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For those who might be feeling blue following Halloween weekend, have no fear. The musicians below have proven there’s truly no shortage of pop music during the winter months. So, prepare your holiday decorations, gather some treats, find a spot to stay warm, and scroll below to see some of this week’s best new pop tunes — because we all could use something to dance to… Or cry. Or both. You might even find a certain artist who puts the “R” in return. (Spoiler: She’s in the photo above. It’s Rihanna.)

Find the rest of Uproxx’s Best New Pop weekly roundup below.

Rihanna — “Lift Me Up

Queen RiRi is finally back with her first new song in years. “Lift Me Up” is a powerful tribute to the late actor Chadwick Boseman on the soundtrack for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Allegedly, it appears in the film’s end credits, which is the perfect placement for Marvel stans and Rihanna Navy alike to clap for this captivating ballad. She’s also set to headline the Super Bowl Halftime Show next year, so here’s hoping this is her way of easing fans into a potential fall takeover.

Dove Cameron — “Bad Idea”

“Go ahead and tell me something you learned in therapy,” Dove Cameron dishes on “Bad Idea.” She notes it encapsulates “the moment before diving into what could potentially be a severe crash-and-burn but deciding to take the risk anyway,” according to a press release. The risk, in this case, is running back to a questionable relationship — which was rumored to be about her ex-boyfriend. She seems to have lots planned for this era, including a possible music video filmed at the Moulin Rouge and even more new music on the way.

Holly Humberstone — “Can You Afford To Lose Me”

Holly Humberstone’s “Can You Afford To Lose Me” has been making the rounds on all of my friends’ Instagram stories and for very good reason. If there’s any track to cry to this week on this list, it would be this one. It’s a breakup ballad with piano notes that will hit directly to your core. It also doubles as the title track from her recent collection, which she described (via NME) as “a heartbreaking ode to a relationship hurtling toward its conclusion.”

Kailee Morgue — “Arizona Pretty”

“Arizona Pretty” is one of my personal favorites from Kailee Morgue’s new album, Girl Next Door. Sonically, it feels straight out of the early 2000s. Or part of a soundtrack to a road trip with the girls. Lyrically, it takes on a somewhat darker tone about re-learning to love yourself with the impossible beauty standards of Los Angeles. “I’m going Hollywood insane / And everyone out here just starts to look the same,” she notes towards the song’s end.

Mae Muller — “I Just Came To Dance”

Mae Muller has been turning out hit after hit during the pandemic, and “I Just Came To Dance” is no exception. From the first second the synth beat starts, Muller makes an incredible impression on new and returning listeners alike.

Rachel Chinouriri — “I’m Not Perfect (But I’m Trying)”

“I’d walk on water if I could / To be lovеd, to be understood / What’s it worth, was it for the good, for the good?” asks Rachel Chinouriri on her new single, “I’m Not Perfect (But I’m Trying).” Dealing with everything from indecisiveness to forgiving yourself for past mistakes, her masterful vocals carry the emotional track forward for listeners.

Ella Jane — “Warhol”

While Ella Jane told Flood Magazine that she intended for “Warhol” to be “about this guy who told me I reminded him of his girlfriend—something kind of fun and stupid,” the writing process of her new song made her realize it was actually a personal one. It’s about an identity struggle: the public persona vs. a private one — and the attempt to figure out who you are between them.

Gus Dapperton — “Wet Cement”

Dapperton’s latest starts as a somber, calming single before transforming itself. By the time the beat changes, listeners realize “Wet Cement” is something different entirely, without ever feeling jarring or abrupt. There’s even a psychedelic guitar solo toward the end.

Gia Woods — “Cruel Intentions”

Another new album not to miss this week is Gia Woods’ Heartbreak County, Vol. 2. “Cruel Intentions” closes out the record on a high note, as Woods’ vocals blend perfectly with the soft, synth instrumental. An emotional tale about encountering an ex, she describes it as “twisted nirvana” — and the drums on the final chorus carry the point home.

