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Britney Spears new memoir, The Woman In Me, has been making waves, particularly for the Justin Timberlake sections, which he cannot be thrilled to see. For Halloween, we were bound to see some Britney costumes as fans rallied in support of the eternal pop princess, and the odds of this happening went up with SAG-AFTRA members being disallowed from wearing costumes based upon struck work. Adele could get away with Morticia Addams, but SAG members were told to keep things very generic, like ghosts, or from a realm not depicted by film and TV.

Well, Britney costumes are not off the table, and some of those who didn’t choose to dress like Taylor Swift chose to rally in support of Britney instead. This was good timing, too, considering her recent memoir, and both Paris Hilton and Jessica Alba chose to don looks from the “Toxic” video. Hilton went for the flight attendant look and nailed it.

Whereas Alba went for the video’s nude bodysuit that’s encrusted with all manner of glittery sequins. Really clever tailoring must have prevented any wardrobe malfunctions.

As well, Britney did address her friendship with Paris in the course of The Woman In Me. According to Spears, Paris wasn’t “as wild” as she was made to appear during her paparazzi-followed clubbing days. “So much of America dismissed her as a party girl, but I found her elegant,” Spears wrote. “[T]he way she posed on the red carpet and always had an arched eyebrow when anyone was mean about her.”

Over the weekend, Ice Spice had the internet buzzing after she shared photos of her cute Betty Boop Halloween costume. She wore it to her concert in New Jersey, but perhaps not every fan was impressed. After the show, she posted to her Instagram Story that one gave her an interesting gift: a King James Bible.

“Why a fan gave me a bible after the show,” Ice Spice captioned the picture of the book, complete with a laughing face emoji.

Thankfully, she found it funny — and it very well could have been an ironic bit on behalf of the fan, who had already probably purchased a ticket to her show.

But on the opposite side, it could’ve been a bit of a strange gift, like telling the rapper that she needs to find God. Ice Spice doesn’t shy away from explicit lyrics or from having a good time on stage, yet some people out there (sadly) might not enjoy that.

She also doesn’t need God. After Ice Spice’s recent collaboration with Dunkin Donuts that resulted in a viral drink, she has the power of Ben Affleck on her side. Plus, she played Saturday Night Live a few weeks back. She is already blessed.

Check out Ice Spice’s post of the Bible gift above.

Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.

This week saw Taylor Swift continue expanding her empire at an astronomical rate and Brent Faiyaz have the intestinal fortitude to release an album on the same day as Swift. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.

For more music recommendations, check out our Listen To This section, as well as our Indie Mixtape and Pop Life newsletters.

Taylor Swift — “Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”

If this music release calendar looked a little sparse last week, that’s because most everybody was steering clear of Taylor Swift and her latest re-recorded album, 1989 (Taylor’s Version). Aside from the refreshed original album, there are previously unheard “From The Vault” tracks like “Is It Over Now?,” the subject of which fans think they’ve identified.

Brent Faiyaz — “Outside All Night” Feat. ASAP Rocky and N3WYRKLA

One of the few artists who dared to brave 1989, though, was Brent Faiyaz, who had one of 2022’s best R&B albums with Wasteland. Now he’s back with a quick follow-up in Larger Than Life, which features contributions from guests like Timbaland, Missy Elliott, and ASAP Rocky.

The Kid Laroi — “What Just Happened”

Laroi’s anticipated debut album is coming next month and he continued to hype it up with his latest single, “What Just Happened.” Uproxx’s Alex Gonzalez notes of where Laroi’s at on the song, “He is distraught after an argument with his girlfriend, which took place while he had been drinking, and addresses his shortcomings over a pop-rock-inspired track.”

Mxmtoon — “The Idea Of You (Revisited)”

Mxmtoon is giving herself a second chance on Plum Blossom (Revisited), which features new takes on the songs that helped make Mxmtoon famous. The latest taste of the project is “The Idea Of You (Revisited),” which adds some dimension to the ukulele-led original via a new arrangement with additional instrumentation.

