Chlöe is celebrating the recent release of her debut solo album In Pieces with an exciting tour. It kicked off earlier this month in Chicago, where she didn’t hesitate to confront critics: “F*ck what the f*ck anybody wanna f*ckin’ say,” she said onstage.
In Atlanta on Sunday night (April 23), the audience was in for a special treat. To spice up her performance, the “How Does It Feel” singer brought out her sister and fellow Chloe X Halle member Halle Bailey, who’s been in the spotlight as well for her role in The Little Mermaid. The Bailey siblings performed their 2020 songs “Ungodly Hour” and “Do It” together, looking happier than ever.
Chlöe shared a grateful post to social media about the “magical” night.
“ATL love yall so much,” she wrote on Instagram. “I got to reunite with my best friend on stage and even have my own national day now (Chloe Day April 22nd) each night on tour has been so magical.”
Tucker Carlson isn’t exactly beloved by all, and last year, he got into some beef with Maren Morris. On the Fox News program Tucker Carlson Tonight last September, a photo of Morris was shown and labeled “Lunatic Country Music Person.” She was unbothered, though, sharing a screenshot of it and tweeting, “#NewProfilePic.”
After the news broke, Morris took to her Instagram Story. In one post, she shared the “lunatic country music person” screenshot and wrote, “Happy Monday, MotherTucker.” Furthermore, the photo was scored with an appropriate song choice: Taylor Swift’s Midnights highlight “Karma.”
Morris then shared a graphic that reads, “The only Tuckers allowed are the drag queens.”
@marenmorris/Instagram@marenmorris/Instagram
Speaking of drag queens: Earlier this year, Morris appeared on RuPaul’s Drag Race and used some airtime to speak about the LGBTQ+ community, saying, “Coming from country music and its relationship with LGBTQ+ members, I just want to say I’m sorry. I love you guys for making me feel like a brave voice in country music. I just want to thank you guys for inspiring me. I’m gonna cry, I need to go.”
The new album by The National is accompanied by a familiar narrative: They almost broke up. Seriously. For real this time. As Matt Berninger recently told The Washington Post, the forthcoming First Two Pages Of Frankenstein (due Friday) “kind of saved our band. I mean, every single one of our records saved our band in one way or another. But this one, the record really came to the rescue.”
I’m sure Berninger and his bandmates will understand if long-time National loyalists take quotes like this with a grain (or a metric ton) of salt. As even he admits, every National album seems to put them on the precipice of extinction. Let’s do a brief review: Alligator was the “we need to get our act together or else” record. Boxer was the “can we capitalize on our burgeoning indie fame” record. High Violet was the “can we get to the next level and achieve actual fame” record. Trouble Will Find Me was the “we almost broke up trying to make a ‘let’s try to not break up this time’ record” record. Sleep Well Beast was the “we may live on separate continents now but can we regroup at Aaron’s upstate New York studio without falling apart” record.
Which brings us to 2019’s I Am Easy To Find, an album that really did sound like a band that might be coming apart. On their previous efforts, The National managed to move forward without losing their innate “stoic on the outside/manic and drunk on the inside” National-ness. But on I Am Easy To Find, a certain restlessness with their sound and persona was perceptible among these Ohio transplants. It’s not only that Berninger ceded a good share of the vocals to backing female singers, sacrificing one of The National’s defining sonic attributes. The songs themselves reiterated the low-key electro-folk balladry of Beast, with a handful of twitchy rockers added for the sake of balance, in a rather perfunctory matter.
As the 2010s unfolded, The National embraced an open-door policy of collaboration with outsiders like Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon and filmmaker Mike Mills, a move positioned as artistic evolution that pushed their music in new and unpredictable directions. But in reality, it had the opposite effect — I Am Easy To Find was missing something at its center, and that something was a band identity rooted in the fundamental chemistry of the five core members. For the first time, The National sounded like guests on their own album.
After that, the pandemic (of course) came down, which accelerated Aaron Dessner’s creativity as a musical soothsayer for pop superstars (Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran) and handicapped Berninger’s muse with a bad case of writer’s block. Though I wonder if this would have happened anyway, even without the forced work stoppage, given that The National’s interest in being The National seemed to wane during the Easy To Find era.
Cut to the summer of 2022. When I saw The National on their West Coast tour, I was delighted to discover that they were re-energized and sounding like, well, a rock band again. Especially exciting was the Dessner brothers’ guitar interplay, which elevated the band beyond the “mournful pianos and skittering electronic beats” aesthetic that has marked their recent work. And then there was the mighty Bryan Devendorf, one of the great modern indie-rock drummers, whose talents have been perversely under-utilized on recent National albums.
