Category: Viral

Former president Barack Obama has been making the rounds doing press for his new book, “The Promised Land,” and after interviews with everyone from 60 Minutes to Oprah Winfrey, the 44th president took to Instagram Live with two-time NBA MVP Steph Curry to chat about their shared experiences as fathers and leaders.

As Curry enters a later stage of his NBA career, he asked the former president about how to lead when expectations are high and all eyes on are on you.

Here was Obama’s response:

One mistake I think a lot of people make is that you’re just either born a leader or you’re not. When, in fact, leadership is, like anything else, it’s a skill. And there are a bunch of different ways to do it. I‘ve known people who were great leaders but really soft spoken and weren’t always trying to seek attention. The thing I try to communicate in the book and I learned this, I wasn’t always perfect at it…number one was realizing that the most important thing a leader does is they set a tone in terms of culture as a team. Whether the team is a a basketball team or a business or an administration. What are the values in which you are organizing yourselves?….Being clear about what your values are as an organization, that’s part of leadership.

Obama also added how important it is as a leader to empower those around you and give them to space to be their best:

The second thing, and this, I know you can relate to, because it’s a direct analogy to basketball or any team sport…is figuring out, how do you help the people around you succeed?…If you can figure out how to empower the other folks on your team so they’re doing great, that’s good for you. And by the way, they’ll feel good about your leadership because they’re seeing that you’re invested in their success. And the mistake I think some folks make is to think being a leader is “How do I dominate and stay on top of other folks?” If you have that kind of approach, your organization or whatever it is, is not going to be as good as it should be and by the way, you’re not going to have the same tight bonds so that when, inevitably, something goes wrong, you got other people to pick each other up.

The two also discuss different moments from across Obama’s political career, including his 2004 Democratic National Convention speech that served as a springboard into national politics and the raid he directed to take down Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden in 2011.

As the year begins to near a close, the music world is reflecting on all that 2020 had to offer. Uproxx rounded up the best albums and the best songs of the year this week, but we’re not the only ones compiling impressive releases. Billboard is looking back at the artists who secured No. 1s on their charts this year, and 2020 sees Post Malone as their top-charting artist for the second year in a row.

Per Billboard‘s year-end report, Posty has gone back-to-back as the top-charting artist. His charting success is thanks to the continued interest in his 2019 album Hollywood’s Bleeding. The LP debuted at No. 1 on the 200 Albums chart in September of 2019, and continued to remain in the top ten for the entire 52-week 2020 charting period.

Along with being top artist of the year, Posty’s Hollywood’s Bleeding was also the top album of 2020. The rapper is the first artist since Adele in 2016 to have the top album and also be Billboard‘s top artist. Posty’s consecutive top-charting artist win also takes a page out of Adele’s playbook. He is the first since Adele to be the top-charting artist back-to-back, after Adele claimed the feat in 2011 and 2012.

Though this is the rapper’s second year as the top artist, Posty has managed to place at least one album in the top ten year-end 200 Albums chart for four consecutive years. Last year, his Beerbongs & Bentleys landed at No. 5 at the 2019’s close, and it was at No. 3 at the end of 2018. His album Stoney was at No. 8 in 2018 and came in at No. 7 in 2017.

Despite not putting out an album in 2020, the rapper has appeared on a couple of singles. Posty lent a verse on Tyla Yaweh’s track “Tommy Lee,” which he performed at the BMAs this year, as well as Ty Dolla Sign’s “Spicy,” which he recently starred in a video for.

Last month, Bad Bunny was supposed to be one of the performers at the AMAs, but he had to back out after testing positive for COVID-19. The good news, though, is that he appears to have made a full recovery.

Bad Bunny spoke about it with James Corden on The Late Late Show, saying, “I feel great, thank God. I already tested negative, so I’m so happy. I feel great. I feel perfect.”

Elsewhere during the chat, Corden asked for Bunny’s thoughts on being the most-streamed Spotify artist of 2020, and he expressed his gratitude, saying, “That’s so crazy, you know? Five years ago, I was so excited when I get my first, I don’t know, 5,000 plays, and now I am the No. 1 artist on Spotify around the world. I guess, just be grateful, you know? Because this is a dream come true and I’m doing what I love.”

He also spoke about his joy at being nominated for a couple Grammys in 2021, saying, “It was crazy, but obviously, I’m so happy and grateful to the Academy and fans and people who support me. Singing in my language, Spanish, and being nominated to the Grammys is something that I feel so proud and happy.”

Bad Bunny also performed “Te Deseo Lo Mejor” on the show, so watch clips from his Corden appearance above and below.

