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Taylor Swift’s tickets for her 2023 The Eras Tour are causing chaos amongst fans by going on sale today, as the demand seems to be the highest it’s ever been. Following the record-breaking release of her Midnights album, Swift’s first live shows in years are turning out to be her biggest US tour to date.

In addition to the first round announcement tour dates, Swift has since added seventeen more, including multiple stops in cities like Las Vegas, Tampa, Nashville, Chicago, and more. There are now 52 shows. She is also playing five nights at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium, which will be the final dates of the US leg of this tour in August.

Her last time touring was for the Reputation Stadium Tour. According to Economic Times, that tour consisted of 38 stops — which is nothing compared to The Eras Tour now. It grossed $266 million with two million fans attending in total.

Swift had also planned for a number of shows in 2020 in support of her Lover album. Those were eventually canceled due to the pandemic. Since then, she has turned out three new studio albums and two re-recorded versions, boosting her popularity immensely.

Based on this current trajectory, Swift’s The Eras Tour is truly gearing up to be a massive tour. And hey, it even crashed Ticketmaster.

When you’re a superstar producer and you need a hit, it helps when you already have one to sample for it. As Will.I.Am tells Just Blaze and Katty Customs on the latest episode of Fresh Pair, inspiration can strike at any time — and have some unlikely origins. In this case, the hit he needed to produce was for Usher after being asked by RCA Records President Mark Pitts for “an international smash” with little other guidance.

At the time, Will was on tour with his band Black Eyed Peas promoting their 2009 album The E.N.D. and its No. 1 hit single “I Gotta Feeling,” which was a worldwide hit. According to the hitmaking producer, the group had just done a French TV show and after performing “I Gotta Feeling,” the crowd began a now-familiar chant. After getting the show’s host to email him the recording of the episode, he pulled the crowd’s cheering, turning into the foundation for Usher’s “OMG.”

It’s a good thing he did, at least for Just Blaze, who said the song has “saved my ass many times in a DJ set.” “OMG” did become the international smash Pitts wanted, topping charts in Australia, Ireland, The UK, and New Zealand, as well as the US, and selling 7 million copies worldwide in 2010 alone. Mission accomplished!

Watch the preview clip of this week’s Fresh Pair above, and stay tuned for the full episode tomorrow.

Bobby Shmurda has been an absolute delight since his return, sharing all kinds of surprisingly wholesome stories about his prison experience as he works his way back into the spotlight with new music and charming interviews. In his latest of the latter, he sits down with Drink Champs to share stories about he’s still getting used to being a star on the outside.

As he explained, he still doesn’t always recognize his fellow celebrities, recalling one particularly hilarious instance in which he mistook NBA star Klay Thompson for one of his former fellow inmates. “Deadass, I meet basketball players, and I don’t even know they’re basketball players,” he chuckled. “I met Klay Thompson the other day; why I thought this n**** was in Clinton [Correctional Facility, here Bobby served his six-year racketeering sentence] with me? I’m like, ‘Yo, I know this n**** from somewhere!’ Bro came to me like, ‘You dumb-ass n****, that’s Klay Thompson.’ I’m like, ‘Who? Klay Thompson? N**** look different on TV.’ I’m like, ‘Bro I don’t watch much TV like that, I be in the streets, my bad.’”

Of course, Thompson, one of the nice guys of the NBA, told him not to worry about the case of mistaken identity, laughing it off.

You can watch the full interview up top.

By the time this week’s Best New Pop roundup drops, the nominations for the 2023 Grammys will finally be out in the world. While the eligibility period for submissions ended months ago, a bunch of major pop stars returned with new songs this week — which could easily be strong contenders for 2024. Although that feels wildly far away, you can get a headstart early by being a fan of the following tracks below. (You know, so you can say you listened before it was cool.)

From another soundtrack release from RiRi to a current TV star making waves with her new EP, here is Uproxx’s roundup of the best new pop songs you don’t want to miss this week.

Rihanna – “Born Again”

The second Rihanna release from the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack, “Born Again” is a powerful ballad that’s arguably even stronger than the previously-released “Lift Me Up.” Here, her voice (and the production on it) is crystal clear as it takes center stage in the song. By the bridge, the added harmonies and instrumental change emphasize the scene that the movie’s viewers have described as emotional.

Ava Max – “Weapons”

Ava Max’s “Weapons” immediately commands attention as she directs listeners to “Stop!” in the opening line. And it works brilliantly. While this eventually gets re-introduced in the song’s chorus, listeners can’t help but continue to hear what comes next — a synth-driven that encourages living in the moment.

Reneé Rapp – “Too Well”

While fans might recognize Reneé Rapp from her role on HBO Max’s The Sex Lives Of College Girls, she is also shining in the music industry this year. With a single from her new debut EP, Everything To Everyone, “Too Well” opens with a twinkling, lullaby-like instrumental before Rapp begins detailing the somber aspects of a relationship. With so many great singles this year, she truly is a rising pop presence to watch.

