GoneTrending

Even Lil Nas X’s commitment to his “Christian era” couldn’t wash him of his former troll ways. But his recent online post might’ve been justified. As the rapper claims to be studying theology (but probably isn’t), he’s already begun to implement one Christ-like principle, and streaming giant Spotify learned this the hard way.

On January 12, the platform took to its official X (formerly Twitter) page to shade Lil Nas X’s new single, “J Christ.” “LNX is back with more mid-music [shrugging emoji],” read the note about the track. Well, Lil Nas X got wind of the diss and decided to embody the Biblical lesson, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Lil Nas X leapt into troll mode without missing a beat, replying to their message with one of his own. Using the viral clip from when an inmate attacked a Nevada judge, Lil Nas X wrote: “Me at the Spotify headquarters tomorrow.”

Some of his followers pointed out that the online exchange was probably something both Spotify and Nas were in on (the streaming platform typically doesn’t launch unsolicited social media attacks on popular artists), and it was likely just part of the single rollout. “Lol, people thinking this Spotify tweet wasn’t planned [crying laughing emoji],” wrote one user.

Others (like most people on the internet) just sat back and enjoyed the messy interaction. Given Lil Nas X’s history of outrage marketing, whether it was staged or not, this is all a win in his eyes.

You can watch Lil Nas X’s official video for “J Christ” here.

Perhaps Jared Leto’s mind was still at that infamous 2020 silent meditation retreat, or perhaps he was simply going full Leto (i.e. enormously method while preparing for a role), but at least he wasn’t holding up a production while refusing to pee like an able-bodied person because “It’s Morbin’ Time.” Who knows? Maybe Leto was pretending to play an unsatisfied customer in the third season of The Bear, but Chef Carmy will probably not play that game.

Comedian Mae Martin, while co-hosting their Handsome podcast (alongside Tig Notaro and Fortune Feamster), put Leto on blast for another alleged stunt. This apparently took place at an event where Leto was emitting “the vibe of a sort of cult leader” at the same table as Mae, “[a]nd he was in his shades and his long hair. And it was like, there was this amazing chef, like a Michelin star chef. And the food was amazing.” Then, as relayed by Entertainment Weekly, Martin described how Leto was sorta like, “Nah” to the chef:

“So the chef comes out at one point and is like, ‘I hope you’re enjoying the meal’ and Jared Leto goes ‘Uh, I’m not going to eat it,’ and we’re all like ‘Oh, okay, yeah.’” Leto explained his rationale: “he goes, ‘Yeah, cuz I got food poisoning at one of these things once,’” Martin recalled, “and the chef is like, ‘Oh sir, I assure you you would not get food poisoning from my food.’”

At that point, Leto decided to whip out an energy bar with no subtlety to be seen. “And [Leto] reaches in his jacket and he pulls out a power bar, like an energy bar, and he’s like ‘That’s why I always bring these,’” Martin revealed. “And he opens it and starts eating it in front of the chef.”

Is the guy who (according to Aubrey Plaza) “took that head off way too soon” at it again? Perhaps so, but the lesson here is this: don’t ever invite Jared Leto to your dinner party. Maybe let him know about another silent retreat instead.

(Via EW)

2024 has truly arrived. New music is finally starting to flow, and one of the artists leading the charge this week is Ariana Grande, who just dropped her new single, “Yes, And?.” She quickly followed that up with a video for the song, which is out now.

The video starts with a bunch of Grande’s haters congregating in one place, chatting about her perceived shortcomings. The group then turns up to a mysterious presentation, which turns out to be Grande and a bunch of dancers putting on a performance of the song, a performance that ends up changing some minds.

The song, which was inspired by the Madonna classic “Vogue,” sees Grande exuding confidence and self-reliance, as she sings in the chorus, “‘Yes, and?’ / Say that sh*t with your chest, and / Be your own f*ckin’ best friend / Say that sh*t with your chest / Keep moving like, ‘What’s next?’ / ‘Yes, and?’”

When the track was released, fans also took notice of this lyric: “My face is sitting, I don’t need no disguise / Don’t comment on my body, do not reply / Your business is yours and mine is mine / Why do you care so much whose **** I ride? / Why?”

