Kim Petras and Nicki Minaj’s anticipated collaboration “Alone” now has a glossy music video that shows off both performers’ love for vinyl clothing and campy looks. Throughout the video, Petras appears as a marching band leader and a 1980s aerobics instructor. Nicki appears in a black leather jumpsuit that turns out to be backless, revealing her Barbie-pink lingerie at the right angles.
“Alone” is built over a sample of Eurodance group Alice Deejay’s 1999 hit “Better Off Alone,” continuing what’s become a Nick Minaj trend of sampling ’80s and ’90s hits which has most recently included “Super Freaky Girl” and “Red Ruby Da Sleaze.”
The two stars have both turned out to be trendsetters in their own right, with Petras becoming the first trans woman to be honored with a Billboard Women In Music Award and to win a Grammy, with her son “Unholy” taking the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance trophy earlier this year.
Rap has a long history of teen stars — the creation of the genre is largely credited to a group of New York teenagers throwing house parties in the Bronx — and the latest just might be one of its biggest yet. Luh Tyler is just 17 years old and already signed a deal with Atlantic Records — a deal that has already produced one of the better-received projects of the year — and been dubbed the “coolest rapper/teenager in America/rap” by Pitchfork and Stereogum, the “most exciting rapper in Florida” by Complex, and the “feel-good story in rap” by GQ.
Hailing from Tallahassee, Tyler — not to be confused with the similarly-named Luh Kel — creates low-stakes but engaging music supported by breezy rhymes that don’t so much detail the circumstances of his upbringing as his immediate surroundings at any given moment. He makes the basics sound fly — like a teen Curren$y — but what sets him apart from his contemporaries from the sunshine state is his insistence on defining his existence by good times rather than trauma.
Perhaps no song better exemplifies this than “Back Flippin,” one of his standout tracks and the one that has become his calling card. Then, there’s “Law & Order,” his most successful track to date, built on a sample of the theme from the long-running procedural. Tyler built on the momentum from these two tracks on his debut My Vision with songs like “Stand On Biz” and following up with “First Show,” and if he can keep it up, he might just remain the coolest well beyond the next three years he’s still a teen.
At yesterday’s (May 1) Met Gala, guests were served a meal of, as Vogue notes, “chilled spring pea soup with baby vegetables, lemon crème fraîche, and truffle snow, followed by Ōra King salmon with vegetable nage, asparagus, pickled strawberries, and radish–all served on vintage china.” Caterer Olivier Cheng explained, “This menu was designed to honor the late fashion icon [Karl Lagerfeld] and pay homage to his favorite foods and global palate. These dishes were created to maintain seasonality while using some of his favorite ingredients, such as King salmon. There is a sophisticated elegance to these pairings, one we feel that he would have truly enjoyed.”
To that, Teyana Taylor said no and opted to bring her own Chick-Fil-A instead.
Pusha T couldn’t believe what he was seeing, so he documented it on his Instagram Story, showing off Taylor’s plate of chicken, waffle fries, and dipping sauce. He wrote on one of the videos, @teyanataylor is embarrassing me. She brought @chicfilausa to the #MetGala. I want her away from me…#HARLEM.” In another clip, Usher looks at what Taylor has going on and does some light teasing.
In 2019, Luh Kel burst onto the scene with his breakout hit, “Wrong.” Appearing on his debut mixtape Mixed Emotions, which was released under Cinematic Music Group, “Wrong” peaked at No. 37 on the Billboard Hot R&B / Hip-Hop Songs chart, establishing Kel as a star in the making. Since then, the singer/rapper has only grown in esteem; despite only being 20 years old, he’s accumulated nearly 2 million monthly listeners on Spotify, where “Wrong” has over 250 million streams.
In 2020, Luh Kel followed up with L.O.V.E., producing even more hits with “Real,” “Y.O.U.,” “Pull Up,” and “How To Love” (here he is breaking down the music video for the song “Feen” featuring Trippie Redd for Uproxx). Now, his fans await his third mixtape, which is expected to drop sometime this year.
In a 2020 interview with Billboard, the St. Louian crooner credited his hometown with his drive, saying, “It made me want to push harder because, where I’m from, a lot of people don’t really have a lot. The fact that I’m the one person that got to do something and make it better for my city — me seeing that and knowing that pushes me harder every day, knowing that I can do something better with myself.”
