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Grimace is back! Does anyone care? I’ve been wondering this since McDonald’s announced Grimace’s Birthday Meal, the weirdest “celebrity” meal the brand has launched so far (though surely the cheapest, considering it’s their own IP). McDonald’s celebrity meals are a blatant cash grab so it only holds that they would try to engineer a cheaper way to do these.

After years of ignoring them, McDonald’s has been celebrating its old mascots as of late. When they launched a new burger recipe last month, they brought out the Hamburgalar. Now they’re doing Grimace. Is Birdie the Early Bird next? Let’s… hope? I don’t know what to make of McDonald’s move to highlight their mascots but there is no reason to hate the randomness of it all when it comes attached to new menu options and Grimace’s Birthday Meal adds at least one new menu item into the mix, The Grimace Birthday Shake.

The full Grimace Birthday Meal consists of your choice of a Big Mac or 10 Piece McNuggets, fries, and a Grimace Shake. I’m not about to review combos that already exist on McDonald’s menu but this new shake intrigues me. What is that Grimace Shake? Is it just purple or is that a flavor? Is it good? Is it really Grimace’s Birthday? (YES, IT TURNS OUT.) How old is… it? (52??? JESUS, TIME IS COMING FOR US ALL!)?

Anyway, I had a lot of questions, some about the shake, most not. And then McDonald’s went ahead and hit us with this picture:

Consider me sold! I give you the greatest McDonald’s ad I’ve ever seen. Apparently, Grimace is the coolest McDonald’s mascot of all time, it drives a Delorean, it’s license plate reads “Grimace,’ meanwhile Ronald McDonald is a nightmare, the Hamburgalar is a creep, and Birdie The Early Bird is… look I don’t even want to get into how disturbing it is for a bird to sell chicken nuggets, but Grimace? Grimace f*cks!

So let’s taste this thing and hope it’s good because I’m all in on Grimace now. Russ Hanneman would agree.

The Grimace Shake

Tasting Notes:

The Grimace milkshake tastes exactly how it looks, a strong dose of vanilla greets you before evolving into a sweet berry-forward flavor with a rich and refreshing finish. I’m tasting hints of blueberry, grapes, and blackberry. It has a noticeable darkness that is counterbalanced by the vanilla in a really harmonious way.

The closest flavor analogy I could find would be a milkshake version of the best cereal milk you’ve ever tasted. It’s Froot Loops milk mixed with Cap’n Crunches Crunch Berries.

In the pantheon of McDonald’s milkshakes, I’d say this is hands down the best flavor in the lineup. It’s as rich as the chocolate, more exciting than vanilla, and captures the refreshing magic of a strawberry milkshake, with a darker, less intensely sweet, and more enjoyable character.

The Bottom Line:

You read it here and here only: Grimace f*cks! And makes good shakes!

Who said rockers couldn’t have a soft side? Boygenius’ latest tour stop smashed that notion into pieces. During their performance in Wilmington, North Carolina, the trio invited featured opener Bartees Strange on stage for a killer guitar solo after group member Julien Baker.

As the pair performed the group’s 2018 song “Salt In The Wound” off their self-titled debut EP, it was a beautiful meeting of musical worlds. As fans were blown away by the onstage moment, Bartees Strange was also taken back by the moment’s magic, writing on Twitter, “Did this really happen? Or did I dream this? A guitar solo with Julien Baker and Boygenius. I’m a pig in sh*t right now.”

Fans online were blown away by the performance cheering the musicians on in the quote tweets.

One fan wrote, “Bartees Strange and Julien Baker playing the ‘Salt In The Wound’ solo together. Huge day for people who are me.” Another chimed in to say, “Wow. Julien Baker / Bartees Strange is the combo I never knew I needed, but now I can’t live without.”

“Lovely. Just beautiful. And Baker and Bartees crashing on those guitars at the same time? So good,” penned one supporter. Another replied, “A proper rockstar.”

Today (June 16) is the sixth anniversary of Lorde’s sophomore album Melodrama. It was the highly anticipated follow-up to her instant-classic, colossal debut Pure Heroine that put her on the map.

