking monopolies), we tend to apply their line of thinking to every aspect of society or culture — including something as innocuous as pop music. That’s how we get stan wars on Twitter (never calling it “X,” by the way) and marketing plans designed to game algorithms to manufacture Billboard chart success for clout (sorry, Sabrina).
But this Highlander mentality — “there can only be one” — ends up being counterproductive and damaging. The girlies themselves have told us time and time again how much they hate being compared and forced into imaginary combat. We’ve all grown at least a little bit tired of stan culture. But the part that many of those folks who insist on making women in pop do battle overlook is how things actually work in the music business — or any business for that matter. When there’s a runaway success in practically any medium, the decision makers at the very top of the industry take notice, and try to capitalize.
Remember when every third movie to hit theaters was an adaptation of a post-apocalyptic teen fiction romance series? Or how all the movie studios wanted to build their own interconnected “cinematic universes” after the Avengers made a billion bucks at the box office? How many Conjuring clones are there at this point? The same thing applies to pop music; all the above-mentioned names, and those of others like Olivia Rodrigo, Ethel Cain, Lorde, Halsey, and more, are owed, at least in part, to the increased interest in pop music made by women prompted by previous pop breakouts from women.
Look at how huge Taylor Swift’s last handful of albums have been. Label execs look at the frenzy they generated and think, “People must want to hear music from versatile singer-songwriter types,” and loosen the purse strings, clearing budgets and contracts for even more women like Swift. Eilish boosts her giant status even more last year as a result of her Barbie soundtrack contribution “What Was I Made For?” and now, the doors (and windows) are open for a variety of different approaches to pop sounds that don’t fit established formulas — for example, Chappell Roan and Charli XCX.
Fans should see this as a good thing, because the alternative scenario — that one of these artists flops hard after an extended rollout — could have the opposite, chilling effect. Once those who sign the checks (most of whom are old white men, for what it’s worth) decide there’s no market for women in pop, you can bet they’ll close up the bank before the next quarterly report comes out. And all these women know it, too, which is why they don’t want to compete, and they aren’t praying on each other’s downfalls, even if they have personal frictions. They know that their livelihoods are balanced on a knife’s edge and the hands holding it are people who don’t have any skin in the game other than potential profits.
So, maybe we can all be a little more chill about pitting these women against each other, if we actually want our faves to succeed. Success for one doesn’t necessarily guarantee success for all — there’s still talent and timing and a whole lot of luck involved — but it sure makes everything a lot easier. Those high tides are just the first part of any artist’s journey, whether they’re new or established, but nobody wants to see their ships stuck at the dock, or being sunk by the weight of unnecessary competition.
Check that out and more in Uproxx’s Best New Pop Music roundup below.
Jennie — “Mantra”
Last week’s “Best New Pop” featured Blackpink’s Lisa, and this week was also tinted by Blackpink. Jennie released “Mantra” for every pretty girl unaware that 1) she’s a pretty girl and/or 2) deserves a mantra. That sentiment is underscored by the first scene of Jennie’s “Mantra” video, which shows a young girl in the backseat. She’s entirely unaffected by the traffic while singing, “This that pretty-girl mantra, this that flaunt ya, just touched down in LA.”
Charli XCX Feat. Ariana Grande — “Sympathy Is A Knife”
Brat is now autumnal. Brat is eternal. Brat is undefeated. Charli XCX released Brat And It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat, and perhaps the crowning achievement is that the run-on title is actually precisely accurate. The core tenants of Brat live on, but the additional songs pack a refreshing zhuzh. “Sympathy Is A Knife” featuring Ariana Grande finds two of pop’s brightest stars laying out the perils of stardom in the plainest (and catchiest) terms.
Maggie Rogers — “In The Living Room”
Get ready to cry! Maggie Rogers released “In The Living Room,” and the standalone single immediately induces yearning (“The hindsight’s been / The hardest part”). The Grant Singer-directed video finds Rogers untangling from a past lover, lying stoically next to her in bed. She writhes while singing, “All of the things / We pulled apart / I let it go it doesn’t matter / The seasons change / It broke my heart / But I will always remember you / When we were dancing in the living room.” Fans will undoubtedly scream-sing this one during Rogers’ recently launched The Don’t Forget Me Tour — Part II.
Mxmtoon — “Rain”
Mxmtoon’s Liminal Space rollout has been positively pleasant. The artist born Maia went to Nashville and never looked back, as “I Hate Texas” and “The Situation” mastered the country-pop ratio. Now, “Rain” basks in acoustics and anecdotal reflection — the perfect appetizer before Liminal Space arrives on November 1.
The Kid Laroi — “Aperol Spritz”
The Kid Laroi staked his claim in reviving the old-school music video with “Girls,” and his Alex Lill-directed “Aperol Spritz” video reinforces his commitment to visuals. In it, Laroi sprints away from countless fan girls, desperate for a piece of him. Eventually, he lies in a sea of women while melodically rap-singing, “I drink Henn’, she drink Aperol Spritz / Girl, I promise you ain’t had it like this / There’s a whole lotta girls up in here, but / Can’t nobody f*ck with my b*tch.” Chivalry isn’t dead?
Tori Kelly Feat. JoJo — “Bottomline”
In September 2023, Tori Kelly spoke with Uproxx about her Tori EP revitalizing Y2K. In April, she released her Tori. full-length album, but she wasn’t ready to leave Y2K behind. Tori. (+ a lil more), the album’s deluxe version, is here — and what’s more nostalgia-inducing than JoJo (meant as the utmost compliment)? Kelly and JoJo’s voices blend beautifully in the chorus, and the song’s infectious soundscape has Jon Bellion and Monsters & Strangerz’s fingerprints all over it.
Chelsea Cutler & Jeremy Zucker — “A-frame”
Chelsea Cutler and Jeremy Zucker cornered the market on “cozy fall” with their collaborative Brent series, and the coziness is hitting apex on Brent III, their forthcoming LP. The acoustic-based “A-frame” revels in simple pleasure and pure romance, down to the fact that Cutler and Zucker wrote “A-frame” at a cabin in Big Bear, California. “Brent III has been in the making ever since Jeremy and i met back in 2016, but this week in Big Bear was the first time we sat down and realized after all these years, we still had more to say,” Cutler wrote in a press release. The rest will be revealed when Brent III drops on November 1.
Halsey — “I Never Loved You”
Remember when Halsey published I Would Leave Me If I Could.: A Collection of Poetry? I can’t help but think of The Great Impersonator, Halsey’s forthcoming LP, as a poetry book. It is not a poetry book; it’s an 18-song album. But every single has showcased Halsey’s immutable vulnerability through sharp lyricism, with “I Never Loved You” as the latest.
Artemas — “How Could U Love Somebody Like Me?”
Genre-melding sensation Artemas sings, “How could you love somebody like me?” Is that a rhetorical question? It’s impossible not to become infatuated with Artemas’ distinctly immersive soundscapes and blunt lyricism. The UK-based singer/songwriter and producer set the bar high with Yustyna, his mixtape from July, and “How Could U Love Somebody Like Me?” proves that he’s capable of surpassing expectation every time.
Kyra Machida — “Connect”
Kyra Machida may be new to you, but she isn’t new to pursuing music at all costs. The Japanese artist knew at eight years old that she wanted to be a pop star, and she has been immersed in music professionally since age 14. That context is necessary to understand “Connect,” Machida’s latest single. The electro-pop/R&B song finds Machida reconnecting with pure self-expression and raw emotion — a culmination and an introduction simultaneously.
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