Kim Petras – “If Jesus Was A Rockstar”

Petras’ “If Jesus Was A Rockstar” is primed to be a major hit, following in the footsteps of her chart-topping collab with Sam Smith. On the surface, the radio-ready release finds Petras shifting away from her hyper-pop sound that was prevalent in previous records. However, this was intentional, as she also used the song as a way of examining her own relationship with religion.

Louis Tomlinson – “Silver Tongues”

Louis Tomlinson just dropped his new album, Faith In The Future, one that is rumored to be his first solo No. 1 debut in the UK. “Silver Tongues” opens with a piano for the first verse, before exploding into a carefree anthem with a guitar solo. It’s a song that he just truly seemed to enjoy creating. “It’s not trying to be anything that it’s not,” Tomlinson told Euphoria. “We were not trying to write a single, and there’s just a certain level of energy to it.”

Christine And The Queens – “Ma bién aimée bye bye”

The opening track from Redcar’s new album under the Christine And The Queens project, “Ma bién aimée bye bye” explores themes of grief and loss over a dreamy, retro pop instrumental — which tied into his personal life and experiences while writing.

Zolita – “Ruin My Life”

“I was holding my breath under shades of blue / Right there that was the moment I knew,” Zolita sings. Throughout the runtime, “Ruin My Life” weaves in details about an all-consuming, so-bad-its-good relationship through a sharp, synth-pop instrumental. This one easily got added to my favorite songs of the year playlist.

Joe Jonas, Khalid – “Not Alone”

Joe Jonas and Khalid teamed up to record “Not Alone” for the soundtrack of the upcoming film, Devotion, where Jonas also appears. This duo works incredibly well together, as each of their solo verses never wavers in terms of vocal ability.

Julia Michaels – “Sorry To Me Too”

“Sorry To Me Too” is Julia Michaels’ powerful way of grappling with anger in the wake of a breakup. “You’ll hear me working out what happened, where it went wrong, trying not to blame myself, and getting back to life without this person who I thought would be in it for a really long time,” Michaels said.

Saiah – “Blue”

Saiah’s “Blue” is a captivating track that is carried by the guitars and electronic production, with an even more emotional message embedded in the lyrics. “‘Blue’ is about me wanting to choose happiness,” they said. “And finding closure and resolutions and ultimately about moving forward through life choosing happiness and love.”

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

Theater actor, queer activist, and YouTube personality Frankie Grande was brutally assaulted and robbed in New York City, according to TMZ. While the report does not detail whether or not he was specifically targeted, as the older brother of pop superstar Ariana Grande, it is hard to rule it out.

The alleged assailants (aged 17-year-old and 13-year-old) were quickly caught after attempting to use Frankie’s stolen credit card to purchase items at a nearby smoke shop.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time the family has been subjected to physical harm. Over the past year, his sister has been dealing with a relentless stalker. After the deranged fan showed up at the “Thank U, Next” singer’s home wielding a knife, the courts granted Ariana a 5-year restraining order; the man violated the order by showing up again at her home for a second time.

New York City’s Mayor, Eric Adams, has not directly addressed Grande’s attack, but prosecuting violent crimes has become one of his administration’s core focuses. During an appearance on MSNBC, Adams doubled down on his views stating, “this catch, repeat, release system is just destroying the foundation of our country.”

Due to the age of the alleged attackers, their names will not be released to the public. No further details have been released regarding Frankie’s medical condition. Neither Frankie nor Ariana Grande has publicly commented on the matter.

Despite both being Republican women whose stance on Donald Trump changes with the wind, Meghan McCain and Arizona gubernatorial Kari Lake freaking hate each other. The two have been feuding all the way back to the primaries thanks to Lake taking several public swings at John McCain‘s legacy still holding sway in Arizona. Considering Meghan’s sole source of relevancy is being conceived by the maverick senator, the former The View host was not thrilled.

Unfortunately for Lake, attacking John McCain was not a winning strategy in Arizona. After nearly a full wake of tallying votes, Lake lost to Democratic candidate Katie Hobbs. Meghan, of course, did not miss an opportunity to gloat. On Monday, evening she tweeted a photo of her father giving the thumbs up next to a photo of Lake with the word “Loser” written on it.

Clearly still in the mood to gloat, Meghan took another shot at Lake the next morning. On Tuesday, she shared a link to a National Review article titled “McCain Republicans Vote, Too” with the caption, “Beautiful morning to all of you.”

Of course, it didn’t take long for Meghan to start being trolled in the comments by MAGA Republicans who were angry that she backed a Democratic candidate. However, don’t look for Meghan to gain sympathy from the Left. She was recently lambasted for making hypocritical comments about John Fetterman following his debate performance. (Fetterman went on to defeat Dr. Oz despite attacks on health.)

You can see Meghan get dragged by her own party below:

(Via Meghan McCain on Twitter)

While much of the news cycle has been focused on the results of last week’s midterm elections, The Daily Show’s Michael Kosta has been more focused on what’s happening in the financial world. Which is good news for all of us, as he has selflessly shared what the biggest shake ups in the market have taught him, which he shared on Monday night.

