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The hype surrounding SOS, SZA’s first album since her 2017 debut breakthrough Ctrl, was astronomically high ahead of its December 9 release. That’s reflected in the demand for (and reactions to) her supporting North American arena tour that will kick off in February 2023 with Omar Apollo. But SZA’s expectations were low.

SZA began her guest spot on the Sunday, December 18 episode of the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast with the broad admission that she “100 percent did not think” she’d grow to have such intense commercial popularity, hates predictions because “it can set you up for embarrassment” and wishes “everyone would have no expectations whatsoever at all times.”

Around the 14-minute mark, host Brian Hiatt asked SZA to identify her low point in the SOS process. “That happened every month or so, every week, where I’d be like, ‘This f*cking sucks. I don’t wanna put this out at all,’” she said. “It also happened probably just a few times, like, maybe up until the last week.” The Grammy winner added that she’d even told her engineer that they could move to India and disappear if the reaction to SOS was sour, and she expected the album reviews to be poor when people complained about how old “Shirt” was when she dropped it.

Elsewhere in the 33-minute conversation, as noted in a Rolling Stone article separate from the episode itself, SZA touched on her inclination to resist outside expectations in the specific context of how smashingly SOS has been received as a 23-track body of work: “I never thought in a million years that people would like it. My dad’s visiting right now, with my mom. Everybody came down to make sure I didn’t lose my mind if the album went bad once it came out. And now we’re just hanging out, ’cause it didn’t go badly!”

The overwhelming response to “Ghost In The Machine” featuring Phoebe Bridgers feels like a microcosm of SZA’s fear on the front end, considering she told NME she was surprised the song came together so quickly.

Still, SZA is human, and she shared with Rolling Stone at the end of their 33-minute conversation that her forthcoming first-ever headlining arena tour is “so terrifying” because she has “this weird fear of no one coming.” She can probably put that fear to bed, as Pop Base relayed over the weekend that SZA’s tour has sold out.

Tom Cruise has already dominated the season with his legendary holiday cake, so naturally, he’s upping the game by adding death-defying stunts into the mix. In a new video posted to his social media accounts, Cruise can be seen hanging outside of a plane as he addresses the poor cameraman that has to follow him around while he’s hurling himself through the air. Turns out, the actor is just really grateful for everyone making Top Gun: Maverick a massive hit this year, and what better way to show it than spitting in the face of death?

“Hey everyone, here we are over stunning South Africa, and we’re filming Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning parts one and two,” Cruise yells via Variety. “I didn’t want the year to end without thanking you all for coming out to the theaters, and thank you for supporting Top Gun: Maverick.”

In a surprise twist, Mission: Impossible director Christoper McQuarrie is along for the ride, and he tells Cruise to wrap it up so they can get the next shot for the movie. Cruise shoots him the gun fingers then leaps out of the plane, but he’s not quite done wishing people a happy holidays.

“As always, thank you for allowing us to entertain you,” Cruise says while literally falling through the air. “It truly is the honor of a lifetime. I’m running out of altitude, so I’ve got to get back to work. We’ve got to get this shot. You have a very safe and happy holiday. We’ll see you at the movies.”

Buddy, wouldn’t it have been easier to send us all cakes? Sweet, delicious cakes. We appreciate the message, but you almost died for the video equivalent of a Hallmark card. You don’t have to do this!

(Via Tom Cruise on Twitter)

Harry & Meghan is a glorified-if-inoffensive commercial for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, but based on how the Brits are reacting to the Netflix docu-series, you’d think it was a snuff film — and Paddington is the one getting snuffed. Piers Morgan had a freaking meltdown, but his over-the-top reaction was nothing compared to Jeremy Clarkson’s. The radio broadcaster and Top Gear creator, who refers to himself as a “small voice of calm and reason” in his Twitter bio (spoken like the worst guy at every dinner party you’ve been to), wrote an op-ed for The Sun that is not going over well.

“I actually feel rather sorry for [Harry] because today he’s just a glove puppet with no more control over what he says or does than Basil Brush. Meghan, though, is a different story. I hate her,” Clarkson wrote. “I hate her on a cellular level. At night, I’m unable to sleep as I lie there, grinding my teeth and dreaming of the day when she is made to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while the crowds chant, ‘Shame!’ and throw lumps of excrement… Everyone who’s my age thinks the same way.”

