Category: Viral

After a nearly five year absence from the music world, Justin Bieber returned earlier this year with his fifth album, Changes. While the project may not have been his best-received release, it was good to see the pop singer back in action and in a better place. After the release of Changes, it was expected that Justin would stay low and refrain from new releases until the album’s 2021 tour, but last week he announced he would return with new music, a sound his manager Scooter Braun defined as a “new era.” Staying true to his promise of the new single, Bieber touches down with “Holy” featuring Chance The Rapper, a song that is paired with a captivating music video.

Bringing his talents to the countryside, Bieber’s new video finds him alongside actress and singer Ryan Destiny, who plays his love interest in the visual. The video begins with the two waking up besides each other before they both depart to their respective day jobs. Unfortunately, things turn for the worse as Bieber and Destiny are evicted from their apartment hours after Bieber is laid off from his job. However, proving in that there are plenty of good people in the world, Bieber and Destiny are offered a ride and a warm meal to close out the video. Chance the Rapper also appears in the video and confidently raps about the good in people and in the world.

The song arrives after Justin Bieber starred in DJ Khaled and Drake’s video for “Popstar” where replaces Drake’s role after Khaled got on the nerves of the Canadian rapper in his attempt to get Drake to shoot his parts for the video. As for Chance The Rapper, “Holy” arrives after he and Ludacris joined forces for their “Found You” single.

Watch the video for “Holy” above.

The WNBA Playoffs continued on Thursday with two more single-elimination games in the second round between the Minnesota Lynx and Phoenix Mercury, as well as the Connecticut Sun and Los Angeles Sparks.

The first game of the night was another that came down to the final possessions, as Phoenix once again found itself in need of a game-winner as they got from Shey Peddy in their first round matchup. However, the Lynx, up 80-79, forced a turnover on the Mercury’s first opportunity at a game-winner and, after two missed free throws, Skyler Diggins-Smith’s desperation attempt at the buzzer was unsuccessful. The Lynx, boasting the Coach of the Year in Cheryl Reeve and Rookie of the Year in Crystal Dangerfield (who had 17 points in the second round win) now advance to square off with the Seattle Storm in a best of five series.

The nightcap was a wire-to-wire win for the Connecticut Sun, who stunned the Sparks in a 22-8 first quarter and never looked back en route to a 73-59 win to set up a semifinals series with league MVP A’ja Wilson and the top-seeded Las Vegas Aces. All five starters for the Sun scored in double figures against L.A., with Alyssa Thomas (19) and DeWanna Bonner (17) leading the way. The Sun were runners up last year, losing in the WNBA Finals to the Washington Mystics, and their run to the semifinals this year has been stunning giving some of the key absences they’re dealing with, namely Jonquel Jones who opted out of the Wubble.

The semifinals will tipoff on Sunday afternoon, starting with Sun-Aces at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN followed by Lynx-Storm on ABC at 3 p.m. ET. The rest of the TV schedule for the semis and Finals can be found below.

Following his tragic death earlier this year, Pop Smoke would have his debut album released posthumous thanks to the work of his management and his estate. Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon arrived in mid-summer — just as Pop intended for it to prior to his death — with features from DaBaby, Future, Quavo, Swae Lee, and more.

Since its release, the album’s most popular song has been “Mood Swing” with Lil Tjay, as numerous TikTok videos have been made with the song in the background. Looking to breathe new life into the song, which currently sits at No. 21 on the Billboard singles chart, the New York rappers welcome Summer Walker onto the track for a new remix.

Kicking off the song, Summer Walker steps into the spotlight and adds a mood of her own with a verse that’s centered around finding the one to fall in love with and settling down with them to build a family. The remix arrives after Summer Walker appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to deliver a sensual and majestic performance of “Body” from her debut album, Over It.

Check out the “Mood Swings” remix in the video above.

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

At the end of June, it was announced that Nine Inch Nails‘ Trent Reznor, along with Labrinth and Kamasi Washington, received a nomination at the 2020 Emmy Awards in the Outstanding Music Composition For A Limited Series, Movie Or Special (Original Dramatic Score) category. Reznor earned his nomination thanks his score of Watchmen with Atticus Ross and now, Ross and the Nine Inch Nails frontman are closer to an EGOT after they pulled away with the win at the 2020 Emmy Awards. The award comes after the duo won the Academy Award for Best Original Score for The Social Network and the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, bringing them one step closer to the elusive EGOT title.

https://twitter.com/TelevisionAcad/status/1306750485798379520F

The Emmy award win for Reznor arrives in a year that he, along with Nine Inch Nails, were slated to enter the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame along with Whitney Houston, the Doobie Brothers, The Notorious B.I.G., T-Rex, and Depeche Mode. After the induction ceremony was postponed from its original date of May 2, the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame announced that they would once again change the plans for the ceremony. The induction ceremony will now be held as a pre-recorded HBO special airing on November 7.

