GoneTrending

A Star Wars show from the creator of Russian Doll, what a concept!

Disney+ has released the first trailer for The Acolyte. Created by Leslye Headland (Russian Doll, underrated romantic-comedy Sleeping with Other People), the series follows “an investigation into a shocking crime spree [that] pits a respected Jedi Master against a dangerous warrior from his past. As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems.” You can watch the trailer above.

The cast includes Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto (Jason from The Good Place!), Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss.

The Acolyte is set roughly a century before the events of the earliest Star Wars movie, The Phantom Menace, which “stands out because it is the earliest in the Star Wars timeline that we have ever been in live-action,” Headland told the Dagobah Dispatch podcast. “We are toward the end of the High Republic, leading into George’s prequels, so we are looking at a time period where the Jedi are at the height of their power.” I bet everything’s going to work out just fine for ol’ Ki-Adi-Mundi (whoops).

The Acolyte premieres on Disney Plus on June 4.

2024: a big year for Anya Taylor-Joy and sand. Following her surprise appearance in Dune: Part Two, the actress plays young Furiosa in director George Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, a prequel to the masterpiece that is Mad Max: Fury Road. “As a child, my world was forever changed,” she says in the action-packed trailer above. “My mother was magnificent. Then he took it all from me.”

“He” is Warlord Dementus, played by Chris Hemsworth with some truly stunning facial hair (and a teddy bear around his neck). The trailer ends with a showdown between Furiosa and Dementus. Whoever wins, we, uh, also win.

Taylor-Joy replaced Charlize Theron as Furiosa, but there’s no animosity between the two actresses. “She’s been so classy and kind in letting me go and do it,” The Menu star said. “But I feel very lucky that, from the second I read the script, I just knew this person. I felt so fiercely protective over Furiosa, and fiercely protective of her interests

Here’s the official plot synopsis:

As the world fell, young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of a great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus. Sweeping through the Wasteland, they come across the Citadel presided over by The Immortan Joe. While the two Tyrants war for dominance, Furiosa must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga opens on May 24.

Beyoncé’s anticipated new album Cowboy Carter is coming right up, with a release set for March 29. Beyoncé has amped up the hype even more by sharing the glorious album cover art today (March 19).

The image sees Beyoncé sitting sideways atop a white horse. Beyoncé faces the camera, decked out in a red, white, and blue outfit, complete with a “Cowboy Carter” sash, a white cowboy hat, and flowing white hair that matches the horse’s mane. Bey is also holding the reigns in one hand and an American flag in the other, completing the patriotic, Western look.

On Instagram, Beyoncé also shared a lengthy caption alongside the image. The post addresses “Texas Hold ‘Em” going No. 1 on the country chart, Beyoncé’s self-education about country music, criticisms she has faced, and even teased some “surprises.” It reads in full:

“Today marks the 10-day countdown until the release of act ii. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of the supporters of TEXAS HOLD ‘EM and 16 CARRIAGES. I feel honored to be the first Black woman with the number one single on the Hot Country Songs chart. That would not have happened without the outpouring of support from each and every one of you. My hope is that years from now, the mention of an artist’s race, as it relates to releasing genres of music, will be irrelevant.

This album has been over five years in the making. It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed…and it was very clear that I wasn’t. But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive. It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while also amplifying the voices of some of the people who have dedicated so much of their lives educating on our musical history.

The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me. act ii is a result of challenging myself, and taking my time to bend and blend genres together to create this body of work.

I have a few surprises on the album, and have collaborated with some brilliant artists who I deeply respect. I hope that you can hear my heart and soul, and all the love and passion that I poured into every detail and every sound.

I focused on this album as a continuation of RENAISSANCE…I hope this music is an experience, creating another journey where you can close your eyes, start from the beginning and never stop.

This ain’t a Country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album. This is act ii COWBOY CARTER, and I am proud to share it with y’all!”

Find the post below.

Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter Album Cover Artwork

Cowboy Carter is out 3/29 via Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia Records. Find more information here.

There’s a new sheriff in town, and holy crap, it’s Godzilla.

The Oscar winner and King of the Monsters was recently made the Chief of Police in Tokyo as part of an effort to promote… traffic safety? Ok, sure. Despite the fact that the massive kaiju is world famous for stopping on cars like ants beneath his giant lizard feet, Godzilla was presented with a sash as he accepted his duty to clean up the streets. At least for one day. Godzilla apparently got pretty bored by the end and bailed.