At the end of 2023, Grande reflected on the year, which she called “one of the most transformative, most challenging, and yet happiest and most special years” of her life. She also got fans excited by noting, “i cannot wait for next year.”

Watch the “Yes, And?” video above.

Have you seen Jeremy Allen White’s Calvin Klein underwear photos? They’re hard to miss (but stop showing them to his co-workers, especially Ayo Edebiri). If you’re visually impaired, however, the Royal National Institute of Blind People has you covered.

“We’ve written image descriptions to help blind and partially sighted people decide which thirst trap is their favourite,” @RNIB wrote on X this week, along with two photos of The Bear actor in his skivvies.

The alt text for one photo reads, “A film photo of Jeremy Allen White standing in front of a red sofa on a rooftop in New York City, wearing only white Calvin Klein briefs. His curly hair and lean, toned physique is silhouetted against the pale evening sky. He stands with his arms by his side, smiling off-camera.”

The other: “A film photo of Jeremy Allen White standing behind scaffolding on a rooftop in New York city, wearing only white Calvin Klein boxers. His curly hair, blowing in the wind, and his toned, lean physique are lit up by the sun of golden hour. He has one hand on a rung of scaffolding at shoulder height and the other on a rung above his head, as if he’s about to climb. There’s a look of intense concentration on his face.”

That is the most accurate description of Allen White I’ve ever read.

(Via the Daily Mail)

Kevin Hart almost hosted the Oscars back in 2019 but was forced to step down after homophobic remarks he made on stage and on social media caused an outcry. Since then, Hart has refused to host the ceremony, and he’s now warning other comics to steer clear of the event.

“Whatever little hope you had, I want to destroy it right now,” Hart recently told Sky News while promoting his new Netflix movie Lift. “Those gigs aren’t good gigs for comics. It’s no shot to the Oscars, no shot to the Globes or anything else. Those just aren’t comedy-friendly environments anymore.”

While Hart is clearly disillusioned by the notion of comics hosting award ceremonies, he does have tremendous respect for the ones who pulled it off:

“Shout out to those that have cracked the code and done it right early on, you know, the Chris Rock’s of the world, the Billy Crystal’s of the world, the girls we’ve had like Tina Fey, Amy Poehler. Ricky Gervais. There’s a lot of people that understand that if you’re not an industry comic, meaning a comic that has the relationships of all [the guests], then those rooms are very cold.”

Hart also had sympathy for Jo Koy, who got raked over the coals for his Golden Globe performance particularly for cracking a joke about Taylor Swift.

“It’s too much pressure on the idea of a comic and what’s jokes and not jokes,” Hart said about working award crowds. “So, it’s tough.”

(Via Sky News)

Before Steven and Ian get into this week’s episode, they had to hash out a longer-than-usual Sportscast about their respective football teams (the Packers and the Eagles) making the playoffs and the absolutely insane and hateful video Stephen A. Smith dropped about Jason Whitlock this week. Sports media in general is melting down this year, and the guys can’t get enough. After that, they revisit their predictions made at the beginning of last year about 2023, and check to see how right (or wrong) they were.

Then it’s on to a new fantasy albums draft for the first quarter of 2024. Who landed the just announced Waxahatchee record, sure to be one of the year’s most acclaimed? Who pulled the jazz record with mainstream appeal that critics are guaranteed to love? Did anyone dare draft the new Scott Stapp record ironically? Let’s find out.

Finally, the guys follow up on Steven’s column this week taking an early look at the contenders for album of the decade from the first 40 percent of the 2020s. This is not a conversation about personal favorites — it’s wild speculation on critical consensus based on what music writers have embraced so far.

In Recommendation Corner, Ian goes for the hardcore band Infant Island while Steven plugs the forthcoming album (due in March) from Rosali.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 171 here and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

Usher is currently preparing for one of the biggest performances of his storied career: the upcoming Super Bowl Halftime Show. (It looks like he’s even cut sugar and alcohol from his diet to make sure his body is as ready as possible for the big day.) The Super Bowl is now just under a month away, as kickoff is set for February 11. Ahead of then, Usher has hyped up his performance with a new teaser video.

