GoneTrending

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues to be an embarrassing failure for Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader has reportedly adopted a new tactic for asserting his tough guy image: yelling at subordinates whenever they’re right about something and he’s wrong. That’s one way to distract from reports that Putin fell down the steps and pooped himself, we guess.

During a meeting with Russian officials on Wednesday, Putin reportedly flipped out when Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov publicly corrected him not once, but three times over the state of construction projects for a new aircraft. Putin insisted that there are no new construction orders for 2023, which is not the case, and he did not respond well when Manturoy repeatedly informed him that there are orders ready for the year.

Via The Daily Beast:

“Let’s finish this, what’s the point of sparring here with you? The directors told me [there are no contracts]. Really, why are you playing the fool?” he scolded Manturov, demanding he get the job in a month and “no later.”

Russian state media appeared to seize on the confrontation to play up Putin’s macho image, reporting on his dressing down of Manturov but leaving out the trade minister’s initial comments that there were in fact contracts for the year.

Put also tried to save face by declaring that all of the problems Russian forces are facing in the Ukraine are about to be fixed any minute now. Everything’s going to be cool. Don’t even worry about it.

“None of what our enemy predicted for us happened,” Putin said. “And this is, of course, thanks primarily to the citizens of Russia, their composure, all of our composure, readiness for challenges and to work in difficult conditions.”

(Via The Daily Beast)

Musicians and industry professionals have a well-documented obsession with chart placement. However, now in the dawn of streaming, there’s a growing pressure to deliver in other analytical ways, including streaming numbers. With physical albums sales continuing to fall, artists like Billie Eilish, Drake, and Ed Sheeran have all dominated across streaming platforms.

Although, traditional music medium such as vinyls seeing a huge spike in popularity, with artist like Taylor Swift and Adele (much to the displeasure of independent artists) including it in their album rollouts, streaming remains in the top spot of music activity. In fact, according to Luminate, the entertainment and data insight company behind Billboard‘s chart tracking, “on-demand song streams (audio and video combined) increased 12.2% to 1.268 trillion,” marking “the first time that yearly U.S. on-demand audio streams surpassed 1 trillion.”

The report revealed that “29% of all on-demand audio streams in the U.S. in 2022 were R&B/hip-hop songs.” No further information was provided for what role other genres play in this milestone.

Digital streaming platforms have like Apple Music and Spotify have continued to introduced new features to increase users’ app usage. Last year, Apple Music introduced Apple Music Sing, which gives subscribers an elevated experience with their favorite songs through enhanced karaoke abilities. While, Spotify expanded their Spotify Wrapped data points to include mood breakdowns and personality points of users most popular songs.

HEY

HEY

LISTEN

JUST RUN OVER THE MURDER DOLL WITH YOUR CAR

FREAKING FLATTEN IT

IF YOU THINK IT DID A MURDER

OR EVEN IF YOU THINK IT MIGHT DO A MURDER

OR IF YOU SUSPECT IT OF OTHER CRIMES

LIKE MAYBE IF YOU THINK A LIFELIKE DOLL MIGHT BE STEALING YOUR IDENTITY ONLINE WHEN YOU ARE SLEEPING

CHARGING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS OF DOLL DRESSES TO YOUR CREDIT CARD

THAT’S NOT OKAY, EITHER

DRAG IT INTO THE DRIVEWAY AND SMUSH IT

EVEN IF IT JUST LOOKS AT YOU WEIRD ONE TIME

LIKE, IF YOUR DOLL LOOKS AT YOU LIKE THIS

OR THIS

OR THIS

THAT SHOULD BE IT

PUT IT DOWN BEHIND YOUR REAR TIRES AND ROLL RIGHT OVER IT

THEN PUT THE CAR IN DRIVE AND RUN OVER IT AGAIN FORWARDS

SPLINTER THAT DEAD-EYED FREAK

IT’S NOT EVEN A CRIME

YOU CAN’T GO TO JAIL FOR RUNNING OVER YOUR OWN DOLL ON PURPOSE IN YOUR DRIVEWAY

THE NEIGHBORS MIGHT LOOK AT YOU WEIRD, I GUESS

BUT I BET THEY’D PREFER HAVING A STRANGE NEIGHBOR WHO RUNS OVER DOLLS SOMETIMES THAN BEING MURDERED BY A KNIFE-WIELDING PLASTIC DEMON

YOU ARE DOING THEM A FAVOR

EVEN IF THEY DON’T REALIZE IT

YOU CAN’T BE TOO CAREFUL

IT’S HAPPENED TOO MANY TIMES

THE THING WHERE A DOLL DOES MURDER

REMEMBER CHUCKY?

