While the quarantine has affected some artists’ album release plans, others are still pushing forward and releasing music. Luckily, pop music has seen an array of releases even with the nation remaining at home. Demi Lovato and Sam Smith released a collaborative anthem, Joji announced his sophomore album with a thumping tune, and Jamie xx made his comeback with his first solo song in over five years.

Each week, Uproxx rounds up the best new releases. Listen up.

Sam Smith, Demi Lovato — “I’m Ready”

Demi Lovato is plotting her comeback in 2020. Kicking off her new era with a tearful rendition of “Anyone” at this year’s Grammys, Lovato is back with a new collaborative single. Lovato teamed up with pop crooner Sam Smith for the ardent assertation of self-worth, “I’m Ready.” Over a soulful, layered beat, the duo unabashedly announces they are ready to find love.

Joji — “Gimme Love”

Joji’s debut 2018 Ballads 1 cemented him as the first Asian-American artist to top the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Now, the singer is ready for more. Joji announced his sophomore record Nectar with the pounding single “Gimme Love.” While the track is about finding a deep connection, Joji shows off his not-so-serious side through the cinematic accompanying visual where he takes control of a spaceship launch.

Jamie xx — “Idontknow”

Elusive UK producer Jamie xx returns with his first solo single of the last five years. The dance-ready track has been a staple at his recent live shows, but the track’s origin remained a mystery to fans until it appeared on streaming services this week. The wobbly, hard-hitting instrumental gives a sneak peek into what is hopefully a new project from the producer.

Bazzi — “I Got You”

Following his heartfelt track “Renee’s Song,” Bazzi returns with the intention of crafting a viral hit. The singer created “I Got You” with the purpose of making a successful TikTok dance challenge. The playful, snappy track picks up a rolling beat under Bazzi’s feathery vocals.

Chromatics — “Teacher”

Chromatics teased their album Dear Tommy way back in 2014. To date, it’s been over six years without the mysterious record. But the group is finally ready for it to see the light of day. Sharing the bouncy, synth-heavy track “Teacher,” Chromatics unveiled the Dear Tommy tracklist, signaling its impending arrival.

Kehlani — “Everybody’s Business”

Kehlani knows what it’s like to go through a breakup in the public eye. After breaking things off with YG, Kehlani effectively shut down all rumors about her love life with the swooning track “Everybody’s Business.” With her signature, velvety delivery, Kehlani addressed the public scrutiny of her personal life. “I hear every word they talk / Tried not to care at all / I know it’s frontin’, don’t know me from nothin’,” Kehlani sings over a re-worked sample of Pharell’s hit track “Frontin.’”

Still Woozy — “Window”

Not many artists can say they performed the likes of Coachella and Lollapalooza before even putting out a debut album. But Still Woozy boasts the accomplishment. Self-recorded in his home studio/garage, “Window” is his first new track of 2020. A funky, layered beat creates the backbone to the laid-back track while the singer fluidly recounts a day with his crush.

John Legend — “Bigger Love”

John Legend aims to spread joy through his carefree new track “Bigger Love.” In a statement, Legend said he hopes the track will bring hope in a difficult time: “This song is a celebration of love, resilience, and hope. I wrote it last year, before any of us could have imagined what 2020 would become. The message of the song is that love can help carry us through these dark times and music can bring us joy and inspiration. I hope it brings some light to people’s day and maybe inspires a dance break!”

Rina Sawayama — “Bad Friend”

Rising British pop singer Rina Sawayama shared her debut album Sawayama this week. On it came the captivating track “Bad Friend.” Over wonky synths, Sawayama croons of nights spent with her best friend with a touch of nostalgia. In an interview with Apple Music, Sawayama said she wrote the song after seeing that a good friend, who she had fallen out of touch with, had just had a baby. Sawayama penned the song following the realization that she had completely let her friendship fall by the wayside.

Girl In Red — “Midnight Love”

Swedish pop singer Girl In Red drafted “Mightnight Love” as an ode to standing up for yourself in the face of fleeting relationships. Over a watered-down beat, the singer croons about putting herself first. “I can’t be your second best / Close but not your favorite,” she sings.

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

Cardi B has emerged as an unexpected outspoken voice in politics. Early on in the election cycle, Cardi B endorsed Bernie Sanders and interviewed him about his policies on several occasions. She even recently gave him advice on the state of his nails while in quarantine. The rapper has also been vocal about the current pandemic. Following a viral remix of her social media coronavirus speech, Cardi has been offering her two cents about staying healthy during the pandemic, and the singer isn’t happy about Georgia lifting their temporary ban on non-essential businesses.

Georgia’s governor Brian Kemp announced Monday that he plans to reopen the state with some restrictions. While the state currently has over 18,000 confirmed cases, Governor Kemp said he plans to allow non-essential businesses like gyms, nail salons, barbershops, some restaurants, bowling alleys, and even movie theaters to resume operations as soon as Friday. Many criticized the governor’s decision, including Cardi B.

