Category: Viral

BTS made chart history when “Dynamite” landed in the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in September, and they’re not done re-writing the record books: The group is back on top of the Hot 100 chart dated October 17 thanks to a remix of Jawsh 685’s “Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat),” on which BTS and Jason Derulo feature and which is now No. 1. The song is Derulo’s second No. 1 single and Jawsh 685’s first.

Furthermore, “Dynamite” is No. 2, which makes BTS the first group to simultaneously have the top two songs since The Black Eyed Peas did in June and July 2009 with “Boom Boom Pow” and “I Gotta Feeling.” This makes BTS only the fifth group to ever have the top two Hot 100 songs in the same week: Black Eyes Peas, Outkast (who did so for eight weeks in 2003-04), the Bee Gees (five weeks in 1978), and The Beatles (10 weeks in 1964).

In the wake of the accomplishment, BTS thanked their fans, writing on Twitter, “Two songs on top of the chart! Thank you ARMY for all your love!”

Meanwhile, The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights,” which recently broke the record for the most weeks spent in the top 5 of the Hot 100, is No. 6 on the new chart. This is the song’s 34th week in the top ten, which means it is closing in on the record for most weeks spent in the top 10, which is currently held by Post Malone’s “Circles” at 39 weeks.

A six-part series focusing on Elon Musk’s space exploration company is being developed by HBO and Channing Tatum’s production company Free Association. While Musk himself isn’t involved with the series, as of yet, the show will center around his ambitious plans to take humanity to the stars in an effort to colonize the moon and Mars. Via Variety:

The six-episode series “SpaceX” will be based on the book “Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future” by Ashlee Vance. It will document how Musk, in pursuit of his lifelong dream to make humankind a multi-planetary species, handpicks a team of engineers to work on a remote Pacific Island where they build, and launch, the first SpaceX rocket into orbit. It spurred a new era of privately funded space exploration, culminating in the first manned Space X launch of the Falcon 9 on May 30, 2020.

In a convenient bit of synergy, SpaceX has been making headlines in the entertainment realm thanks to Musk teaming up with Tom Cruise and director Doug Liman to film the first motion picture in space. Cruise secured the funding from Musk over a Zoom call, and the two are on track to make movie history.

However, Musk has also been in the news thanks to his penchant for controversial tweets. After Musk made a seemingly transphobic statement about pronouns, his partner Grimes jumped into this replies and pleaded with the space magnate to go offline. “I love you but please turn off ur phone or give me a call. I cannot support hate. Please stop this,” Grimes wrote. Shortly after that, Musk was taken to task by Egyptian officials after he declared that “aliens built the pyramids obv.” Fortunately, he relented and tweeted out a BBC link with a “sensible summary” on the pyramids’ creation. (Spoiler alert: It wasn’t aliens.)

(Via Variety)

A lot of questions will be posed to Amy Coney Barrett during her days-long confirmation to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the next Supreme Court justice. But Joe Biden hopes that none of them are about her religious beliefs. The Democratic presidential candidate told a group of reporters on Monday that “her faith should not be considered” during the hearings, which are expected to be heated. So far, Democrats have stayed away from Barrett’s beliefs (ironically, “it was exclusively GOP senators who brought it up on the first day of her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee”), but this isn’t sitting well with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). Neither is the religious hypocrisy of supposedly God-fearing Republicans.

“Sick and tired of Republicans who co-opt faith as an excuse to advance bigotry and barbarism. Fact is, if today Christ himself came to the floor of Congress and repeated his teachings, many would malign him as a radical and eject him from the chamber,” the congresswoman tweeted, along with a clip from February, where she said, “The only time religious freedom is invoked is in the name of bigotry and discrimination. I’m tired of it.”

Ocasio-Cortez also retweeted Ilhan Omar (D-MN), who wrote, “Let’s be clear about this: if a Muslim woman was nominated to SCOTUS you would see Republicans lose their mind about her religious background… ‘Sharia law’ would be trending right now. Miss me with the pearl-clutching and all this righteous talk about religious freedom.” Meanwhile, asking about Barrett being a member of the People of Praise, an insular Christian group with “a strict view of human sexuality that embraces traditional gender norms and rejects openly gay men and women,” is apparently off-limits.

AOC’s tweet echos remarks made by former-South Bend mayor and -presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, of all people, about Republicans last year. “For a party that associates itself with Christianity to say it is okay to suggest that God would smile on the division of families at the hands of federal agents, that God would condone putting children in cages, has lost all claim to ever use religious language,” he said.

This week has big “Lemon, it’s Wednesday” energy. Except it’s only Monday.

(Via Twitter/AOC)

Kanye West hasn’t been quite as vocal about his presidential campaign lately as he had previously been, but it’s still an ongoing affair. He did some creative campaigning during the Mike Pence and Kamala Harris vice presidential debate, and he recently went viral after sharing a photo of himself as a write-in candidate on an official ballot. Now, with Election Day coming up, Kanye has decided to share his first official campaign ad.