REMEMBER ANNABELLE?

AND NOW M3GAN?

LOOK AT THIS THING

ABSOLUTELY NOT

YOU HAVE TO PROTECT YOUR FAMILY

YOU HAVE TO PROTECT THE COMMUNITY

FROM THE MURDER

DON’T WORRY ABOUT HOW PEOPLE LOOK AT YOU WHEN YOU DO IT

PEOPLE PROBABLY THOUGHT BATMAN WAS WEIRD AT FIRST, TOO

“WHY IS THAT GUY DRESSING LIKE A BAT TO FIGHT CRIME?”

“WHY ISN’T HE DRESSED LIKE SOMETHING SCARIER, LIKE A DINOSAUR OR A BEAR WITH CIRCULAR SAWS FOR HANDS?”

DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT

IT’S FOR YOUR PROTECTION, SHARON

JESUS CHRIST

RUN OVER ALL YOUR DOLLS, ACTUALLY

ONE COULD COME TO LIFE TONIGHT AND HAVE VIOLENCE IN ITS HEART

YOU DON’T KNOW

PUT ALL THE DOLLS IN A SACK RIGHT NOW AND CRUNCH THEM UNDER THE WHEELS OF YOUR SUBARU

OR AT LEAST SET ALL OF THEM UP IN THE YARD FACED TOWARD THE DRIVEWAY WHILE YOU RUN OVER ONE

TO SEND A MESSAGE

ALTHOUGH THAT MIGHT BACKFIRE

THAT COULD LEAD TO A “JOHN WICK’S DOG” SITUATION

WHERE THE DOLLS ARE OUT FOR REVENGE NOW

ALSO, THAT WOULD BE EVEN TOUGHER TO EXPLAIN TO THE NEIGHBORS

JUST RUN THEM ALL OVER

RUN OVER ALL THE MURDER DOLLS

AND POTENTIAL MURDER DOLLS

ANY TOY WITH EYES

DON’T RUN OVER THE MUPPETS, THOUGH

THEY’RE COOL

ALL THE REST, THOUGH

TO BE SAFE

LISTEN TO ME

THANK YOU

Just before losing another round of voting, Kevin McCarthy smugly told a member of the press that he knew he had the Speaker of the House gig in the bag because “I can count.” Humiliation soon followed. Now, as Insider reports, Mike Lindell might be ready to follow a similar path.

While humiliation is certainly not a new feeling for Lindell, he might want to take a cue from McCarthy’s misguided confidence. For a man who hawks sh*tty pillows via creepy infomercials for a living, he sure does fancy himself a politico. And we can probably blame Donald Trump for that. Over the past several years, the Pillow Man — and longtime crack addict — has reportedly sank about $40 million of his own money into trying to prove that the 2020 presidential election was rigged (it was not). And while he has promised to share plenty of damning information over the years, the most monumental thing to come from his many baseless claims about rigged elections just might be the $1.3 billion lawsuit that was filed against him by Dominion Voting Systems (not to mention similar lawsuits filed against Fox News and other media networks that allowed him to spew his meritless accusations).

But following the 2022 midterms — and the lack of the predicted red wave — Lindell took his political obsessions one step further by announcing his plans to knock longtime RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel out of the top spot and take her job. And now, like McCarthy before him, the pillow scion is claiming that he’s got the votes to win!

On Monday evening, the pillow magnate told Insider that he has “locked in” the votes he needs to make sure he can knock McDaniel out of the position she has held for the past five years.

“It’ll be like, what you’ve just seen happening in our Congress here, you know,” Lindell told Insider. “There’s gonna be multiple votes, and there’s a three-way race, and we all stay in until somebody gets to 85.”