Via Comic Book:

The wild event brought Godzilla to a local police station, and press greeted the kaiju as he was appointed chief. The monster was then gifted a sash denoting his new title, and Godzilla hit the streets from there. With police at his side, Chief Godzilla met the people he’d be serving, and the media affair was nothing short of surreal.

Of course, Godzilla ended up leaving his position in the force by the end of day. It turns out the kaiju didn’t want to stay on as chief.

While making Godzilla a cop seems like an innocuous and random event that was apparently over as quickly as it began, the reactions have been mixed on social media where people either praised Godzilla bringing some much-needed energy (blasts) to law enforcement or resented the powerful thunder lizard being used as an oppressive tool for The Man. You can see some of the reactions that people are having over at ComicBook.

(Via 7 News Australia, Comic Book, Shanghai Daily on Twitter)

Four years, at least two relationships, and a global pandemic. That’s just a few of the things that Mahalia went through between the release of her debut and sophomore albums. At its end, the world received IRL (In Real Life). The 13-song album, released in the summer of 2023, boldly declared the new independence that now rules her life. IRL bears the honesty that you can only appreciate from an artist putting their art into the world to be perceived and reacted to. Mahalia accepts the value of vulnerability and employs it in her music to let her audience know that her f*ck-ups are just like ours. Fame doesn’t make it any easier or better and the task of recovering from them is just as tall.

St. Patrick’s Day marked not only a national holiday that injects more green (and alcohol) into a room than a Boston Celtics game at TD Garden, but also the New York stop for Mahalia’s In Real Life North American Tour. On stage at Manhattan’s Irving Plaza, Mahalia joked about using the holiday to her advantage. “It’s St. Patrick’s Day so half of you are drunk anyway,” she said joking about the comfort she has in detailing her f*ck-ups through a number of the songs she performed. Before that came the promise to perform records from IRL and her 2019 debut Love & Compromise rather than producing a setlist that leans heavily on the most recent body of work as artists tend to do on a tour that follows an album.

The In Real Life Tour proves that Mahalia is an entertainer by all standards. Her stellar live vocals and choice of songs would’ve made for a great show by themselves, but the addition of her charisma and cheeky commentary with the audience added to the night by offering a wave of comfort rarely felt at concerts. Think of the energy that’s felt during a kickback with friends, except this time it’s a sold-out audience at Irving Plaza. Where artists who truly put on a show may use dancers as companions to their performance to captivate an audience, Mahalia opted for a simpler element: humor. She introduced songs with personal anecdotes told with a comedic spin that effortlessly won the audience over. It added more context and flair to her performances and left the crowd wanting to hear more from Mahalia – in terms of both her music and her stories.

Before singing “Plastic Plants,” Mahalia recalled a moment when her father was left to console a crying young Mahalia after they both watched High School Musical because she was sure she’d “never find a husband like Troy Bolton.” The memory also came after she admitted that America’s “f*cked up movies” about love have ironically inspired a number of her records. Later on in the night, she crowned herself a romantic and unproblematic girl. She then theorized that in order to be unproblematic, you must first be problematic, a conclusion that earned a laugh from the crowd moments before she worked into a glimmering performance of “Letter To Ur Ex.” Pairing her problematic theory with “Letter To Ur Ex” was perfect as the song is one Mahalia wrote after a fight between her and her partner sparked by the latter receiving a text from their ex. “You think you know all about me, huh?” Mahalia sings on the record. “You’ve never been me, but I’ve been you, girl.” Like Mahalia said, to be unproblematic, you must first be problematic.

With that being said, it wasn’t only jokes for Mahalia at Irving Plaza. A performance of “Isn’t It Strange?” is introduced with its backstory of Mahalia’s early struggles with finding a middle ground in her artistry between her small city roots in her hometown of Leister and her big city experience with her current time in Los Angeles. She tells the audience about creative struggles at one point in her career and how “In My Bag” helped her get out of it before singing it. She later confesses to being cheated on at 17 and how she wrongfully believed she could hurdle its effects. It led to a rendition of “Cheat” which was accompanied by the admission that being cheated on brought on more damage than she initially believed, leaving her to find a way to recover from the traumatic experience. This honesty seemed to be the theme of the night as Mahalia’s opener, Montreal singer Alicia Creti, also shined through her set with a story of heartbreak and self-discovery supported by songs from her recently released Self/Less EP. By the end of the night, through stories of tragedy and comedy, both Mahalia and Alicia allowed the audience to appreciate them more both for their music and for the humans that created them simply by being vulnerable with their fans.