First off, no they don’t. Second, someone needs to chill out by 40 percent. At least.

The column has received over 6,000 complaints, especially the passage comparing Markle to Cersei Lannister from Game of Thrones. Even Clarkson’s daughter, Emily, publicly opposed her dad’s manifesto, writing, “I want to make it very clear that I stand against everything my dad wrote about Meghan Markle.” In response to the backlash, Clarkson tweeted, “Oh dear. I’ve rather put my foot in it. In a column I wrote about Meghan, I made a clumsy reference to a scene in Game of Thrones and this has gone down badly with a great many people. I’m horrified to have caused so much hurt and I shall be more careful in future.” The column, with the Thrones reference, is still up.

And no one is buying his apology tweet.

(Via the Sun)

Britney Spears has often spoken out about her years-long conservatorship, but somebody we haven’t heard from as extensively is her father Jamie Spears. Now, though, he has shared his thoughts about the situation in a new interview.

Jamie told The Daily Mail that he believes the conservatorship saved both Britney’s relationship with her sons and her life. He said:

“Not everybody’s going to agree with me. It’s been one hell of a time. But I love my daughter with all my heart and soul. Where would Britney be right now without that conservatorship? And I don’t know if she’d be alive. I don’t. For protecting her, and also protecting the kids, conservatorship was a great tool. Without it, I don’t think she would have got the kids back.”

He also said of how the conservatorship benefited the children, “My relationship with Kevin [Federline] gave them a sense of peace, and of protection. Kevin will tell you this too — it was us who raised the kids. I just did what I was supposed to do, or felt like I needed to do. I didn’t make any decisions on my own — the team of people were me and my associate, and Kevin. We could all take the kids to the doctor, and to school. At that time, Kevin had a lot going on. And the conservatorship made sure the boys never left that house without security. They didn’t go to school one day without lunch.”

Jamie went on to insist that the conservatorship helped save his daughter from financial ruin, saying, “She was broke. She had no money whatsoever. The conservatorship set a resource where she could get back financially. And, you know, we worked — and she worked — and she got herself straight up financially.”

He also noted of the status of the family’s relationship, “Each individual has got lots of work to do. I don’t know if some of them want to do the work or not. It’s going to be a tough thing, but that’s the goal. Like I say, family’s not in good shape right now. That’s all I can say. It’s better — but we’ve got a lot of work to do.’

Read more from the interview here.

Tom Cruise may have loved it, but not everyone was able to see Tenet, which came out during one of the many peaks of the pandemic in 2020. Christopher Nolan is making up for that film’s limited theatrical release with his next blockbuster.

Oppenheimer is an “IMAX-shot epic thriller that thrusts audiences into the pulse-pounding paradox of the enigmatic man who must risk destroying the world in order to save it,” according to the plot synopsis from Universal. That man is J. Robert Oppenheimer (played by long-time Nolan collaborator Cillian Murphy), the so-called “father of the atomic bomb.” Did the Dunkirk and The Dark Knight director recreate a nuclear explosion without the use of CGI? Of course he did. Back to the movies, indeed.

You can watch the first full-length trailer above.

Oppenheimer also stars Emily Blunt as Kitty Oppenheimer, Matt Damon as General Leslie Groves Jr., Robert Downey, Jr. as Lewis Strauss, Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock, Benny Safdie as Edward Teller, Michael Angarano as Robert Serber, and Josh Hartnett as Ernest Lawrence, as well as Rami Malek, Kenneth Branagh, Dane DeHaan, Dylan Arnold, David Krumholtz, Alden Ehrenreich, and Matthew Modine. Good cast! Oppenheimer comes out on July 21, 2023, the same day as Barbie. I wonder what Stanley Kubrick will see first.

Billie Eilish has already reached so many milestones in her young life and this weekend brought another major one: On December 18, she turned 21 years old. To mark to occasion, she threw herself a big birthday bash and the stars were out in full force.

British Vogue notes that attending the celebration, hosted at The Edition in Hollywood, were Eilish’s boyfriend Jesse Rutherford, Lil Nas X, Dove Cameron, Kendall Jenner, Hailey Bieber, Avril Lavigne, Euphoria‘s Barbie Ferreira, and Judas And The Black Messiah‘s Dominique Fishback. Per social media evidence, also present were Doja Cat, Eric Andre, Justin Bieber, Olivia Rodrigo, Khalid, Lauren Jauregui, Noah Cyrus, Raveena, Skylar Astin, Hailee Steinfeld, MLMA, Njomza, and Phem.

