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During his fawning interview with someone who at least used to secretly hate his guts, Donald Trump told Tucker Carlson a pretty obvious whopper. According to him, during his history-making arraignment last week, employees at the Manhattan courthouse were “crying” and apologizing to him. If that one sounded especially smelled like bunk, then surprise surprise: You’re almost certainly right.

Yahoo! News spoke to a law enforcement force familiar with what happened that day, and they called Trump’s claims “absolute BS.” When asked how many employees were blubbery messes, the source said, “Zero,” adding, “There were zero people crying. There were zero people saying ‘I’m sorry.’”

Trump loves telling stories about people, from strangers to future enemies like Ron DeSantis, running up to him in tears, impossibly moved by his greatness. Even his second favorite son has gotten in on the act.

The big guy is due back in New York City, the hometown that mostly hates his guts, on Thursday so he can be deposed for another legal headache: New York attorney general Letitia James’ probe into the Trump Organization and its allegedly dodgy business practices. So maybe a doorman or someone will be spotted choking back tears because he’s finally being held accountable for his actions.

(Via Yahoo! News)

According to Juvenile’s latest post on social media, online bullying might have a few benefits. After a day of tweets from fans being him to make an appearance on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series, the “Back That Azz Up” rapper has finally agreed. But others are calling cap, saying that he had no intention of turning the offer down, making the rollout WWE-level great. Or more like Juvie The Great level fun.

Seemingly inspired by Trina’s recent appearance on the series, one fan tweeted the “Slow Motion” rapper asking, “Can we please get a Juvenile Tiny Desk,” tagging NPR and the entertainer in the post. The Louisiana native didn’t hold back in his response, writing, “Wtf is a tiny desk and no .”

He continued to upload an NPR original show filled stipulation, “Ok ok All Things Considered, 10k retweets, and I will reconsider doing
@NPR Tiny Desk while drinking an ice cold #JuvieJuice from@UrbanSouthBeer!!!”

A day later, the original Cash Money representer returned to the platform to share that he had indeed changed his mind. “The people have spoken! 10k! And @NPR locked it in,” adding, “I appreciate the love, and I’m gonna put on a one-of-a-kind show for y’all on #TinyDesk,” wrote the rapper.

No further information is available as to when fans should expect the performance but we do know it will be one to remember.

Coachella is rapidly approaching. While you’re figuring out your artist itinerary, have you bothered to ask yourself what you’re going to eat? That might seem like less of a priority while you’re figuring out how to juggle seeing all your favorites hit the stage but you should probably know that like the musical lineup this year, the food lineup is stacked.

You’re not just going to be choosing whether to grab a slice of pizza or a cheeseburger, you’re going to have to decide if you’re down for a 16-course omakase and sake pairing, which Michelin-starred restaurant is worth your valuable time and money, which innovated chef is going to blow your mind and… well, which slice of pizza or cheeseburger you’re going to pick up.

With over 60 food vendors and hundreds of dishes, it’s a lot to take in, which is why we’re simplifying the process for you by shouting out the 10 food and drink spots and dishes we’re most hyped for. Since Los Angeles-based restaurants, bars, and food spaces are making an appearance this year, I’ve had a lot of personal experience with many of these menus, so I’m going to lean towards those since I can guarantee they’ll be mind-blowing. But, there are a few gems here from out of state that also come with a lot of hype.

I’m also going to put a special emphasis on handheld foods that you can eat on the go. As dope as a family-style dinner is, you’re at a music festival, so I’m going to assume you’re here for the music. Let’s get you back on the grounds ASAP. For a preview of the full culinary lineup, check out our exclusive look here.

Whether you’ve copped a VIP ticket or you’re just going general admission, every section of the festival gets some love on our list. We’re also telling you where on the grounds to find each vendor, and our best guess for the price (don’t expect us to be 100% on this, but expect us to be eerily close, we have our ways).

Let’s dive into the dishes and vendors you don’t want to miss at this year’s Coachella.

Bang Bang Noodles — Szechuan Garlic Noodles

Expected Price: $16

Where To Find:

12 Peaks VIP

Why It’s Essential:

Started by brothers Nelson and Robert Lee, this LA street food turned brick-and-mortar food spot quickly gained notoriety and attention thanks to Robert Lee’s eye-catching mouth-watering flavor-packed take on Chinese Biang Biang noodles. Lee has extensive culinary experience and cut his teeth cooking in Michelin-star restaurants, which is why we’re excited for the Coachella crowd to get its first taste of Bang Bang’s now-famous Szechuan Garlic Noodles.

The noodle dish, which is served with your choice of beef or mushrooms, utilizes hand-pulled noodles, a gentle but flavorful Szechuan sauce, and appetizing garlic, onion, and cilantro aromatics that make the dish a treat for all of our senses.