The “Royals” singer is reflecting on the release by posting on her Instagram Story. She shared an encouraging text that Taylor Swift sent her. Unfortunately, it’s cropped so that only parts of the message can be read: “you will always be imagined in my mind in a rowboat with Annie Lennox floating down a river of cool cerebral ethereal dreams but don’t-f*ck-with-me vibes all around you,” it says. “And I don’t think first week record sales singularly define a legacy.” Lorde wrote over the screenshot: “Taylor was very kind and not wrong.”

While Melodrama debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, it actually had a worse first week than its predecessor, Pure Heroine: The former moved 109,000 equivalent album units while the latter had 129,000.

Lorde’s third album Solar Power, however, received the most backlash. She acknowledged it last year, writing in a newsletter, “It’s been a year since I announced the release of Solar Power. I can honestly say it has been the year with the highest highs and lowest lows I think I’ve ever experienced. It took people awhile to get the album — I still get emails every day from people who are just coming around to it now! — and that response was really confounding and at times painful to sit with at first. I learnt a ton about myself and how I’m perceived by making and releasing this album, and I feel significantly more connected and alive in my art practice and life than pretty much ever before. Sounds dry but it’s true!!!”

Trippie Redd’s long been recognized for the grungy sound of his rock-inspired emo-rap, but his latest single, the smooth-grooving “Took My Breath Away” featuring Skye Morales, is a total departure from that grittier style. It has more in common with mid-2000s Quiet Storm radio-inspired hits from the likes of Fabolous and LL Cool J, with an R&B-inflected beat and chorus and a more straightforward, old-school rap delivery that makes use of a set of skills Trippie’s always had but hasn’t always utilized. It sounds a bit like a Wiz Khalifa outtake — a really good one.

Judging from the press release for the single, which also officially announces his next album, A Love Letter To You 5, fans might get to see a lot more of this Trippie Redd in the future, as the release cites a “new chapter” for the Ohio rap-crooner. Trippie’s last A Love Letter To You album, the fourth in the series, came out in 2019 and blended Nirvana-esque guitar strumming with thumping trap drums and plenty of wounded dog howling from Trippie vocally, although there were offerings like the upbeat soft-rocker “‘Til The End Of Time,” as well.

Trippie’s last few albums, though, have leaned more heavily on either the Lex Luger-ish and murky Pi’erre Bourne-inspired video game trap of (the apparently rushed) Mansion Muzik and Trip At Knight. With his latest transformation, Trippie proves he remains one of the most versatile rappers in music today. You can watch his “Took My Breath Away” video up top and stay tuned for more on A Love Letter To You 5.

In an effort to knock Donald Trump out of the Republican primary, “Meatball” Ron DeSantis is set to visit Nevada where the Florida governor will attend the Basque Fry, a key political event that could secure the state for DeSantis. Politically, it’s a solid move for the Florida governor. Comedically, it presented a golden opportunity for Trump’s campaign to hit below the belt.

While the Basque Fry is a proud Nevada tradition that has hosted Republican politicians for decades, the event is centered around the “stewing and frying of lamb testicles,” and you can see where this is going. Trump’s campaign has already signaled that it plans to attack DeSantis’ manhood, his “Tiny D” if you will, which made this low-hanging fruit too good to ignore.

Via NBC News:

A strategist for the front-running Trump, fresh from an arraignment this week in federal court, punched down on DeSantis and rejected the suggestion that he could encroach on Trump’s turf.

“Not surprised Ron DeSantis is looking for a set of balls,” said Chris LaCivita, a senior adviser to Trump’s campaign.

In what could be a critical mistake going into the Republican debates where MAGA voters love seeing Trump insult his opponents, DeSantis’ campaign took the high road and scolded the former president’s campaign. DeSantis’ team did, however, pull from the anti-woke playbook.

“The Trump team’s obsession with men’s genitalia is more perverted than a woke grooming book,” DeSantis communications director Erin Perrine told NBC News.

(Via NBC News)

The United States men’s national team are no strangers to playing completely unhinged games against Mexico. That continued to be the case on Friday night in Las Vegas, as the two sides squared off in a Nations League semifinal that went about as poorly as a game can go. That’s especially true for El Tri, which suffered a convincing, 3-0 loss to the Americans on the evening.