Although he wasn’t put out any new music yet this year (“Feeling In Love,” above), when he does you can bet it’ll be an event worth checking out.
Primus, Tool’s Danny Carey and Justin Chancellor, and Queens Of The Stone Age’s Troy Van Leeuwen have released a new live video of their performance of Tool’s “Ænema.” Filmed at LA’s The Belasco on April 17, the benefit concert was for a friend, Jimmy Hayward, who’s undergoing cancer treatment.
“Every now and again cancer steps into our world and pulverizes the lives of people that are dear to us,” Primus’ Les Claypool shared in a statement. “Such a thing happened a while back with our good friend Jimmy Hayward.”
“Over the past couple years Jimmy has undergone many major surgeries to remove then reconstruct major damage from a cancer that invaded his bones,” he added. “With a wife and two very young children at hand, Jimmy has shown incredible courage and tenacity in an unbelievably challenging time.”
They are also currently auctioning off signed merchandise from the intimate event, including a Dunable Cyclops Guitar, Dunable USA Custom Yeti Bass, Dunlop Justin Chancellor Signature Cry Baby Wah Pedal, Danny Carey Custom Drum Head, and a Limited Edition Concert Poster, according to a press release.
100 percent of the proceeds will go to Hayward’s treatment. Bids on all items are now open until May 10 at 3 p.m. ET, with more information available here. There is also a GoFundMe set up that can be found here.
James Gunn’s third and final Guardians movie is expected to make $120 million during its debut weekend at the box office, which is more than the first Guardians ($94 million) but less than Vol. 2 ($146 million). The latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe will also snap the four-week box office reign of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, starring Pratt as the voice of Mario.
At the international box office, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is expected to add $130 million to $140 million from all markets including China, which is estimated to account for a disappointing $15 million to $20 million of that total. China, once a huge territory for Marvel, hasn’t been friendly toward any Hollywood movies (except Avatar: The Way of Water) in recent years.
In a few weeks, when the chatter around both movies has decreased, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 should trade Rocket Raccoon to The Super Mario Bros. Movie for Tanooki Mario. That should add at least another $20 million to their respective box office totals.
Jared Leto, who famously commits to method acting to the point where he allegedly takes excruciatingly long pee breaks on a movie set, did not fully commit at the Met Gala. That is to say, he dressed up as Choupette (cat of Karl Lagerfeld) to honor the late Lagerfeld on his theme night, but that’s not exactly where the trouble lies. Doja Cat did the same thing, and she went all in for the evening, but Leto surprisingly wavered.
That is to say, Leto reached a point where he took the cat head off. At that point, he was a furry with a Leto head on the toothpaste-looking carpet, which looked much sillier than the full-on cat costume next to fancy ballgowns. Well, Variety‘s Marc Malkin noticed Leto’s costume (because obviously) and brought up the subject to the fabulous Aubrey Plaza (who was wearing “Stella McCartney, who else?”), and here’s how that exchange went. (Spoiler alert: A disappointed Aubrey Plaza awaits):
Malkin: “Did you see Jared Leto came as the cat?”
Plaza: “You know what? He took that head off way too soon.”
Malkin: “Why do you think he should have kept it on longer?”
Plaza: “Because he should have kept it on longer… that’s what Karl would have done!”
She’s as discomfort-inducing as always, and she loves it. Here’s the video:
Let’s be real—buying secondhand allows us to save a few bucks, which is great. But the real thrill is the possibility of snagging that ultra-rare, one-of-a-kind item that’s worth a bajillion times more than we originally paid for it. Yes, that kind of shopping is a lottery unto itself. But man, what a jackpot, should you win.
And of course, it’s not a totally far-fetched fantasy. Costly things get thrown out or donated all the time, ready to be procured at the nearby thrift store, garage sale…
…or, in this case, Facebook Marketplace.
In February 2023, Los Angeles-based designer and container creator Justin Miller posted a TikTok sharing a listing he found for a dark tan leather wingback chair going for $50.
Miller immediately felt the piece was “unique” and dove into some online research. The brand, he discovered, was Frits Henningsen, with the design dating back to the 1930s. Miller would later discover (thanks to a helpful commenter) that the same chair showed up during Kirsten Dunst’s hour tour for Architectural Digest, where the actress mentioned that only 50 of the chairs were ever made.