Camphor — Le Cheeseburger

Expected Price: $20.99

Where To Find:

12 Peaks VIP

Why It’s Essential:

One of Downtown Los Angeles’ culinary gems, Camphor is a modern bistro led by respected chefs Max Boonthanakit and Lijo George and is all about combining casual and elevated eats (with a strong influence from Southeastern Asia) with classic French flavors and culinary techniques. It’s incredibly modern, and while the special Family-Style tasting menu the restaurant is bringing sounds appealing, we’re going to suggest you keep it simple with the Le Cheeseburger.

Hitting up a super trendy LA bistro and getting a burger might seem like a waste of Boonthanakit and George’s culinary expertise, but then sitting down for a family-style dinner in the desert also sounds like a vibe killer. The Le Cheeseburger will keep you on your feet while still treating your tastebuds to one of the best burgers you’ve ever had.

Seriously, the way the meat melts in your mouth is unlike any burger you’ve yet to experience, guaranteed, and the way it combines with the smoked gouda is absolute culinary perfection. Don’t forget the fries!

Dave’s Hot Chicken — Chicken Sliders

Expected Price: $16

Where To Find:

V7

Why It’s Essential:

Have you ever had a chicken sandwich that makes you exclaim after first bite, ‘This is the best chicken sandwich I’ve ever had’? Well, you will, once you bite into the Dave’s Hot Chicken Slider, and trust us when we tell you that, we’ve been ranking chicken sandwiches for a while now and while Dave’s has yet to appear on a list, right now in 2023, it’s our top pick, no contest.

Available in seven different heat levels (no spice, lite mild, mild, medium, hot, extra hot, and reaper), this slider is topped with earthy kale slaw, thick-cut pickles, and Dave’s sauce, and instantly ignites your tastebuds and floods your brain with serotonin. The sauce is a mix of savory mayo, a bit of citrus, and a heavy blend of pepper, cayenne, and paprika, for a creamy and complex sauce that will blow your mind.

Yes, it’s that good. Go with whatever heat level you’re comfortable with, but we strongly suggest opting for mild or medium for the best experience that doesn’t feel like a challenge.

Kogi — Loaded Korean BBQ Fries

Expected Price: $14

Where To Find:

Indio Central Market

Why It’s Essential:

When I found out Kogi wasn’t going to be bringing its delicious Korean tacos and burritos to the Coachella grounds, I was incensed. But knowing that they’ll be bringing the Loaded Korean BBQ fries in tow… I ain’t mad. A tricked-out take on the brand’s Korean Spiced Fries, the Loaded version features the same bed of beer-battered fries tossed with chili salt topped with cheese, caramelized kimchi, salsa rosa, crushed sesame seeds, and Kogi’s short ribs.

It’s the perfect marriage of Mexican and Korean flavors offering up a taste of Los Angeles that makes clear why the city is the ultimate culinary destination. That’s right, I said it, come at my NYC and Texas.

Ronan — Margherita Pie

Expected Price: $23

Where To Find:

12 Peaks VIP

Why It’s Essential:

Helping to make the case that LA is just as good if not better than New York as a pizza hotspot, Chef Daniel Cutler’s Ronan delivers Neapolitan-style pizza that is always prepared with local produce and the finest ingredients and is the pizza spot at Coachella we’re the most psyched about. That’s partly because of the three or four in attendance, it’s the only one we’ve tried, but we wouldn’t suggest a pizza joint to you if it wasn’t absolutely mind-blowing.

While my instinct is to suggest the Spicy Chomper, which features tomato, soppressata, and a four-cheese blend, we’ve given enough love to the meat-eaters in this list, so we’re going to take some time to highlight the equally good Margherita.

Made with San Marzano tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, and pecorino Calabrese, this Margherita pizza is fresh, fragrant, sweet, savory, and light, while still satisfying the way a meat pie does with the perfect fire-charred crust.

You don’t want to miss this pizza spot, especially if you’re an East Coaster who thinks the great pizza debate is settled.

Block Party — Malamente

Expected Price: Unknown

Where To Find:

Outdoor Theater Bar

Why It’s Essential:

No bar captures the magic of Los Angeles quite like visiting Block Party at golden hour. With a great soundtrack and communal vibe, the Highland Park staple is one of our very favorite bars in all of Los Angeles so I’m excited to see how Block Party brings its magical vibe to Indio.

Since Block Party is bringing a special menu of headliner-themed drinks to Coachella, it’s a little hard to pick just one to be excited about so I’m just going to go with Malamente (not pictured), since it’s named for Rosalía, the artist I’m most excited to see.

The Malamente includes Malfi Gin with pink grapefruit, rosemary, and some CO2 for a fizzy body.

El Chino Grande — Chashao Roast Pork ’n Rice

Expected Price: $20

Where To Find:

Craft Beer Barn

Why It’s Essential:

El Chino Grande serves up Taiwanese night market street fare by way of modern San Francisco cuisine. With a menu headed by Chef Christoper Yang, a San Francisco Magazine Rising Star Chef award winner, we couldn’t be more psyched to try El Chino Grande’s Chashao Roast Pork ’n Rice which features a bowl of short grain rice topped with roast pork belly, chashao tare, cabbage slaw, pickles and togarashi mayo.

