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Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: There’s a grand conspiracy to make Alex Jones look bad. Only this time around, it’s not about the spy ring that’s reportedly keeping tabs on his wife (both former and current) nor is it the chemicals hidden in soda cans that are trying to shrink his penis. Nope, this latest conspiracy is about preventing the world from knowing that Jones’ new book, The Great Reset, is the biggest best-seller of all time.

While stopping by the Louder with Crowder radio show, Jones boasted that his book has outsold literally everything on the market, but the numbers are being hidden by The New York Times and the publishing industry at large. Via Mediaite:

“Stuff way down their list, we sold dozens of times more. And that’s just in the first month of its sale at cash registers at stores. That’s how that happens. It doesn’t count all the massive amounts that got sold online at Amazon or InfoWars.com,” Jone insisted.

“So it is the number one book, not just fiction, not just non-fiction — all of them. More than any textbook, more than any Harry Potter book,” he declared.

Like most of Jones’ claims, there’s zero evidence to back up his claims. As Mediaite notes, Publisher’s Weekly has The Great Reset selling 300,000 copies, which is nowhere near the juggernaut sales of the Harry Potter books. As for Jones’ claim that sales have been phenomenal on InfoWars.com, he’s provided no data to prove that’s the case. You’re just going to have to take his word for it, which we strongly advise not doing. We mentioned the soda can thing, right? Enough said.

(Via Mediaite)

Donovan Mitchell, apparently, was just like the majority of the NBA world when it came to his surprise when he ended up being dealt to Cleveland out of the blue two weeks ago. At his introductory press conference with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, the three-time All-Star addressed an array of topics, including his belief that he was going to be traded to the New York Knicks.

“I thought for sure I was going back home, I’m not gonna lie about that,” Mitchell said. “But when I found out where I was headed, who I was playing with, the group, the team, the coaching staff, I couldn’t be more happy to be here, to be a part of this organization … and add to do it. I think that for me is what I’m truly excited about.”

When news of the deal between Cleveland and the Utah Jazz broke, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that Mitchell was playing golf. Ecstatic to learn none of Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley or Kevin Love were involved, he jubilantly ran around the golf course in celebration. On Wednesday, nearly two weeks later, Mitchell confirmed Windhorst’s report.

“When I first found out, I was golfing, so that report is true,” he said. “I was running around crazy, mainly in fact when I figured out who we kept in the deal because I didn’t know who was in the trade. I just knew I was traded. And when I found out DG, JA, Ev, and Caris (LeVert) and all these guys, I was like, ‘Wow, like we got a talented group.’ ”

Mitchell also said that when Rudy Gobert was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in late June, he “kind of saw the writing on the wall” as to the fact his time in Utah was likely over.

As a fun tidbit, he noted he grew up as not merely a LeBron James fun, but a Cavaliers fan as a whole and loves playing in Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

“It’s crazy how life comes full circle,” he said.

Bad Bunny is in the midst of his World’s Hottest Tour of stadiums around North and South America. After passing through Texas last week, his Western US swing begins tonight at Oakland’s RingCentral Coliseum. But he was already in the Bay Area yesterday when he decided to bring 80 of his closest confidants out to dinner at a small, but popular Puerto Rican restaurant in the Bay Area.

“Over the phone, they just said, ‘We have 80 Puerto Ricans,’” Francisco Gomez of San Rafael Puerto Rican staple Sol Food told the San Francisco Chronicle. A caravan of black SUVs rolled up at around 6 p.m., and Bad Bunny stepped into the restaurant decked out in full Louis Vuitton get up, including an LV scarf covering his face. At one point, the “Tití Me Preguntó” singer went to the restaurant’s kitchen to err… lend a hand to the cooks, and posted a clip to his Instagram Story of the backstage restaurant jaunt:

Treating his dancers and tour staff to a homestyle Puerto Rican dinner while on tour comes with a reason celebrate for Bad Bunny and his team. On Monday, his album Un Verano Sin Ti, shot back up to the top of the Billlboard 200 chart, marking it’s 10th week atop the charts in 2022. With that, it broke the Encanto soundtrack’s record for the year of weeks at No. 1.