Francis Ford Coppola has been working overtime to promote his upcoming director’s cut of The Godfather Part III, now titled Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone, and in the process, he may have tipped Paramount’s hand on the future of the franchise. While talking to Dave Itzkoff about returning to the cinematic crime family that put his name and Al Pacino‘s on the map, Coppola revealed that there were talks for a fourth Godfather movie that would’ve built on the events of the third movie, despite it being regarded as the “weaker” film in the saga. While those talks stalled in the late ’90s following the death of Puzo, Pacino and Andy Garcia quipped that the renewed attention over the director’s cut is going to have someone at Paramount sniffing around for a fourth installment.

However, both actors wouldn’t be interested in returning to the franchise unless Coppola is involved, and he has “made clear that he wants to move on.” But that doesn’t rule out The Godfather Part IV happening. Via The New York Times:

This does not prevent Paramount from making sequels if it wants to. “There may well be a ‘Godfather IV’ and ‘V’ and ‘VI,’” Coppola said. “I don’t own ‘The Godfather.’” (Paramount said in a statement, “While there are no imminent plans for another film in the ‘Godfather’ saga, given the enduring power of its legacy it remains a possibility if the right story emerges.”)

Of course, the struggle between Coppola and Paramount over sequels stretches all the way back to the first movie. While The Godfather Part II is considered to be one of the greatest sequels of all time, Coppola did not want to make second movie. He was eventually “seduced” by Paramount and their philosophy on the situation: “You’ve got Coca-Cola, why not make more Coca-Cola?”

(Via The New York Times)

Brooklyn rapper Casanova, an up-and-coming artist closely associated with the city’s burgeoning drill movement, has surrendered to federal authorities after being charged with racketeering, murder, and other offenses, according to the New York Daily News. Earlier this week, the FBI announced it had indicted 18 members of the Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation group, calling for information on the rapper, the only one not yet in custody.

According to the New York Daily News, Casanova surrendered himself at the Midtown South precinct in Manhattan yesterday. Among the charges against the group are firearm possession, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, and unemployment fraud, which can all apply to each member under the blanket racketeering charge, similarly to the Nine Trey Bloods to whom Tekashi 69 was affiliated.

The indictment accuses two members of using other people’s IDs to file fraudulent applications for COVID-19-related unemployment benefits, while other members are accused of selling crack, cocaine, and ecstasy throughout Co-op City and Castle Hill in the Bronx. Casanova himself is accused of punching and robbing a young woman in Greenwich Village. The most serious charge against the alleged gang is murder; one member is said to have driven an accomplice to Poughkeepsie to kill a 15-year-old.

For the second consecutive offseason, the Houston Rockets pulled off a trade to give James Harden a new backcourt running mate. Last year, the team swapped out Chris Paul for Russell Westbrook, and after rumors swirled for a few weeks about the latter wanting out, Westbrook was moved on Wednesday night for John Wall.

Whenever one half of a big-name pairing is moved, questions inevitably pop up about the role that the other had in the entire ordeal. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN brought some insight into this on Thursday morning’s edition of Get Up, and after mentioning that both teams were trying to appease the stars they still in place — Harden and Bradley Beal — he revealed that Harden was especially fond of this move.

“He had a preference of John Wall over Westbrook,” Wojnarowski said of Harden when asked about what the future holds for the former league MVP, who reportedly would like a trade. “Although in the last couple years, Harden has moved teammates in and out. Brought Chris Paul in, moved him out, same with Russell Westbrook now. Whether that’s going to be enough to convince him to want to be there long-term, [the] Rockets aren’t sure about that.”

It’s a very interesting nugget because Harden and Westbrook have a long friendship, something that was mentioned a whole lot when the former Thunder teammates joined forces in Houston last year. This is not to assume there was a big falling out or anything between the two, but perhaps this was an example of something that worked well in theory and not as well once that became reality — the mind cannot help but wander to a piece done by The Athletic which indicated that Harden “wasn’t as receptive to criticism as other teammates” that came after Westbrook led a meeting in which he “went around the room indicating what was wrong and what each player needed to do to fix the losing streak, starting with himself.”

Of course, there are legitimate risks that come with trading for Wall, who has not appeared in an NBA game since December of 2018 due to injuries. But Houston’s No. 1 priority is making sure Harden is happy, and if this helps them achieve that goal, then it makes sense why this deal happened.

Kiernan Shipka’s teenage witch will soon make one more stand to save Greendale as Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina prepares for a final act. That would be the fourth season of the subversive Riverdale spinoff, which was renewed following initial success for four seasons, so it really feels like a good time to put these adventures to an end. We still haven’t received a talking Salem, but never say never. “The End Of All Things” is coming, according to Chance Perdomo’s Ambrose in this new trailer, and if that doesn’t include at least one line from a cat voice, I’m going to raise Hell.