El Chino Grande is one of the few culinary experiences at Coachella I haven’t yet experienced, but the food pop-up is part of Hén-Zhì, the team of Marcelle Gonzalez Yang and Chef Christopher Yang who are also behind the SF Mission District food spot Piglet & Co, which is excellent! Considering El Chino Grande comes from the same genius minds, we’re psyched and confident enough to make the recommendation.

Cena Vegan — Big Vegan Nachos

Expected Price: $20

Where To Find:

Indio Central Market

Why It’s Essential:

Admittedly, there aren’t a lot of vegan food spots on this list. So, we couldn’t let you go without giving at least one strong suggestion for those who only consume a plant-based diet — be sure to hit up Cena Vegan. Not only is it one of the food options we’re most hyped for at this year’s Coachella, it’s one of the best vendors selling Mexican food at the entire festival, and I’m not sure if you know this or not, but you can make some seriously delicious Mexican food using only plant-based ingredients.

With a menu inspired by authentic Mexican street food, we can’t wait to try Cena Vegan’s Big Vegan Nacho Boat, which features the plant-based meat of your choice (al pastor-style, carne asada-style, carnitas-style, birria-style, polla asado-style, barbacoa-style) over a bed of freshly made tortilla chips, pico de Gallo, salsa, and guacamole. It’s so good even hardcore meat-eaters will be won over by the fresh flavors.

Trill Burgers — Trill OG Burger (Vegan Trill OG Burger)

Expected Price: $15 / $18

Where To Find:

V7

Why It’s Essential:

I know we already highlighted a burger, but all do respect to Camphor and its ‘Le Cheeseburger,’ sometimes you just want a classic, greasy, no-nonsense smash burger, which is why we’re hyped to finally get a taste of Houston staple Trill Burgers.

The smash burger concept is beloved by Travis Scott, Buster Rhymes, TI, Juvenile, and Fat Joe, and if it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for all of us! The Trill OG burger features two smash patties, curly caramelized onions, American cheese, pickles, and trill sauce, offering up all the classic burger staples without any of those watery vegetables like lettuce and tomato getting in the way.

Best of all, the Trill burger is also available with a plant-based meat patty, which means this is truly a burger spot for everyone!

PDT — Sweet Tea Smash

Expected Price: Unknown

Where To Find:

Secret Speakeasy Terrace South (access by finding a phone booth in the terrace)

Why It’s Essential:

The famed NYC speakeasy from the East Village, PDT (which stands for Please Don’t Tell), is coming to Coachella and even though I’ve never been to the OG PDT I have to admit, I’m intrigued. Partly because I’ve heard nothing but good things about PDT from east coast friends, and mostly because the speakeasy is located underground. We’re not talking about the NYC location, we mean at Coachella, PDT will be underground.

What does that mean? What will it look like? What will the vibe be? We just have to find out, and we’re willing to bet you feel the same way.

This is another place we’ll be going into blind so I’m just going to suggest the best-sounding drink on the menu, the Sweet Tea Smash (not pictured), which features iced tea, Smooth Ambler Bourbon, lemon, peach, and mint.

Through 1.5 quarters, the Minnesota Timberwolves held an eight-point advantage over the Los Angeles Lakers and Karl-Anthony Towns had been the preeminent player in a battle among three All-NBA stars. But Reggie Miller sensed impending trouble might await them.

“That’s two quick fouls on Karl-Anthony Towns,” Miller said after Towns picked up a foul trying to contain his frontcourt foe, Anthony Davis.

“And we know what happened last year in the Play-In Game in Minnesota,” Kevin Harlan replied. “Now, they won, but this is a story for Towns.”

For a while, Towns and the Timberwolves delayed the impending trouble that Miller and Harlan cautioned. They entered halftime leading 60-49, shepherded by Towns’ 17 points (5-of-5 shooting), six boards, four dimes and two swats. Even deep into the third quarter, Towns sported just three fouls and Minnesota’s edge had climbed to 12 at 84-72.

Then, LeBron James rejected a screen, caught Towns out of position, barreled to the rim, and drew a fourth foul on the fellow former top overall pick. Towns exited the game. He didn’t score again, ending the night with 24 points and only attempted two more shots over the final 20 minutes of game time, including zero shot attempts during the overtime period.

As Towns took a backseat in fear of fouling out, the Timberwolves’ lead steadily shrank. By the end of the third quarter it had been trimmed to seven. Forty-five minutes later, it was spun into a six-point loss after Los Angeles sealed a 108-102, overtime victory. As such, the Lakers are the No. 7 seed, slated for a first-round date with the Memphis Grizzlies, which begins Sunday. Minnesota, meanwhile, heads to a do-or-die game Friday against either the Pelicans or Thunder, hoping to preserve a playoff berth amid a turbulent season.