Right as the evening kicked off and with a spot in Sunday’s final against Canada was on the line, a bombshell report came by way of Paul Tenorio of The Athletic that changed the vibe around the evening. In a bit of news that was confirmed on Friday morning, the United States will end its search for Gregg Berhalter’s replacement by bringing Berhalter back as manager. While the team was able to make it out of a difficult group at the World Cup and consistently won CONCACAF knockout competitions under Berhalter, his return comes after he was given the all-clear following an investigation into an incident in 1992 where he kicked his then-girlfriend, Rosalind, to whom he is now married.

The incident came to light after Claudio and Danielle Reyna, the parents of current USMNT midfielder Gio Reyna, contacted higher-ups in U.S. Soccer and brought it up while discussing their frustration over their son’s lack of playing time at the World Cup. The whole thing was beyond messy and highlighted a long-standing problem within the Federation in which everyone knows everyone — Claudio was Gregg’s best man in his wedding to Rosalind, Danielle and Rosalind were college roommates, the conversation where this came to light featured a few of Claudio and Gregg’s old national team teammates who were put into positions of prominence within the Federation — and the news of Berhalter’s return to the team coming right as the ball was kicked to start a game against Mexico was, in retrospect, the only way a story this weird could come to a fitting conclusion.

And then, there was the game, which was as unhinged as any USMNT-Mexico game I have ever seen. It isn’t new for the U.S. to beat El Tri, but the size of the gap that appeared to exist between the two sides was rather shocking. Mexico didn’t have some of its top players — its first-choice attacking trio of Tecatito Corona, Raul Jimenez, and Hirving Lozano all did not play — but even beyond that, the Americans just completely played them off the park at Allegiant Stadium, something that was true even before Christian Pulisic opened the scoring by basically wanting a ball more than anyone on Mexico did.

Halftime came and went, and much was made of how the United States emerged from the locker room early, lined up, and waited for Mexico. We saw why right away, as Weston McKennie picked a pass into space for Timothy Weah, who ran onto it, played a ball across the face of the goal, and set Pulisic up for his second of the night.

Things were chippy before this, and after the Americans got a second, the intensity began ramping up. Fouls by both teams got under the skin of the opponents just that little bit more, and in the 69th minute, things finally boiled over.

Folarin Balogun, the high-profile debutant dual-national who chose the United States over England, tracked back to win the ball from César Montes. This didn’t go over well for the Mexican center back, who took out Balogun for an obvious red card that kicked off a fracas between the two teams. McKennie, one of the emotional leaders of the USMNT, emerged from things with a torn up jersey and likewise received a red for putting his hand around a Mexico player’s throat during the scuffle.

Less than 10 minutes later, with both teams playing down a man, a dual-national who picked the United States over Mexico gave the Americans a third. Sergino Dest ran through the Mexican defense and slid in a perfect pass for Ricardo Pepi, who was originally ruled offside but was given the goal after it was reviewed.

It was right around here that things completely went off the rails. On the pitch, this meant that things boiled over yet again, with a number of chippy fouls that eventually led to Dest and Gerardo Arteaga picking up red cards following some extracurriculars in the 85th minute.

Far more concerning, however, was what happened in the stands, as Mexico supporters loudly used an anti-gay chant in the game’s waning minutes. There have been numerous efforts by CONCACAF to try and stamp it out, but unfortunately, it popped up once again and led to the referee stopping the game. Things resumed in stoppage time, where the referee called for 12 additional minutes, but the chant continued and things were called early.

Next up for the United States is the Nations League final against Canada on Sunday evening. While it should be a tense game — particularly with both Dest and McKennie suspended due to their red cards — our hunch is it will not be anything like Thursday night.

Harrison Ford‘s reputation is that he’s a grump. But that’s not accurate: he’s only a grump about things that he should be grumpy about, like silly questions about Red Hulk. Otherwise, Ford seems like a chill dude who enjoys making movies, flying planes, and spending time with wife Calista Flockhart and his friends, including former co-star (and Oscar winner!) Ke Huy Quan.

The Everything Everywhere All at Once star surprised Ford on the red carpet for the Hollywood premiere of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Look at the smile on Ford’s face when he realizes who’s been jumping behind him. “You’re all grown up,” the Indy actor said with pride as the two exchanged a hug.

Ford also enjoyed saying hello to Kevin Brassard, the Disney World cast member who portrayed Indiana Jones in the “Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios for nearly 30 years. “When I said to him, ‘I’m the man that’s been lucky enough to portray Indiana Jones that you created for the past 34 years,’ he thanked me,” Brassard, who was there alongside fellow Disney stunt performer Michele Waitman, told Disney Parks.