While fans of Disney+’s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series grew to love Olivia Rodrigo‘s character Nini over the span of the show’s three seasons, it seems she won’t be returning for season four.

Prior to the release of season three on July 27, fans had wondered just how much of a role Rodrigo would play, as her 2021 debut album made her an immediate pop star. She had stepped down from a main cast member for the third season, appearing in only a handful of scenes across three episodes. Still, Rodrigo appeared alongside her castmates at the season three premiere.

“love all these people so so so much. knowing and working with them has been one of the greatest joys of my life. episode 1 of season 3 of hsmtmts is streaming now! wildcats forever,” Rodrigo captioned photos of them together on Instagram, leading many to believe her time on the show was officially over.

Rodrigo’s story arc as Nini finds her traveling to LA to meet her biological dad, before returning to tell her teacher Miss Jenn that she wants to move there for good in today’s finale episode. Basically put, she leaves the school, while being able to wrap up her permanent departure from the series nicely.

“Miss Jenn, I didn’t want to say goodbye because goodbye means it’s over. So I just want to say thank you. After tonight’s performance, it’s clear that there’s already so much talent at East. So I’m gonna go West. Here’s to the start of something new. Forever your Wildcat, Nini,” her character writes in the show, according to Popbuzz.

The High School Musical: The Musical: The Series showrunner Tim Federle had also alluded to Rodrigo’s ending on the show during a July 21 interview with Entertainment Weekly. “This season it’s about trying to give her character a proper sendoff while also leaving room for other characters to really step into the fray and step into the spotlight. And personally, it’s a joy to see Olivia’s music explode in such a big way,” Federle said.

Still, he makes it clear that there is always the possibility for fans to see her acting as Nini again someday, if Rodrigo chooses. “It’s so funny, we are early enough in the season 4 writers’ room that I’d be lying if I told you I had an exactly right answer for that. I would never say never to Olivia, and I would never use the word ‘last,’ because I hope the show goes on and on and on,” he noted in a separate EW interview.

It’s hard to imagine what the early 2000s would’ve been like without Britney Spears’ debut hit single “…Baby One More Time” as the soundtrack. However, notorious grump/American Idol judge Simon Cowell recently revealed that he almost prevented the track, written by Max Martin, from going to Spears.

Not only did Cowell ask Martin to give “…Baby One More Time” to 5ive, a British boy band he was working with, instead, but he bribed him. On Howie Mandel’s podcast Howie Mandel Does Stuff, he said:

“I had a boy band at the time called 5ive, who I’d put together. And we were just on the verge of breaking them from America. Someone phones me from America and says, ‘I’ve just been played this song. And it was written for TLC.’ TLC passed. The guy plays it down the phone to me, this song ‘Hit me baby one more time.’ I’m like, ‘My God, I’ve got to have this song.’ So I phoned up Max. I said, ‘Max. Please, please give me this song.’ And he went, ‘I’ve promised it to someone else.’ And I said, ‘Well, I’ll send you a Mercedes — literally a Mercedes 500 SL if I can have this song.’ And he went, ‘No. I promised it to somebody else.’ And I went, ‘Who.’ He said, ‘Britney Spears.’ I said, ‘Max, let me give you some advice. No one is going to have a hit with a name called Britney Spears.’”

Listen to the full podcast episode above.

Gregg Popovich is no stranger to watching his former assistant coaches go on to do incredible things. The latest example of that came on Tuesday night, when the Las Vegas Aces, led by former San Antonio Spurs assistant Becky Hammon, picked up an 85-71 win over the Connecticut Sun to move one win away from the first WNBA championship in franchise history.

Connecticut is an excellent team, so counting them out altogether would be unwise, but the Aces are a juggernaut that already won the Commissioner’s Cup and had the best regular season record in the league this season. Hammon, the team’s first-year head coach, is a major reason for that, and after winning Game 2, her mentor made his way into the locker room to address the squad and praise the way they play.