Without any other context, the Timberwolves, down Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, and Naz Reid, pushing the fully healthy Lakers to overtime on the road is an admirable performance. Towns’ efforts were integral to that. For 33.5 minutes, he was sensational. He bullied Los Angeles’ undersized perimeter stoppers on switches as a driver, rained in nonchalant, buttery long balls, and picked apart help defenders with slick, nifty playmaking when they collapsed his direction.

Most impressive were his contributions as an interior defender, influencing and rejecting numerous shots around the rim. His activity and attentiveness popped. Los Angeles scored 73 points in his 41 minutes, compared to 35 points in 12 minutes without him. He looked like a two-way superstar backpacking a tumultuous, shorthanded team to the playoffs. However, the foul count and his fear of fouling out emerged as his stingiest opponents, an all-too-familiar theme for him.

In so many of these postseason moments the last two years, regardless of how well Towns is playing, there’s often a nagging worry about something self-imposed derailing him. During last season’s Play-In Game, saddled by foul trouble, he logged 11 points in 24 minutes before fouling out, despite Minnesota ultimately defeating the Los Angeles Clippers.

Against the Grizzlies in Round 1, he averaged 4.2 fouls per game, which watered down his minutes in Game 2 (28), Game 3 (33), and Game 5 (35). Minnesota lost each time. This season, his 5.5 fouls per 100 possessions tied a career-high. Offensively, toeing the optimal line between grace and physicality continually escapes him. Defensively, he struggles with knowing when to bow out of a play to prioritize the long-term.

The foul against James on Tuesday is a perfect encapsulation of the latter trend. Towns was the lone big man in the eight-man rotation. Minnesota outscored Los Angeles by 18 points during his 41 minutes and was outscored by 24 the 12 minutes he sat; that’s a ridiculous split and emphasizes his superlative nature much of the evening. It exacerbates why he cannot make that decision against James. Live to fight another play and simply concede James the bucket. Doing so would allow him to keep dominating without hesitation creeping into his thoughts or sporadic playing time disrupting his flow.

Even if some iteration of Gobert, McDaniels, and Reid were available, he’s still best served staying put, let alone when his importance is heightened so substantially. This is his eighth season. He’s 27 years old and squarely in the heart of his career. He has to better recognize the context.

I understand how challenging it presumably is to reject instinct. With such a shallow cast of big men, another Timberwolf is not enforcing the paint like he can. His duties as a rim protector ballooned on Tuesday and reorienting the approach a second time, on the fly, is a daunting task. But it had to be done.

Following the loss, Towns told reporters that playing with five fouls affected how he approached his offensive touches and possessions. He didn’t want to pick up a cheap sixth foul on a flop in order to remain in the game and help his team.

It’s shrewd of Towns to be conscious of that threat, as defenders absolutely look to embellish contact once a player is in foul trouble. Yet I think his inability to straddle the fence further illuminates an underlying shortcoming of his game that I mentioned earlier: balancing grace and physicality. His passiveness over the final 19 minutes should not necessarily be the primary area to criticize, so much as the events preceding and causing it, which have manifested at key spots the past couple years for the Timberwolves.

That said, throughout the final 13.5 minutes he played, his inactivity plagued the offense, especially with Anthony Edwards struggling so much with his own shot-creation all game — even more-so after a hard fall left him with a banged up shoulder. Towns removed himself from the action entirely or failed to establish suitable position in the mid-post or around the nail. Sometimes, that passivity occurred against Davis, who, to his credit, excelled denying entry passes and extending Towns away from the hoop. If a Davis flop costs you the chance to close, so be it; the officials can call it if they wish — Davis going to the floor on a rebound attempt and drawing Towns’ fifth foul surely was lodged in KAT’s mind after. That’s a much different threat than, say, Austin Reaves or Dennis Schroder’s embellishment being the final straw.

By going from tone-setter to on-court spectator, his autonomous disappearing act perhaps impeded Minnesota’s possessions as much as had he picked up his sixth and been sitting on the bench. The Timberwolves scored 21 points over the final 19.5 minutes after he tallied a fourth foul, the precise moment his imprint on the night and the tenor of the game began shifting. The roadmap of an already tenuous offense evaporated.

Towns can be a maddening player to figure out. With three All-Star nods and two All-NBA honors on his resume, he is a marvelous player and one of the most versatile, talented offensive bigs to ever play in the league. He has delivered at vital junctures previously. The same day Gobert struck Kyle Anderson and McDaniels broke his hand punching a wall out of frustration, Towns dropped 30 points (on 69.3 percent true shooting) in Sunday’s victory over the New Orleans Pelicans to keep Minnesota in the 7-8 Play-In matchup rather than dropping to 9-10. That’s big-time onions.