The storytelling element, and the charisma that came with it, are really what stuck with me by the end of her performance at Irving Plaza. There were no doubts about Mahalia’s live singing abilities, and despite that, she continuously earned roars from the crowd as she belted out the lyrics to records like “Do Not Disturb” and “Cheat.” The applause was just as loud as she performed fan favorites like “Grateful,” “Terms & Conditions,” and “I Wish I Missed My Ex.” Mahalia was honest, bold, and fun for her New York stop on the In Real Life North American Tour. Her latest era produced a singer more comfortable in her skin, her past downfalls, and a story that isn’t the prettiest from start to finish. It was a joy to watch the artist who combined those things in a way that benefitted her the most and made for a night to remember.

IRL is out now via Atlantic Records. Find out more information here.

After teasing it on social media yesterday, Lollapalooza officially unveiled their 2024 lineup — and it does not disappoint.

SZA, Blink-182, Tyler The Creator, The Killers, Future & Metro Boomin, Hozier, Stray Kids, Melanie Martinez, and Skrillex will be headlining throughout the four-day event. Other performers not to miss this year include Deftones, Tate McRae, Laufey, Conan Gray, Reneé Rapp, Lizzy McAlpine, Victoria Monét, and many more on the page-long lineup.

If you’re a fan looking to attend, here’s what to know about securing tickets to this year’s stacked festival.

How To Buy Tickets For Lollapalooza 2024

Fans can currently register on Lollapalooza’s website for a chance to participate in the presale, which will open this Thursday, March 21 at 10 a.m. CT. At noon that same day, the presale will close and tickets will go on sale to the general public.

The festival is offering four different ticket tiers. General Admission includes standard festival access and starts at $385. GA+ starts at $715 and includes access to two lounges with private bathrooms. VIP starts at $1565, with golf cart transportation and exclusive viewing areas at the stages. Finally, Platinum tickets start at $4500, with complimentary food and drink and more perks.

More information about Lollapalooza 2024, including about the lineup and buying tickets, can be found here.

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

Sometimes the best new R&B can be hard to find, but there are plenty of great rhythm-and-blues tunes to get into if you have the time to sift through the hundreds of newly released songs every week. So that R&B heads can focus on listening to what they love in its true form, we’ll be offering a digest of the best new R&B songs that fans of the genre should hear every Friday.

Since the last update of this weekly R&B column, we’ve received plenty of music and news from the genre’s artists.

PartyNextDoor finally returned with an official release date for PartyNextDoor 4 and dropped his new single “Real Woman.” Halle Bailey extended her solo era with her new song “In Your Hands.” Kali Uchis had her first child with Don Toliver and SZA teased another track from her upcoming Lana project. She also joined Flo Milli and Cardi for a remix of “Never Lose Me” and signed on as a headliner for Glastonbury 2024.

Elmiene — “Crystal Tears”

Fresh off a breakout 2023 year that featured the release of two EPs, El-Mean and Marking My Time, British singer Elmiene is back to start a new chapter in his promising career. He returns with “Crystal Tears,” a record that he uses to hint at this new era, with production that references 2000s R&B.

Zae France — “Better Love”

Currently on the road as an opener for Eric Bellinger’s The Rebirth Tour, North Carolina-born, Connecticut-bred singer Zae France drops off his first lead single of the year with “Better Love.” The new song from France places gritty vocals from him over thumping contemporary R&B production as he expounds on the realization that he and an ex-lover are better together than apart.

Odeal — “Gaslight 101”

With a tour set to kick off in May, Odeal delivers another song that fans can potentially perform live on the upcoming run of shows. “Gaslight 101” recreates a conversation between Odeal and an old lover he mistreated. After ghosting them for a few months, Odeal returns to them not with an apology, but a plan to guilt trip them back into his arms. It’s classic gaslighting as he turns the tables on his ex-lover, hoping they at least share the blame for their relationship’s end.

Dee Gatti — “Unsure”

Forth Worth singer Dee Gatti’s latest single is probably her most honest and brutal release to date. “Unsure” is the cut-throat confession that her interest in her current partner has disappeared. She admits to dropping hints about her depleted feelings, but all of them have gone unnoticed leaving her to leave her partner with this brutal message.