Commenting on an Instagram post about the state’s new policy, Cardi B issued a stern warning. “Don’t go around your parents or grandparents!” she wrote. “Once there sick and in the hospital wit covid you won’t be able to see how and what they are treating them with.” Cardi ended her cautionary message with a reminder of her priorities: “Health over capitalism.”

Read Cardi’s full message above.

Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

These are stressful times we’re living in, so most people could use some help with relaxing. Now, Diddy and Nick Jonas have you covered: As part of a new series of Audible Originals, the two have created some spoken-word content to help ease worried minds.

Created in collaboration with Arianna Huffington’s Thrive Global, Diddy offers listeners the chance to get personally pumped up by him with his “Honor Yourself” guided meditation. Audible describes the program, “Find out what it’s like to have the nightly affirmation of a hip-hop legend and entrepreneur in your ear as Diddy, in his signature velvety lilt, confidently guides you through his relaxing and reassuring meditation designed to help you slow down and find inner peace.”

Meanwhile, Nick Jonas wants to help folks drift off to sleep, and he is doing so with his bedtime story, “The Perfect Swing.” Audible says of this one, “Get ready for a great night’s sleep with Nick Jonas in this serene bedtime story about baseball, one of his personal passions. What is the perfect swing? You might be asleep before you find out.”

These presentations and others are available for free, so give them a listen here, where you can also find other programs from Huffington, Gabby Bernstein, Sara Auster and Jesse Israel.

When Playboi Carti tweeted “MoNDaY” last Thursday, April 16, fans went into a frenzy of excitement, convinced that the Atlanta artist would finally release his heavily-anticipated album, Whole Lotta Red. Instead, Monday came and went without a release, bringing a wave of disappointed tweets from Carti’s followers — all except one, who had seemingly been waiting and was absolutely delighted for the chance to pounce: Lil Uzi Vert.

While Lil Uzi insists that the duo does not have any beef, he has seemingly engaged in a one-sided sibling rivalry of sorts, playing the aggravating little brother role and finding any excuse to needle his onetime close collaborator. For instance, on Thursday, after Carti released the video for his new single, “@ Meh,” Uzi followed up with a tweet of his own reading “Just Meh.” After Carti sent his infamous “Monday” tweet, Uzi replied with his own — right down to the goofball capitalization.

And now that Monday has passed without signs of life from Playboi Carti, Uzi seems only too happy to point out the letdown, tweeting, “Did u drop yet?” in response to Carti’s late after insistence that “Red is MY fav album of mine.” Whatever passive-aggressive issue is going on between hip-hop’s new Issa and Molly, it’s been pretty entertaining to watch (just like Insecure), but it’d probably be better if one or the other just dropped some new music instead.

Check out Uzi’s trolling tweets above.

Lil Uzi Vert is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Eminem may have made his name in the rap game with drugged-up raps about pill popping, but he gave all that up years ago — 12 years ago, to be precise. The 47-year-old rapper celebrated 12 years of sobriety yesterday, posting a photo of his 12-year chip emblazoned with the slogan “One day at a time.” “Clean dozen, in the books!” he wrote. “I’m not afraid.”

While some fans weren’t entirely happy with his musical output after giving up drugs and alcohol, his 2010 album Recovery was one of his most successful albums, debuting at No. 1 and selling over 5.7 million copies worldwide by the end of its release year. Since then, the reclusive Em has released four more albums — three within the last two years — and seen his fair share of ups and downs. However, celebrating 12 years of sobriety is an absolute victory that no bad critical review can take away from him.

Em reportedly tried to give up his addiction to prescription pills in 2008, two years before the release of Recovery. Although he’d had a previous stint in rehab, he told XXL in 2009, “I wasn’t ready mentally. I wasn’t ready to give up the drugs. I didn’t really think I had a problem. Basically, I went in, and I came out. I relapsed, and I spent the next three years struggling with it. Also, at that time, I felt like I wanted to pull back, because my drug problem had got so bad. I felt like, Maybe if I take a break, maybe this will help. I started to get into the producer role more… I can still be out there with my music, like with the Re-Up album, but I don’t have to be in the spotlight the whole time.”

The first two chapters of The Last Dance, ESPN’s 10-part documentary into the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls, was a hit. Unsurprisingly, the general hype surrounding the series mixed with the fact that sports are on hiatus for the foreseeable future in the United States meant that the Worldwide Leader got record ratings on Sunday night.

Based on a report by Forbes, the biggest name involved in the project is set to profit handsomely. Kurt Badenhausen wrote that Michael Jordan is in line to make “at least $3 million to $4 million” off of the series, although Badenhausen brings word that Jordan won’t see a penny of it, as he’s slated to donate all of it to charity.

Of course, while $3-4 million is more money than most of us will ever know, that’s pocket change for Jordan, whose net worth is around $2.1 billion. As for how he stands to profit so much, ESPN has previously reported that Jordan consented to the league following the Bulls around during his final season in Chicago in exchange for creative control.

“Our agreement will be that neither one of us can use this footage without the other’s permission,” Adam Silver told Jordan back when he was in charge of NBA Entertainment. “It will be kept — I mean literally it was physical film — as a separate part of our Secaucus [New Jersey] library. Our producers won’t have access to it. It will only be used with your permission.”