To be more serious, however, this season follows the Spellman family after they’ve left the Satanic Church of Night. That’s caused temper tantrums that led to the summoning of The Eldritch Terrors, who could open up The Void, and the Fight Club needs to step up and help save the day. Gavin Leatherwood’s Nick (with his turkey-basting skills in tow) is also attempting to win back Sabrina after his dark time in Hell, and this looks like the aesthetically pleasing chaos that we’re used to from the show. From the synopsis:

Over the course of Part 4’s eight episodes, The Eldritch Terrors will descend upon Greendale. The coven must fight each terrifying threat one-by-one (The Weird, The Returned, The Darkness to name a few), all leading up to…The Void, which is the End of All Things. As the witches wage war, with the help of The Fright Club, Nick begins to slowly earn his way back into Sabrina’s heart, but will it be too late?

The show’s returning cast also includes Miranda Otto, Ross Lynch, Lucy Davis, Michelle Gomez, Jaz Sinclair, Lachlan Watson, Tati Gabrielle, Adeline Rudolph, Abigail Cowen, and Richard Coyle.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Part 4 will stream on December 31.

Lil Nas X has been on a spicy press run promoting his new single “Holiday” ahead of the, well, holidays, and answering plenty of revealing questions along the way. Last week, he stopped by Hot Ones to choke down fiery wings while telling host Sean Evans what John Mayer said to make him cry and this week, he popped up on The Ellen Show to answer “Burning Questions” about his celebrity crushes and dream collaborators.

Luckily for Nas, this time around, no hot sauce was involved, making “Burning Questions” more of a lightning round-style interrogation. Of course, plenty of the questions themselves were designed to make him just as uncomfortable as the Wings of Death, prompting him to cough out his answer to the “first celebrity crush” question. It turns out, young Nas was quite attracted to iconic R&B singer Usher, which… yeah, I understand.

Meanwhile, his dream collaborator is someone who shares the same goofy, internet-meme-bred sense of humor Nas has: Doja Cat. Besides having similar love for esoteric meme humor, they both love wild award show ensembles, and both have had to fend off controversies related to their pre-fame online activities — something that’s sure to become a lot more commonplace as our lives move more and more online. Both also blew up thanks to entertainingly off-kilter viral hits, so something tells me they’d have great working chemistry. Maybe this segment will help get the ball rolling.

Nas also reveals which boy band he’d join (BTS), his favorite Nicki Minaj song (“Miami”), and who would play his love interest in a movie about his life (himself). Watch Lil Nas X’s “Burning Questions” interview for The Ellen Show above.

Ariana Grande is one of entertainment’s biggest names, but it wasn’t all that long ago that she was a rising star with big music dreams. She has come a long way since then, which has allowed her to create one of the finest examples of the “how it started vs. how it’s going” memes out there.

For the unfamiliar, the format of the meme usually consists of two images, the first showing something from the past and the second being some sort of modern progression or advancement from what’s going on in the initial photo. So, for Grande’s post, the first image is a screenshot of a tweet from 2011 (when she was acting on Victorious and hadn’t yet released her first single), in which she wrote, “@MariahCarey I love you. :].” The second image shows the supreme glow-up that has taken place over the past nine years, as it’s a promotional image for “Oh Santa!,” Grande’s upcoming collaborative single with Carey and Jennifer Hudson.

The song is set to be released tomorrow and it comes as part of Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special, which also premieres tomorrow, on Apple TV+. Along with the aforementioned people, the special will also feature Snoop Dogg, Jermaine Dupri, Tiffany Haddish, Billy Eichner, Misty Copeland, Mykal-Michelle Harris, and Carey’s twins, Moroccan and Monroe.

Cast members from The Lord of the Rings movies have reunited to save the home where J.R.R. Tolkien wrote his masterpieces, including The Hobbit. The author’s former-residence at 20 Northmoor Road in Oxford, England, will be put on the open market in a few months, which is why Project Northmoor has started a fundraising campaign to raise $6 million and turn the house into a literary center dedicated to Tolkien’s work.

The campaign has the support of actors John Rhys-Davies, Martin Freeman, and Sir Ian McKellen, who said in a statement, “We cannot achieve this without the support of the worldwide community of Tolkien fans, our fellowship of funders.” Rhys-Davies, who played Gimli, added, “If people are still reading in 1,000 years, Tolkien will be regarded as one of the great myth-makers of Britain and it will be evident within a matter of years that not to secure this place would have been such an act of arrogance and ignorance and folly on our part.” He added that the goal is to turn the home “into a literary hub that will inspire new generations of writers, artists and filmmakers for many years to come.”

Tolkien and his family moved into the home in the 1930s while he worked as a Professor of Anglo-Saxon at the nearby University of Oxford, and remained in the home for the next 17 years. It is during this time that Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, and also hosted fellow fantasy writing legend C.S. Lewis. (Via)

The donations are tiered by Hobbit Gifts, Dwarf Gifts, Human Gifts, Elf Gifts, Wizard Gifts, and Valar Gifts. But an ent-sized gift would be most appreciated.

(Via People)