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Coachella is ultimately all about having a good time; Uproxx’s Aaron Williams sure did. Somebody who had a tougher go of things this past weekend, though, is Damon Albarn of Gorillaz and Blur fame.

Blur performed at the festival on April 13, and Albarn seemed perturbed by the audience’s level of enthusiasm and participation. At one point, he tried to get the audience to sing along with “Girls & Boys,” but after that didn’t work out too well on multiple attempts, he eventually said, “You’re never seeing us again so you might as well f*cking sing it, know what I’m saying?”

Worth noting, and perhaps part of what prompted Albarn’s comment, is that he previously suggested the band is going on hiatus.

Albarn actually may have seen this coming, though. As Consequence notes, in a pre-show interview with KROQ, he said, “It’s a weird one, Coachella, when it comes to audience. They’re quite so on their own planet.”

Things went better when the band played “Song 2,” a more recognizable hit among American audiences. Albarn said (as the Independent notes), “This song has been so good to us. But I did get shown a TikTok of it being kind of performed by a vacuum cleaner which is you know… it is humbling and inspiring at the same time.”

Here’s the video in question, by the way:

Check out the band’s full Coachella setlist below, via setlist.fm.

Blur’s 2024 Coachella Setlist, Weekend 1

1. “St. Charles Square”
2. “Popscene”
3. “Trouble In The Message Centre”
4. “Beetlebum”
5. “Goodbye Albert”
6. “Trimm Trabb”
7. “Out Of Time”
8. “Bird Song” with Torres Martinez Cahuilla Bird Singers
9. “Death Of A Party” with Torres Martinez Cahuilla Bird Singers
10. “Girls & Boys”
11. “Song 2”
12. “The Narcissist”
13. “Tender” with Torres Martinez Cahuilla Bird Singers

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

The Kid Laroi and Tate McRae began 2024 by sparking dating rumors. In February, Laroi attended the 2024 NHL All-Star Game, where McRae performed, and People had an unnamed source relay that “the rumored couple was holding hands.” Ten days later, Justin Bieber posted an Instagram photo showing him and his wife, Hailey Bieber, posing with Laroi and McRae.

All the evidence was there, but Laroi has finally publicly commented on the matter.

Are The Kid Laroi & Tate McRae Dating?

During his The First Time Tour show at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland on Sunday, April 14, Laroi told the crowd, “I need everybody in here to sing this as loud as they can because my girlfriend is here tonight, and I don’t want to look lame.” The fan-recorded video panned over to the side of the stage, where a smiley McRae stood.

In case anybody needed further proof that Laroi was referencing McRae, she posted a video to her Instagram Story from her side-stage vantage point. Her video showed Laroi performing “Without You” and his audience dutifully singing along loudly.

The European leg of Laroi’s The First Time Tour will continue until April 27. Clearly, opener Sam Tompkins is not his only special guest. The North American leg is due to begin on May 18 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

See all of Laroi’s upcoming tour dates here.

Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets will be the 2-seed in the Western Conference Playoffs, as they get set to try and defend their championship against some traditional West powers and a few up-and-coming threats.

After missing seven games with a knee injury late in the year, Murray returned to Denver’s lineup for their final five games, quickly picking up where he left off and looking like his normal self as the playoffs arrive. Murray has proven to be a reliable playoff performer, and when he’s been healthy for a Nuggets playoff run alongside Nikola Jokic, they’ve tended to be a threat. That’s largely because those two create an immense headache for opponents and have the best guard-big man chemistry in the NBA, working off of each other in the pick-and-roll/dribble-handoff game better than just about anyone in recent memory.

Ahead of the playoffs, we got a chance to speak with Murray as he promoted his new ad campaign with Cheetos over Zoom after the Nuggets arrived in San Antonio following their thrilling win over the Timberwolves in a battle of top seeds that served as a nice dress rehearsal for the postseason. We talked about the growth of some of Denver’s youngsters they’ll lean on for playoff minutes, what they learned from their title run, the difference in playoff preparation to a regular season game, what makes Denver’s late-game offense work so well when other teams tend to bog down, and what he’s learned about being in control of the game’s pace in crunch time.

How are you feeling back from injury these last few games, and just how’s everything feeling as you get ready for this playoff run?

Feel really good, man. Obviously big win last night. Everybody is in rhythm and in sync. So we’re just trying to be healthy and just some minor tune ups for what’s coming.