Furthermore, Eilish is also selling an exclusive bit of birthday merch for just 24 hours: a simple t-shirt that reads, “been a good girl for 21 years.”

Elsewhere, Eilish’s mother Maggie Baird also shared a touching message, writing on Instagram, “Happy Birthday darling Billie!! In so many ways you have lived more in twenty one years than most of us could imagine in a lifetime. You have worked incredibly hard, sacrificed so much and missed some of the milestones others get to experience easily. Through all of it you have stayed kind and thoughtful and so funny and hilarious. You have used your gifts, platform and money to make the world a better place and have given so much joy to your family and all who love you and I couldn’t love you more or be more in awe of the person you are. Happiest of birthdays to you and thank you for being such a shining light!!”

Find more photos and videos from the party below.

Drake has been quite busy this year — from releasing two albums and racking up a slew of nominations to eclipsing other commercial juggernauts like Eminem and breaking the Beatles’ record for most top-five singles. The Canadian hitmaker has cemented his cultural footprint with a career that spans nearly a decade.

By collaborating with the hottest artists out right now, like Jack Harlow and Tems, the rapper consistently finds ways to stay relevant and atop the Billboard charts. Drake always finds himself at the center of cultural conversations, whether it’s a new hair change or sparking debates about misogyny in rap. Here are some of the biggest moments from Drake in 2022.

Drake Releases Honestly, Nevermind

With his seventh studio album, Honestly, Nevermind, Drake transports fans into an electronic dance fever dream. With cascading beats and the rapper’s notoriously emo lines, the album will have you pumping your fist in the air in one moment and crying in the next. The album also caused a significant debate about the roots of house music, where fans claimed that Drake was “reclaiming” the Black art form.

The album represents a full-circle moment for the pop star, who has slowly been edging toward more dance-themed hits like 2016’s “One Dance.”

Drake Eclipses Beatles For The Most Top-Five Singles Of All Time

The hitmaker has been racking up record-breaking awards all year, but this might be the biggest. The rapper has now eclipsed the Beatles for the most top-five singles ever. “Staying Alive” by DJ Khaled and featuring both Drake and Lil Baby helped the “Sticky” rapper claim his 30th top-five song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

But it doesn’t stop there: The rapper has also become the highest-selling artist in RIAA history, surpassing Eminem.

Drake Releases Her Loss With 21 Savage

After releasing a collaborative project with Future in 2016, What A Time to Be Alive, fans were eager to know when the rapper would do another collab and, more importantly, with who. Following the release of Honestly, Nevermind this past summer, the rapper teamed up with 21 Savage for his next project, Her Loss.

Along with topping the charts, the album caused quite a bit of controversy. Drake found himself in hot water with Megan Thee Stallion fans after allegedly dissing her on one of the album’s tracks, “Circo Loco.” Vogue also sued the rapper and 21 Savage for using a fake cover during the rollout of their album.

The Patriots and Raiders appeared destined for overtime, as New England handed the ball off on the final play of regulation to Rhamondre Stevenson from their own 44 yard line.

What transpired from there is one of the craziest (and dumbest) plays of the season as Stevenson pitched the ball back to Jakobi Meyers, who then ran backwards and launched the ball back to Mac Jones. The problem was, Chandler Jones was waiting there, caught the errant backwards pass, and then stiff armed Mac Jones through the ground before running to the end zone for a walk off touchdown. If you have not seen the play, please enjoy.

One of the best things in sports is checking in on local radio calls of big plays after they happen, because the emotion of the home radio broadcast always brings a little something extra — either elation or disappointment — to the play. The Patriots broadcast absolutely brought it on this play, as brief excitement turns to confusion and ultimately pure disgust.

The color commentator really steals the show here, because the first “oh my god” as Meyers throws the ball up to Jones is such a pure moment of realization that disaster is on its way. From there, he lets loose some pent up frustration with watching this Patriots team each week with a “this might be one of the dumbest teams I’ve ever seen,” and honestly, I can’t blame him because this was impossibly stupid.

This article originally appeared on 12.08.17.

Centenarians — people 100 years or older — are a rarity. Their lives are often scrutinized as holding the key to aging.