“I have plenty of states now,” Lindell continued. “I believe she’s well under 85; with my math, I’d say somewhere around 70 to 75.”

Whether Lindell’s math is any good remains to be seen.

(Via Insider)

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is headed home. According to a statement released by the team on Wednesday, Hamlin, who was moved to a hospital in Buffalo on Monday after spending the previous week hospitalized in Cincinnati, was discharged from Buffalo General Medical Center/Gates Vascular Institute and will continue his rehabilitation with the team and at home.

The Bills announced the news on their official Twitter account, saying that Hamlin underwent a series of tests that make his doctors “confident that Damar can be safely discharged.”

Hamlin has been hospitalized since last Monday when Buffalo traveled to Cincinnati to play the Bengals. During the game’s first quarter, Hamlin made a tackle on Bengals receiver Tee Higgins. Hamlin got up before collapsing and needing CPR on the field, as he went into cardiac arrest and needed to be taken away from the stadium via an ambulance. In the ensuing days, doctors were able to determine that Hamlin was “neurologically intact,” and he was eventually able to have a breathing tube removed, which let him communicate with his teammates and coaches.

The Bills will kick off their postseason on Sunday when the team plays host to the Miami Dolphins. The game is scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m. ET on CBS.

On November 21, 2022, Beabadoobee dropped by the famous KEXP studio to give a live performance of some of her most popular songs. She kicked off the set, which KEXP just recently shared in full, with “10:36,” using a blue electric guitar to her benefit as she jams out on the indie rock track. She also brought a backing band, complete with a drummer, bassist, and an additional guitarist.

As the announcer noted, “10:36” appeared on Beabadoobee’s most recent album, Beatopia, which dropped last July. “It’s so good,” the KEXP speaker said after the song. “We’re just doing a little instrument change here.”

From there, Beabadoobee played another album cut with “Talk,” which features some incredibly hypnotic instrumental solos. “Still not sure if I’ve seen you before,” she sang.

She finished the set with “Don’t Get The Deal” and “The Perfect Pair.”

“I wasn’t ready for a debut for the first couple of years,” she previously told Uproxx in 2021, a year before Beatopia dropped. “It took me a few years to get there. It was building my way up to that. I didn’t want to just make the same type of music for the rest of my life, I discovered new music and artists along the way, and that influenced me.”

Watch Beabadoobee’s full KEXP performance above.

Shortly after HBO Max announced Mindy Kaling’s Velma series, we heard that this was an adult take, and the above trailer gives a further look at what that means. Granted, “murder” is nothing new when it comes to matters involving the Scooby Doo gang, but there is some twerking. Perhaps “grown up” would be a better way to phrase this series? We will find out more soon, given that the show premieres on January 12, but it’s worth noting that the Velma project that canonizes Velma’s sexuality (and makes Linda Cardellini happy) is an altogether different project and involves an HBO Max film that debuted in October 2022.

In Mindy Kaling’s series, she voices Velma, who is South Asian, and there’s not much Scooby in the cards for this show. The protagonist does, however, have an evidence board that would make Charlie Day proud, and Constance Wu picks up the role of Daphne. Sam Richardson steps in as Shaggy, and Glenn Howerton takes on the typically dense role of Fred. From the synopsis:

VELMA is an adult animated comedy series telling the origin story of Velma Dinkley, the unsung and underappreciated brains of the Scooby-Doo Mystery Inc. gang. This original and humorous spin unmasks the complex and colorful past of one of America’s most beloved mystery solvers.

Expect to also hear the voices of “Weird Al” Yankovic, Jane Lynch, Wanda Sykes, Melissa Fumero, Fortune Feamster, Debby Ryan, and more.

Velma premieres on January 12, and the first season will continue through February 9.

Yesterday (January 10), the line-up for this year’s Coachella music festival was revealed and Latin music will be present at the event. Becky G, Eladio Carrión, and Bratty responded to the news about their upcoming appearances at Coachella.