I’m gonna start with the new Cheetos campaign you’ve got here, and it seemed like you had some fun with this one. How did this partnership come about and how much fun was it shooting this this other hand ad with them?

We thought it’d be a lot of fun, man. You know, using the other hand, obviously a lot of different instances — high fives, eating, playing video games, tying shoes — we thought it’d be fun to use the other hand and not the dominant hand. So we got some good content coming out, a nice commercial hopefully next week. But, yeah, it’s just supposed to be just fun, light, and who doesn’t love Cheetos, you know what I’m saying? I got a big box of Cheetos back home.

You mentioned the [Timberwolves] game, and something that I thought was particularly important was Peyton Watson and Christian Braun playing big minutes and playing kind of key roles down the stretch. Christian was in the rotation last year, but he was in a little bit of a different role, and then Peyton this year getting into a bigger role. How big is it to have guys like that contribute in that way going into the playoffs and get that experience and confidence up because you’re going to need their contributions?

Yeah, for sure. Like you just said, getting the confidence up and getting used to the type of pressures that we’re relying on them to have or that they will see from the other team is gonna be huge. So, you know, I think they’ve done a great job of just embracing the role. As a young guy, you want to come in and you want to do everything that you dreamt of doing in the NBA. And I think they’ve done a great job of just learning and trying to grow game by game and not getting frustrated with the process. And CB sits right next to me in the locker room, so I tell him, if he’s not shooting enough or not shooting well, I tell him he’s got to get used to missing like three, four shots in a row, just so that later in the game as you get another one or next two, you’re ready to shoot those and there’s no hesitation. So I think he’s been just trying to learn and grasp as much information as possible because he cares about the game, he cares about winning, and it’s just nice to see not just him but P-Wat as well just embrace all the learning and growth that comes with the game.

It seems like that’s been the culture in Denver. How have you established that? And how has the organization as a whole been able to bring in guys that seem to be able to really buy into this? Because it’s not easy, like you said, to be a young guy and buy in to that team aspect in the way almost everybody that’s come into this franchise over the last few years has been able to do.

I think that the main thing is that we’re a contender. We’re a team that’s trying to win and we’re not waiting around for anything, you know what I’m saying? Guys got to catch up and fit in where they fit in. So we’re just trying to give them confidence and the leeway to make mistakes and grow from it and all that. But I think they’ve just gone about it the right way in terms of like, you know, they might get nine minutes one game and then they played 40 minutes the next. That’s just the territory comes with being a rookie, and they just did a great job of handling those highs and lows individually. And knowing that there’s a greater picture in mind and that we’re going to need in the playoffs. And it’s a different beast in the playoffs. I think everybody’s excited and we know what we’re capable of and everybody’s willing to sacrifice for the win.

A championship run last year — what are the things that you think you can really take away from that as a team and lessons that you learned about navigating through the four rounds of the playoffs and keeping that consistency you need to win a title?

You’re answering your own questions here, man [laughs]. I think that [consistency] is the biggest thing. Like, you got to build good habits. Every possession matters, you know, but at the same time, you got to be confident to risk and make a nice pass or tough thread the needle pass or whatever it is. You got to clamp down on defense for a couple possessions even if that might not be your forte. I think everybody understands now what it’s going to come to. You face the same team at least four times, it could be seven times in a row, so you have a pretty good idea what’s coming and when a team finds something that’s working, they normally go back to it. So, we’ve just done a great job of just countering their counters and playing free and still trying to play the way that we play, knowing that every team demands a different type of challenge. So I think we’re just prepared for whatever challenges is thrown our way right now.

How different is the preparation in the playoffs? Because like you said, in the regular season you’re going you know city to city — you just flew into San Antonio today — and you’re bouncing around. But when you know you’re facing this team four to seven times, how different is the level of preparation and the level of detail that goes into the game planning?

It’s major, man. I think that’s the toughest part about the playoffs. It’s not like you just play one game and it’s over with. Like you’re playing them over and over and it’s the same actions you get. You’re memorizing their plays. You’re memorizing what this guy likes to do, which way he likes to go, which way he likes to finish. So it’s just a lot of intent, a lot of detail, and all that matters. That could be the difference between a guy getting separation and making a shot or him getting blitzed and not being able to pass the ball. I think everybody just being on the same page is super key and that can cover a lot of mistakes. You know, guys are gonna make tough shots, guys are gonna go on scoring runs and do what they do. That’s why we’re in the playoffs. But I think the moment can be detailed with what we do and build good habits, and I think, especially us, that makes us tough to guard and stop.