“You don’t need me, that’s for sure, but it was great watching you guys play, it’s been great watching you on TV, and the way you execute, the way you play physically, it’s just beautiful to watch,” Popovich said. “No bullsh*t, you just play great basketball. And it’s about consistency, so you gotta keep it going. For me, I always tell my teams the sweetest wins are which ones?”

“The ones on the road,” Hammon responded.

Las Vegas will head to Connecticut for Thursday night’s Game 3 with a title on the line.

Everyone loves a good movie about racing cars, and mostly everybody loves a good video game movie, so it’s only natural that one of the most popular racing games ever created would get a movie adaptation. It’s just a wonder it took so long!

Gran Turismo, the best-selling racing game that your cool younger cousin plays on their PlayStation 5 during parties, will get the big-screen treatment next summer. District 9’s Neill Blomkamp will be directing the movie, which is expected to hit theaters on August 11th 2023. Today it was reported that Stranger Things’ David Harbour would be joining the project.

According to the official synopsis: “Based on a true story, the film is the ultimate wish fulfillment tale of a teenage Gran Turismo player whose gaming skills won a series of Nissan competitions to become an actual professional race car driver.” We know that Harbour isn’t a teen and CGI technology hasn’t advanced that much, so it’s rumored that the actor will play some sort of older racecar mentor of some sort. Or maybe it’s just a small Hellboy cameo.

PlayStation Productions Asad Qizilbash said in a statement, “As one of PlayStation’s longest standing and most beloved franchises, it’s great to be partnering with Columbia Pictures again to bring Gran Turismo to life in an exciting way. We can’t wait for audiences to see Neill’s vision of this inspiring true story of gamer turned professional race car driver.” Hopefully, it will go over better than Speed Racer did.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

It’s hard to believe that Wizkid hadn’t put out any new solo tracks in 2022 until now. Instead, the “Essence” singer has been dropping videos for the songs off of his 2020 album Made In Lagos. There have been clips for tracks in “True Love” featuring Winnie Harlow and “Mood” featuring Buju, which have stretched the cycle of the immensely popular Made In Lagos and its subsequent deluxe edition which featured appearances from Burna Boy, HER, Justin Bieber, Tems, and others. But now, we may finally be getting a taste of what comes next for the Nigerian superstar with the release of the brand new single, “Bad To Me.”

Opening with a stretched-out West African guitar and dance floor-ready drum pattern, “Bad To Me” is instantly vibrant. The transportive track features clean production from P2J and it’s a welcome addition to the budding Wizkid canon.

“Bad To Me” comes out just in time for Whizkid’s headlining performance at the Rolling Loud Toronto festival this weekend, where he’ll be joined atop the bill by Future and Dave. From there, he’ll be headlining the brand new Lost In Riddim festival in Northern California, which has a distinct afrobeats focus and also features Burna Boy, Davido, and Sean Paul.

Listen to “Bad To Me” above.

Eminem’s struggles with addiction are as well-known now as his triumphs in sobriety. But less well-documented is the story of how he first became so enamored of popping pills. Who better to tell that story than Eminem himself? He does just that in a new feature in XXL as he reflects on his humble career aspirations (he really just wanted to go gold and be Redman, basically), his massive success, and the effects his addictions had on both, as well as looking forward to the future.

“My addiction didn’t start in my early days when I was coming up,” he recalls. “We used to drink 40s on the porch and just battle rap each other. My drug usage started at the beginning of that first album. I didn’t take anything hard until I got famous. I was experimenting. I hadn’t found a drug of choice. Back then you went on tour and people were just giving you free drugs. I managed it for a little while. And then, it just became, ‘I like this shit too much and I don’t know how to stop.’”

He says he first realized he had a problem during his feud with Benzino and The Source magazine. During an interview on 106 & Park, he remembers, “One of the hosts was talking to me and I could not understand a word she was saying. 50 had to cover for me and answer every question.” The death of Em’s close friend Proof escalated his addiction, and he says at one point, he “had f*ckin’ 10 drug dealers at one time.” He blames the drugs for the lack of quality on Encore, as well as an album leak that forced him to record a slew of new songs for the album — songs he had to record as “I was getting more addicted to drugs, I was in more of a goofy mood.”