Speaking on his induction, Reznor said, “When I look back at how Nine Inch Nails are received, it always seems like we fall between the cracks or we’re not in this category or ‘that thing.’ I don’t know if it’s a defense mechanism, but I just assumed we’d stay in that category, so I’m pleasantly surprised to see us acknowledged. It feels pretty good.”

Carole Baskin is officially turning into a reality star of her own magnitude after her breakout appearance as the target of a murder plot in the Netflix smash hit Tiger King. Already making an appearance on ABC’s Dancing With The Stars, reports indicated on Thursday that Baskin also has an unscripted show in the works that will take place at her own animal sanctuary.

The New York Times reported Thursday that Baskin and her husband will star in a new reality show that hopes to “expose” animal abuse as well as highlight the work she and her husband do at their own Florida animal rescue.

The new show will star Ms. Baskin and her husband, Howard Baskin, of Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Fla., according to a statement on Thursday from ITV America’s Thinkfactory Media, the production company that is developing the show.

The new show, unscripted and as yet unnamed, will follow the couple “as they work to expose, like never before, those who abuse and take advantage of various animals,” and spotlight history, lawsuits and animal rights violations, Thinkfactory Media said in a statement.

Baskin became a fixture on Tiger King, which chronicled the world of Joe Exotic, who was tried and convicted of hatching a plot to kill his animal activist rival Baskin. But as the series highlighted, Baskin had her own questionable legal history that has become something of a rallying cry of fans of the show that briefly captivated the attention of a nation trapped in quarantine: that some suspect that Baskin was involved in the disappearance of her first husband. On Monday, during her first episode of Dancing With The Stars, the family of her missing first husband ran a commercial about the disappearance.

Tiger King was as much more a show telling the story of these animal rescue owners and their twisted legal filings than a show about animal rescue. So it will certainly be interesting to see what a Carole Baskin reality show looks like, presumably without Joe Exotic in it.

JK Rowling was the mind behind the Harry Potter book series, but Warner Bros. is making it clear it will not be her mind making its latest Harry Potter video game.

Hogwarts Legacy is an action RPG Warner Bros. shared a new trailer and more details about on Wednesday at a Sony games event where we got a release date and, finally, a price for the PlayStation 5. But one thing that wasn’t made clear enough for some fans was whether J.K. Rowling, the creator and writer of all Harry Potter books the game is based on, will be involved in the making of the game itself.

The concern comes after a long series of anti-transgender comments and writings from Rowling, both online and most recently revealed in the contents of a new book written under a male pseudonym. That drew fresh outrage in a summer where Rowling has returned a humanitarian award and seen her comments rebuked by Harry Potter fan sites, actors from the Harry Potter movies and fellow authors. Which may be why on Thursday, Warner Bros. posted a FAQ about Hogwarts Legacy which directly answered whether Rowling is involved in the game.

Q: What is J.K. Rowling’s involvement with the game? Is this a new story from J.K. Rowling?
A: J.K. Rowling is not directly involved in the creation of the game, however, her extraordinary body of writing is the foundation of all projects in the Wizarding World.

This is not a new story from J.K. Rowling.

Since it’s a licensed Harry Potter work it seems likely that Rowling would profit from the game, but much like the company did earlier in the summer it’s making it clear that Rowling is not involved in the work made with her IP. Having the author of the original work involved in a property based off of it is, usually, a fact that can be advertised as a good thing. That doesn’t seem to be the case with Rowling these days.

Moneybagg Yo has slowly but surely worked his way up to being one of the more recognizable names in the new wave of rap. Following a 2018 that ended with him earning a J. Cole feature on “Say Na” off his Reset album, Moneybagg Yo delivered his second album, 43va Heartless, in 2019, an album he followed up with Time Served at the top of this year. Preparing to release his second project of the year, his Code Red joint album with fellow Memphis rapper Blac Youngsta, Moneybagg calls on City Girls and DaBaby to remix his “Said Sum” track.

With City Girls leading the way the Miami duo, as well as DaBaby, fall in line with Moneybagg’s boastful track that finds him speaking down on those they see as incomparable to their rap status.