In a Game 1 upset road victory over Memphis last spring, he recorded 29 points (71.8 percent true shooting), 13 rebounds, three assists, and one block. A week later, he helped even the series at 2-2 behind 33 points (67.4 percent true shooting), 14 rebounds, three assists, and one block. Those are also big-time onions.

Towns has played in 13 career postseason games. Eight of them are over the past year. The ebbs and flows are all learning experiences. Maybe, these sort of instances are extinguished as he extends his playoff history; that is not uncommon for players. The formula for the struggles of his 2023 Play-In were ominously similar to his 2022 Play-In foibles, however.

That is the vexing part. The frustrations are amplified by all the glimmering greatness he puts on display, and leaves everyone, likely himself included, yearning for more. The good news for Towns is Friday presents an opportunity to make the necessary adjustments and deliver the Wolves to back-to-back postseasons for the first time in 20 years.

Now that Weekend One of Coachella 2023 is approaching, it’s never to early to start looking ahead to possible headliners for the festival’s next few years. This year, the wildly successful music and arts festival returns for the second showing of its post-COVID-19 era. Featuring headlining sets from chart-topping K-Pop phenom BLACKPINK, Grammy-winning R&B maestro Frank Ocean, and world-conquering reggaeton superstar Bad Bunny, this year’s Coachella is certainly heavy on the star power. But, even though it feels as if Coachella tastemakers select the biggest and brightest of today’s music stars to headline the festival, there are still quite a few acts that have curiously not yet headlined. As exhilarating as record-breaking tours are, Coachella is still a dependable site for iconic cultural moments — from the still-shocking Tupac hologram in 2012 to Beyoncé’s legendary tribute to historically Black colleges and universities in 2018.

The ideal Coachella headliner should be popular enough to appeal to a wide demographic, respected as an artist that delivers quality work, have the ability to put on an arresting show in terms of physical performance and setlist sequencing, and, most importantly, have at least an hour and a half’s worth of undeniable hits and notable songs. The archetype of the Coachella headlining act has evolved dramatically over the past two decades, and with the latest edition of the festival boasting its most populist and globalist lineup yet — the possibilities are endless.

Here are 10 artists that could theoretically headline Coachella in the next few years:

Justin Bieber

Justin Bieber has been a cultural touchstone and musical force for the better part of two decades. With hits ranging from “Baby” and “Boyfriend” to “Sorry” and “Peaches,” The Biebs has been cranking out hits across five non-holiday studio albums — four of which have received Grammy nominations. Far removed from his bowl-cut days, Justin Bieber has grown from a teener-bopper phenomenon to a global powerhouse. He’s dipped into wide range of genres making him fit for a sprawling headlining set. He can supplement his standard Top 40 smashes like “Love Yourself” and “Ghost” with hits across reggaeton (“Despacito”), country (“10,000 Hours”), and afrobeats (“Essence”). Also consider: headlining Coachella could be a nice way to formally wrap up his Justice World Tour — which was unfortunately cut short due to health concerns. Of course, it’s not a requirement, but Bieber has a wide selection of surprise guests to pull from — Ludacris, Usher, Diplo, Wizkid, Tems, Daddy Yankee, Chance the Rapper, the list goes on. Plus, Bieber loves Coachella, and has appeared in sets from the likes of Daniel Caesar and Jack Ü.

Ed Sheeran

Having already headlined comparable festivals like Glastonbury, Ed Sheeran is an easy fit for a Coachella headlining slot. From “The A Team” and “Don’t” to “Perfect” and “Bad Habits,” the British singer-songwriter has a decade’s worth of hits to pull from — and we haven’t even mentioned smashes like “Shape Of You” or “Thinking Out Loud” yet. The timing also lines up particularly well. Ed could make a stellar 2024 headliner. He’s dropping his new album, – (Subtract), in May and the supporting tour for that record concludes in September, leaving him ample time to rest up and put together a fresh set for the following summer. On that front, Ed has been handling solo stadium shows for years now, and between his hilarious onstage banter and his riveting use of the loop pedal — he knows how to captivate a crowd. It also goes without saying that Ed’s reach extends across a wide range of audiences, and his potential surprise guests prove it. Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Burna Boy, Stormzy, Fireboy DML, and Chris Stapleton are all plausible choices for his set’s surprise element.

Taylor Swift

For an artist like Taylor Swift, headlining Coachella is undoubtedly a matter of “when,” not “if.” Currently in the midst of her record-breaking Eras Tour, Swift is the ideal Coachella headliner. With hits ranging from 2008’s “Teardrops On My Guitar” to 2022’s “Anti-Hero,” she has an overwhelming amount of songs to pull from, and her current tour — which pays tribute to each of her ten wildly successful studio albums — is refining her setlist sequencing skills each and every night. Taylor also understands how to steer the dynamism of her live shows; she’s equally capable of reigning over flashy stage production (think the moving “Look What You Made Me Do” platforms from the Eras Tour or the giant snake from her Reputation Stadium Tour) and crafting slower, more intimate moments with fan-favorite ballads like “Enchanted” or “All Too Well.” Moreover, if the timing works out, then Taylor could use a Coachella headlining set to commemorate finally releasing the remaining Taylor’s Version albums (her eponymous debut, Speak Now, 1989, and Reputation).