Baby Tate — “Lollipop”

Tate is really trying something different on her new project, Baby Tate Presents – Sexploration: The Musical. As the title suggests, the EP is a narrative-driven project and the visuals are a big part of that, like the “Lollipop” video that depicts a lesbian romance.

Kid Cudi — “Ill What I Bleed”

It’s a bit too early to have a full idea of what the music landscape is going to look like in 2024, but we know Kid Cudi is going to be a part of it, as he’s set to drop Insano next year. In the meantime, last week, he shared “Ill What I Bleed,” a patient, brooding, and psychedelic number.

The Gaslight Anthem — “Spider Bites”

The Gaslight Anthem just released History Books, their first album in nine years and their first since coming back from hiatus. In a 2022 interview with Uproxx, the band’s Brian Fallon explained about ending the band’s hiatus, “During quarantine, I had gotten so bored. You go back to all your biographies and rock ‘n’ roll documentaries you’ve already seen 50 times, and the one thing that I kept thinking to myself is, ‘Man, I really like bands.’ It really is one in a million that you get to do something like this. So, not being able to do anything and having time to think maybe is what allowed it to happen.”

Majid Jordan — “Violet”

OVO favorites Majid Jordan have a new album — their fourth, dubbed Good People — coming in a matter of days. They previewed the project last week with “Violet,” a gorgeous number that builds a smooth and warm vibe for upwards of 7 minutes.

Green Day — “The American Dream Is Killing Me”

After all these years, Gren Day are still chugging along: They just announced a new album, Saviors, for 2024, and while they’d be forgiven for having lost a step at this point in their tenure, they sure don’t sound like they have on lead single “The American Dream Is Killing Me.”

Kevin Abstract — “Running Out”

Brockhampton is no more, but Kevin Abstract is still doing his own thing. He’s got a solo album, Blanket, set for November, and last week, he shared “Running Out,” which lines up with his recent declaration that the new album is inspired by artists like Sunny Day Real Estate, Nirvana, and Modest Mouse.

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

The tributes continue to roll in for Matthew Perry, the Friends star who died this weekend at 54 years old.

Gwyneth Paltrow fondly recalled the “magical summer” before their breakout roles. “I met Matthew Perry in 1993 at the Williamstown Theater Festival in Massachusetts. We were both there for most of the summer doing plays. He was so funny and so sweet and so much fun to be with. We drove out to swim in creeks, had beers in the local college bar, kissed in a field of long grass. It was a magical summer,” she wrote. Paltrow added, “We stayed friends for a while until we drifted apart, but I was always happy to see him when I did.”

Friends creators David Crane and Martha Kauffman called Perry a “brilliant talent. It’s a cliche to say that an actor makes a role their own, but in Matthew’s case, there are no truer words. From the day we first heard him embody the role of Chandler Bing, there was no one else for us.”

Max, the streaming home of Friends, also added a tribute card to Perry at the start of each season of the beloved sitcom. It reads, “In memory of Matthew Perry 1969-2023.”

Flavor Flav is a rap legend thanks to his work in Public Enemy. He’s also a reality TV icon thanks to his multiple shows, including Flavor Of Love. One thing Flav isn’t necessarily known for is his singing abilities, but he put them center stage this weekend to sing the National Anthem at a Milwaukee Bucks game yesterday (October 29).

The NBA team shared a video of the performance on X (formerly Twitter) and it has proven popular, racking up 3.8 million views in the 13 hours since it was uploaded. Not long after he left the court, Flav seemingly anticipated some negative feedback coming his way, as he tweeted, “The anthem was a long time bucket list item,,, that was fun! I can’t live my life worried about what people might say about me. I won’t let that stop me from trying new things and doing things I wanna do. Some people might not like that. But a sure failure is if you stop trying.”