Czech photographer Jan Langer‘s portrait series “Faces of Century” shows them in a different light: as human beings aged by years of experience, but at their deepest level, unchanged by the passing of time.

In the series, Langer juxtaposes his portraits with another portrait of the subject from decades earlier. He recreates the original pose and lighting as closely as he can — he wants us to see them not just as they are now, but how they have and haven’t changed over time. That is the key to the series.

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These are the rare faces of people who have lived through two world wars, a cavalcade of regimes, and the rush of advancements in modern life. These photos, and the stories of the lives lived by the people in them, show not only the beauty of aging, but how even as we age, we still remain essentially ourselves.

1. Prokop Vejdělek, at age 22 and 101

Vejdělek is a former metallurgical engineer who will never forget the taste of warm fresh goat’s milk.

2. Bedřiška Köhlerová, at age 26 and 103

Originally born in Merano, Italy, Köhlerová wishes to visit Italy one more time.

3. Ludvík Chybík, at age 20 and 102

Chybík is a former postal carrier and says he will never forget the route he worked every day.

4. Vincenc Jetelina, at age 30 and 105

Jetelina spent eight years in prison after World War II. Now, he just wants to live the rest of his life in peace.

5. Marie Fejfarová, at age 101

Fejfarová burned all her material memories, including old photographs, when she decided to move to a long-term care facility. She lived a dramatic life, hiding from the Nazis and then the Russians, but eventually she was able to travel the world with her husband. Her experiences show there’s no such thing as too late in life to start a new chapter.

6. Antonín Kovář, at age 25 and 102

Kovář is a former musician whose daughter comes to visit him every day. He wishes to play the clarinet once more.

7. Anna Vašinová, at age 22 and 102

Vašinová will always remember the day her husband was taken away by the Nazis. She wishes to be reunited with him after death.

8. Stanislav Spáčil, at age 17 and 102

Spáčil was an electrical engineer throughout his life and thinks that it’s too early in his life to think about the past.

9. Anna Pochobradská, at age 30 and 100

Pochobradská was a farmer. She now lives a quiet life and is thankful that her daughter visits her every weekend.

10. Antonín Baldrman, at age 17 and 101

Baldrman was a clerk early in life and keeps up with current events by reading the newspaper.

11. Marie Burešová, at age 23 and 101

Burešová loves talking to her family and wishes to have them all together again.

12. Vlasta Čížková, at age 23 and 101

Čížková cooked in the dining room at the airport in the small village of Vodochody. She’ll never forget reciting her own poetry at wedding ceremonies.

13. Ludmila Vysloužilová, at age 23 and 101

Vysloužilová stays active every day by chopping wood, shoveling snow, and doing work around her house.

The photographer Langer was initially inspired to document the lives of elderly people because of what he saw as the media’s lack of coverage of them. He decided to focus on people over the age of 100 — a very rare demographic indeed. The 2010 U.S. Census reported only 53,364 centenarians, which is only 0.19% of the population of people 70 years or older.

“One should live every single moment according to their best knowledge and conscience because one day we will see clearly what has a real value,” Langer says of what he learned from his subjects while photographing them.

The series was originally part of a story that Langer did for the Czech news outlet aktuálně.cz. You can see more photos from the portrait sessions by following the link.

The Patriots and Raiders spent Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas trying to one-up each other in ways to lose a football game. The Raiders went first blew a 14-point lead halftime lead on a pick-six and some truly awful offensive effort for much of the second half, needing a touchdown from Derek Carr in the final minute to tie the game and force overtime.

Bill Belichick and the Pats couldn’t abide by another 10 minute of football though, as they had dinner reservations to get to on the Strip, so they decided to make the dumbest play of the season (and one of the dumbest of all-time) trying to lateral the ball around the field in a tie game, with Jakobi Meyers chucking the ball up at midfield trying to go back to Mac Jones but falling into the arms of Chandler Jones, who stiff armed Mac directly to hell before running it back for the game-winning touchdown.

It is truly baffling why Meyers decided to chuck the ball 25 yards backwards and across the field, because, again, this wasn’t a desperation play not to win. The game was tied, after the first pitch failed to yield a path to the end zone, just go down and you still can win the game. Instead, you do the only thing you can’t in that situation and heave one to Chandler Jones while your poor QB has to try and tackle a defensive end.