Several decades later, Kevin continues to play a key role as the comical “Director,” and as a trainer, he passes the torch to all the Indiana Jones stunt performers who follow in his carefully choreographed footsteps. “If I could tell myself starting with this show more than 30 years ago about today, first of all, I’d say strap in, it’s gonna be a wild ride. And you’re gonna love it,” Kevin said.

Ford is still waiting to meet his real hero, however: Big Al from the Country Bear Jamboree.

(Via Disney Parks)

The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.

Inconsistency, inconsideration, and indecisiveness. Kiana Ledé names those as her “biggest pet peeves” during an interview with Uproxx ahead of her second album Grudges. Throughout the album’s 17 songs, Ledé journeys through past relationships that left her to deal with those bad qualities. However, it doesn’t stop there. Ledé also lists the grudges she has against men overall and herself as well. “I’m naming my grudges and calling them out so that I can move forward with my life,” she says.

Grudges is Ledé’s first album since her 2020 debut Kiki. That project presented a young adult who sought a fairy tale love story and believed that it could exist for her. Even the album’s low moments amounted to nothing but a brief bump in the road as it concludes with “Separation” and “No Takebacks,” which proved that Lede’s hopes and dreams were reasonable and not the result of youthful naivety. Three years later, things are much different for her. The novelty behind romance has lost its shine a bit and the frustration that she can’t have this thing that so many other people can indulge in is more present than ever.

“As a mature young woman, if I seem to be in a relationship with someone, I’m agreeing to meet in the middle, not compromise, but meet in the middle,” Ledé says. “So when you’re not helping me help us or help you, I can’t have that and I don’t like things that are out of my control. So yes, it frustrates me when I don’t know what someone’s thinking.”

These frustrations make for the foundation of “Irresponsible” and “Gemini Slander” on the album. The former blends anger and disappointment for a message penned directly to an unnamed lover who failed to live up to the adult task of being transparent, mature, and honest in love. “Gemini Slander” places Ledé in the driver’s seat as she walks away from a man who lacks the consistency and decisiveness required for love. Through a listen of Grudges, it’s clear that Ledé’s pains in love weren’t a brief or occasional occurrence. She has enough stories to tell because she’s been through it.

“I went through a breakup actually, during COVID I went through two breakups, so I don’t know if I got the world record for modern relationships you can have in quarantine,” Ledé recalls with a laugh. “Was in both of them, and clearly they did not go so great, but it’s okay. It left me with great music.” Though it wasn’t immediately that Ledé knew these songs would become what we now know as Grudges.

“Maybe [after] a year, a year and a half of making the album we were just like, these are grudges,” she says. “It wasn’t just about me having a grudge about my [exes], it really just created this perfect headline of the grudges I hold against the world and everything that it encompasses.”

Kiana Ledé’s growth from her early days helped her reach this point of vulnerable and sheer honesty about herself and others. Even throughout Grudges, there isn’t a point where she is spiteful toward those who contributed to qualms in love. It comes from a level of accountability that exists in these situations, especially ones that the singer herself had a hand in creating.

“I think as I’ve gotten older, no matter how big my role was, in those relationships, and this way, I can acknowledge and accept the part that I played,” she notes. “Too Far” is a perfect example of this as she acknowledges the effects of crossing the friendship barrier to explore the once-forbidden fruit of intimacy.

Though spite and retaliation were absent, a loss of faith in love, people, and trust took its place for some time as she details on the album’s title track. “I went through so much and was put through so much pain by the people that I thought loved me the most,” she remembers. “When that sort of betrayal happens, it’s really hard to think – like if these people were supposed to love me, how will this person that I met on Tuesday that I think is a good person and could be a good friend, how are they not gonna screw me over?” In naming and eventually freeing her grudges, Kiana also found it necessary to do the same to overcome doubts.

“I realized that you can build a good community by just trying,” she says. “I had to accept that with love of any kind, is going to come pain, and we can’t escape loss. That’s just a part of life.” Here, Ledé speaks of having hope, hope that tomorrow will be better, hope that you’ll receive what you prayed would be eventually, and hope that it’ll all be okay. “My friends and my mom are like you just are hopeful,” she says. “I just hope that people are who they say they are. There’s gonna be that one in a million that really is, so there is some hope and love somewhere.”