Feedback was mixed: Some took exception to Flav’s vocal performance, while others were happy to see him putting his heart into the performance. One user called on fellow Public Enemy member Chuck D, tweeting, “I bet @MrChuckD is laughing his ass off.” Chuck responded, “Well I’ll put it to you this way .. Flav moved his opinion with The Obamas and VP Harris. I think a bit different on it. My father was a hardcore US Marine. When he passed in 2016 they came out played taps & folded the flag. The context must always be presented upon the action you see. I wrote each of MY songs with deep detailed meaning so you cannot listen to PE with a cavalier EAR and mindset.”

Chuck also recently posted about how Flav has been doing lately, writing, “Some social talk out there on @FlavorFlav about his management. Truth is They cleaned his life up. These past 5 years Period. If thats what it takes to get him away from the bulsht elements so be it. Bulsht street sht that has us RIP at stupid funerals for 50 and unders many times a year now. I don’t GAF if he moves In Taylor Swifts house.. HES 64 many are crumbling younger. He is doing well and best I’ve ever seen him.”

The sad celebrity news of this past weekend was the death of Matthew Perry, the actor best known as one of the stars of Friends. His role as Chandler Bing in the ’90s sitcom helped define pop culture for that decade, so plenty of tributes poured out in honor of the late actor, who was 54 years old. Among them was one from Charlie Puth, who delivered a cover of the classic Friends theme song, “I’ll Be There For You” by The Rembrandts.

Puth performed at Melbourne, Australia’s Margaret Court Arena yesterday (October 29), and he played the song on piano, mostly letting the audience do the singing (and the hand claps, too) in a nice communal moment of fun remembrance.

In an interview with The Guardian earlier this year, The Rembrandts’ Danny Wilde spoke about his complicated relationship with the song, saying, “Once people realized it was us, it killed our cool vibe. We went from doing cool clubs to matinee shows where parents would bring their kids. The song became an albatross ’round our necks and broke up the band for a few years. […] Every time it gets played, there’s a little ‘ker-ching!.’ It’s only a nickel or whatever, but they add up. It put my kids through college and got me a beautiful home. I’m not rich but I’m comfortable. We were snobby about it early on and it messed with our heads. But what a gift it’s been. I might be living on the streets if it wasn’t for that song.”

Check out Puth’s performance above.

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

Last week, Apple announced a special keynote event on October 30 titled “Scary Fast.” It comes one month after Apple held a keynote for their iPhone 15 models and six months since their latest WWDC. One glance at the calendar and a history check and it becomes clear what this keynote could be about. Over the last five years, Apple has held keynote events in October on three occasions — in 2018, 2020, and 2021. The 2018 and 2021 October keynotes were used to announce new MacBooks among other items. The October 2020 keynotes was used to announce new iPhones and the HomePod mini. The following month, a special event was held to announce the M1 chip.

Keeping that in mind, it’s also not out of the ordinary that a keynote event is held a month after a previous one. Apple’s iPhone events are usually in September, so an October event in relation to MacBook and/or a new chip should be expected at this point. For 2023, it appears that something really special is on the way from Apple, and according to various reports, that is exactly what’s happening.

Here’s what we know about the event so far:

Apple Mac Takes Centerstage

On the Apple events page, the company revealed the keynote event will mostly be about the MacBook. The page shows the Apple logo animating into a version of the Apple Mac Finder window.

Scary Fast Is The M3 Chip?

Though the “Scary Fast” tagline is perfect for the Halloween season, it also seemingly alludes to the debut of the M3 chip. Most reports and analysts said M3 chips would not arrive until 2024, but with the announcement of the Scary Fast keynote event, it seems like the chips are on their way. According to Forbes, respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo agrees. “I believe M3 series MacBook Pro will be Oct 30th media event’s focus,” she wrote in a post on X. “I previously predicted a launch this year is unlikely due to limited 4Q23 shipments (less than 400-500k units in total).”

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that there will be three new chips announced at the keynote: the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max.

The arrival of the M3 chip will not be confirmed until the keynote event, so we’ll just have to wait and see if this proves to be true.

New iMac & MacBook Pro

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that a new M3 iMac and a refresh of the high-end MacBook Pro models could be among the new products that debut at the Scary Fast event. A 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro and a 24-inch iMac are reportedly both set to receive the M3 chip in new models. Gurman also noted that the 13-inch MacBook Pro will not receive the M3 chip.