I think the thing that’s been the separator for you guys the last couple years has been late game execution. You seem to be able to get create good shots when you need them in the fourth quarter, when the other team is putting forth that maximum effort. What is it that allows you guys to do that and what has gone into building an offense that is able to thrive in those moments?

I just think the poise. You know, Jok and I, we know how to get everybody organized and we both can score one-on-one. We don’t need to go into a pick-and-roll to score, but just us being in an action together brings a lot of help. And if you don’t bring help, then even better, you know what I’m saying? Yeah, I just think that it’s tough to guard us in the pick-and-roll two-on-two without bringing that third defender and then you have the greatest passing big man ever making passes four-on-three. It’s just tough. And to do that over and over and over again, it definitely causes defenses to scramble and we just keep them on the toes. And then, you know, you could play great defense and then I’ll hit a step back or Mike will hit a tough shot. We know what we can get to and we know if he trust our offense and play free and free flowing like we’ll find what we need.

What have you learned about pacing, especially in those moments? Because it seems like some teams get too caught up in playing the clock game but you guys do a really good job of working the clock but still making sure you have time to run whatever action you want to run. What’s the process been for you as a point guard of learning that little balance and the give and take required to say hey, I want to work some clock but also we’ve got to get a good shot still?

I mean, I think this is all situational. So it’s tough for me to answer in one … you know what I’m saying? It’s more of a general. But, I think it doesn’t take long for — what I’m looking at as a whole, and when I have the ball, I can score off one dribble and create enough separation that it’s a good enough shot. Where it’s a shot I’ve practiced over and over. It’s still a shot the defense doesn’t want to give up. I think the same thing for Jok. He can catch the ball, he can just turn around on one foot and throw it up over two guys and it can go in, or a one-hand or he can float or he can get doubled and throw a lob to AG. Like, I think the quick thinking and the IQ of the team is just very, very high. And it’s, like I said, we play the game within the game as a unit.

The Scarlet Tour was impressive enough, but Doja Cat brought out all the stops for her headlining Coachella 2024 set on Sunday night, April 14, including 21 Savage, ASAP Rocky, and Teezo Touchdown. In fact, Doja was responsible for three of the best surprise performances across all of Coachella’s first weekend at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. According to Uproxx’s Aaron Williams, Doja “showed what a headliner is supposed to be.”

Unfortunately, Doja is very offline right now — only temporarily interrupting her social media hiatus to announce her “MASC” single and promote her Scarlet deluxe album — so she didn’t share an unfiltered self-review like she almost assuredly would have done if she had headlined Coachella before her social media hiatus took hold.

So, you’ll have to settle for a plain ol’ delivery of Doja Cat’s full Coachella 2024 setlist below, as chronicled on setlist.fm.

Doja Cat’s Coachella 2024 Headlining Setlist

1. “ACKNOWLEDGE ME” (live debut)
2. “Shutcho” (with The Joy)
3. “Demons”
4. “Tia Tamera” (shortened)
5. “F*ck the Girls (FTG)
6. “Gun”
7. “OKLOSER” (live debut)
8. “Ouchies”
9. “N.H.I.E.” (with 21 Savage) (live debut)
10. “Attention”
11. “97”
12. “Balut”
13. “Need To Know”
14. “MASC” (with Teezo Touchdown) (live debut)
15. “Streets”
16. “Agora Hills”
17. “Ain’t Shit”
18. “WYM Freestyle”
19. “URRRGE!!!!!!!!!!” (With ASAP Rocky) (live debut)
20. “Paint The Town Red”
21. “Wet Vagina” (encore)

There are only two more episodes of FX’s Shogun left, and it’s already altered the lives of hopeless romantic historians everywhere.

Episode nine is titled “Crimson Sky” and it follows Mariko as she arrives in Osaka for “the fight of her life.” The episode will premiere at 3 a.m. EST on April 16 on Hulu in the U.S. before airing on FX at 10 p.m. EST later that day.

Check out the teaser below:

This is the last episode before the show’s finale. Even though the hit show has been dubbed a “limited series,” many fans are hoping for another season, after this one wraps up in two weeks. We’ve seen it before!