The setlist included several unreleased new songs, and they came across like (pretty great) “back to basics” numbers. Not quite a full return to the after-hours Brooklyn bar music of Alligator, perhaps, but certainly a credible evocation of the surging arena-indie of High Violet and Trouble Will Find Me. Bryce Dessner told me that the band was working on their new record during off-hours on the tour, and incorporating live versions of the new material into the proper album.
This was (pardon the lame pun) music to my ears. And, at its best, First Two Pages Of Frankenstein lives up to that original promise. This is the most National-like that The National has sounded in years. I count at least two home runs here, and several doubles and triples. Those good parts are so good that I wish The National had fully committed to the concept of being themselves on this almost-great record.
First, the smashes: When I first heard “Tropic Morning News” last summer, it felt like an instant-classic National song. And the album version — culled from a widely bootlegged performance in Hamburg — sticks the landing. The rhythm section glides with subtle virtuosity. The guitars lock in on a hypnotic pulse that slow-burns toward a satisfying peak in the outro. And Berninger delivers his patented blend of funny and distraught non sequiturs with pained panache. (Here’s a question for the band’s subreddit: Is the line about how “you can stop and start an athlete’s heart” a Damar Hamlin reference?)
The album’s other undisputed champ is “Eucalyptus,” an end-of-a-relationship dirge that escalates from wry indifference to genuine rage, with Berninger howling over a lurching guitar riff lifted from a rehearsal recording lodged at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, N.Y. Berninger doesn’t quite revive his “Mr. November” scream here, but “Eucalyptus” does re-assert the National’s gift for setting up an orderly musical framework and then slowly ripping to shreds over the course of four minutes.
The other highlights on Frankenstein — “New Order T-Shirt,” “Grease In Your Hair,” “Alien,” “Ice Machines” — don’t deliver the emotional highs of the two strongest tracks. But they do re-focus The National on their most essential attribute, which is the sound of these lifelong friends and brothers playing together with minimal extra baggage. As is the case with all great rock bands, the simplest approach — plug in, stand in a circle, block out the outside world — typically is the most winning. And on First Two Pages Of Frankenstein, The National have rediscovered this.
Not that they can (or will) ever completely close the door on their celebrity friends. Long-time collaborator Sufjan Stevens appears on the album-opening “Once Upon A Poolside,” while the ubiquitous Phoebe Bridgers checks in on two pleasant soundalike piano songs, “This Isn’t Helping” and “Your Mind Is Not Your Friend.” And then there is The National’s most famous pal of all, the one who has single-handedly turned our nation’s reigning dad-rock standard-bearers into a Gen Z institution. Taylor Swift’s contribution to “The Alcott,” a vignette about two lovers at a hotel, will surely make it one of The National’s biggest streaming hits. Not only does her vocal offers a bright contrast to Berninger’s middle-aged purr, it’s also an obvious fact that putting Taylor Swift’s name on elephant flatulence would push elephant flatulence to 100 million spins. So, “The Alcott” — which to be clear is significantly better than elephant flatulence — should at least do 200 million.
And that’s great. I’m happy for them. I would just prefer more of them and a little less of everybody else on a National album. I have given up hope that they will ever gather in a room with a crate of whiskey and yell and weep their blues away in an Alligator 2.0-type fashion, the ultimate “back to basics” move. But these guys still sound pretty amazing when it’s just the five of them playing National songs. The worthy First Two Pages Of Frankenstein confirms this, and also leaves me wanting more.
If Kim Kardashian were to never star in another movie, her filmography would be bookended by Kim Kardashian, Superstar, her sex tape with Ray J, and PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie, where she voices a character named Delores. That’s quite the career arc. The television section of her IMDb is more active, including an upcoming role on American Horror Story. It’s no PAW Patrol, but it’s something — something not good, according to Patti LuPone, the Tony-winning legend who criticized Kardashian’s involvement with the FX series.
On Sunday’s episode of Watch What Happens Live, host Andy Cohen asked LuPone and fellow guest John Leguizamo whether they “give a damn” about Kardashian on American Horror Story. “Yes, I do,” she replied. LuPuone — who appeared in the Coven and NYC seasons of American Horror Story, as well as Ryan Murphy’s Pose — believes she’s taking a role away “from actors.”
“Excuse me, excuse me, Kim. You know, what are you doing with your life? Don’t get on the stage, Mrs. Worthington,” LuPone continued, referencing the English playwright and composer Noël Coward’s 1935 song “Mrs. Worthington” about overly zealous momagers.
