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Back in April, Aespa announced their third mini album, My World, would be hitting streaming platforms soon. The project’s lead single, “Welcome To My World,” is officially here. The track, which features their AI-generated character nævis, is an ethereal blend of pop music bliss.

Just as in the song’s official video, the members Karina, Giselle, Winter, and Ningning delicately maneuver through the serene meadows; on the track, each vocalist takes their turn building up their angelic harmonies.

As the musicians sing the song’s chorus, “Hey, baby, welcome to my world / It’s a new world / You and me / Welcome to my world,” listeners are ever so carefully transported to a smoothing bed of sonic relaxation. While other artists have pushed back against incorporating AI technology into music, Aespa’s “Welcome To My World” shows just how innovative it can be. There’s no wonder why the group has quickly risen to the top of the K-pop world.

However, even after finding success earlier in their career, the immense pressure doesn’t weigh down the quartet. Whether it be the continuous need to meet the mark set by their previous release or milestone moments such as their forthcoming historic headlining appearance at Governors Ball, Aespa is up for the challenge.

“It puts good pressure on us to want to continue to grow as artists and performers with everything we do,” the ladies told Uproxx’s Lai Frances for a recent cover story. “Our seniors are always cheering us on, which makes it easy for us to feel confident about giving our best effort with each performance.”

Watch the video for “Welcome To My World” above.

My World is out 5/8 via SM/Warner. Find more information here.

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

Brent Faiyaz’s last two albums, F*ck The World and Wasteland, are getting a joint tour. Kicking off in July, the aptly titled F*ck The World, It’s A Wasteland Tour will see the Maryland singer traverse not only the United States, hitting such events as Broccoli City Festival, Central Park Summerstage, and Sol Blume along the way, but also Europe and the UK through the end of the year.

In addition to announcing the tour, he also shared the video for his single “Rolling Stone” from Wasteland, which you can check out above. Tickets for the tour go on sale Friday, May 5. See the dates below and get more info here.

7/16 – Washington, DC @ Broccoli City Festival
7/25 – Denver, CO @ The Mission Ballroom
7/27 – Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed
8/1 – Toronto, ON @ History
8/6 – New York, NY @ Central Park Summerstage
8/9 – Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway
8/12 – Miami, FL @ James L. Knight Center
8/16 – Orlando, FL @ Dr. Phillips Center
8/19 – Sacramento, CA @ Sol Blume
8/22 – New Orleans, LA @ Orpheum Theater
8/23 – Houston, TX @ 713 Music Hall
8/24 – Dallas, TX @ The Factory Deep Ellum
8/31 – San Francisco, CA @ The Masonic
9/1 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
9/3 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
9/15 – Los Angeles, CA @ YouTube Theater
10/16 – Leeds, UK @ O2 Academy Leeds
10/19 – Manchester, UK @ O2 Apollo
10/21 – Glasgow, UK @ O2 Academy Glasgow
10/23 – Birmingham, UK @ O2 Academy
10/25 – London, UK @ Eventim Apollo
11/1 – Utrecht, Netherlands @ TivoliVredenburg
11/3 – Stockholm, Sweden @ Banankompaniet
11/5 – Copenhagen, Denmark @ Vega
11/8 – Oslo, Norway @ Rockefeller Music Hall
11/10 – Berlin, Germany @ Tempodrom
11/12 – Milan, Italy @ Fabrique
11/14 – Barcelona, Spain @ Razzmatazz
11/17 – Cologne, Germany @ Palladium
11/19 – Paris, France @ Elysee Montmartre

It’s not an exaggeration to say that draft papers in Russia are now tantamount to a death sentence. Vladimir Putin has been heavily recruiting at prisons as well as on the non-felon front, in one effort even sending 180,000 Russians fleeing from a 300,000-strong draft. After Putin’s initial February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, reports indicated that he quickly lost half his army within months. Later, we heard that soldiers were incensed and felt that they were being turned into hamburger meat on the battlefield, and each discussion of subsequent drafts has sparked panic in Russia.