Rihanna

Sure, Rihanna has pretty much forsaken us to prioritize her makeup and lingerie empire (and who can really blame her?), but every now and then, Rihanna The Pop Star reemerges to placate our collective hunger. After returning with a pair of songs for the Academy Award-winning Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — including Best Original Song nominee “Lift Me Up” — Rihanna treated us to two performances that showed off different sides of her onstage capabilities. Although her headlining slot at the inaugural Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show received some lukewarm initial reviews, her set has proven to be a pop culture phenomenon, sparking trends that have reached high schools, nursing homes, and everywhere in between. Her heartfelt performance of “Lift Me Up” at the 95th Academy Awards also showed off her ability to handle a stage with just a microphone and a ballad. Between her most recent musical showings and a decade and a half’s worth of undeniable smash hits to her name, Rihanna can easily hold down a headlining set at Coachella. Whether she makes it a victory lap or the catalyst for a new album and tour, Rihchella is destined to be a career highlight. The “Love On The Brain” singer could also bring out jaw-dropping surprise gets like Jay-Z, SZA, Calvin Harris, Nicki Minaj, Buju Banton, and, of course, A$AP Rocky.

Dua Lipa

Although she only has two studio albums under her belt, Dua Lipa is more than ready to take on the Coachella mainstage. Between smash collaborations like “One Kiss” (with Calvin Harris) and her own staggering roster of solo hits — “New Rules,” “Levitating,” and “Don’t Start Now” among them — Dua’s catalog is more than capable of anchoring a headlining set. Last year, the three-time Grammy-winner embarked on her Future Nostalgia Tour which visited four different continents over the course of 82 shows. A true spectacle of fashion, vocals, choreography, and stage and lighting design, that concert tour helped further sharpen Dua’s stage presence and performance ability. With past performances at Glastonbury and We The Fest, Dua is already familiar with working festival crowds, and the historic number of streams her albums garner proves that audiences genuinely enjoy her music. The Future Nostalgia Tour featured supporting acts such as Megan Thee Stallion, Tove Lo, and Caroline Polacheck — all of whom are strong candidates for surprise guests. Nonetheless, Dua could also reunite Silk City (Diplo & Mark Ronson), bring out Calvin Harris, or treat festival goers to appearances from Elton John, Kylie Minogue, Miguel, Martin Garrix, or Miley Cyrus.

Nicki Minaj

After clinching the first solo female rap song to debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100 in nearly 25 years — while in between album cycles, at that — Nicki Minaj is an easy pick to headline the Coachella Stage. The “Do We Have A Problem” rapper has enough hits to fill two Coachella sets with no repeats. She’s been handling legendary stages and arenas around the world for over a decade now, and her endlessly quotable bars are tailor-made for once-in-a-lifetime crowd interaction moments. Armed with hits ranging from “Itty Bitty Piggy” to “Super Freaky Girl,” a Nicki Minaj Coachella set would be a perfect storm of pop smashes, street anthems, euphoric throwbacks, and undeniable classics. Let’s be real, only Drake can compete with a setlist of so many possibilities. With past headlining performances at festivals like Wireless and Hot 97 Summer Jam, the Queens rapper is more than familiar with massive stages. There’s also the fact that Nicki Minaj has not dropped an album since 2018. Although she’s still been ever-present with hits ranging from “Yikes” and “Whole Lotta Money” (with BIA) to “Tusa” (with Karol G) and, most recently, “Red Ruby Da Sleeze,” a Coachella headlining set could be the perfect way to launch her fifth studio album.

Shakira

With Bad Bunny already making history as Coachella’s first Latin American solo headliner, why not continue the festival’s increasingly globalist approach by tapping one of the biggest crossover stars of the century, Shakira? While the Colombian powerhouse has long established herself as a hitmaker with seminal pop smashes like “Hips Don’t Lie,” “Waka Waka,” and “Whenever, Wherever,” she’s been having something of a re-peak in 2023 as she preps the release of her forthcoming twelfth studio album. This year, the Grammy-winner has already notched a pair of Top 10 hits, one with Bizarrap (“Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53”) and another with Karol G (“TQG”) — a testament to her longevity and ability to connect with audiences across generations and languages. In 2020, the “She Wolf” singer headlined the Super Bowl Halftime Show alongside Jennifer Lopez, and she’s also embarked on a whopping six headlining world tours. As a multi-instrumentalist, belly dancer, and vocalist, Shakira can entertain the Coachella Valley in a multitude of ways. There’s also the fact that the “Beautiful Liar” singer could bring out a wide range of surprise guests from Beyoncé and Rihanna to Maluma and Rauw Alejandro.