LuPone, who also stars in Beau Is Afraid, has entered the same rarified air as Quincy Jones: I’ll read literally any interview she gives. Put a recorder in front of LuPone, and it won’t be long before you get something good.
We are now officially in the final week of The Late Late Show With James Corden. The departing host is making the last days of the show eventful, like with the emotional final “Carpool Karaoke” segment featuring Adele. An installment with Diddy aired days before that, and Corden says he thought that would be the final drive before Adele surprised him.
Corden was a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last night (April 24) and he explained:
“I didn’t know it was happening. I thought our last one was… the last one was with Diddy. We shot that and I had a blast, had a great time, it was brilliant. And I thought, ‘Oh, that’s our last one, he’s someone we always wanted to do, it was great.’ And then I’m in bed one day and I get woken up by Adele smashing these cymbals above me as I’m asleep, and she said, ‘It’s your last ‘Carpool’ and I’m going to drive you to work.’
So it was all very… it was amazing and I love her so much for doing it because she didn’t have to do that. And she’s been… you know, I think it’s evident if anybody’s seen it that we’ve… we moved here a week apart, basically, we moved to LA a week apart, and it’s been an incredible journey for both of our families and I’ll always… I can’t believe she did that for me.”
Kid Cudi is about as accomplished as they come in terms of rapper/actors. In addition to an active and beloved music career, he regularly pops up in high-profile shows and movies, like Westworld, Don’t Look Up, and his own Entergalactic. Now, he’s getting back in the saddle with a new movie project.
Deadline reports that Cudi is set to star in (and co-produce) Hell Naw, Sony Pictures’ “action horror-comedy” produced by Euphoria creator Sam Levinson. Keith and Kenny Lucas, aka The Lucas Brothers, are writing the script. Of the movie, Deadline notes, “The plot is being kept under wraps, but we do know the film is set during Paris Fashion Week and there will be zombies.”
Cudi says of the project, “This movie has been five years in the making. I am telling the world now, this film will f*ck you up in all the best ways. I have been a horror fan since I was 7 years old, the first horror movies I ever saw were Night Of The Living Dead and Evil Dead. And from that point on, I was hooked on the feeling of being frightened. I’ve been wanting to get into this world creating my own stories for a long time, and now, and after years of working it out in my head, it’s finally happening. Sam, The Lucas Brothers, and myself have really crafted a tale we feel everyone who’s a fan of horror and comedy will enjoy. You will laugh, oh yes you will, but the horror aspect of this movie will really be something to see. You will be shook. I promise. Y’all know I don’t play around.”
The Lakers and Grizzlies have provided plenty of drama in their first round series, both on and off the court, and that continued in Game 4 with an absolutely thrilling closing stretch that made up for some sloppiness across the first 47 minutes of action.
Neither team had their best on offense on the night, but both squads stars showed up when they needed them to in the closing minute. First, it was the Grizzlies who saw Jaren Jackson Jr. prove why he was this year’s DPOY, blocking Rui Hachimura at the rim to spark a runout for Ja Morant, who slipped a behind the back pass to Desmond Bane for the go ahead bucket with just under seven seconds to play.
Then it was LeBron James, who had been fairly quiet offensively, finding his extra gear to drive by Xavier Tillman for the game-tying layup with 0.8 seconds remaining in regulation.
On the Grizzlies’ final play, Anthony Davis blocked Morant, making up for an otherwise dismal night for the Lakers’ star big man — with LeBron hitting a heave from beyond halfcourt after the buzzer to add to the buzz in the arena.
In overtime, the Lakers took an early lead but could never pull all the way away from the Grizzlies until the final minute of the extra period, when somewhat poetically LeBron drew Dillon Brooks and proceeded to drive straight through him for an and-1 dagger with just under 30 seconds to play.
Given the talk of the weekend was Brooks’ commentary on James being old after Memphis’ Game 2 win and then getting ejected for hitting James below the belt in Game 3, James certainly seemed to enjoy that in the biggest moment of the series thus far he was able to sink the dagger in by muscling through Brooks — who spent most of the game on a different defensive assignment in Game 4. James has not been willing to engage the Brooks thing off the court when asked about it, brushing it off as just noise, but he has unquestionably taken his chances to twist the knife on Brooks and Monday night brought the best possible chance to do so and he did not miss it. LeBron finished the night with an outrageous 22 points, 20 rebounds, and seven assists, saving much of his scoring damage for late. It was the first 20-20 game for the Lakers since Shaq, and James’ first 20-rebound playoff performance of his illustrious career.
Now, Memphis has to win three straight against the Lakers to get out of the first round, while L.A. maintains homecourt and ensures they’ll at least have one chance to close out the Grizzlies in L.A. if they can’t swipe another one on the road.