The 80-second video begins with Kanye standing in front of an image of a black-and-white American flag. Looking off into the distance, Kanye starts by iterating his faith-based platform: “America: What is America’s destiny? What is best for our nation, our people? What is just, true justice? We have to think about all these things, together as a people. To contemplate our future, to live up to our dream, we must have vision. We as a people will revive our nation’s commitment to faith, to what our constitution calls the free exercise of religion, including, of course, prayer. Through prayer, faith can be restored.”

He concludes the video by saying, “By turning the faith, we will be the kind of nation, the kind of people, God intends us to be.” After that, he narrates the classic disclaimer, “I am Kanye West, and I approve this message.” The final screen of the video reads, “Write in Kanye West,” which is what voters in most states will have to do, since the rapper had a hard time getting on official ballots.

Watch the video above.

President Trump recently fired a shot at the Lincoln Project and got completely owned by co-founder Steve Schmidt in a rip-roaring Twitter thread, which called out Trump for his botched COVID response (and behavior following his diagnosis), along with more standard (read: evergreen) anti-Trump fare like the alleged billionaire’s (also alleged) $500 million debt and low SAT scores. This weekend’s 60 Minutes brought some of the Lincoln Project leaders together to discuss why these “Never Trump Republicans” are working so hard to annoy the hell out of the president, like with the recent “Covita” ad. Are the Republican strategists who’ve worked for John McCain and George W. Bush afraid of backlash? No way, they’re standing firm.

At around the 7:00 minute mark, Lesley Stahl (who was clearly amused during multiple moments in this segment) asked, “Why is provoking him a good strategy?” Rick Wilson was ready with an answer:

“Every time Donald Trump loses his mind and throws things at the wall because a Lincoln Project ad is up, that takes the whole campaign off track. There’s one thing you never get back in campaign — that’s a lost day.”

That wasn’t all. Stahl asked whether Wilson was concerned of stooping to Trump’s level, and she added that the ads might be considered mean or off-putting to voters. To that, Wilson was onboard with the suggested impression:

“I hope so. There’s always a reflexive, sort-of do-gooder instinct to say, “Oh, I hate negative ads!” People do hate negative ads, but negative ads work.”

A bit later in the segment, Mike Madrid (who used to be the California Republican Party’s political director) spoke toward gearing some Lincoln Project’s anti-Trump ads toward women. “We find that women move off of Donald Trump first, and then, often, their husband will follow behind them,” he said. So, they want to nab two birds with one set of sticks-and-stones, which feels mighty economical.

It’s worth noting that the Lincoln Project’s Twitter account is 2.4 million followers strong. They coined themselves for the “Party of Lincoln,” and they believe that Trump’s presidency has taken the Republican party dangerously off course. So, they are using their joint political acumen (which was, of course, previously used against Democrats) against a GOP president. And Trump really can’t stand it.

For what it’s worth, co-founder George Conway (husband of Kellyanne Conway) recently resigned from the Lincoln Project for family reasons, but Conway is still tossing tweet-punches at the president for the heck of it. Once a “Never Trump Republican,” always a “Never Trump Republican,” it seems.

Half a year ago, The 1975’s Matty Healy declared that the group was making a quarantine album. It turns out that in addition to that, it appears he’s working on his first solo record as well, if his mother is to be believed.

Healy’s mom is actress Denise Welch, and in a recent interview with UK publication OK, she let the news spill, saying, “Matthew is working on a solo project. I’ve got two boys in the entertainment industry. It’s a nightmare but I’m proud of them both. I’m very lucky that my boys have both got good heads on their shoulders.”

Healy previously suggested that he was making a solo album, telling Apple Music’s Zane Lowe in a February interview, “The 1975 doesn’t really operate without each other. So I mean I’m not like giving people excuses. Like one thing that I know that we’re gonna do is that I’m doing a Matty record and George is doing a George record. And we’re gonna produce each other’s records. So that’s gonna happen. Yeah, that, there you go, exactly, there’s an exclusive.”

Meanwhile, The 1975 were pretty active for the first few months of the year, but they have remained more quiet lately since Healy faced some Twitter accusations.

You know what’s nuts? Winston Duke has only appeared in five films, and they were all major hits. His filmography goes: Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Us, and Spencer Confidential. That’s one Best Picture nominee, one instant-horror classic that should have been nominated for an Oscar (Lupita was robbed), two of the highest-grossing movies ever, and Netflix’s third most-watched original movie. Atlanta‘s Zazie Beetz has a nifty resume herself, including bad-movie-podcast favorite Geostorm (“GEOSTORM”), Deadpool 2, and Joker, and together, they star in Nine Days.

The indie-drama from Edson Oda has a powerful, but potentially disastrous concept (Winston Duke’s character interviews several candidates to determine which souls will be given the gift of life), but based on the reviews out of Sundance, Duke and Beetz, along with co-stars Benedict Wong, Bill Skarsgård, and Tony Hale, help make it work.