Rhyan Douglas — Circles

Rising Canadian folk-soul singer Rhyan Douglas steps out with his debut EP Circles. Through nine tracks, the Brampton native paints on canvas with splatters of soft coos amid acoustic guitars serve as accents to his vast production. “Circles is a tribute to my childhood and my continuous growth and evolution into the man I’m probably supposed to be,” Douglas said in a press release. “Loss, money, religion, ladies, bowling, and of course my dreams – and the subjects my attention demands of me, both bad and good.”

VEDO — “Spinn On You”

VEDO shows no signs of slowing down. Following a 2023 year that delivered two albums — Mood Swings and 7, VEDO gets right back to work in 2024 with his new single “Spinn On You.” Soundtracked by a thumping bass and a flirty strums of a guitar, VEDO puts the spotlight on a stripper and promises to shower her with cash so long as she entertains with a dance he loves.

Samm Henshaw — “Troubled Ones”

Nearly two years after releasing his debut album Untidy Soul, British Nigerian singer Samm Henshaw launched the latest era of his career with his October 2023 single “Jumoke.” That era continues with his latest single, “Troubled Ones.” The song captures Henshaw coping with uncertainty in his life as he, in certain moments, is frozen in place without a clue of what his next move should be. “Reality is bittersweet,” he sings. “So scared of what my eyes can’t see.”

Elijah Blake — “Ghostbuster”

With his upcoming album Elijah. on the way, Elijah Blake sets sail toward the album with “Ghostbuster.” The record finds him a bit removed from a breakup and still struggling to move on from it. New experiences with romance are lackluster in his opinion as they fail to bring the same feeling he felt with his former partner. Frustrated at his struggles, Blake voices his desire to get his ex out of his head in order to give himself a fair chance with love.

MaKenzie & TA Thomas — “Maybe”

Kentucky singer MaKenzie has been building a name for herself through covers of her favorite artists on TikTok, earning praise from artists like Bebe Rexha, Teddy Swims, Yebba Smith, and more. Now she’s back with a new song of her own and she got some help with it. “Maybe” arrives with a feature from rising R&B singer TA Thomas and it blends their strong vocals to create a powerful record that shines with pop flair over R&B production.

Yo Trane — “Addiction”

Gabonese-French singer Yo Trane shares his third single of the year with “Addiction.” The gloomy and slow-burning record finds Yo Trane searching for answers as he continuously returns to a lover he knows isn’t good for him. Despite this realization, he craves more from this woman who offers him a love that he’s become addicted to, so for now, their relationship lives to see another day.

Kallitechnis — “Quiet Type” Feat. DonSmith

Building towards a project with recent singles “Soft Life,” “Vibes: Immaculate,” and “Kaleidoscope Love,” Canadian singer Kallitechnis returns with a fourth single. “Quiet Type” calls on Harlem rapper for a record dedicated to the introverted lovers of the world. Kallitechnis details being misunderstood and feeling invalidated in a loving relationship. “There’s often a type of heartbreak that comes with not being validated emotionally by the people we trust and that could make us want to shut down and become quiet,” she said about the song in an Instagram post.

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

LeBron James and J.J. Redick released the first episode of their new podcast, “Mind the Game”, on Tuesday morning, and the first episode offers a glimpse at the kind of conversation the two will have on their weekly show.

The first episode dives into greatness and what each thinks are the defining characteristics of great players, with LeBron highlighting an understanding of the history of the game and those that came before you, a deep love for the game, and a high basketball IQ. The last part of that is what they dive most into, breaking down what’s a learned trait and what’s just a natural gift when it comes to processing the game. They also discuss one of Redick’s additions, “competitive stamina,” highlighting James’ recent performance leading the Lakers back from a big deficit to beat the Clippers.

As the two note, it’s something very different about today’s NBA compared to just 15 years ago, when a 15 to 20-point lead in the fourth quarter meant the benches got emptied for a long time. As Redick pointed out at the 30:00 mark of the podcast, you just can’t do that anymore, and LeBron explained exactly when that changed: when Stephen Curry entered the NBA.

“You can’t do that anymore,” LeBron said. “You know why? Because I believe in ‘08, ’09 or whenever that little lightskinned f**ker came in the league that’s in Golden State, he changed that whole narrative. He did. He singlehandedly changed the no lead is safe. It’s like Pat Mahomes right now — Love that guy by the way. Love Steph.”

That led to Redick pointing out that he’s not sure anyone has ever been more influential on the game of basketball than Steph, pointing out the game’s fundamentally changed largely due to how he plays the game. LeBron agreed, while also making sure to highlight Allen Iverson as another figure that influenced the game in a massive way, and how the two (with very different styles of play) were similar in the way they drew in fans, particularly kids.