Unfortunately, showrunners Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo told The Hollywood Reporter that they feel the story is done. “We took the story to the end of the book and put a period at the end of that sentence. We love how the book ends; it was one of the reasons why we both knew we wanted to do it — and we ended in exactly that place,” Marks said.

But all hope is not lost: the 1980 miniseries of the same name is currently free to watch on The Internet Archive! Sure, the effects aren’t as cool, but it does have Richard Chamberlain.

In February, Gunna announced The Bittersweet Tour. With the North American trek slated for May and June, there was speculation that Gunna would release an album in the interim.

On Monday morning, April 15, Gunna confirmed everyone’s collective hunch. One Of Wun, his fifth studio album, is “on the way.” While the specific release date has not yet been revealed, a press release details that Gunna “will also be touring in support of his new album this spring,” so it would make sense to assume that it will drop before May 4 — or maybe on May 4 — which marks opening night for his The Bittersweet Tour in Columbus, Ohio. In the meantime, Gunna satiated his fans’ mounting appetite with a video for “Bittersweet.”

Gunna previously released “Bittersweet” and “Prada Dem” featuring Offset as singles in February and March, respectively. Gunna’s last album release was A Gift And A Curse in June 2023.

Gunna’s One Of Wun Album Cover Art

Gunna’s 2024 Tour Dates: The Bittersweet Tour

05/04 — Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center
05/06 — Detroit, MI @ Fox Theatre
05/08 — Chicago, IL @ Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
05/10 — Minneapolis, MN @ The Armory
05/12 — Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
05/16 — Seattle, WA @ WAMU Theater
05/18 — San Francisco, CA @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
05/21 — Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Financial Theatre
05/24 — Irving, TX @ The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
05/25 — Houston, TX @ 713 Music Hall
05/28 — Nashville, TN @ Nashville Municipal Auditorium
05/29 — Charlotte, NC @ Bojangles’ Coliseum
06/01 — Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway
06/02 – Philadelphia, PA @ Roots Picnic Festival
06/06 — Miami, FL @ Kaseya Center
06/09 — Orlando, FL @ Kia Center
06/11 — Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena

Gunna’s The Bittersweet Tour Poster

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

Alongside a massive Super Bowl trailer reveal, the latest Deadpool sequel revealed its official title as Deadpool & Wolverine cementing Hugh Jackman‘s return as a major part of the film. In a new interview with Shawn Levy, the director shared why the film isn’t called Deadpool 3, and it has a whole lot to do with that sweet Wolvie action.

“As far as crafting the Deadpool and Wolverine story, I just felt privileged every day because you’re talking about two massive movie stars in their most iconic roles,” Levy told ScreenRant. “It also gave me an opportunity. It’s the third Deadpool movie, but it’s not Deadpool 3. It’s a different thing that’s very much Deadpool & Wolverine. And it’s not trying to copycat anything from the first two movies. They were awesome, but this is a two-hander character adventure.”

According to Levy, the most important element in the movie is giving audiences a “gnarly” experience that goes far beyond anything fans have seen from both Deadpool and the MCU. In fact, it’s the only MCU movie dropping in 2024, and Levy knows the stakes are high.

“I’ll tell you that the guiding thought in crafting the movie was audience joy,” Levy said. “That was always the North Star. Yeah, it’s going to be gnarly. Yeah, it’s gonna be funny. That’s a given. But we wanted to build a great time at the theater for audiences, and that’s our goal.”

Speaking of a great time at the theater, Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige recently revealed that Deadpool & Wolverine will jump on the popcorn bucket craze. “While some are unintentionally gross, this one will be intentionally gross,” Feige told a CinemaCon crowd last week while debuting a whopping nine minutes from the highly-anticipated sequel.

Deadpool & Wolverine slashes into theaters on July 26, 2024.

(Via ScreenRant)

Remember when everyone thought Taylor Swift was going to announce Reputation (Taylor’s Version) at the 2024 Grammys in February? That would have been swell, but instead, she did something even better: Swift revealed the title and release date of her 11th studio album (and 14th album overall), The Tortured Poets Department. That release date has finally almost arrived.

Here’s everything you need to know about The Tortured Poets Department, including the tracklist and cover art.

Release Date

The Tortured Poets Department is out 4/19 via Republic. Find more information here.