There’s good reason for this reaction. According to White House figures, Russian casualties (including those Russian troops killed or wounded) have stacked up to 100,000 in Ukraine, and that’s not a total amount. That’s “in just the past five months,” and that number includes 20,000 deaths, which also source from within the private army that’s supplementing Russian troops. Via the New York Times, this is grim stuff:

John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said the figure included 20,000 Russian fighters who had been killed in action. About half of those were mercenaries for the Wagner group, the paramilitary force founded by Yevgeny V. Prigozhin that recruited heavily from Russian prisons to bolster its ranks and carry out a brutal campaign around the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. The claims could not be independently verified.

Naturally, Putin will not let this report sit without comment. The Guardian has published the official Kremlin response, which is a claim that the U.S. dreamed up these figures, which were “plucked from thin air,” according to the Russian president’s regime. There does not appear to be a counterpoint offered by Russia, only that they do not agree. It would be hard, however, to disagree with video footage showing Russian recruits being told to bring tampons because that’s the only treatment that they’ll receive on the battlefield.

(Via New York Times & The Guardian)

Ahead of their new album arriving later this month, the Jonas Brothers have unveiled a massive Five Albums, One Night arena and stadium tour that will span North America starting this summer.

After doing a brief Broadway residency, some surprise Los Angeles shows, and announcing two nights at NYC’s Yankee Stadium, which will double as the tour’s opening nights, the band will also be playing cities from August to mid-October.

Fans can register for Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan program for a special code until May 6, and then the presale will be held on May 9. Citi cardholders and Verizon users also have the opportunity to access tickets through company presales starting on May 10.

More information can be found here. Continue scrolling for the complete list of Jonas Brothers tour dates.

08/12 — Bronx, NY @ Yankee Stadium
08/13 — Bronx, NY @ Yankee Stadium
08/15 — Boston, MA @ TD Garden
08/17 — Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
08/19 — Toronto, ON @ Rogers Centre
08/22 — Indianapolis, IN @ Gainbridge Fieldhouse
08/24 — Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
08/25 — Chicago, IL @ Wrigley Field
08/27 — St Louis, MO @ Enterprise Center
08/30 — Arlington, TX @ Globe Life Field
09/01 — Saint Paul, MN @ Minnesota State Fair
09/03 — Austin, TX @ Moody Center
09/06 — Phoenix, AZ @ Footprint Center
09/08 — Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena
09/09 — Los Angeles, CA @ Dodger Stadium
09/11 — Sacramento, CA @ Golden 1 Center
09/14 — Denver, CO @ Ball Arena
09/16 — Omaha, NE @ CHI Health Center
09/18 — Cleveland, OH @ Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
09/21 — Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
09/22 — Baltimore, MD @ CFG Bank Arena
09/23 — Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena
09/25 — Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena
09/26 — Lexington, KY @ Rupp Arena
09/28 — Raleigh, NC @ PNC Arena
09/30 — Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Center
10/01 — Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena
10/03 — Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center
10/05 — San Antonio, TX @ AT&T Center
10/07 — Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
10/09 — Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
10/10 — Columbia, SC @ Colonial Life Arena
10/12 — Tampa, FL @ Amalie Arena
10/13 — Orlando, FL @ Amway Center
10/14 — Miami, FL @ Kaseya Center

Dillon Brooks‘ time as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies is reportedly going to come to an end. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Brooks and the Grizzlies discussed the unrestricted free agent’s future in an exit meeting following their opening round loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, where Brooks was informed that “he will not be brought back under any circumstances.”

The news comes one day after Marc Stein reported that the belief around the league was that the Grizzlies weren’t interested in bringing Brooks back. Per Charania, the conversations the two sides had during their meeting revolved around the need for something new.

After his tumultuous end to the season, Brooks was told about the Grizzlies‘ decision to move on in exit meetings with team officials in recent days, those sources said. Memphis and Brooks discussed in exit meetings that it’s best for both sides to have a fresh start, sources added.

