Category: Viral

Ahead of the launch of the Grand National Tour, SZA visited Sesame Street to teach kids an important lesson about gratitude and being kind. If she can help Elmo chill out about Rocco, that would be great, too.

“What’s Miss SZA doing?” Elmo asks SZA in a clip provided ahead of Thursday’s episode. “I’m just adding this picture to my gratitude jar,” she replies. What’s a gratitude jar, you might be wondering? It’s “a place where you can put words or pictures of things you’re grateful for,” SZA explains. “Sometimes when you feel sad or have other really big feelings, it can be easy to forget the things that we’re thankful for. So the jar helps us remember.”

SZA then starts singing “Be Kind To Me, Be Kind To You,” an adorable song with lyrics like, “Be kind to me, be kind to you / Being kind is how I show my gratitude / Kindness can change the way you feel/ Gratitude’s the right attitude.” Before long, she has Elmo, Abby Cadabby, and Gabrielle joining in.

Could SZA go from collaborating with Elmo to Chappell Roan? After hearing that the “Pink Pony Club” singer was interested, she wrote, “actually didn’t believe this quote when I saw it written til I saw it come out her mouth jus now CAUSE DEAD ASS SAME [crying emoji] pls we must.” Get Grover on the remix.

You can watch SZA on Sesame Street above.

Tyla hasn’t really proven herself as a rapper, but she’s about to give it a shot.

In a new Nylon interview, Tyla spoke about what aspects of pop stardom appealed to her when she was younger, saying, “I never really studied specific artists. Whatever songs, performances, music videos I liked, I just obsessed over those individual things. It was very broad. Pop stars, rappers, R&B singers. It started with the sound of music I wanted to make, because I knew that I wanted to do something completely different from what I’ve heard before. I was making anything and everything. I have full-on rap songs. Full-on R&B. Full-on amapiano. I played a lot and found a mixture that felt like me.”

The interviewer then followed up by wondering what a Tyla rap song sounds like and Tyla responded:

“I’m not going to lie, it’s hot. I’m excited to show people that I’m more diverse than they think. I want to take my time with my artistry and give whatever feels right for that moment. So one day, you’re going to get that Tyla rap song.”

Tyla also spoke about what she’s up to now, saying, “Every day I can be in the studio, I’m there. I’m working on the new project currently. I’m super excited because even though I love my debut album, I feel like a totally different person. Everything that has happened forced me to grow very fast. I’m also the type of person that gets bored very easily. So I’m excited to see this new version of me and hear what it sounds like and just have fun with it — just bring back fun in music.”

Check out the full interview here.

Oasis aren’t the only Britpop legends getting the gang back together this year. Pulp have announced a new album, their first since We Love Life 24 years ago. It’s called More, and in an accompanying statement, the group’s ever-stylish frontman Jarvis Cocker explained how it came together.

“Well: when we started touring again in 2023, we practiced a new song called ‘Hymn Of The North’ during soundchecks & eventually played it at the end of our second night at Sheffield Arena,” he wrote. “This seemed to open the floodgates: we came up with the rest of the songs on this album during the first half of 2024. A couple are revivals of ideas from the last century.”

Cocker continued, “It was written & performed by four human beings from the North of England, aided & abetted by five other human beings from various locations in the British Isles. No A.I. was involved during the process. This album is dedicated to Steve Mackey [the former Pulp bassist who died in 2023]. This is the best that we can do. Thanks for listening.”

You can listen to first single “Spike Island” above, and check out More’s album cover and tracklist below.

Pulp’s More Album Cover Artwork

Pulp’s More Tracklist

1. “Spike Island”
2. “Tina”
3. “Grown Ups”
4. “Slow Jam”
5. “Farmers Market”
6. “My Sex”
7. “Got To Have Love”
8. “Background Noise”
9. “Partial Eclipse”
10. “Hymn Of The North”
11. “A Sunset”

More is out 6/6 via Rough Trade. Find more information here.

Things have been hectic in the NewJeans universe lately. There have been tensions between the group and their agency ADOR, which have so far culminated in NewJeans re-branding to NJZ and later announcing a hiatus.

Now, we have a new development: As Complex notes, the group has changed their Instagram handle from “njz_official” to “mhdhh_friends,” in reference to group members Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein. Furthermore, the profile photo was removed, presumably to comply with an injunction that forbids the group from operating independently as NJZ without ADOR’s approval.

A related account used for official statements was also switched to “mhdhh_pr.”

In March, the group’s Minji said of the situation, “We knew this wouldn’t be easy from the start. We will continue to voice our opinions while respecting the court’s decision and the process. We have no regrets.”

Hyein added, “Some people may think staying [with ADOR] would have been better for us, but this was about protecting ourselves. We believe we will come back stronger and do not regret our decision.”

Minji also said, “Please don’t see this as the end — we will return, and when we do, we want to meet you again with bright, smiling faces. We know this may be disappointing and upsetting for Bunnies [NewJeans’ fandom], but this is how we protect ourselves, and only by doing this can we return stronger.”