Bruno Mars

Isn’t it kind of crazy that Bruno Mars hasn’t headlined Coachella yet? Widely hailed as one of the best performers in contemporary mainstream pop music, Bruno Mars has delivered two highly memorable Super Bowl Halftime Show performances, a pair of acclaimed Las Vegas residencies (one solo and the other alongside Silk Sonic partner-in-crime Anderson .Paak), and three global headlining concert tours. Since his 2010 debut, Bruno Mars has garnered 18 top ten hits on the Hot 100, eight of which reached the summit including “Grenade,” “That’s What I Like,” and the four-time Grammy-winning “Leave the Door Open.” An entertainer in truest sense of the term, a Bruno Mars Coachella set could take several transfigurations. He could use most of the time to flaunt his skills as an instrumentalist on the drums, piano, and guitar, or he could have a dance-centric set that also displays his vocal chops. Regardless of what the set looks like, it is almost guaranteed to be one of the liveliest headlining sets to ever grace Coachella. Bruno is more than capable of headlining the festival on his own, but he could surprise the Indio Valley with special guests like Cardi B, Eminem, and, of course, Anderson .Paak.

Paramore

The recent trajectory of Coachella headliners has skewed more pop-heavy than the festival’s rock and alternative roots. With a career spanning nearly twenty years and a handful of crossover hits that sit at the zenith of mainstream pop, Paramore is the perfect act to bridge Coachella’s past and present. The Grammy-winning punk-pop band has three worldwide headlining concert tours to their name, and they are currently in the throes of their This Is Why tour in support of their chart-topping album of the same name. Known for exhilarating live shows packed with hair-raising instrumental breaks and virtuosic vocal performances, Paramore is one of the strongest contemporary live acts that have yet to headline Coachella. Last year, Billie Eilish brought out frontwoman Hayley Williams as a surprise guest at her headlining set. Whenever Paramore gets their chance to headline, Hayley could return the favor — or she could opt to bring out guests like Olivia Rodrigo, who pulled from the band’s seminal “Misery Business” for her own Grammy-nominated “good 4 u.”

Lil Wayne

Hip-hop has had a presence at Coachella headlining sets for years dating back to Beastie Boys in 2003. With a discography as prolific as his, Lil Wayne is an obvious pick to continue that legacy. Like his YMCMB mentees Drake and Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne has the perfect catalog to construct a headlining festival set out of. From just the sheer amount of music he’s released, Wayne could dominate Coachella with just his mixtape cuts, let alone his bevy of crossover pop hits and rap anthems that have ruled myriad Billboard charts. With over two decades of hits ranging from 1999’s “Back That Azz Up” to last year’s Grammy-nominated “God Did,” Lil Wayne’s catalog is one for the ages, and a stage as big as the Coachella Stage is the perfect place to remind the world why he’s one of the most successful and acclaimed rappers of all time. Wayne’s 2023 touring popularity might make it a tough sell, but something like Lil Wayne and Friends could make a lot of sense, especially with a plethora of potential surprise guests — Drake, Nicki Minaj, Juvenile, Jay-Z, Chance the Rapper, and Rick Ross among them.

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

Katy Perry might’ve written a smash song about an ex’s toxic hot-and-cold ways, but American Idol watchers are wondering if she was actually referring to herself. In the last few episodes of the show, “The One That Got Away” singer had the chance to speak with many of the contestants heading to the top 24. But instead of cleanly sharing the news with each musician, Perry took each of them on an emotional rollercoaster leading them to believe that they were heading home before sharing that they had, in fact, made the cut.

One user on Tik Tok took it upon themselves to create a compilation video of each unhinged moment. The video has since gone viral. Watch the full clip below.

Fans took to social media to share their reactions to the clip.

During her appearance on Gwyneth Paltrow’s podcast goop, the singer shared that before she even joined the judging panel on the show, she was “pursued by Idol for a long time — long, long, long, long time,” but couldn’t commit to it because she “was putting out records, going on tours and stuff like that.”

She later added, “[When] I did it, and I just fell in love with the new iteration of it … It’s super empowering, super uplifting. It’s got so much heart and depth to it.” Perry closed with, “No one hands us any script, and we get to literally have final say over pretty much everything until America actually votes.”

Warner Bros. Discovery officially revealed its long-rumored streaming service, Max, which combines HBO Max and Discovery+ into one super app filled with everything from The Sopranos to episodes of Dr. Pimple Popper. The platform also announced a slew of new shows including a Harry Potter series that will tackle each of the books, one season at a time, and there was even a trailer for Colin Farrell’s The Penguin, the first of many spinoffs from The Batman.