A second-round pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets, Brooks was traded on draft night to Houston and has spent his entire professional career as a member of the Grizzlies. While he is considered one of the peskiest defenders in the NBA, Brooks has been a mercurial player on offense, gaining a reputation for being an inefficient chucker. This season, Brooks averaged 14.3 points per game while shooting 39.6 percent from the field.

He’s garnered plenty of attention over the years for the way he’s carried himself on and off the court, with Draymond Green saying earlier this season that Memphis won’t be able to win anything until he’s no longer a member of the team. He was under an especially bright spotlight during the series against the Lakers, as he took it upon himself to challenge LeBron James on and off the court. One particular quote from Brooks in which he said he “pokes bears” led to a post from James on Instagram after the series.

Padma Lakshmi was “freaking out” when she got the invitation to appear in Sports Illustrated‘s swimsuit issue.

“I would have killed for it when I was in my 20s and a model because it is the holy grail and they never even called me for anything like this. And I really thought that ship had passed, to be honest,” the Top Chef host explained on Monday’s pre-writers strike episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live. “So when I got the call now a few months ago, I was like, ‘You’re f*cking sh*tting me, really?’ I did not believe the news on the phone. And then I started freaking out.”

Lakshmi’s first thought? “I gotta go to the gym. Oh my god!” Luckily, she continued, “I was already hitting the gym pretty hard because it had been just a month since I got home from filming Top Chef.” Exercise is an essential part of the gig, considering how much the hosts have to eat every episode.

As for how many calories a day the Top Chef host consumes during filming, it’s likely more than fans think.”First half of the season when we have a lot of contestants, eight or nine thousand calories a day, easily,” Lakshmi shared.

The Rock weeps.

Lakshmi previously estimated that her daily calorie count while filming Top Chef was in the 7,000-8,000 range. How to explain the extra 1,000 calories? Sounds like someone is sneaking in a Popeye’s Chicken Sandwich between breakfast and lunch. No? Just me? Well, she should try it.

You can watch the Lakshmi’s Kimmel interview above.

(Via ET Online)

Meghan Trainor isn’t afraid to overshare parts of her life during interviews. Just last week, the “Mother” singer divulged that she sometimes has to use ice after what she called “nightmare” sex with her “big boy” husband Daryl Sabara due to a medical condition. Now, during her appearance on Bravo’s late-night show Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, the musician let split a bit of tea from her past that could have remained a secret.

When a fan video conferencing into the show asked if the singer’s viral on-stage moment with “Marvin Gaye” collaborator Charlie Puth ended there, Trainor confessed that it started before then.

“Yeah, I’ll give you tea,” she said. “The day we recorded ‘Marvin Gaye,’ the very romantic song, there was booze, and we made out that night in the studio.”

The songwriter quickly added, “And then never again.” As the host chimed in to say it must have been the heat of the moment. Trainer agreed, adding, “We were in the moment. The song got to me. The liquor! It was great.”

The pair played up on the whimsy nature of the song in its official music video. So maybe, their steamy kiss at the 2015 American Music Awards was just a part of the bit.

Watch the full clip above.

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

Each new season of The Boys has managed to push the envelope in wild and unpredictable ways, and according to Antony Starr, Season 4 is no different. While attending the LA premiere for his latest role in Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant, Starr teased the highly anticipated season by admitting that even he’s surprised by how The Boys manages to mine new depths of depravity.

“[The series] somehow gets weirder and weirder and weirder,” Starr told Variety. “There has to be a ceiling, but we can’t seem to find it.”

According to the Homelander actor, Season 4 involves a moment that literally made him question what he’s doing with his life:

Starr can’t reveal spoilers about the season, but did recall shooting one scene: “I was looking at the person I was opposite, and I said, ‘What are we doing? I can’t believe this! I could have done anything else with my life, but here I am doing this?’ It was truly the most bizarre thing I’ve ever done.”

This exchange isn’t the first time that Starr joked about the craziness that Season 4 has in store. After revealing that filming had wrapped for the season, a fan joked on Twitter that he might need therapy when it drops, prompting Starr to reply, “Me too.”