When Is Apple’s ‘Scary Fast’ Keynote Event?

The Scary Fast keynote event will take place on October 30 at 8pm EST/5pm PST, an unusual time for an Apple event. However, it fits with the spooky and scary theme so why not? Another thing that’s unusual to Apple standards is, unlike previous keynotes, this event will not be held in person at its headquarters in Cupertino, California. Instead, it will be an online-only showcase.

How To Watch Apple’s ‘Scary Fast’ Keynote Event?

The Scary Fast keynote will be available to watch on Apple’s website on October 30 at 8pm EST/5pm PST.

After trailing by 10 at the half, the Rockets battled back to take a fourth quarter lead over the Warriors on Sunday night and it seemed like we might be headed for an exciting finish in Houston.

In a way we were, but not in the manner the home team was hoping for. Shortly after Houston took their first lead of the second half, the Warriors rattled off a 15-2 run that included four straight threes for Steph Curry, who had just 10 points in the game prior to his fourth quarter explosion.

The last of those threes was Steph at his absolute most diabolical, as he put poor Dillon Brooks in the blender multiple times, as Curry had the Rockets lead perimeter defender jumping all over the place trying to stay in front of him, as he twice tried to jump a screen Steph rejected and then flailed wildly on a Curry pump fake.

The reaction from Steph was priceless, as he ran down the court doing his best Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone — and held it well into the start of the next defensive possession. Just generally, there are few players opponents enjoy getting the best of more than Brooks, and he found himself trying to deal with Steph at the worst possible time — when he’s in the midst of an absolute heater. It was quite the show for the Houston crowd, and while it wasn’t what all of the Rockets fans in the building were hoping for when Houston took a fourth quarter lead, it was highly entertaining.

Last week, Apple officially released iOS 17.1 for iPhone users. That update brought on new features like a new collection of ringtones and a favorites section in the Apple Music app. It also fixed issues regarding power consumption with the Apple Watch and radiation that had Apple in some trouble with France. Just a day after iOS 17.1 was released, Apple went ahead and shared iOS 17.2 beta 1 with developers and it gave a preview of some of the features that are on the way for iOS 17.2.

Here are the features and changes you should expect to see on your iPhone when the update for iOS 17.2 is officially released.

Beta 1

The Journal App Is Here

One of the biggest announcements for iOS 17 was a new Journal app that would allow users to safely and privately journal their thoughts and even receive prompts to do so. Apple called it an “all-new way to appreciate life’s moments and preserve your memories.” However, when iOS 17 and iOS 17.1 were released, the Journal app was nowhere to be found. Rumor had it that the app would be available on iOS 17.2 and thanks to iOS 17.2 beta 1, that has been confirmed as true.

Apple Music Updates

The Apple Music app received a couple of updates. The first is the addition of collaborative playlists which allows users to invite their friends and others to collaborate on playlists to add new songs, change the order, change the name, and more. The second is an addition to the “Favorite” feature brought on in iOS 17.1. Now, iOS 17.2 beta 1 brings on a “Favorites” playlist that automatically adds favorited songs into it.

Apple Music & Focus Filters Update

There is now an option to exclude any song played when a focus filter is activated from your Apple Music listening history and ensure that your data is not affected. Apple says a user can “choose if music played will influence recommendations and mixes, appear in Recently Played, or be shown to others on Apple Music.”

Stickers & Emojis As Message Reactions

With iOS 17.2 beta 1, you can now use stickers and emojis to react to any message. To do this, long-press a message and press the “add sticker” button. Like the Journal app, this first was announced at June’s WWDC, but not made available until iOS 17.2 beta 1.

Messages In iCloud Storage Update

The previous “Messages” section in the iCloud section within the Settings app has been renamed to “Messages in iCloud.” The total amount of storage that messages take up, the number of messages in iCloud, how long messages are kept before they are erased, and the time of the most recent sync can now be seen in this section. You can also trigger an iCloud sync in this section as well.