Against all odds, Masha is back in business. Or rather, against all odds, Nicole Kidman has managed to make at least a dozen TV seasons and/or movies in the past few years. How does she do it? That might not be as valuable of a question as how her Nine Perfect Strangers character has gathered a new group of wellness clientele for a second season retreat.

The series first freaked people out in 2021 and, as with other Kidman-starring “limited series” (see also Netflix’s A Perfect Couple and HBO’s Big Little Lies), a renewal arrived by streaming popular demand. Let’s follow the psychedelic trail on what to expect from Hulu‘s second season of wellness.

Plot

The first season arrived shortly after HBO’s The White Lotus debuted, so comparisons were inevitable since both shows riff on satire involving luxury journeys for miserable-privileged types. This David E. Kelley series, however, delivered more of an edge on the pursuit of enlightenment while adapting the Liane Moriarty book. And after Masha did her drugged-up, “therapeutic” thing at the Tranquilum resort with an ensemble portrayed by Bobby Cannavale, Melissa McCarthy, Michael Shannon, and Samara Weaving, the second season will go off-book, which should be a trip, considering that the series didn’t clarify whether each character’s finale fates actually happened or were dreamed up by McCarthy’s Frances in the book-inside-the-book.

For her part, Masha has somehow prevailed after her arrest and then surfaced in a car while apparently still dosing herself. And now, she will preside over another unsuspecting (?) group at her next wellness escape in Zauberwald, located within the Austrian Alps. Hulu has provided a synopsis:

Nine new strangers connected in ways they could never imagine are invited by mysterious guru Masha Dmitrichenko (Nicole Kidman) to join a transformational wellness retreat in the Austrian Alps. Over the course of a week, she takes them to the brink. Will they make it? Will she? Masha is willing to try anything in the interest of healing everyone involved, including herself.

Previously, Kidman teased to Deadline that this season adds up to being “Swiss Alps and crazy!” She added that “more” than hot chocolate will be involved, and in a new still, here’s Mark Strong getting “more” boozy.

It’s time to talk about who else might be coping with Psilocybin-laced beverages under the guise of therapy.

Cast

Kidman’s Masha will have her way with a new ensemble cast including Christine Baranski, Murray Bartlett, Mark Strong, Annie Murphy, Henry Golding, Lucas Englander, Dolly De Leon, Lena Olin, Aras Aydin, and Maisie Richardson-Sellers. Good luck to them.

Release Date

On May 21, 2025, Hulu will stream two new episodes with weekly additions to follow.

Trailer

Until a trailer surfaces (and it shouldn’t be long), this unsettling clip of Masha introducing herself will have to do.

Reacher has done his undercover time in Maine to adapt Lee Child’s Persuader novel, and a fourth season has already been renewed. This next vagabond adventure will surely take at least a year to arrive, but never fear, Prime Video/Amazon plans to have this show’s viewers covered. The Neagley spin off has been fast-tracked and has been filming for much of this year.

Naturally, the series will focus on Frances Neagley (Maria Sten), the best friend and former U.S. Army MP colleague of Reacher who is also a loner in her own way. Readers and more-than-casual viewers know that Neagley doesn’t play a huge role in Lee Child’s novels, but the character was expanded as expository glue and is a stabilizing force between Reacher seasons. And whaddya know, Neagley proved to be such a righteous onscreen badass that she’ll do her own thing with an ensemble cast. Alan Ritchson will also appear in the new series, and that makes the “when” even more important.

Does Reacher Spin Off ‘Neagley’ Have A Release Date?

Not yet. However, we know that Neagley is meant to satisfy a fix in between Reacher seasons, and Lee Child believes that the spin off will arrive sooner rather than later. How soon? As the author told Business Insider, late 2025 is possible “with a bit of luck.”

Don’t “details matter”? Of course they do, but for now, the Neagley synopsis will have to do:

Frances Neagley is a private investigator in Chicago. When she learns that a beloved friend from her past has been killed in a suspicious accident, she becomes hell-bent on justice. Using everything she’s learned from Jack Reacher and her time as a member of the 110 Special Investigators, Neagley puts herself on a dangerous path to uncover a menacing evil.

Reacher is currently streaming three full seasons on Amazon.

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard release albums. That’s just what they do: Since 2012, they’ve dropped a whopping 26 of them, and that number will soon rise to 27, as they just announced another new one, Phantom Island. The release date is currently TBD, but more info is expected to arrive on April 15.

In their Instagram post announcing the project, the band notes the album took two years to make and it’s orchestral. They also wrote, “HERE WE GO AGAIN!!!!!! A lot of love and time and energy and patience and growth went into this one. Can’t wait to grow wings and fly with all of you.”

As one fan in the comments pointed out, the cover art features a crashed plane, which may be a reference to the band’s previous album, 2024’s Flight b741.