As for when fans can finally watch the new season of The Boys, a release date hasn’t been set yet. Given production just wrapped in mid-April, Season 4 is most likely looking at a late 2023/early 2024 premiere.

The Boys Seasons 1-3 are available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

(Via Variety)

The Writer’s Guild of America officially went on strike Tuesday morning after negotiations between the group and major studios like Netflix broke down over the weekend. What this means for the industry as a whole depends on how long it takes the two sides to come to an agreement. For now, late-night talk shows and sketch comedy series like Saturday Night Live are set to go dark, while weekly network offerings might need to cut their seasons short. There could also be a pause in production on the streaming side of things as well as on the big screen, with in-the-works movies and shows grinding to a halt now that writers won’t be on-hand to make needed improvements to scripts while filming continues.

Hollywood hasn’t seen a writer’s strike in 15 years and, in that time, its business model has changed drastically. With the invention of streaming and on-demand services, a pivot to shorter theatrical windows, and the recent introduction of artificial intelligence, we’re still not sure when this strike might be resolved or what the consequences for film and television might be. What we do know is this: the WGA has been transparent about its demands for better pay and guaranteed work for its members while the major studios have been slow in coming to the negotiating table on some basic asks.

Chief among them, better pay.

As with the last strike, writers are seeking an increase in pay now that the streaming model has gutted residuals — money writers used to receive when a show was re-aired on TV — across the board. According to the WGA, thanks to platforms like HBO Max and Disney+, median writer pay has dropped 4% (23% when adjusted for inflation) with most writers “working at a minimum, regardless of experience” while top studio execs continue to grow their million dollar salaries.

“The companies have used the transition to streaming to cut writer pay and separate writing from production, worsening working conditions for series writers at all levels,” the WGA said in a bulletin sent to members. Not only has streaming lessened the number of episodes for a show per season making it difficult for writers to maintain a sustainable source of income, but streaming has also made it impossible for writers to make money from shows and episodes that used to be part of a network’s re-run schedule.

The WGA is also hoping to curb the trend of “mini-rooms” or shows that operate with just one or two writers/producers who script out multiple episodes, sometimes before a series is officially picked up or in between seasons in order to save on costs. These writers put huge amounts of effort and time into “breaking” a show — plotting its characters, storylines, etc — only to make minimum pay. It’s notoriously difficult for newer writers to make it into these “mini-rooms” too, which has led to fewer and fewer new voices entering the streaming space.

The last writer’s strike lasted months and cost Hollywood millions in lost scripts, production freezes, and more. Here’s hoping the two sides can come back to the negotiating table before that happens again.

(Via NBC News)

The Denver Nuggets are two wins away from making the Western Conference Finals. On Monday night, Denver played host to the Phoenix Suns and managed to take care of business, 97-87, to take a 2-0 series lead before things shift to Phoenix on Friday night.

As is oftentimes the case when things are going well for the Nuggets, Nikola Jokic has been outrageous to start the series. Jokic is averaging 31.5 points on 51 percent shooting from the field with 17.5 rebounds and five assists through the first two games, and unlike the last time these two teams played in the postseason and Deandre Ayton was able to hold his own against the two-time NBA MVP, Jokic has been in total control of things when he’s been on the floor.

After his performance in Game 2, Charles Barkley made it a point to praise Jokic and implore everyone to appreciate what he’s able to do on the basketball court.

“In Game 1, it was [Christian] Braun and Jamal Murray, and today, it was [Kentavious Caldwell-Pope],” Barkley said. “But I just gotta tell people, man, let’s enjoy greatness watching this Joker play. I mean, he ain’t flashy, he seems like a great person — I don’t know him, I don’t think I’ve ever met him in person before. But man, just appreciate greatness like we appreciated Steph yesterday and things like that. I just wanna say, man, I love this kid, watching him play basketball.”

The Inside the NBA guys have never been shy about praising the players they especially like, and it’s always cool to see them take a step back and show love to the guys that leave them in awe.