Christian French — “Karma”

While Christian French might have titled his new song, “Karma,” the message is about choosing your own fate — rather than relying on outside forces. “We’ll work it out if we wanna / Don’t matter what the universe says,” he concludes in the chorus, seemingly addressing a past relationship that went downhill.

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

Health and wellness may be buzzwords for some of you, but for singer and radio host Al B. Sure, it’s a matter of life and death. The entertainer began documenting his health journey in mid-July on Instagram encouraging fans to get checked out.

Although the New Jack Swing crooner didn’t share specifics about his conditions in the videos and photos posted, Sure reveals he has undergone various tests and procedures, including intensive blood work as well as upper body X-rays. But after going silent from the platform in early August, his son now reveals the “Nite And Day” singer was in a coma since his last posting.

In a birthday post on Instagram Al B. Sure, Jr. revealed that his father has been fight his way out of a coma since the summer and has since woken up.

“Thank your every 1 for the bday wishes!! [I’ve] been kinda out of it and in my own world!! POPS BEEN hospitalized FOR 2 months and he just made it out!! So I’m much better and ready to get back on my sh*t! It’s time to get the f*ck up pop!! We got Sh*t to do!!!! And countries to visit! Thank u for all the concerns and worries about my family! Today is my day but this is for my pops! All I want for him is to get out that f*ckin hospital,” wrote Jr.

His father then taking to Twitter to share his official statement, “I’m alive, awake, on the mend. Submissively grateful! #AllPraiseisDuetoAllah. I’ll share more of my health experience soon in hopes to encourage us all to stay on top of our #HealthandWellness #GoSeetheDoctor.”

We’re happy to see that Al B. Sure is out of his coma and are sending our prayers and wishes for a speedy recovery.

Celebrity versions of game shows are usually a bit less intense than their ordinary counterparts. Contestants are playing for charity, for starters, which means no one is personally playing for life-changing money. But those celebrities are often huge fans of the show, which means the nerves are there despite the looser dialogue and jokes you might see on Celebrity Wheel of Fortune.

And for one player, his turn on the Celebrity edition of the Pat Sajak-hosted show will actually serve as good practice. Austin Creed, AKA WWE superstar Xavier Woods, is a huge Wheel of Fortune fan. He played against actor and comedian Steve Agee and The Office alum Kate Flannery. And he kind of stole the show, winning a lot of money for his Gaming charity in the process.

And after his episode of Celebrity Wheel of Fortune aired on Sunday, Creed announced that a whole week of WWE-themed Wheel of Fortune is coming soon.

“Y’all know that I love Wheel of Fortune,” he said. “And I’m here to announce that maybe you get the chance to be on Wheel of Fortune with your favorite WWE superstars.”

Creed encouraged people to apply online to be a contestant on the show, which will have a full WWE week at some point in the future. Which is great because Creed was really great on Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, so it would be a delight to see him on stage again. He played up every puzzle, asked the audience at one point whether he should spin or solve, and just generally looked extremely comfortable on stage. It looked like a blast. And it really did seem to mean something to him as well.

In a video posted on YouTube, he revealed that he actually brought an original Nintendo Wheel of Fortune cartridge for Pat Sajak to sign.

Which means he’s definitely excited for the chance to come back. And given how well he did on Celebrity Wheel, it’s clear he would be the favorite to win once again once WWE week comes around.

Taylor Swift announced her first live concerts in five years with 2023’s The Eras Tour. Starting in March, she will embark on a stadium tour across North America, playing selections from all of her past album eras — including her recently-released tenth record, Midnights. However, international fans are wondering when she will be visiting them.

“I’m enchanted to announce my next tour: Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour, a journey through the musical eras of my career (past & present!) The first leg of the tour will be in stadiums across the US, with international dates to be announced as soon as we can,” Swift shared on social media this morning.

Before unveiling the North American leg first, many Swifties had speculated she would start in Europe first. The presale for Midnights in her online UK store gave fans who purchased the album a code “for forthcoming and yet to be announced Taylor Swift show dates.”

Adding credibility to the initial belief that Swift would head to Europe first, she recently appeared on The Graham Norton Show where she was asked about her then-potential plans for shows. “It’s soon-ish. We’ll do it, it’s gonna be great,” she responded.