Fortunately for basketball fans everywhere, Jordan eventually got on board with the league and ESPN turning all of that film into something.

Since Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey launched the Office Ladies podcast, they’ve discussed Jim’s “perfect” note to Pam, the inspiration for the “Office Olympics” episode, and why “Jim is wrong” (hard agree) in his argument with Pam. There’s been a lot of Jim and Pam talk, basically, which extends to Fischer’s Instagram. A follower recently asked the actress to confirm whether she still wears the ring that John Krasinski gave her, the one from the season five episode “Weight Loss” where Jim proposes to Pam.

About that: “What a terrible rumor!” Fischer responded. “Of course not! I wear the ring my actual husband of 10 years gave me.” (She’s married to writer Lee Kirk, who also appeared in one episode of The Office.) It’s unclear where the “terrible rumor” originated from, although as BuzzFeed pointed out, Fischer once tweeted that she kept the ring, but “it was a silver prop ring, not worth $5,000, and I do not wear it in real life.”

Fischer would have kept Angela’s “cat food and water bowls,” but they sold for $475 in an online auction two years ago. Alas. Recent episodes of the Office Ladies podcast have covered season two’s “Take Your Daughter to Work Day” and “Dwight’s Speech.”

(Via BuzzFeed)

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In the time when the world could use some good news, Bright Eyes have offered some. In March, they released “Persona Non Grata,” their first new music in nearly a decade. They also revealed plans for a new album, and now they have shared “Forced Convalescence,” another preview of their upcoming record. The Americana-influenced track gradually works its way to an apex before cooling off and ending the song on another build-up.

Last month, the band gave fans an update about their schedule for the coming months, saying that while their touring plans have been interrupted, they will still release a new album. They wrote, “Strange days indeed. Just wanted to send our love and solidarity to everyone out there feeling alone, frightened and isolated. You are not alone. We are in this together. We, like so many others, had many plans for 2020. We will be releasing a new album this year no matter what. We also have lots of touring plans which we are now reassessing. We will keep you informed as things progress. We very much want to get on the road and hope to see you all in person sooner rather than later.”

Listen to “Forced Convalescence” above.

Festival season was supposed to have started by now. Sadly, though, it hasn’t, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to put normal life on pause. However, there is still a way to experience some of the world’s finest performers doing what they do best on stage: In support of the World Health Organization, Warner Music Group has announced PlayOn Fest, a livestream event that will revisit outstanding live performances from recent years.

The festivities will kick off this Friday, April 24 at noon ET, and will run through April 26, all on the Songkick YouTube channel. This one-time only live viewing event is an exclusive chance to see performance videos, some of which are rare, from Coachella, Sydney Opera House, Lollapalooza, Apollo Theater, Bonnaroo, The O2 Arena, Primavera Sound, Red Rocks Amphitheater, Rock In Rio, Global Citizen Festival, and other world-class venues and events.

The full lineup of featured artists includes A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Alec Benjamin, Alt-J, Anderson .Paak, Andra Day, Anitta, Anne-Marie, Arizona, Ava Max, Bazzi, Bebe Rexha, Ben Platt, Brandi Carlile, Bruno Mars, Burna Boy, Cardi B, Chanmina, Charli XCX, Charlie Puth, Clean Bandit, Coldplay, Coldrain, David Guetta, Death Cab For Cutie, Dvsn, Ed Sheeran, Fitz And The Tantrums, Galantis, Gary Clark Jr., Ghali, Green Day, Gucci Mane, IDK, Janelle Monáe, Jess Glynne, JJ Lin, Kaleo, Kevin Gates, Korn, Lil Uzi Vert, Macklemore, Mahalia, Majid Jordan, Oliver Tree, Pablo Alborán, Panic! At The Disco, Paramore, Portugal The Man, Rico Nasty, Rita Ora, Robin Schulz, Roddy Ricch, Royal Blood, Rüfüs Du Sol, Sabrina Claudio, Saweetie, Slipknot, Stereophonics, The Flaming Lips, The Head And The Heart, The War On Drugs, Tones And I, Twenty One Pilots, Wallows, Weezer, and Wiz Khalifa.

Additionally, there will also be a look back at Nipsey Hussle’s Victory Lap album release show.

Cardi B shared a statement about the fest, saying, “Don’t play yourself! Tune into PlayOn Fest April 24-26 and help us raise money for the World Health Organization to boost COVID-19 relief funds. Thank you to all of the healthcare workers who are dedicating their services and helping to save lives! Since I can’t get on stage right now…I’m throwing it back to my party at the Global Citizen Festival to hopefully send some love and light to y’all. Stay safe everyone!”

Elizabeth Cousens, President and CEO of the UN Foundation, also noted, “During this pandemic, we are all searching for ways to stay connected. The PlayOn Fest is a great way to come together, enjoy good music and company, and support the World Health Organization’s most urgent global work to combat COVID-19.”

Warner Music Group has also launched a pre-sale for exclusive PlayOn merch, with all proceeds going to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for WHO.

Watch the PlayOn Fest trailer the lineup poster above.

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