Music superstars like Bad Bunny, Harry Styles, and Nicki Minaj, to name a few, all have had memorable appearances on The Late Late Show’s hilarious segment “Carpool Karaoke.” However, during the latest episode featuring Adele, host James Corden admitted that there was a time when no one would do the show, so he and the team scrambled to book talent.
This wasn’t the case for Adele, as the two are dear friends. The “Hello” singer was an early supporter of the show in 2016. When asked by the singer what he was the most afraid of when he decided to take the job, Corden confessed, “The thing I was most worried about was, ‘How do we get guests on the show.’”
“[In the beginning] we couldn’t book anyone. Then [segments] like ‘Carpool’ — I mean, no one would do it. Everyone on planet Earth said no. But then suddenly, Mariah Carey said, ‘Yes.’ So we’re buzzing, and she goes, ‘We’ll do it on Saturday.’” When the day finally arrived, Corden revealed that the “Shake It Off” singer told him that she would, ‘Do the chat, but I ain’t singing,’” because she had a long night the day before.
“My [producer] tells me, ‘Dude, you just have to get her to sing,’” said Corden. Eventually, Corden charmed the highly decorated songwriter to belt out some of her timeless tunes.
As for which episodes meant the most to him, Corden answered, “Stevie Wonder changed the [segment] a lot because when he did it, other artists were like, ‘Well, if Stevie Wonder’s done it, then I’ll do it.’” That episode was special to the host for another reason. During the ride, Wonder telephoned Corden’s wife Julia, nicknamed Jules, to sing to her.
The television host was sure to add that his first episode with the “Rolling In The Deep” singer also significantly impacted the show. “Our [first episode] because it broke all those records, I think seeing how many people watched that made artists like Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, and people like that go, ‘Absolutely, I’ll do this.”
Watch the full video above.
Catch up on all of the previous “Carpool Karaoke” segments here.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
When pop music’s bad girl and bad gyal collide, fans are in for an epic mashup. Kesha is always up for a seemingly random music connection (see her performance at the Taylor Hawkins tribute). However, her appearance on NBC’s variety game show That’s My Jam, hosted by Jimmy Fallon, was contractually and divinely predestined.
While joining to participate in the segment “Musical Genre Challenge,” the “Chasing Rainbows” singer put her professional knowledge on full display. When asked to perform a glam rock cover of Rihanna’s smash song “Umbrella,” there was no telling how undeniably of a bop she would transform the track into. In all fairness, the Grammy Award-winning song, originally released in 2007, was already loved by millions, but Kesha’s sonic twist reignited viewers’ love for the track.
Although the single does have rock influences, the overwhelming pop and hip-hop presence takes centerstage. “Umbrella” was produced by Tricky Stewart and Kuk Harrell, who are also listed as songwriters on the track along with music titan The Dream.
Kesha has made a killing in pop and dance music, but should she wish to make the transition to glam rock full-time, there’s no doubt she’ll knock it out of the park.
Budding pop darling Gracie Abrams sure does know how to make a splash. The singer has been winning over the hearts of music lovers with live performances both on television and in-person as opening support for Taylor Swift’s The Era Tour.
After dropping her debut album, Good Riddance, to coincide with her appearance on the tour, the “Amelie” singer isn’t letting the momentum for the project fizzle out. Taking to social media, Adams announced that a deluxe version of the project is slated to drop in the coming weeks.
Uploading the release’s cover art, Gracie captioned the post, “Good Riddance Deluxe and the vinyl with “Block me out” and three new songs that I really can’t wait for you to have — is out June 16.”
When discussing the album’s original release, Adams said in a statement, “It’s difficult to imagine these songs living anywhere other than my most secret places, but Aaron Dessner reminded me that holding space for brutal honesty in songwriting is kind of the whole point.”
Later adding, “I feel an unbelievable amount of gratitude for the opportunity to have made this album. Writing this record allowed me to grow up in ways I needed to. It forced me to reflect and be accountable. It allowed me to walk away from versions of myself that I no longer recognized. It allowed me to let go.”
View the full tracklist for the deluxe album below.
1. “Best”
2. “I Know It Won’t Work”
3. “Full Machine”
4. “Where Do We Go Now?”
5. “I Should Hate You”
6. “Will You Cry?”
7. “Amelie”
8. “Difficult”
9. “This Is What The Drugs Are For”
10. “Fault Line”
11. “The Blue”
12. “Right Now”
13. “Block Me Out”
14. “Unsteady”
15. “405”
16. “Two People”
Good Riddance Deluxe is out 6/16 via Interscope. You can pre-save it here.
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