With all that info, the prices for the chair were expectedly “insane,” ranging from $9,634 to $60,000, to even a whopping $223,943 for a pair of the exact same chair in the listing—meaning that, theoretically, one chair would be worth around $100,000. Yowza.
Of course, with a few scratches in the leather, Miller knew he wouldn’t be getting anywhere near $100,000. But still, he seemed in for a pretty penny. So he of course bought the chair and has documented the ongoing journey in subsequent TikToks.
As he explained in an interview with Insider, the seller, located in Beverly Hills, gave Miller a quick heads up that the chair was potentially worth a lot of money. They had been tasked with selling a family friend’s unwanted items in exchange for a percentage of the profits and had set up a yard sale, only to have to quickly pack everything up again after finding out that the city didn’t allow them. At that point, the only goal really was to sell everything as quickly as possible.
“She knew, she just wanted to get rid of it,” he said.
After procuring the chair, Miller submitted it to auction houses, and, according to Sotheby’s, it is estimated at…drumroll please…between $30,000-$50,000.
Miller is still waiting to get the final price for his chair, but he is undoubtedly patting himself on the back for trusting his gut. And he’s sure to post how much it ultimately sold for on his TikTok, which you can find here.
Meanwhile, if you need me, I’ll be perusing Facebook Marketplace.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is pushing a new bill that will severely restrict members of Congress from owning and/or trading stocks while in office. AOC’s stance on this issue isn’t surprising given her socialist-leanings and anti-establishment positions that want Congress to work for the American people and not its wealthy members. What is surprising is the bill’s co-sponsor: controversial Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz.
After his headline-grabbing antics during the contentious Speaker of the House vote, Gaetz has engaged in a rare reach across the aisle to join forces with AOC and pass H.R. 3003, which would not only put severe limitations on members of Congress, but also on their spouses and dependents.
“When Members have access to classified information, we should not be trading in the stock market on it,” said Ocasio-Cortez. “It’s really that simple.”
“Members of Congress are spending their time trading futures instead of securing the future of our fellow Americans,” Gaetz said. “We cannot allow the Swamp to prioritize investing in stocks over investing in our country.”
Moderate Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and progressive Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) are also co-sponsoring the bill, and Fitzpatrick made it a point to highlight the unusual collaboration.
“The fact that Members of the Progressive Caucus, the Freedom Caucus, and the Bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, reflecting the entirety of the political spectrum, can find common ground on key issues like this should send a powerful message to America,” Fitzpatrick said.
The relationship between a fan and an artist is always evolving. Before social media and the internet, that relationship was mostly made up of live performances and interviews in magazines or on the radio. But now in the digital world there are endless avenues to connect with your favorite musicians. While the relationship between fans and artists has always been special, there is something more personal about fan interactions than ever before, and that is due in large part to the intimate nature of today’s content. The Calm app has only elevated this idea. Initially known for its sleep and meditation content, Calm has more recently started collaborating with artists, creating a new way for fans to experience their favorite musicians.
In many ways, an interaction with your favorite musician on social media elicits a similar feeling to making eye contact at a concert. Fans just want to feel like the artist knows and sees only them in a crowd of thousands of other people and posts. The intimate nature of Calm’s content fosters that same feeling. Drifting off to sleep while listening to Harry Styles’ Sleep Story, “Dream With Me,” feels like a very singular and unique experience, regardless of how many others have or will listen to it. Perhaps a bit differently than other fan experiences, Calm’s content is specifically made with mental health in mind. The addition of music has only supported that. Calm’s Chief Content Officer, Greg Justice, explains that they’re, “on a mission at Calm to support everyone on every step of their mental health journey, and we’re mindful of the transformative effect music often has on one’s mood and mindset. Thus, it made perfect sense to complement our existing library of meditations and Sleep Stories with music to help users focus, fall asleep, or simply relax.”
While this is something that users of Calm have benefited from, Justice says that, “many musicians often have these same goals in mind. The addition of music to Calm has afforded us the unique opportunity to align with artists on authentic collaborations across a range of genres and formats, whether that be an ambient album with Moby – our first-ever release in March of 2019 – or, more recently, an ASMR-themed Sleep Story with Camila Cabello.”