In terms of his current goal, it’s the same as it’s ever been: To be the best rapper, something we’ve seen in his efforts on projects like Kamikaze, Music To Be Murdered By, and Side B. To that end, he says he constantly checks in on projects from the likes of Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole, who he sees as the best contemporary rappers. He even admits, “If I had a choice between being the best rapper or making the best albums, I’d rather be the best rapper.” Which… yeah, I think we know.

You can read the full essay, written by Eminem himself, here.

Before beginning to work on their latest album Physical Thrills, Silversun Pickups had spent the last two years shifting priorities away from music. But when it was time to start the recording process, the LA-based four-piece decided to channel what they needed the most: a friend. “It sits somewhere in between a collection of songs and an imaginary friend,” the band said about Physical Thrills. “A friend that would remind me that in this instance, the whole world was feeling the same way as well. A comforting, playful, sometimes frightened, often delighted friend.”

The resulting project is an uplifting and sprawling 14-track release to offer solace for any mood. With downtempo tracks like the grungy opener “Stillness (Way Beyond),” the wobbly and electrifying “Scared Together,” and the ethereal and wistful “Alone On A Hill,” Physical Thrills is an album that manages to marry early aughts alt-rock with contemporary pop-leaning melodies.

To celebrate the release of their sixth studio album Physical Thrills, guitarist and singer Brian Aubert, bassist Nikki Monninger, drummer Christopher Guanlao, and keyboardist Joe Lester chatted with Uproxx about Prince, The Princess Bride, and scuba diving in our latest Q&A.

What are four words you would use to describe your music?

Nikki: Steep mountains, valleys and thrills.

It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?

Brian: Kindly, I hope.

What’s your favorite city in the world to perform?

Christopher: Montreal.

Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?

Brian: Wendy Carlos because her music, while avant-garde, still has hummable melodies that you can connect with.

Where did you eat the best meal of your life?

Nikki: Osheaga Festival, Montreal.

What album do you know every word to?

Nikki: Prince’s Purple Rain.

What was the best concert you’ve ever attended?

Christopher: Supergrass at the Troubadour, standing next to Ewan McGregor, Jude Law, and Danny Boyle.

What is the best outfit for performing and why?

Brian: Anything that doesn’t feel restrictive. It’s always good to stay comfortable.

Who’s your favorite person to follow on Twitter and/or Instagram?

Joe: Twitter: Black Metal Cats (@evilbmcats) Instagram: @CatsOnSynthesizersInSpace.

What’s your most frequently played song in the van on tour?

Brian: One time we had a CD-R of Snoop Dogg’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot” stuck in our van CD player for a week.

What’s the last thing you Googled?

Joe: The level up path for a Dwarf Paladin in Dungeons & Dragons.

What album makes for the perfect gift?

Christopher: In honor of Olivia Newton John, the soundtrack to Grease.

Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?

Joe: On the floor of a house where a great dane dog lived. He slept with me all night. I was the little spoon.

What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?

Brian: I just got my first tattoo, it’s a rendition of a drawing by the artist Margaret Kilgallen that is very meaningful to my family.

What artists keep you from flipping the channel on the radio?

Christopher: Temple of the Dog.

What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?

Nikki: Brian gave me his 9:30 Club coffee mug after mine broke.

What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?

Joe: Do not feel like you need to know what you’re supposed to do with your life at 18. It’s an absurd idea, and will only make you feel bad when life inevitably sends you down unexpected paths.

What’s the last show you went to?

Joe: Suzanne Ciani performing in Quadrophic Sound at Zebulon in LA.

What movie can you not resist watching when it’s on TV?

Nikki: Hand’s down, The Princess Bride.

What’s one of your hidden talents?

Christopher: Scuba Diving (60+ dives).

Physical Thrills is out now via New Machine Recordings. Get it here.