Category: Viral

Sabrina Carpenter had one of the biggest songs of 2024 with “Espresso.” That said, her label apparently had higher hopes for a different Short N’ Sweet track to be the album’s big breakout.

In a new Vogue cover story, it’s revealed that Island Records wanted “Please Please Please” to be the album’s lead single, but Carpenter went to bat for “Espresso.” She explained:

“There’s something about this song that, if I’d never heard it before, and I heard it live for the first time, I would understand it. I was definitely being swayed in another direction, but I knew deep down that it was this song. I was afraid of disappointing people for, like, five minutes. And then I was like: No.”

To give the label a bit of credit, favoring “Please Please Please” wasn’t an awful instinct: The song was the only Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single to come from Short N’ Sweet, but “Espresso” (which topped out at No. 3) was a bigger success overall (the two songs currently have 1.2 billion and 1.9 billion Spotify streams, respectively).

The piece also notes “Espresso” was the first song Carpenter wrote for the album, and she said of it, “I was writing all these sad songs, and ‘Espresso’ was like the one breath of fresh air. In the midst of all of it, I was like, This is still such a huge part of me — this mentality and the sense of humor and the playfulness.”

Read the full feature here.

“Gelphie” is the shipping term for Elphaba and Glinda, the two leads in Wicked. There were thousands of stories and artwork centered around the romantic entanglements of the Shiz University roommates before the movie musical came out, and now there’s thousands more.

Ariana Grande, who plays Glinda, has seen some examples of “Gelphie,” although maybe she wishes she hadn’t.

“I wish I could unsee some things,” the actress told The Hollywood Reporter. “I mean, wow, I had a feeling, but I didn’t know it would be on this scale or this graphic.”

Grande also discussed the audition process to play the pink-loving witch. “People who didn’t understand would say, ‘Oh, that’s so silly, they know how talented you are,’ and I was like, ‘That’s very nice, but Glinda requires so much. I have to be able to earn this and I don’t want it unless I’ve earned it.’ It became this beautiful evolution of getting to know myself beneath it all,” she said. “I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, I love this person underneath the drag.’”

The Wicked sequel, Wicked: For Good, comes out on November 21. Until then, Grande is up for Best Supporting Actress at the 2025 Oscars against Monica Barbaro (A Complete Unknown), Felicity Jones (The Brutalist), Isabella Rossellini (Conclave), and Zoe Saldaña (Emilia Pérez).

The status of I Think You Should Leave is in limbo, but luckily, there’s a lot of other ways to get your Tim Robinson fix. For starters, have you watched Detroiters? You should really watch Detroiters. There’s also his upcoming HBO series, The Chair Company; a Super Bowl commercial with best buddy Sam Robinson; and Friendship, an A24 comedy-drama that also stars Paul Rudd.

Robinson plays Craig, a suburban dad who falls hard for his charismatic new neighbor Austin (Rudd), as “Craig’s attempts to make an adult male friend threaten to ruin both of their lives,” according to the official synopsis. It’s kind of like The Cable Guy, but instead of Jefferson Airplane, there’s a sing-along to “My Boo” by Ghost Town DJ’s. Honestly? An improvement.

You can watch the trailer above.

Friendship is directed by Andrew DeYoung, who explained to Deadline where the idea came from. “The seed of it came [during] 2018,” he said. “I asked someone that I thought was going to be a new friend, someone I worked with… The job ended and I was like, I think this could be a new buddy. I asked them to hang out, and I got blown off, and I caught myself spinning out about it. I’m like, ‘Oh, wow.’ I’ve never seen two grown men’s friendship fall apart in a movie in a certain way, so I just started playing around with that idea, and then it eventually became this.”

Friendship is out in theaters this May.

This spring, Bon Iver are releasing their first full-length album in six years.

SABLE, fABLE begins with the three songs from last year’s SABLE, EP and “gives way to a new nine-song saga in which one person becomes two, darkness turns to salmon-colored beauty, and sadness transforms to unbridled joy,” according to a press release. The album, “a love story set to lush, radiant pop music,” was produced by Justin Vernon and Jim-E Stack and conceived when they, along with Danielle Haim, were snowed in at Vernon’s April Base recording studio (the Haim singer appears on the duet “If Only I Could Wait”).

The first single from SABLE, fABLE, “Everything Is Peaceful Love,” will be released on Friday, February 14 (Valentine’s Day!), at 10 a.m. ET with a music video directed by How To With John Wilson creator John Wilson. But for now, you can check out the tracklist and album cover below.