The big story, as far as Kosta is concerned, is that crypto exchange FTX Trading has filed for bankruptcy, meaning its customers could wait years to get their money back — if they get it back at all (as the company’s estimated million-plus creditors would be first in line to recoup any losses). In other words, it’s a pretty big deal. “People are losing their third houses because of this,” said Kosta, who did not invest in the company — and for reasons that everyone can take a lesson from:

Obviously, I didn’t invest in FTX. I didn’t like that Tom Brady was promoting it. I have a very simple investing rule: Don’t take financial advice from people who get hit in the head all day, okay? That’s why the only athletes I listen to are swimmers. They don’t get hit in the head! Now, this is important: Wait until they’re out of the pool to hear what they have to say.”

Sounds like some pretty solid advice. You can watch the full clip here, beginning around the 9:30 mark.

Travis Scott played a headlining set at the Primavera Sound music festival in Chile last night. During his performance, he made a surprising shoutout. “One of my favorite artists in the whole world is here tonight,” Scott said before butchering an attempt at Björk’s name. While we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt, as most might struggle with the Icelandic musician’s name, Scott’s version of the pronunciation came out more like “Bij-ork” — not once, but twice.

“She’s one of my biggest inspirations for why I do what I do,” he continued. “I’m so glad to be able to perform in front of her today. Björk, I f*cking love you so motherf*cking much, everybody make some motherf*cking noise.”

Some fans also discovered that Scott has sampled Björk’s music for his own work in the past. For Scott’s 2018 song, “No Bystanders,” he used a sample from her track “Jóga” for the instrumental. Although, the usage of it is very subtle.

Even more interesting, fans pointed out that the title of Scott’s next album might just be borrowed from Björk’s record too. In 2017, she released an album titled Utopia — and now, Scott is gearing up for one under the same name. The rapper’s fourth studio album will be a follow up to Astroworld.

Continue scrolling for some additional fan takes on Travis Scott’s Björk speech.

Cobra Kai superfan Andrew Garfield is simply “eating a burger, just contemplating existence” in his new GQ interview with Alex Pappademas. You probably would enjoy reading this piece, where Garfield, who was definitely-maybe not the Spider-Man with a fake butt in No Way Home, gives a shoutout to his Spider-“Buddies” with whom he was there to be “as inventive, imaginative, and kind of dumb as possible.”

Garfield, of course, has proven that he’s much more than a Spider-Dude, as he’s shown with acclaimed turns in Under the Banner of Heaven, Tick, Tick… Boom!, and The Eyes of Tammy Faye. Still, he seems to very much ruminate on the great anxieties of life in this interview. He grows emotional over his Dad losing his wife, and he talks about how he was raised to grind away in matters of work and art, and then he reveals a moment where he really connected with life, while he was hugging a toilet. This arises in the context of “ego death,” and it fits:

I didn’t exist. Like, it was the thing that I had been longing for, with my work, which is to reconnect with everything. And it’s like, OK. I get it. Let me back. I wanna go back. But I have to say, the moment after I vomited, and found my cheek against the toilet seat, this cold porcelain [laughs] — when I realised I remembered what that was against my face, I think I started sobbing. Thank God for the ego. Thank God for the delineation of things. Thank God for the world of opposites — this being my face, and that being a toilet seat. There’s plenty of time to get to the everything.

This wasn’t a story involving alcohol or the like. Rather, Garfield was discussing plant medicine and the purging that it caused. It’s similar to moments that we’ve all had but for very different reasons. I’m not sure that anyone else has been grateful to find his face against the toilet seat, but that’s what separates me from Andrew Garfield. The rest of the highly entertaining (and enlightening) GQ piece (along with a striking photoshoot) can be found here.

(Via GQ)

Before a certain MTV reality show, when you thought of New Jersey’s shore cultural impact on the world, there was only one person worth mentioning: Grammy-winning rocker Bruce Springsteen. With a whopping total of 21 albums to his name, the Garden State icon is the true personification of what it means to be “Jersey strong” as he continues to navigate the ever-changing music industry.

Keeping in alignment with his nickname, ‘The Boss,’ Springsteen kicked off the second day of his Tonight Show residency with a soulful performance of new single, “Do I Love You (Indeed I Do),” a Frank Wilson cover. The track off of his new covers album, Only The Strong Survive, is a passionate blend of Springsteen’s signature dynamic vocals and uptempo blues instrumentation. With a career spanning several decades, influencing many top-named acts like Phoebe Bridgers along the way, Springsteen has managed to keep both his core fan base and new music lovers sonically satisfied.

Joined on stage by his longtime musical support, the E Street Band (including original member David Sancious who was inducted by Springsteen into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2014), Springsteen was visibly overflowing with confidence. Although The Tonight Show stage tried its best to keep up with the “Tougher Than The Rest” singer, even with the beaming blue lights, it was no match for Springsteen’s standard theatrical tour sets.

Even with a cramped stage filled with his full band and background singers, Springsteen and his vocal stand out far beyond the rest. Belting into the mic, his declaration of love feels equally urgent as it is intimate. Fans viewing at home took to Twitter to commend him for his performance, astounded at the high energy he’s still able to pour into his performances even at the tender age of 73.

Watch the full performance above.