“I leave a b*tch mad with the stuck face,” JT raps on her verse. “Who the f*ck are hoes playin’ wit’ anyways?” she continues before DaBaby comes through with his trademark impenetrable confidence. “It came with a pillow, I came from the pavement,” he says. “Thought somebody said I ain’t made it.” Before giving the mic back to Moneybagg Yo, Yung Miami steps forward to add some additional City Girls energy to the track with a verse of her own.

As for Moneybagg Yo and Blac Youngsta’s Code Red album, the Memphis duo will debut 13 tracks with help from Yo Gotti, 42 Dugg, Pooh Shiesty, Ari, and more. Listen to the “Said Sum” remix above. Code Red is out on September 18 via Interscope and Epic.

ASAP Ferg delivered his last project in mid-2019 with Floor Seats, which served last the followup to his 2017 album Still Striving and stood as a nine-track effort that boasted features from Rico Nasty, Ty Dolla Sign, Brent Faiyaz, and his fellow ASAP Mob labelmate ASAP Rocky.

Since the release of Floor Seats, ASAP Ferg has stayed fairly quiet for the most part, aside from his “Move Ya Hips” single released in August. Back and ready to share new music with fans, ASAP Ferg took to social media to announce his upcoming project.

Sitting with NBA legend Dennis Rodman in the back of a trailer, ASAP Ferg proudly announced that his upcoming project, Floor Seats II, would arrive at the end of the month of September 25. “Hey what’s up guys! The legendary Dennis Rodman brothers and sisters,” the former Chicago Bulls player boastfully announced. “What’s going on guys? September 25, check out this kid’s album. What you got Ferg?” The ASAP Mob rapper then jumped in front of Rodman to confirm his new album and reveal Marilyn Manson, Tyga, Lil Wayne, Mulatto, and more would appear on it.

The album announcement arrives after ASAP Illz, one of ASAP Mob’s founding fathers, announced last month that Ferg was no longer a part of ASAP Mob. The following day, ASAP Nast denied this. Check out his Floor Seats II announcement in the video above. Floor Seats II is out on September 25 via A$AP Worldwide/RCA.

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

After a stellar first half performance, the Boston Celtics were in a favorable position to even the series against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, only to have everything slip away from there. Brad Stevens’ team led by as many as 17 points in the first half and, at halftime, Boston led by 13 points after shooting 58 percent from the floor and holding the Heat to only 47 points in the first 24 minutes.

The third quarter was less spectacular for the Celtics, though, and the series may swing on that 12-minute period.

Broadly speaking, Game 2 was filled with runs, with Boston zooming ahead, Miami retaliating, the Celtics throwing a counterpunch and the Heat finally ending the fight at the perfect time in the fourth quarter. Still, it was the third quarter that will have Stevens shaking his head, even on a night with post-game drama, 20 unsightly turnovers and shotmaking from the Heat that was simply unavoidable.

Following the game, Stevens told the assembled media that his team “pulled apart” and “didn’t play well” in the third quarter, and that was evident in the statistical profile. Boston turned the ball over seven times in the quarter, with those giveaways leading directly to 16 of Miami’s 37 points in the period. As a result, the Celtics attempted only 12 shots in the quarter, converting only four, and Boston was blanked from beyond the three-point line.

Within the 37-17 overall margin in the quarter, the Heat put together a 15-2 run and outscored the Celtics by a 27-8 margin in the final eight minutes. Individually, Heat All-Star big man Bam Adebayo was everywhere, scoring 15 points on eight shots, and the Heat scored 37 points on 58 percent shooting. It wasn’t just Adebayo, either, as the Heat had everything going to aid in Boston’s collapse, including shot-making from Jae Crowder and Kelly Olynyk.

There were a few positive developments for the Celtics in the third quarter, including nine free throw attempts, but they were few and far between. They fouled too often (nine fouls in 12 minutes), failed to generate quality looks and, even with the caveat that Miami made some difficult attempts, the Celtics simply didn’t execute defensively in the way they have for much of their extended postseason run.

In some ways, it is unfair to isolate a single 12-minute sequence as the principal reason that a team could be eliminated from the postseason. After all, the Heat made inroads in other parts of Game 2 and, in Game 1, Boston didn’t string together a perfect performance on the way to a win. Still, it is hard to ignore the collapse-like effort from the Celtics in the third quarter on Thursday and, even in the moment, it seemed as if this was one to circle if Boston wasn’t able to recapture its first half magic and escape with a win.