Despite all that she goes through on Grudges, this hope comes alive to conclude the album with “Magic.” It plays a role similar to that of “No Takebacks” on Kiki, a record that pours out the hopes for a forever romance, and while “Magic” looks to do the same for Grudges, it does so with a new sense of reality.

I label Ledé as a bit of a hopeless romantic, a title she fully accepts and credits for her ability to hold a grudge so well. However, when Grudges comes to a close, we’re left with the feeling that Ledé wants to be more of a hopeful romantic – optimistic about love’s potential while being a bit more practical about its arrival. Look no further than “Where You Go” with Khalid for evidence of this transition Ledé wants to make in the future. Though that record is certainly romantic on the surface, underneath that is the reminder of an unhealthy codependence that Ledé used to have in a previous relationship.

“I do hold a grudge against my younger self that was codependent with people that I was in a relationship with,” she admits. “It feels so good to be able to rely on someone right? But once it gets a little too codependent, like ‘I go where you go,’ it can be a lot.” Simply put, recognizing your faults is the first step in eventually correcting them.

At the end of the day, Grudges is Ledé’s moment of self-reflection and self-work and the pressures of getting it all done to overcome the past and reach what is destined for you. We see this through the intricate and well-thought-out artwork for Grudges. “The mirrors are a representation of a self-reflection, looking at yourself, and also who you are presently in that moment,” Ledé says. “The cameras are a representation of there being a lot of pressure while you’re looking at yourself, everyone else is looking at you, while you’re just trying to figure it out.” Overall, it’s a “clusterf*ck of sh*t around you” that hones in on the overwhelming feeling of working on yourself as the world watches and expects you to show up and simultaneously meet their own expectations.

In these moments, as Kiana Ledé has proven, the best thing you can do with flaws (and grudges) is to name them, acknowledge them, and set them free. But whatever you do, try your best to not hold on to them.

Grudges is out now via The Heavy Group/Republic Records. Find out more information here.

Being happy led Pharrell Williams to an RIAA diamond-certified single. Now, with Voices Of Fire (stars of a Netflix documentary of the same name), there’s another emotion the musicians are bringing to the forefront. On Pharrell and the choir’s new joint single, “Joy (Unspeakable),” the group shouts from the mountain tops how their deep familial bond is only strengthened by the Lord up above.

No matter how demanding his duties as Louis Vuitton’s new Men’s Creative Director, the producer will always carve time out to create new music. The single serves two purposes: To give glory to God and to further establish Pharrell’s musical legacy across genres with his uncle Bishop Ezekiel Williams (of Faith World Ministries) at the helm.

The song’s chorus leaves all of their worries at God’s feet, as the lyrics read, “Lately, I’ve had a hard time / Ain’t been satisfied when I testify / Wanna make sure I’m short when I make that / Point of view / When them blessings come through (I play villain) / And even though I’m clean / When you do it again, they must understand / The point of view.”

Although Voices Of Fire has been classified as a non-traditional choir, they certainly aren’t lacking in their vocal anointing or overall ministry.

In a statement shared about the track, Bishop Williams shared his proud in the song, saying, “When the dream team finally came together on this song — Pharrell, Voices of Fire, Pastor Larry George, and yours truly — I knew that moment in the studio was one of destiny.”

Listen to the track above.

One of the biggest stories in the NBA in the lead-up to next week’s Draft is the availability of Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal. While there are no indications that Beal wants out of Washington, reports indicate that the Wizards would work with his representation in the event the team decides to rebuild.

Now, Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report brings word that the two sides have taken another step towards a potential move. Haynes reports that the Wizards have given Beal and his representation permission to hold conversations with teams for whom he’s interested in playing.

Via Bleacher Report:

It’s believed Beal will only consider teams with a chance to win.

He owns a rare no-trade clause, giving him authority to veto and approve potential trades, sources say. The Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks are expected to talk with Beal and his agent, Mark Bartelstein, sources say.

Miami and Milwaukee are the two teams that have been most closely linked with a Beal trade ever since news broke that he could be attainable on the trade market. Beal is one of the more unique players in the league, as he holds the NBA’s only no-trade clause and just finished up the first year of a 5-year, $251 million max extension.