Bon Iver’s SABLE, fABLE Album Cover Artwork

Bon Iver’s SABLE, fABLE Tracklist

1. “THINGS BEHIND THINGS BEHIND THINGS”
2. “S P E Y S I D E”
3. “AWARDS SEASON’
4. “Short Story”
5. “Everything Is Peaceful Love”
6. “Walk Home”
7. “Day One” Feat. Dijon and Flock Of Dimes
8. “From”
9. “I’ll Be There”
10. “If Only I Could Wait” Feat. Danielle Haim
11. “There’s A Rhythmn”
12. “Au Revoir”

SABLE, fABLE is out 4/11 via Jagjaguwar. Find more information here.

Drake might be coming off a rough weekend, given that much of the world tuned in to the Super Bowl Halftime Show and watched Kendrick Lamar diss him. Regardless, Drake has more pressing matters on the horizon, like the release of his joint album with PartyNextDoor, which he has been teasing lately.

While performing at one of the recent shows on his Australian Anita Max Win tour, Drake told the audience:

“I got an album coming out on February 14th with my brother PartyNextDoor. It’s called Some Sexy Songs 4 U, but it’s some turned-up songs for you on there, too, and there’s some personal feelings on there for you, so… hopefully, whoever you’re with on Valentine’s Day, hopefully y’all can share that experience together.”

He also recently took to Instagram to share a snippet of a song called “Crying In Chanel,” on which he sings, “Shawty right here crying in the middle of Chanel / Are those tears of joy from your eyes? I can’t tell / She say things I do for her, I did for someone else / I’m just trying to help, make me feel bad about myself / Like my love language ain’t fair, damn (I just wanna ride with you).”

There are not many words complex enough to define Smino. But it is certain, unimaginative, isn’t on that list of appropriate descriptors. Back in December 2024, the “Dear Fren” rapper released his first album in two years, Maybe In Nirvana.

With its supporting Kountry Kousins tour slated to launch soon, Smino decided to treat fans to another creative rendition of the project. Yesterday (February 10), Smino dropped his Maybe In Nirvana short film starring his tour mate, Samara Cyn. In just under eight minutes, Smino brought viewers into his trippy world.

The visual co-directed by Smino and City James with production support by BASEWOOD, follows the entertainer and friend’s journey to unlocking their innermost truth thanks to a cosmic eye drop. Soundtracked by the song on the namesake album, Smino and the homies take on the challenge of let go or die.

Smino describes the picture as: “Exploring his own consciousness, Smino and friends answer the question, “Do you know why you’re here?”

Although the trailer is available to view on YouTube, in order to watch the entire Maybe In Nirvana short film you must create an account on the film’s webpage. Supporters are also encouraged to give a “name your price” donation. But access to the behind-the-scenes material starts at $5.

Watch the official teaser for Smino’s Maybe In Nirvana short film above. To gain access to the full short film, click here.

Luka Doncic made his debut for the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night and it was as weird to see him in a Lakers jersey alongside LeBron James as everyone imagined when the trade sending him to L.A. was announced nine days ago.

While it took some time for the eyes to adjust, it didn’t take all that long for Doncic, James, and Austin Reaves to get the Lakers offense humming, as they jumped out to a 72-47 halftime lead over the Utah Jazz. Even when accounting for the opponent, it was about as good of a start as the Lakers could’ve hoped for with their new star, as he and James seemed pretty comfortable sharing the floor together.

In the starting lineup intros, Doncic came out last to a roaring ovation from the L.A. crowd, but it was still James that took command of the huddle. In that huddle, he had one final message to Luka — “be your f**king self. Don’t fit in, fit the f**k out.”

If that sounds familiar, it is the exact opposite thing he demanded of Kevin Love almost 10 years ago to the day, as on February 7, 2015, he tweeted his frustration at Love’s performance (5 points on 2-of-8 shooting) in Cleveland with the now legendary “fit out” line.

I have absolutely no doubt that LeBron knew exactly what he was doing here, and, while poetic in a sense, it also feels like an important declaration. A decade ago, the Cavaliers were LeBron’s team and anyone that came into that locker room needed to fit their role around him. Now, at age 40, James seems to understand that adding Doncic is not a move to complement him, and this felt like his way of acknowledging that and telling Luka that they’ll adapt to him as much as he adapts to them.