Here’s the official plot synopsis:

Will (Winston Duke) spends his days in a remote outpost watching the live Point of View on TV’s of people going about their lives, until one subject perishes, leaving a vacancy for a new life on earth. Soon, several candidates — unborn souls — arrive at Will’s to undergo tests determining their fitness, facing oblivion when they are deemed unsuitable. But Will soon faces his own existential challenge in the form of free-spirited Emma (Zazie Beetz), a candidate who is not like the others, forcing him to turn within and reckon with his own tumultuous past. Fueled by unexpected power, he discovers a bold new path forward in his own life… Japanese Brazilian director Edson Oda delivers a heartfelt and meditative vision of human souls in limbo, aching to be born against unimaginable odds, hindered by forces beyond their will.

Nine Days opens on January 22, 2021.

Brooklyn drill rapper Fivio Foreign — Maxie Ryles by birth — was arrested Saturday in Edgewater, New Jersey for simple assault according to XXL. As of press time, details on the arrest are scant but Fivio is reportedly being held at the Bergen County Jail and was denied bond.

Fivio rose to prominence last year as part of a wave of artists affiliated with the drill movement, releasing the song “Big Drip” and securing a recording contract with Columbia Records. Fivio, who was close with late Brooklyn drill ambassador Pop Smoke, was selected to appear on XXL‘s 2020 Freshman Class cover in August after releasing his 800 B.C EP in April. Fivio also began picking up high-profile feature placements this year, landing on Drake’s Dark Lane Demo Tapes cut “Demons” with Sosa Geek, Lil Tjay’s State Of Emergency single “Zoo York” with Pop Smoke, and Nas’ King’s Disease track “Spicy” with ASAP Ferg.

He’s also proved to be an equal opportunity cameo killer, assisting DreamDoll on her “Ah Ah Ah” single and Young M.A. on her “Move Like A Boss,” then opened October with the release of “Bop It” alongside Polo G. Fivio also amused fans with his playful exchange with Mulatto during their XXL Freshman cypher.

As the premiere of Borat Subsequent Moviefilm draws closer, Sacha Baron Cohen has been promoting the surprise sequel by occasionally slipping into character on his personal Twitter account, but now, he’s taken his game to the next level. The actor has created a dedicated (and already verified) Borat account, which he’s been using to relentlessly troll Donald Trump over his COVID pandemic response.

In a series of hilarious tweets, Cohen — we’re sorry, Borat — fired off a litany of “praise” for the President’s very strong handling of COVID-19 that proves he’s not weak like Melania. The scathing tweets coincided with Trump’s Friday appearance on Tucker Carlson and were absolutely brutal in their mocking of the President’s failed response to the pandemic. There’s also a Stormy Daniels joke tossed in for good measure.

After taking a breather, Borat returned on Saturday where he congratulated Trump on his ill-advised rally at the White House.

Filmed during the pandemic, the Borat sequel appears to be squarely aimed at the Trump administration as the #4 Journalist in Kazakhstan attempts to gift his daughter to Vice President Mike Pence. Amazingly, Cohen got pretty close to his goal. The trailer includes a scene where Borat disguised as Trump bursts into a CPAC rally while Pence is speaking, and yet somehow didn’t result in a nasty clash with the Secret Service. Although, Cohen recently revealed in an essay for Time that he genuinely feared for his life while making the sequel. The actor wore a bulletproof vest during a scene where he pranks a gun rights rally, and he had significant doubts about how well it would hold up against several sub-machine guns as he narrowly escaped in a getaway car.

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm starts streaming October 23 on Amazon Prime.

(Via Borat on Twitter)

Rock legend Eddie Van Halen passed away last week at 65 years old after a years-long battle with throat cancer. Figures from around the music world shared their thoughts about the pioneering musician following his death, and the majority of them were filled with praise for the guitarist’s skill and influence. Those are not feelings that David Crosby shares, though.

Over the weekend, a fan asked Crosby on Twitter, “i know you’re not into metal david, but what’s your opinion on eddie van halen,” to which he responded, “Meh ….” Somebody else followed up, “Wow! That was rude, unkind and totally lacking empathy,” and Crosby replied, “Sorry ..just meant he does not move me much.”

Later on, somebody took exception to Crosby’s dismissal of Van Halen, writing, “I can demonstrate how he could have answered WITHOUT being an asshole: ‘I don’t care for the end product, it’s just not my style. But there’s no question at all about his talent and the revolution he brought to the whole industry.’ Feeling expressed and still respectful, see?” Crosby agreed, sharing the tweet and adding, “Better.”

Crosby then clarified his “meh” tweet by saying that Van Halen didn’t have the same impact as Jimi Hendrix, noting that Van Halen was nice the one time they met but that his music just isn’t his cup of tea: “Hendrix changed the world of guitar. Nobody else really …look I get it ..many of you loved Van Halen ….and the one time I met he was nice ….and he was talented …meh to me means I don’t care that much ….and I don’t …doesn’t mean he wasn’t good ,he was but not for me”

Crosby’s comments prompted a good amount of backlash, like from LA Guns guitarist Tracii Guns, who wrote, “Wrong answer as f*ck and rude as f*ck!!! There are better ways to say you don’t care for someone’s music. That was very disrespectful. And yes straight out f*ck you and your smug answer.”

Check out some other responses below.