Down 2-0 in a best-of-seven series, the odds are long for any team and that might be especially true in the 2020 bubble and without the benefit of home-court at any juncture. Still, Boston is fully capable of erasing a 2-0 deficit, as evidenced by just how close the first two games were against Miami. At the end of their run, though, the Celtics may find themselves lamenting a single quarter as the moment when everything slipped away, and the 20-point gap in the third quarter of Game 2 shouldn’t be forgotten when evaluating the series as a whole.

The Boston Celtics led by as many as 17 points in the first half on Thursday evening, seemingly putting themselves in a fantastic position to even the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat. It was not meant to be for the Celtics, however, as the Heat charged back, regained control and picked up a 106-101 victory to zoom to a 2-0 series lead.

With that as the backdrop, here are three takeaways from the action.

1. Game 2 was full of runs and Miami made the last one

NBA games are often chock full of runs and this was no exception. In fact, this was a contest marked by its runs.

First, the Celtics took control in the first half. Boston started the game with hot shooting, knocking down 12-of-18 shots in the first quarter. From there, the Celtics used a 21-11 run to take a 13-point lead midway through the second quarter, helped by the surprising contributions of Enes Kanter.

Boston led by as many as 17 points in the first half, and Kemba Walker led the way with 14 points (on 6-of-10 shooting), five rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block before the break.

Miami had a counterpunch prepared, though, and it arrived midway through the third quarter with a 15-2 run. Things were kickstarted by Bam Adebayo, with a four-point play from Jae Crowder and a banked-in three-pointer from Kelly Olynyk.

The Heat weren’t done there, closing the third quarter on a 27-8 overall run and seemingly taking control of the festivities. Of course, the Celtics wouldn’t die, with a 15-2 run of their own to grab a 94-89 lead with four minutes remaining. Still, Miami had the last laugh, and a ridiculous defensive effort from Jimmy Butler helped to spur their final push.

All told, it was a 13-1 run by Miami in crunch time, flipping a deficit into a 102-95 lead in short order. Things did get a little bit dicey for the Heat in the final seconds, thanks in large part to back-to-back threes from Jaylen Brown, but the Heat managed to hold on and, in the process, the pre-series underdogs assumed command with a 2-0 lead.

2. Goran Dragic and Duncan Robinson made all the shots

As noted above, Butler made big plays in crunch time and, in general, Miami’s leader did what he needed to do. However, it wasn’t an especially prolific night from the All-Star wing, with just 14 points on 4-of-11 shooting. In addition, it was an uneven night from Tyler Herro (4-of-12 from the floor and 1-of-8 from three) but, fortunately, the Heat could rely on Dragic and Robinson.

Early in the game, it was Robinson getting on track after a rough Game 1. The sharpshooting wing connected on his first three attempts from long distance (in just four minutes) and Robinson knocked down 4-of-6 from three-point range in the first quarter.

He did slow down from there, but Robinson finished with 18 points in 32 minutes, knocking down six triples and putting constant pressure on Boston’s defense. Elsewhere, Dragic continued his absolutely stellar play from the postseason.

The veteran guard finished the night with an efficient 25 points (on 10-of-19 shooting) and five assists, making big play after big play with the game on the line. In fact, it was Dragic that ultimately converted the would-be dagger, stretching Miami’s lead to five and swinging things in their favor in a way that Boston was unable to match.

Dragic didn’t have the same kind of decisive advantage against his counterpart, Kemba Walker, in Game 2 that he did in Game 1. However, Dragic held up his end of the bargain, and the Heat needed every bit of the perimeter-based contributions from Robinson and Dragic on this night.

3. Bam Adebayo was absurd, particularly in the third quarter

The Heat were completely dominant in the third quarter. Miami outscored Boston by 20 points in the period and, in forcing seven turnovers, the Heat sped the Celtics up in a way that was exceptionally fruitful for the team that ended up winning the game. There was plenty of credit to assign but, in that quarter, Adebayo was the best player on the floor.

The All-Star big man scored 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting in just 9:14 of court time in the quarter, using his athleticism and force to make things difficult on the opposition.

Adebayo, who is also well-known for his defensive prowess, added a block and steal in the third quarter and, overall, he finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block in the game. It isn’t a surprise that Adebayo is the best big man in this series but, on a night when Daniel Theis provided very little for the Celtics (in a game in which he finished -15 in 32 minutes), the star-level impact of Adebayo stood out.

This is a series that is far from over, even as the Heat assume a 2-0 lead and force the Celtics to win four of the next five games to execute a comeback win. Still, this was a pivotal win for Miami, and it was on-brand in that the Heat received high-level contributions from all over the roster and made every play when it mattered.