Memoji Update

There is now a new “body” section for Memoji that lets users customize their Memoji’s wait, bust, shoulders, and arms.

Contact Poster Update

A new option for rainbow-colored text for a user’s name can now be seen when setting up a Contact Poster in the Contacts app.

Contact Key Verification

Nearly a year after it was announced, Apple has finally brought Contact Key Verification to the iMessage app. Contact Key Verification allows iMessage users to “further verify that they are messaging only with the people they intend.” Apple has said that the feature is mainly designed for those who may deal with “concerted threats to their online accounts.” This includes celebrities, journalists, and members of the government. It also ensures that there is no “man in the middle” snooping in on an iMessage conversation.

Translate Option On Action Button

This update is specifically for iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max users with the action button on their devices. They can now assign their action button to a new “translate” option. When this is assigned and the button is pressed, the iPhone will automatically begin a voice-to-text translation between two languages. This update was introduced with the iPhone 15 Pro models, but was not available until now.

New Weather & Clock App Widgets

There are three new widgets for the Weather app. A details widget shows the chance of precipitation, UV index, wind, and more. A daily forecast widget shows the current weather conditions and the daily forecast for a specific location. Lastly, a sunrise and sunset widget shows the information tied to the upcoming sunrise and sunset in a specific location.

As for the Clock app widget, there’s a new “clock digital” widget that shows the current time in a digital format rather than analog.

Apple TV App Update

Apple removed the separate tabs for movies and TV shows in the store section of the Apple TV app on both the iPhone and iPad. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurmna, Apple reportedly has plans to remove the option to purchase TV shows and movies from the iTunes app in connection to a future redesign of the Apple TV app. There is no plan on when that redesign will take effect.

Emergency Alerts Update

In the Notifications section of the Settings app, there is a new option in the Emergency Alerts portion. This option is titled “Local Awareness” and it can be turned on or off. Apple says that Local Awareness will “your approximate location to improve the timeliness, accuracy, and reliability of emergency alerts.”

News App Update

A new update in the News app provides support for Live Activities in relation to news events like elections.

Book Animation Update

The Books app has a new “fast fade” option for page-turning animation. The icon for the option that allowed users to scroll through content quickly was also removed.

AirPlay Update

In the Settings app under General, there is a new option that appears in the AirPlay & Handoff section. There, users will see a toggle for an “AirPlay Receiver” setting that will allow the upcoming Apple Vision Pro headset to stream and share content to an iPhone.

The Oklahoma City Thunder suffered their first loss of the young NBA season on Sunday afternoon, as the defending champs came to town and thumped them in a 128-95 Nuggets win.

Nikola Jokic led the way as he so often does with 28 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists in his 30 minutes of action, while Chet Holmgren served as one of the few bright spots for the Thunder in the opposite frontcourt, scoring 19 points to lead OKC in scoring to continue his strong start to his first season on the floor. After the game, Jokic was asked about his young counterpart and offered him some praise as well as some advice that only Jokic would deliver, via Bennett Durando of the Denver Post.

“He’s a really talented guy, but this is his first year. He’s still learning everything: the game, how quick it is, where is (he at) an advantage, where is (he at) a disadvantage,” Jokic said. “I think he needs experience. I think he needs to be a little bit fatter, to be honest. But yes, he has a talent that is unique.”

Holmgren, who missed all of his rookie season with a foot injury, came into this season with a little bit more weight after a year in an NBA weight program, but the 7’1 big man is still quite thin. Jokic’s best advice is to maybe hit the buffet line as much as he’s hitting the free throw line, while also joking to Durando that when he was a rookie he didn’t have that problem.

I do like that Jokic isn’t talking about Chet getting in the weight room, just noting that he needs more beef in general. Jokic spent his early career going the other way with his weight, dropping pounds to go from a pudgy but talented center into being an unstoppable perennial MVP candidate. Holmgren has a tantalizing skillset of his own, but as Sunday showed, there’s still some matchups he needs to bolster his size to deal with and Jokic might have some tips on how to up that calorie count.