Of course, the big question is how much will all of this cost. Fortunately, Warner Bros. Discovery shared the price points for Max and stressed that it will be a seamless transition for current HBO Max subscribers. If you’re already subscribed through a standalone plan or through your cable provider, you’re good to go. Even better, the Max plans are the same price as HBO Max, so there isn’t a price hike out of the gate. (Down the road? Who the heck knows?)

Here are the price points for Max:

Max Ad-Lite | $9.99/month or $99.99/year
2 concurrent streams, 1080p resolution, no offline downloads, 5.1 surround sound quality

Max Ad Free | $15.99/month or $149.99/year
2 concurrent streams, 1080 resolution, 30 offline downloads, 5.1 surround sound quality

Max Ultimate Ad Free | $19.99/month or $199.99/year
4 concurrent streams, up to 4K UHD resolution, 100 offline downloads, Dolby Atmos sound quality

Max launches May 23, 2023.

After a nearly two-year absence — season 2 concluded in August 2021 — Dave is (finally) back on FXX. The surreal dramedy’s third season returned on April 5, and currently holds a perfect 100 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. Not bad for a rapper who goes by the name “Lil Dicky.”

As the season 3 premiere included two episodes, where does that leave viewers in terms of episode count? If you were paying attention to the episode count of the first two seasons, you can probably guess: Dave season 3 will feature a total of 10 episodes.

Dave is the mostly-fictionalized story of Dave Burd, a.k.a. Lil Dicky, a Philadelphia-born rapper whose comic persona belies his actual musical talent. While the acclaimed show’s first season dealt with Dave trying to find his big break, season 2 was all about Dave discovering that the grass is sometimes greener. With his career taking off, Lil Dicky is having trouble navigating the often-nasty music industry — and lamenting a breakup with his longtime love Ally (Taylor Misiak).

Season 3 finds picks up pretty much where we left off, with Dave having just made a major splash at the VMAs and embarking on his first-ever tour: the Looking for Love Tour, which is exactly what it sounds like (Ally is back, too, and joining in the fun on the tour bus).

Just as with the first two seasons, Dave season 3 will also be packed with celebrity cameos. While past episodes have given us bits of everyone from Macklemore to Justin Bieber and a few Kardashian-Jenners (Kourtney Kardashian and Kendall Jenner have both appeared), the new season will feature Usher, Don Cheadle, Demi Lovato, Travis Barker, and Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox.

New episodes of Dave premiere Wednesday nights on FXX and drop the following day on Hulu.

Did you know Jason Momoa recently launched a vodka brand? I didn’t! It’s barely anywhere on his Instagram account, and he hasn’t initiated an all-out marketing blitz like other celebrities do with their liquors (some better than others). This is intentional. Momoa wants “the juice to stand on its own,” he told the Los Angeles Times about Meili Vodka, which he founded with Blaine Halvorson.

Momoa doesn’t think of himself “as a celebrity,” he said. “It’s always very awkward to me. It’s very weird. If you knew me, you’re just like, ‘Oh, this is Momoa.’ I’m the exact same person I was before I got into this goddamn industry.” Every day, he gets offered to be the face of a new product, but he’s not interested in promoting something he has no personal attachment to.

“I act and someone goes and edits it, and either it’ll be good or it won’t be,” the Fast X star explained. “What I love doing is directing and writing and doing it on my own. … If you’re going to judge me and hate my form, it’s like, I’m responsible for this. I chose this direction. Now pick on me.”

Halvorson put it more directly:

“This isn’t a f*cking celebrity brand. That has nothing to do with it. He just happens to be a celebrity. This is two people who really cared and built this. It wasn’t someone coming along and saying, ‘Hey, man, we made this thing, put your face on it.’ Every goddamn day somebody’s slapping a celebrity on something. They don’t know sh*t about it. They got no attachment to it.”

You can find a bottle of Momoa Vodka (which is what I’m going to name my first kid) here.

(Via the Los Angeles Times)

John Mayer is currently in the midst of a solo tour (his first ever), and last night (April 11), the trek brought him to Seattle. While on stage at Climate Pledge Arena, a fan presented Mayer with a novel opportunity and, being the fun-loving guy he is, he embraced it.

Early in the show (as the concert’s setlist on setlist.fm indicates), Mayer took notice of a sign in the audience, which was labeled “Surprise Song Request” and which instructed Mayer to choose one of three hidden options, labeled “A,” “B,” and “C.” Mayer enjoyed the fan’s creativity, saying, “This is one of the most psychologically manipulative and brilliant sign ideas I’ve ever seen in my life.”

He continued, “I’ll tell you what: This sign is so clever, I will play the song that I choose, whether I know it or not. It is too good an idea. You win on cleverness alone.”

Mayer then did his best impression of a Price Is Right contestant and chose option B. The fan lifted a paper flap to reveal the chosen song was “Love Is A Verb,” from Mayer’s 2012 album Born And Raised. Sure enough, Mayer then launched into a performance of the song.

Check out the video above.