Tracklist

1. “Fortnight” Feat. Post Malone
2. “The Tortured Poets Department”
3. “My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys”
4. “Down Bad”
5. “So Long, London”
6. “But Daddy I Love Him”
7. “Fresh Out The Slammer”
8. “Florida!!!” Feat. Florence + The Machine
9. “Guilty as Sin?”
10. “Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me?”
11. “I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)”
12. “Loml”
13. “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart”
14. “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived”
15. “The Alchemy”
16. “Clara Bow”

With a runtime of 65 minutes, The Tortured Poets Department is tied with Red as Taylor’s second longest album (among non-deluxe editions), behind Speak Now.

Features

Every Taylor Swift album since 2014’s 1989 has featured at least one feature with another band or artist. The Tortured Poets Department has two: Post Malone appears on album opener “Fortnight” (not the video game), while Taylor enlisted Florence + The Machine for “Florida!!!.”

Artwork

Singles

No singles from The Tortured Poets Department have been released in advance of the album coming out.

Tour

The Eras Tour will resume on May 9 at the Paris La Défense Arena in France, hopefully with a dedicated “era” for The Tortured Poets Department. Following months of shows throughout Europe, Taylor will return to North America in October for the (as of now) final dates on the record-breaking tour.

Those stops are:

10/18 — Miami, FL @ Hard Rock Stadium
10/19 — Miami, FL @ Hard Rock Stadium
10/20 — Miami, FL @ Hard Rock Stadium
10/25 — New Orleans, LA @ Caesars Superdome
10/26 — New Orleans, LA @ Caesars Superdome
10/27 — New Orleans, LA @ Caesars Superdome
11/01 — Indianapolis, IN @ Lucas Oil Stadium
11/02 — Indianapolis, IN @ Lucas Oil Stadium
11/03 — Indianapolis, IN @ Lucas Oil Stadium
11/14 — Toronto, ON @ Rogers Centre
11/15 — Toronto, ON @ Rogers Centre
11/16 — Toronto, ON @ Rogers Centre
11/21 — Toronto, ON @ Rogers Centre
11/22 — Toronto, ON @ Rogers Centre
11/23 — Toronto, ON @ Rogers Centre
12/06 — Vancouver, BC @ BC Place
12/07 — Vancouver, BC @ BC Place
12/08 — Vancouver, BC @ BC Place

Uproxx had Aaron Williams and Philip Cosores on the ground at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California for Weekend 1 of Coachella 2024, and among their main takeaways was that the festival had “plenty of surprises.” In a literal sense, Coachella 2024 Weekend 1 staged several surprise guests who easily could have headlined their own sets.

Below, check out the best surprise performances from Coachella 2024 Weekend 1.

Billie Eilish With Lana Del Rey

Friday night’s (April 12) headliner was Lana Del Rey. Billie Eilish made a surprise appearance — although the rumor mill was busy earlier in the day, so it really wasn’t much of a surprise — during the set. They performed Eilish’s “Ocean Eyes” and Del Rey’s “Video Games” together. Eilish showered Del Rey with praise, telling the crowd, “This is the reason for half you b*tches’ existence, including mine.” (Eilish later held a surprise Coachella party of her own, where she debuted music from her forthcoming album, Hit Me Hard And Soft.)

Shakira With Bizarrap

Elsewhere on Friday night, Shakira made a she-wolf entrance during Bizarrap’s set. Of course, she performed their Billboard Hot 100 top-10 hit “BZRP Music Sessions, Vol. 53,” but she really stole the show by announcing her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour.

Becky G, Arcángel With Peso Pluma

Earlier on Friday, Peso Pluma and Arcángel released the video for “PESO COMPLETO.” It was all a set up for Pluma’s Friday night Coachella set, where Arcángel joined him for the live debut of the song. Becky G also joined Pluma to perform “Chanel.”

Olivia Rodrigo With No Doubt

It had been nearly a decade since No Doubt last performed before the iconic Gwen Stefani-led band reunited for Coachella 2024. The nostalgia-jammed set on Saturday night, April 13, hit all the right notes — including several “Just A Girl” callbacks (as chronicled by Billboard.) But one brand-new element for the ska band was inviting Olivia Rodrigo to the stage, where Rodrigo and Stefani sang “Bathwater.”

Juvenile With Jon Batiste

Jon Batiste is among music’s most ubiquitous collaborators, so he presumably had plenty of options when deciding who to bring out during his first-ever Coachella set. He landed on Juvenile and Willow to perform “Back That Azz Up” and “Be Who You Are,” respectively.