The group didn’t share a new song today, but they did drop album opener “Phantom Island” back in October and said of it at the time, “Hello world. So our last album was 10 songs. Except we recorded 20 in that session. Here’s a track from the other set of 10. It’s even more maxxed out than the last one. There’s a whole f*ckin’ orchestra on there. Hahahahahah! But for real, what a joy to be alive. A privilege to be making music for a living and to be here still after all these years. If you’ve been listening to Gizz for a long time, thank you. We love you so much. If you’re just tuning in, welcome to the cult.”

At the time, they also announced an orchestral tour that’s set to launch this July, so find those dates below, after the album cover art and tracklist.

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s Phantom Island Album Cover Artwork

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s Phantom Island Tracklist

1. “Phantom Island”
2. “Deadstick”
3. “Lonely Cosmos”
4. “Eternal Return”
5. “Panpsych”
6. “Spacesick”
7. “Aerodynamic”
8. “Sea Of Doubt”
9. “Silent Spirit”
10. “Grow Wings And Fly”

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s 2025 Tour Dates

07/28 — Philadelphia PA @ TD Pavilion at the Mann (with The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia)
07/30 — New Haven, CT @ Westville Music Bowl (with Orchestra of St. Luke’s)
08/01 — Forest Hills, NY @ Forest Hills Stadium (with Orchestra of St. Luke’s)
08/02 — Forest Hills, NY @ Forest Hills Stadium %
08/04 — Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion (with National Symphony Orchestra)
08/06 — Highland Park, IL @ Ravinia Festival (with Chicago Philharmonic)
08/08 — Colorado Springs, CO @ Ford Amphitheater (with Colorado Symphony)
08/11 — San Diego, CA @ The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park (with San Diego Symphony Orchestra)
08/15-17 — Buena Vista, CO @ FIELD OF VISION at Meadow Creek %

% “rock ‘n’ roll” show

Frank Ocean is about as mysterious as they come in the music world. His latest album is 2016’s Blonde, and it’s not at all clear when/if his next album is on the way. This has put many fans in a position where they’ll gobble up any potential clues about the singer’s activity, and now we have some fresh ones.

As Rolling Stone notes, a billboard has popped up in the desert on the way to Coachella, reading, “KIKI BOY 2025” (here’s a photo).

Notably, this comes shortly after what fans believe to be a new secret Instagram account from Ocean was spotted. The account, @kikiboyyyyyyy, currently only has a handful of followers and users followed. One of the followers is Ocean’s public Instagram account, @Blonded, along with SZA and collaborator Michael Uzowuru. Accounts that follow @kikiboyyyyyyy include engineer and producer Sean Matsukawa and musician Girlsweetvoiced.

Coachella 2025 is coming right up, from April 11 to 13 and 18 to 20, so we’ll see soon if Ocean has anything planned.

Ocean, of course, had a tough go at the 2023 edition of Coachella. His set during the first weekend was a bit of a disaster, although an injury apparently played a role in that. Ocean then pulled out of performing during the second weekend, and his headlining slot instead hosted a star-making performance from Fred Again.., Skrillex, and Four Tet.

It was nearly a year ago now, in May 2024, that Roddy Ricch first teased his upcoming project The Navy Album. Well, we’re still waiting for it.

The project was later given a release date of December 6, 2024, but right before it was meant to drop, Ricch declared the project would actually drop in 2025. He never publicly offered an official release date, though DSPs listed February 21 as the project’s street date. Ultimately, though, that didn’t come to pass.

Now, we have another date to circle on the calendar: Apple Music currently lists the The Navy Album release date as July 18. However, Ricch himself hasn’t announced this, and an Apple Music release date has been wrong before, so we’re in a wait-and-see situation.

In June 2024, Ricch told Apple Music about The Navy Album, “I mean, I feel like I’m just getting back to my roots of taking my time, being real lethal with my injection, if I will. Just trying to really just give it everything I got and being vulnerable as I can to my fans, allowing them into my life. They going to get a real experience, almost like a soundtrack, a movie experience of what my life is like. I’m really excited, bro.”

So far, Lorde has released a new album every four years: Pure Heroine in 2013, Melodrama in 2017, and Solar Power in 2021. Guess what? It’s 2025, and it seems like she’s keeping up with the tradition.

On Wednesday (April 9), the “Stoned At The Nail Salon” singer changed her X account profile pic to a bellybutton-baring selfie, and did the same on Instagram but with a blurry water bottle. Lorde also shared a snippet of a new Melodrama era-sounding song on TikTok, which you can listen to here.

It beats only one second of new music.

While promoting Solar Power, Lorde talked about her relationship with social media. “I was like, I can’t do this for ever, this can’t be it,” she told The Guardian. “But I think it was altering my neural pathways and homogenising my trains of thought. I was losing touch with my ability to explore an idea at my own pace, which felt like losing my free will at times. I was very addicted. To be able to put that aside has put me into such a position of power and fertility and creativity and confidence.”

Since then, she’s collaborated with everyone from Charli XCX to Marlon Williams and, apparently, worked on a new album.