The video starts with a gospel choir singing, “Peace up, A-Town down,” before the rest of the clip is soundtracked by Usher, Ludacris, and Lil Jon’s 2004 hit “Yeah!.” From there, we’re treated to various clips from throughout the years, of either Usher or other people enjoying him and/or “Yeah!.” The video ends with the tagline, “One performance. 30 years in the making.”

Pay attention and you’ll spot appearances from LeBron James, J Balvin, and Jung Kook. Usher worked with Balvin last year, teaming up with him and DJ Khaled on “Dientes.” A couple months later, he linked up with Jung Kook for a “Standing Next To You” remix. LeBron, meanwhile, was pumped last year when he heard that Usher had landed the coveted halftime gig.

Check out the video above.

After a quiet end of 2023 and start of 2024, the music industry is officially back. There were a ton of big releases today (January 12), from Lil Nas X, Kali Uchis, 21 Savage, Kid Cudi, and of course, Ariana Grande. She returned hours ago with her new single, “Yes, And?,” a dance-ready bop that sees Grande as self-empowered as ever.

There’s one lyric in particular that has Grande fans completely besides themselves.

Towards the end of the song, Grande sings, “My face is sitting, I don’t need no disguise / Don’t comment on my body, do not reply / Your business is yours and mine is mine / Why do you care so much whose **** I ride? / Why?”

On that asterisked word, Grande takes a pause and doesn’t say anything, but it doesn’t take too much thinking to understand that’s she went the explicit route to talk about the focus the public puts on her romantic life.

Grande was one of the top trending topics on X (formerly Twitter) after the song’s release, and a lot of tweets are about that aforementioned lyric. As one user summarized the reactions, “ariana grande just gagged the entire planet.”

Check out some more “Yes, And?” reactions below and listen to the new song above.

We are just weeks away from Cole Bennett’s much-anticipated debut compilation album All Is Yellow, which is set to drop this month under DefJam, as well as Bennett’s iconic Lyrical Lemonade brand. Ahead of the new album, Lil Yachty, Gus Dapperton, and Joey Badass have shared “Fallout,” a heartbreaking new collab.

On “Fallout,” the three artists grapple with the mixed emotions that come with the end of a once-passionate love. Dapperton opens the song with forlorn vocals, singing on the chorus, “Go ahead and play with my money, my money / Baby, it’s so f*ckin’ funny to me, I get up / Kinda thought of you and me in the end / I’d do it over, and over, and over, and over again.”

Yachty pops in, appearing to try to win his former lover back.

“We came too far to still be feeling empty / Nothing I won’t do for you, don’t tempt me / I’d put it all on the line just to show you / Money I blow through, placеs I go to / Just to get back to me and the old you,” he rap-sings, bargaining for a return to who he and his ex once were.

Badass provides a conclusion to the story, noting that he will reunite with his former flame in another universe.

“My love is defo, so we in this sh*t forever / And again in the next life, bounded by blood,” he raps

You can listen to “Fallout” above.

All Is Yellow is out 1/26 via DefJam. Find more information here.

Ariana Grande is back. Tonight (January 12), the pop hitmaker has shared her first single in almost for years. Her latest, “Yes, And?” serves as the lead single from her upcoming seventh studio album, which is rumored to be titled Eternal Sunshine.

On “Yes And?,” Grande brushes off negativity from haters, and grooves to a nostalgic new beat. No two of Grande’s lead singles sound alike, and on “Yes And?,” Grande throws it back to an early ’90s pop sound, channeling her idol, Madonna, reigning in a new era of self-love.

“Yes, and? / Say that sh*t with your chest, and / Be your own f*ckin’ best friend / Say that sh*t with your chest / Keep moving like, What’s next? Yes, and?,” she sings on the song’s chorus.

She doubles down on the self-affirmation, noting she’s not taking anyone else’s opinions into consideration

“Don’t comment on my body, do not reply / Your business is yours and mine is mine,” she sings on the song’s bridge.

2024 is already gearing up to be a busy year for Grande. On top of releasing her hotly-anticipated album, Grande will star in the film adaptation of Wicked, which is set to premiere this November.

Fans can look forward to seeing the video for “Yes And?” at 10 a.m. EST.

In the meantime, you can listen to ‘Yes And?’ above.