Calm’s most recent collaboration with Cabello falls directly in line with that sentiment as her ASMR-themed Sleep Story “The Beauty Of Winding Down,” was inspired by her love for it. ASMR, or autonomous sensory meridian response, is meant to trigger a tingling sensation in your body that sparks relaxation or sleepiness, and that is the intended goal with Cabello’s Sleep Story. “While we’ve dabbled with ASMR in the past, this is the first time we’ve partnered with an artist on such an experience,” Justice says. “Camila Cabello often uses ASMR as a tool to fall asleep, so it was natural to collaborate with her on *whisper this next part* her very own…ASMR…Sleep Story…’The Beauty of Winding Down.’” For fans of Cabello not only do they now have a new way of connecting with her, but also a tool to help them calm down and achieve deep rest.
I know when I was a teenager I would often fall asleep listening to music, though One Direction’s song “Moments” wasn’t necessarily created for that purpose, as it would play the next, more upbeat song as soon as it was over. Calm’s Sleep Remix series — created in collaboration with Universal Music Group — ensures that won’t happen. The meditation and sleep company partnered with UMG during the pandemic for a first-of-its-kind reimagining of well-known pop songs for bedtime. The series includes Kacey Musgraves’ “Golden Hour,” Ariana Grande’s “breathin,” and Post Malone’s “Circles” among many others. “Rather than the standard radio edit, the series includes hour-long, dreamlike compositions designed to help listeners fall and stay asleep,” explains Justice. This collaboration provides fans with a new take on some of their favorite songs, that also just so happen to be great to listen to as you fall asleep.
Calm’s Sleep Story collaborations are another subset of their sleep content that has both helped the app garner a new audience, and provided fans with an entry point into bettering their mental health and sleep. “For example, many fans of Harry Styles shared that his Calm Sleep Story served as the perfect entry into our wider set of mental health solutions that genuinely benefited their wellbeing,” Justice says. “Prior to our partnership in 2020, Harry had opened up about his personal experience seeking therapy – sharing the positive impact it had on his own well-being as well as encouraging his fans to seek mental health practices of their own.” So when it came time to launch his Sleep Story, “Dream With Me,” the response from fans was so overwhelming that the app crashed for several hours.
Similarly Rosé from BLACKPINK collaborated on a Sleep Story with Calm that had major success. Rosé has also “helped destigmatize the mental health conversation by opening up about her own mental health journey and daily commitment to reconnect with herself through rest and relaxation,” Justice says. “Last December, we released ‘Grounded with Rosé,’ a 30-minute Sleep Story that includes breathing exercises and meditative guidance from Rosé intended to help superfans and everyday listeners alike drift off to dreamland.” Fans are receptive to these collaborations because of how honest the artists are willing to be.
That notion seems to ring true across all of their collaborations. One in particular is Kehlani’s soundscape that was specifically created for people with tinnitus – a condition in which people experience ringing or other sounds in one or both ears, that have no external source. Kehlani found the recommended treatment of ambient noise to be helpful and thus collaborated with Calm on curating, “Ocean Waves For Tinnitus,” a soundscape specifically designed to help others with the condition. While Calm’s soundscapes help Kehlani with her tinnitus, they prove to be beneficial in other areas of her life, as well. “Soundscapes especially help me with my tinnitus, but also helps me when I need to soothe my child, when she needs to go to sleep, when I need to cool the energy down of the house, when I need to take a drive,” says Kehlani. From a fan’s perspective though Kehlani’s curated soundscape is a way to connect with her on a deeper level, regardless of whether or not they have the same condition.
In a sense, consuming Calm’s content is an immersive experience. In an online or print interview, fans would only be able to read about Kehlani’s tinnitus, but with Calm, not only can you read about it in their interview with her, but you can then have a sonic experience that helps you to understand what she goes through while also achieving a level of mindfulness apart from that. Fans are able to connect with her while also taking care of their own mental health.
At the core of Calm is the mission to support people in bettering their mental health through achieving restful meditation and sleep. Through their artist collaborations, they’ve been able to both attract a new audience within different fandoms, and also open up the conversation surrounding mental health through a vast catalog. Calm sleep expert, Dr. Shelby Harris, says, “There’s no one-size-fits-all approach. If you find something that helps improve your sleep and doesn’t negatively impact any sleep quality or quantity, then go for it.” So whether you’re Camila Cabello’s biggest fan or you just need some help getting more rest, Calm’s artist collaborations will both help you connect with your favorite artist in a more personal way, while also supporting your mental health. Seems like a win-win.
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