That’s the only way this partnership works and James understanding that is a big deal. This time around, at age 40, James isn’t going to look to influence his new teammate via subtweets, but is being much more direct with his communication, which bodes well for the Lakers in this new era. I would love Kevin Love’s reaction here, because while it’s the right approach from James now, Love probably wonders where this was a decade ago.

When one musician-inspired film adaption is banished to the production graveyard, another rises to the surface.

According to reports, Green Day is the latest recording act to have a movie about their creative journey be green lit. Today (February 10), the band’s frontman Billie Joe Armstrong revealed they’re producing a film, titled New Years Rev, inspired by the start of their career.

During a sit-down with Variety, Armstrong spilled the beans about the forthcoming feature’s plot. New Years Rev is essentially a coming-of-age picture about “three friends in a band as they travel to Los Angeles thinking they’ll open for Green Day at a New Year’s Eve concert.”

Armstrong confirmed production has already kicked off in Oklahoma. The leads will be played by Mason Thames, Kylr Coffman, and Ryan Foust. Others cast in the project include Jenna Fischer, Angela Kinsey, Ignacia Diaz-Silverado, and Mark Ruffalo’s son Keen Ruffalo.

Lee Kirk is credited as the movie’s writer and director and Live Nation Production as the official producing company. Jonathan Daniel, Ryan Kroft, and Michael Rapino are New Years Rev‘s executive producers. Additional supporting producers include Green Day’s Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tre Cool as well as Tim Perell.

An expected release date for New Years Rev has not yet been shared.

Award season isn’t over just yet. Last week (February 2), the musician’s biggest night, better known as the Grammys, were held stateside. But music organizations on the other side of the pond have some trophies to give out.

On March 1, the 2025 BRIT Awards are scheduled to take place. Today (February 10), organizers revealed Sabrina Carpenter as a new addition to its featured performers list. Carpenter is set to join the likes of Shaboozey, Teddy Swims,
Jade, Myles Smith, and The Last Dinner Party as the evening’s official entertainment.

But, the “Please Please Please” singer’s time on London’s O2 Arena stage will extend beyond just a medley of her chart-topping Short N’ Sweet tunes.

Carpenter will also be honored during the ceremony as its Global Success award recipient. She could take home more hardware considering Carpenter is nominated for International Artist Of The Year and International Song Of The Year (“Espresso”). Last year, SZA took home International Artist Of The Year. While Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” won for International Song Of The Year.

Still, Carpenter has some stiff competition in both categories. She will face-off against Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, Billie Eilish, Tyler, The Creator, Adrianne Lenker, Asake, Benson Boone, and Chappell Roan for International Artist Of The Year.

In the International Song Of The Year slot, Carpenter will battle it out against Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things,” Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em,” Billie Eilish’s “Birds Of A Feather,” Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!,” Djo’s “End of Beginning,” Eminem’s “Houdini,” Hozier’s “Too Sweet,” Jack Harlow’s “Lovin On Me,” Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season,” Post Malone & Morgan Wallen’s “I Had Some Help,” Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” Taylor Swift’s “Fortnight” featuring Post Malone, Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control,” and Tommy Richman’s “Million Dollar Baby.”

The 2025 BRIT Awards will take place on March 1 and will be broadcasted exclusively via ITV1 and ITVX. Find more information here.

Yesterday (February 9), Super Bowl LIX was held in New Orleans, Louisiana. Sports fans are still shocked by the Philadelphia Eagles’ impressive victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. Music fans, on the other, are just processing the complexity of Kendrick Lamar’s Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show performance.

However, one of the most talked about moment has nothing to do with the “Not Like Us” rapper–but rather a protestor. During Kendrick Lamar’s performance one of his alleged supporting dancers, Zül-Qarnain Nantambu. Mantambu displayed a Palestine flag with a handwritten message drawing attention to the conflicts in both Gaza and Sudan.

Users online have credited Kendrick with the bold statement, which could have fell in line with his set’s overall political message. But in a statement to the Daily Mail, Nantambu denied the fan theory and said Kendrick Lamar was unaware of his plan.

“It wasn’t a part of [Lamar’s] plan,” he said. “I don’t want to attribute any of that to him because he didn’t know anything about that.”

When discussing the intention behind his actions’ Nantambu expressed that he wanted to show “solidarity with the people suffering over there.”

He continued: “We live a life of luxury in comparison to what they’re going through.”

Zül-Qarnain Nantambu was detained by event security and arrested. According to reports, he has not yet been charged with any crime.