Paris Hilton With Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend was a last-minute add to the Coachella 2024 lineup. As a result, we got an unexpected appearance by Paris Hilton at Coachella 2024. That’s hot.

Taylor Swift And Travis Kelce

This one is mostly a joke, but we learned in 2023 that we are not allowed to ignore when Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce appear anywhere. Swift is on her The Eras Tour hiatus, so she did not perform, but she was notably in the crowd (dancing, kissing, singing, swooning) with Kelce for Bleachers and Ice Spice. X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok house unlimited footage.

ASAP Rocky, Charlie Wilson, Donald Glover, And Kali Uchis With Tyler The Creator

As aforementioned, Uproxx’s Aaron Williams was in attendance for Tyler The Creator’s headlining set on Saturday night. Tyler brought out ASAP Rocky (“Who Dat Boy,” “Potato Salad”), Charlie Wilson (“Earfquake”), Donald Glover (“Running Out Of Time”), and Kali Uchis (“See You Again”) throughout his three-act set — and “showed what a headliner is supposed to be.” It’s probably not a coincidence that, shortly thereafter, Glover revealed plans for a final Childish Gambino album.

Kesha With Reneé Rapp

It is truly Reneé Rapp’s world right now. She was introduced by the OG The L Word cast and brought out Kesha for an updated rendition of “Tik Tok” in which they shouted, “F*ck P. Diddy!”

Kesha was also spotted going down a gigantic slide with Paris Hilton, so that’s fun.

Will Smith With J Balvin

J Balvin has been a part of several notable moments in the past — as he shared on Instagram ahead of his set on Sunday, April 14 — so why stop now? The Colombian supernova was joined by Will Smith for an all-out performance of “Men In Black.” It was perfectly camp.

Justin Bieber And Wizkid With Tems

Justin and Hailey Bieber enjoyed Coachella 2024 from the crowd (and from Hailey’s Rhode pop-up) like everybody else — until Bieber (and Wizkid) made a surprise cameo with Tems on Sunday night for “Essence.” (Wizkid’s “Essence” featuring Bieber and Tems peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 2021.) Bieber’s performance felt especially surprising because he has mostly kept a low profile since canceling his Justice World Tour in February 2023 after several postponements due to health concerns.

21 Savage, ASAP Rocky, And Teezo Touchdown With Doja Cat

Weekend 1’s explosive finale came courtesy of Doja Cat on Sunday.

“This year, you brought a full-size Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton to your headlining set,” Uproxx’s Aaron Williams wrote in his review. “Bless you, you demented genius. You are the best.”

Doja also brought out 21 Savage, ASAP Rocky, and Teezo Touchdown. 21 was there to perform “N.H.I.E.,” his track with Doja from his American Dream album, while Rocky (“URRRGE!!!!!!!!!!”) and Teezo (“MASC“) each helped deliver live debuts from Doja’s Scarlet deluxe album.

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

The Phoenix Suns haven’t had the season they hoped in 2023-24, but even with some ups and downs they managed to find their way into a guaranteed playoff spot in the West. The Suns will take on the Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs, which has been a favorable matchup for them as they’ve won all three meetings by double digits with Minnesota this season.

Phoenix built this team around a trio of stars — Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal — and their biggest issue this year has been figuring out who in the rotation beyond those three they can trust. While Beal was the most notable addition of the offseason, it’s been Grayson Allen who has emerged as their most reliable “other” offensively. Allen is shooting a rather ridiculous 46.1 percent from the three-point line, leading the league in that area by a healthy margin this season, and having a serious shooting threat around their star trio is vital to making their offense as dangerous as possible.

Given their cap situation is tight, to say the least, going forward, figuring out how to get and keep quality players on the roster is the biggest challenge for this front office. On Monday, the Suns decided that Allen was too good and too important to allow him to hit free agency this summer, and gave him a 4-year, $70 million extension (with a player option on the final year).

It’s a nice payday for Allen, who clearly valued the opportunity to stay in Phoenix where there’s an extremely comfortable role for him rather than testing the waters of the open market. While it’s possible he could’ve gotten a bit more, the Suns situation is ideal for him and he also had some leverage in extension talks given his importance to them, so he certainly didn’t have to take much of a discount to stick around. This takes at least one concern off the table for the Suns this summer, but they’ll also now be banking on Allen keeping his form for the long haul.