While Taylor Swift hasn’t officially announced the UK and Europe tour dates, they clearly have been meticulously planned already. This is just a sign to get emotionally prepared and save up what you can.

Florence Pugh has been so integral to the Hollywood shift over the last five years, it seems absurd to think about a time when she was almost a sitcom star on a FOX cable comedy. Could you imagine something like Glee but with Flo’s signature pout? That was almost a reality when the then-unknown actress landed a role on Studio City, a show about a pop star and her songwriting dad who turns into a celebrity drug dealer.

While the concept is a bit like a grown-up Hannah Montana, Pugh recalled that the studio was not kind and immediately wanted to change almost everything about her. She didn’t want to take the opportunity for granted, though. “I felt very lucky and grateful, and couldn’t believe that I had got this top-of-the-game job,” Pugh told The Telegraph. But once they started picking apart her looks, Pugh was not on board.

All the things that they were trying to change about me – whether it was my weight, my look, the shape of my face, the shape of my eyebrows – that was so not what I wanted to do, or the industry I wanted to work in. I’d thought the film business would be like [my experience of making] The Falling, but actually, this was what the top of the game looked like, and I felt I’d made a massive mistake.

Pugh eventually left the project, which never ended up seeing the light of day. Instead, she was cast just two weeks later in her breakout role in Lady Macbeth. “That made me fall back in love with cinema – the kind of cinema that was a space where you could be opinionated, and loud, and I’ve stuck by that,” Pugh said of the movie. “I think it’s far too easy for people in this industry to push you left and right. And I was lucky enough to discover when I was 19 what kind of a performer I wanted to be.”

This isn’t uncommon with young female stars who are often pushed to plastic surgery or dramatic weight loss. Bella Hadid recently opened up about her regret surrounding her nose job, while Pugh has been outspoken about how the media treats her own body on Instagram. Maybe this means that Hollywood is actually beginning to listen to stars and let people look how they look. A wild concept!

(Via Variety)

The Neighbourhood has been a successful band for a while now — their 2012 single “Sweater Weather” and their 2015 album Wiped Out! were both top-15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200 charts, respectively. But, in recent times, singer Jesse Rutherford’s name has been in people’s mouths perhaps more than ever due to his apparent relationship with Billie Eilish. First the two were seen getting intimate in public, then they had paired Halloween costumes, and now Eilish appears to have gone Instagram-official with Rutherford in her latest post.

Eilish’s new post — shared late last night/early today (November 1) — is a gallery of photos and videos from around this Halloween. They’re mostly slice-of-life clips, with one of Rutherford in a clown costume, exclaiming something as others in the room laugh. The gallery concludes with a photo of Eilish in her baby costume and Rutherford in his old man get-up, a look that raised eyebrows when it was first spotted given the age difference between the two (Eilish is 20, Rutherford is 31).

Eilish, meanwhile, has said she’s not eager to publicly discuss her romantic life, noting in 2020, “I definitely want to keep that private. I’ve had relationships and kept them private, and even the ones that I’ve had, and the tiny amount that I’ve let the world see, I regret.”

The 2022 NFL trade deadline has not been lacking for excitement, as a number of star caliber players have been on the move, with various contenders and hopeful contenders trying to bolster their rosters with star talent in preparation of the second half of the season.

On Tuesday afternoon, one of the biggest moves arrived in the form of the Miami Dolphins shipping a first round pick (via San Francisco) to Denver for star edge rusher Bradley Chubb, as the Dolphins look to beef up their pass rush with one of the league’s best, who has 5.5 sacks so far this season.

It’s an interesting move from the Broncos, considering they are a team very much hoping to win-now considering they just paid Russell Wilson a ton of money to be their quarterback, but the reality is they aren’t a team ready to contend this year. As such, they get a first (along with a fourth and running back help in Chase Edmonds) for Chubb (and a fifth) who is entering free agency this offseason and figures to command a massive salary. With Wilson’s contract on the books, Denver apparently didn’t feel they could pay Chubb and address other roster issues, so they move him to Miami, who will likely pay him to stay long-term considering what they gave up to get him, and Chubb will hope to elevate the Dolphins defense which has struggled at times this season.