“When it comes to influence, since I’ve been watching the game, the most influence on the game – and we all know what Mike did for the game – Steph and Allen Iverson are the two biggest influential guys on our game since I’ve been watching and covering,” LeBron said. “One, they’re 6’3, 6’4 if you wanna look on the back of the basketball card — you’re always a lot taller on the back of the basketball card. Allen Iverson and Steph, they were just so relatable and kids felt like they could be them. They were guys that was not always counted on. They were small in stature. And they just defied the odds. So you got AI who was like, unbelievable crossover, cornrows and arm sleeve – everybody wears and arm sleeve now because of Allen Iverson. And he’s going in the trenches, laying it up over bigs. And now you’ve got Steph who’s shooting it over the Empire State Building. It’s like, those two are the two most influential when you say the game and how they changed the game and the kids, those are two guys you wanted to watch every night.”

It’s very cool hearing LeBron talk about other players greatness. While I’m sure Jordan and Kobe Bryant have arguments to be on the short list as well, his point about how kids in particular gravitated towards Iverson and Curry is absolutely correct. Seeing someone smaller dominate in such a unique way on the court does feel more attainable for kids than becoming a LeBron-type who is physically dominant, and we’ve seen the explosion of guards that shoot from distance across basketball since Curry — and kids with handles like Iverson in the years after A.I.

Indie breakout star d4vd has announced a headlining tour for the summer named after his latest single “My House Is Not A Home.” The My House Is Not A Home Tour will begin Wednesday, June 5 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and run through Tuesday, July 16 in Berlin, including performances at festivals like Bonnaroo, Boston Calling, Governors Ball, and Lollapalooza. The tour follows his run as SZA’s SOS Tour opener in 2023.

Tickets go on sale this Friday, March 22nd at 10AM local time, with presales beginning Wednesday, March 20. You can find more information at d4vd.io/tour. See the full schedule of tour dates below.

7/25 — Boston, MA @ Boston Calling Music Festival
6/05 — Toronto, ON @ The Danforth Music Hall
6/07 — Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
6/08 — Queens, NY @ The Governors Ball Music Festival 2024
6/12 — Washington, DC @ 9 –30 Club
6/14 — Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre
6/15 — Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
6/18 — Austin, TX @ Emo’s Austin
6/19 — Dallas, TX @ Southside Music Hall
6/21 — Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
6/22 — Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
6/25 — San Francisco, CA @ Regency Ballroom
6/27 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theatre
6/28 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theatre
7/07 — London, UK @ KOKO
7/09 — Dublin, IE @ The Academy
7/10 — Manchester, UK @ Academy 2
7/11 — Paris, FR @ Le Trabendo
7/13 — Cologne, DE @ GLORIA
7/14 — Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg
7/16 — Berlin, DE @ Metropol
8/01-04 — Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza Festival

It’s been several decades since the last Golden Age of Romcoms, which helped actors like Julia Roberts and Meg Ryan become bonafide stars, so we have been long overdue for a romcom renaissance. Sydney Sweeney is hard at work trying to revive the genre, and she’s doing pretty well so far!

Despite her brief upcoming pivot to Scream Queen, Sweeney says that the success of 2023’s Anyone But You has been opening doors for her and costar Glen Powell (who are NOT dating, by the way). Sweeney starred alongside Powell in the flick, which hit theaters in December and ended up making over $170 million worldwide, which is a rare accomplishment for a rom-com.

Sweeney told Variety that the success of the film has increased the interest in romcoms. “There are so many romantic comedy scripts that are getting sent to me now! And I would love to do another one. It just has to be the right script,” she explained.

Could it be the sequel to Anyone But You, perhaps titled Anyone But 2? Maybe! Powell and Sweeney had some undeniable chemistry (though they often did try to deny it) and Sweeney confirmed that they are looking for their next project. “We’re fielding multiple scripts a week. It’s very exciting,” she confirmed.

Sweeney also explained that she aspires to work more on the production side of things in the future. “I want to be as involved in the process for any project moving forward that I possibly can. I love being in the room to be able to problem-solve, and come up with ideas,” she said, adding that the process of Madame Web was much different than Anyone But You. “On Madame Web, it was so hard not being able to be as involved as I love being. And I felt very free with Anyone But You and Immaculate being able to have that.” It shouldn’t be too surprising that she loves being hands-on, especially after she literally built her own car.

(Via Variety)