Bad Bunny will be making history as the first Latin music artist to headline Coachella. He is co-headlining the festival that will take place on the weekends of April 14 and April 21 with Blackpink and Frank Ocean. Alongside Bad Bunny, more Latin music acts like Rosalía, Kali Uchis, and Becky G will be performing on the Coachella mainstage per the line-up.

Becky G appeared as a special guest during Karol G’s Coachella set last year. The two Latina superstars sang their hit “Mamiii” together. Come April, Becky G will be performing on her own set at the event for the first time. She expressed her excitement about the news on Twitter. “See you in the desert, Coachella,” Becky G wrote on Twitter.

Rising Puerto Rican rapper Eladio Carrión will be bringing Latin hip-hop to Coachella. Ahead of The Sauce USA Tour in May, Carrión’s can see him make his debut at the music festival in April. Carrión recently flexed his knockout bars in the “HP Freestyle” video that was released earlier this week. “SAUCEBOYZ @ COACHELLA!!!” Carrión wrote on Twitter. “What a time to be alive. Thanks to all the people who support my music. You are really helping me achieve my dreams.”

Bratty will be bringing Latin alternative music to the Coachella stage. The Mexican rocker has teased her upcoming release Es Mi Fiesta Y Si Quiero Hago Un EP with the singles “Continental” featuring Nsqk and Méne and “¿Y Cómo?” with Hinds. Bratty expressed her excitement to be performing at the music festival.

“MY FIRST TIME IN THE UNITED STATES AND IN COACHELLA WTF IS THIS DREAM?????!!!” she wrote on Twitter.

An all-new Jeopardy! spinoff is coming to ABC primetime. Titled Jeopardy! Masters, the show will pit some of the quiz show’s greatest champs against each other into two back-to-back matches. Unlike other Jeopardy! specials, this one will not be hosted by Mayim Bialik. Instead, Ken Jennings will work the podium, which would presumably take him out of the running for being a contestant despite being one of the best-known Jeopardy! champs.

Although, if there was ever an opportunity for a Jennings vs. Amy Schneider showdown, this would be it. Via The Hollywood Reporter:

Jeopardy! Masters will feature what ABC calls a “Champions League style” competition, with a series of games featuring six of the best players in recent years: Matt Amodio, Sam Buttrey, Andrew He, James Holzhauer, Mattea Roach and Amy Schneider. Each hour-long episode will feature two games among different combinations of the six contestants, leading up to the crowing of a champion.

Schneider recently won the 2022 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions, so she’ll no doubt be a fierce competitor going into the spinoff. However, Schneider did share that after being last year’s GOAT, she immediately got schooled at bar trivia, which quickly brought her back down to earth.

“Tonight I went out to bar trivia for the first time since my first Jeopardy appearance!” Schneider tweeted back in November along with a less than triumphant reveal. “My team came in third.”

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

James Cameron might have a point if he believes that he saved cinema in 2022, even though that it was really because of Nicole Kidman, but, sure, we can let him have his victory lap after Avatar: The Way Of Water made waves in theaters across the globe.

While speaking about the film’s success, Cameron thinks this is just the beginning of the movie theater resurgence. “I’m thinking of it in the terms of we’re going back to theaters around the world,” Cameron told Variety while attending the Golden Globes. He thinks that the time of streaming movies on your iPhone is a thing of the past, and going to theaters will make a huge post-COVID comeback.

The director continued, “They’re even going back to theaters in China where they’re having this big COVID surge. We’re saying as a society, ‘We need this! We need to go to theaters.’ Enough with the streaming already! I’m tired of sitting on my ass.” Of course, Tom Cruise already told us this, but it’s a nice reminder.

Cameron, who frequently loves to bring up asses when talking about his movies for some reason, later clarified that he means that the total immersion aspect of the moviegoing experience can’t be replicated at home because of pesky distractions like phones. Because, in a perfect world, you would be sitting on your ass when watching a movie, for comfort’s sake.

“When we go to the movies we make a deal with ourselves to have undivided attention for a couple of hours,” He explained. “It’s about immersing yourself… choosing to commit to that ahead of time.”

Cameron sure knows a thing or two about committing to things way ahead of time, so he’s the expert on this subject!

(Via Variety)