The Brooklyn Nets apparently have their replacement for Steve Nash all lined up. After it was reported that Brooklyn was interested in potentially bringing suspended Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka on board to take over in the aftermath of Nash’s departure on Tuesday afternoon, multiple reports indicate that a deal will be finalized in the next day or two.

Both Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN and Shams Charania of The Athletic bring word that Brooklyn’s brain trust has made up its mind on Udoka, who served as an assistant coach with the team during Nash’s first year at the helm in 2020-21. Wojnarowski brought word that the Celtics will let Udoka leave for the gig, while Charnia noted that Boston is not expected to ask for any sort of compensation.

After leading the Celtics to the NBA Finals last year, Udoka was suspended indefinitely during the offseason amid allegations of an affair and inappropriate conduct with a staffer. While the team does not have a full-time replacement, Boston has a 4-2 record at this early point in the season under interim head coach Joe Mazzulla.

Brooklyn has gotten out to a 2-5 start to the regular season. Beyond his ties to both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving from his year as an assistant, Udoka worked as an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers during the 2019-20 campaign with Ben Simmons.

After dropping a tiny little teaser last month, HBO Max has unveiled the full trailer for A Christmas Story Christmas. Unlike previous attempts at a sequel over the decades, this project wisely locked down Peter Billingsley to reprise his now iconic role of Ralphie.

This time around, Ralphie has a family of his own, and he’s learning just how much work it took to make the Christmases from his childhood happen. It’s practically a miracle his Old Man (RIP Darren McGavin) didn’t take out the whole family in the process. That said, we’re detecting a surprising lack of BB guns, but giant daggers seem to be very much in play.

Here’s the official synopsis:

From Warner Bros. Pictures and HBO Max comes the family comedy “A Christmas Story Christmas,” the long-awaited follow-up to annual holiday favorite, “A Christmas Story.” This time, Ralphie is all grown up and must deal with Christmas and all that comes with it… as a dad. Peter Billingsley returns to the role that has made kids of all ages anticipate Christmas morning like no other.

Starring alongside Billingsley as Ralphie Parker are Erinn Hayes (Bill & Ted Face the Music) as Ralphie’s wife, Sandy; Julianna Layne (Prodigal Son) as their daughter, Julie; River Drosche (Miracle Workers) as son Mark; Scott Schwartz returning as Flick; RD Robb returning as Schwartz; Ian Petrella reprising his role as Ralphie’s brother, Randy; Davis Murphy (Looking for Dr. Love) as Delbert Bumpus; with Zack Ward returning as Scott Farkus; and Julie Hagerty (Instant Family) as Ralphie’s mom, Mrs. Parker.

A Christmas Story Christmas starts streaming November 17 on HBO Max.

Drake and 21 Savage recently announced their collaboration album, Her Loss. Originally scheduled to release on October 28, it was postponed until November 4, after the album’s main producer, Noah “40” Shebib, contracted COVID. “Our brother @ovo40 got Covid while mixing and mastering the crack so he’s resting up,” Drake shared on Instagram.

The news came as a surprise to fans, after Drake used his music video for “Jimmy Cooks” from his album Honestly, Nevermind to unveil that they’d be collaborating even more. Throughout the years, the duo has appeared in a handful of each other’s songs — including 2021’s “Knife Boy” on Drake’s Certified Lover Boy and 2020’s “Mr. Right Now” on 21 Savage’s Savage Mode II.

As for the features, cover art, and tracklist for Her Loss, it seems to be kept pretty under wraps — with the exception of Noah “40” Shebib doing production. Good news is the album will be out before we know it.

Drake and 21 Savage are promoting it around NYC in a very unique way, though. It finds them on a self-made Vogue cover, with a quote from 21 that reads, “You have to be political,” above the caption, “21 Savage is not holding back.” Both printed copies and poster versions are making their way around the city.

Her Loss is out 11/4.