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Billie Eilish and Finneas had a big night at the Academy Awards yesterday, as they performed their James Bond theme “No Time To Die” and picked up the Oscar for Best Original Song award for that song. Eilish and Finneas have previously spoken about what the Bond franchise and its music has meant to them, and for years, they’ve been hoping for the chance to be a part of the franchise. Finneas was so aspirational, in fact, that he says he reached out to previous Bond theme songwriters for advice, even before he and his sister were officially attached to No Time To Die.

In a post-Oscars interview, the siblings were asked if they got advice from other artists who won Oscars for their Bond songs, like Adele (“Skyfall”) or Sam Smith (“Writing’s On The Wall” from Spectre). Finneas responded:

“I talked to [‘Writing’s On The Wall’ co-writer] Jimmy Napes and Sam [Smith] both when we were hoping we’d be given the opportunity to write a James Bond theme. And I just asked what the process was like. Again, it was such an ambition of ours. It was really just, like, picking their brains about it. It was really interesting to hear their take on it. They were very encouraging and gave really good advice, which was basically to make a song we were really proud of.”

Eilish expanded on the latter part of that answer in her response to another question, saying, “I think the biggest challenge was making sure that it felt to us… what’s the word… authentic, but also…” As Eilish tried to articulate her thoughts, Finneas jumped in and said, “It was really important to us that it felt like a Billie Eilish song and a James Bond song at the same time, and not one or the other.”

Check out the interview here.

Call me crazy, but If I directed movies with lots of visual effects, you know who I wouldn’t want to piss off? The visual effects team. But that’s the difference between me and Michael Bay. Well, that, and Winston Churchill’s grandson has never defended me for draping his grandfather’s home in Nazi imagery. But mostly the VFX thing.

In an interview with French outlet Les Cinémas Pathé Gaumont, Bay discussed the special effects in Ambulance, his new movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and an ambulance. “All those explosions and cars flipping, that’s all real. That’s all live, real, ratchets,” he said. “It looks very dangerous [and] it could be very dangerous if you don’t know what the hell you’re doing. Most of it is real stunts. There’s very few blue screen shots on the movie. There’s not a lot of CGI. Some of the CGI is sh*t in this movie. There’s a couple shots that I wasn’t happy with, okay? Alright.”

Bay may have issues with Ambulance, but if the Rotten Tomatoes score holds, the action-thriller will be the best-reviewed movie of his career. It currently has a 76 percent “Fresh” rating, compared to 68 percent for The Rock (should be higher), 58 percent for Transformers (that’s about right), and 50 percent for Pain and Gain (WAY too low). In last place: Transformers: The Last Knight with 15 percent. No notes on the CGI there.

Ambulance opens on April 8.

(Via Deadline)

The 2022 Grammys are finally right around the corner after being postponed due to Omicron concerns and moved from LA to Las Vegas. As the self-proclaimed “biggest night in music,” the 2022 Grammys are expected to be a joyous gathering after last year’s ceremony was eclipsed by controversy and COVID. While this year still has a bit of controversy (Kanye West was reportedly banned from performing), The Recording Academy has increased the number of nominations to strive for more diversity. Now, all four major categories (Album Of The Year, Best New Artist, Song Of The Year, and Record Of The Year) changed from eight nominations to ten, allowing a few more artists to get recognized for their musical achievements. The expanded categories mean there is even more great music to choose from, so Uproxx has you covered with our predictions for who will win and who should win at the 2022 Grammys.

2021 saw some big breakouts and some hard-hitting releases as the US rolled out vaccines and people began to re-entering society. The artist leading the nominations is Jon Batiste, who holds an impressive 11 nominations across all categories. Following Baptiste, Justin Bieber, Doja Cat, and HER are all tied for second-most nominated, with each artist holding eight nominations.

This year is also expected to big a big one for Olivia Rodrigo, who very well could pull a Billie Eilish and sweep all four major categories, seeing as her debut album, Sour, was a smash hit. Speaking of Eilish, the singer’s Happier Than Ever earned her a number of nods, as well. She’s actually tied with Rodrigo for third-most nominations as they both received seven.

Check out our predictions below for how the biggest and most coveted categories could play out.

Best Rap Album

J. Cole — The Off-Season

Drake — Certified Lover Boy

Nas — King’s Disease II

Tyler, the Creator — Call Me If You Get Lost

Kanye West — Donda

Who will win: Kanye West — Donda

Who should win: Tyler The Creator — Call Me If You Get Lost

This year’s Best Rap Album category is filled with well-established artists. Both Kanye West’s Donda and Drake’s Certified Lover Boy dominated news cycles after being postponed and ended up getting released within days of each other. Kanye’s Donda is also nominated for Album Of The Year, and seeing as the rapper already holds 22 wins and 75 nominations throughout his career, it’s likely the Recording Academy will give him the Best Rap Album award. However, Tyler The Creator’s Call Me If You Get Lost is the one that deserves to take home the trophy. The album shows off Tyler’s impeccable MC skills and his alter ego, Tyler Baudelaire, feels like his most genuine thus far. The LP addresses important contemporary topics and sees Tyler showing off some new techniques, resulting in a top-level album as a whole.

Best Rap Performance

Baby Keem — “Family Ties” Feat. Kendrick Lamar

Cardi B — “Up”

J. Cole — “My Life” Feat. 21 Savage and Morray

Drake — “Way 2 Sexy” Feat. Future and Young Thug

Megan Thee Stallion — “Thot Sh*t”

Who will win: Cardi B — “Up”

Who should win: Baby Keem “Family Ties” Feat. Kendrick Lamar

The Best Rap Performance category saw a number of deserving nominations this year. Of course, Cardi B show-stopped with her 2021 track “Up,” which featured tongue-tied verses so catchy it went viral on TikTok. Megan Thee Stallion’s “Thot Sh*t” also gets an honorable mention as it became an instant hit and its video showed the rapper torturing a misogynistic, slut-shaming senator. But even with those two songs deserving of the award, we lean towards Best New Artist nominee Baby Keem, whose role in his Kendrick Lamar collaboration, “Family Ties,” proves he more than lives up to the hype. The rapper’s flow matches the energy of the song’s propulsive beat and flexes his witty penmanship and impressive breath control.

Best Alternative Music Album

Fleet Foxes — Shore

Halsey — If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power

Japanese Breakfast — Jubilee

Arlo Parks — Collapsed In Sunbeams

St. Vincent — Daddy’s Home

Who will win: St. Vincent — Daddy’s Home

Who should win: Japanese Breakfast — Jubilee

2021 was a great year for indie and alternative music lovers. Nearly all the artists in the category delivered career highlights, with Halsey joining forces with Nine Inch Nails members for her darkest release yet, and Arlo Parks crooning spine-chilling prose that deal with the realities of mental health crises, heartbreak, and unrequited queer love. St. Vincent’s Daddy’s Home is a likely winner, per The Recording Academy’s history of awarding Annie Clark in the category in 2015, which is surprising based on its lukewarm reviews. The real winner here is Japanese Breakfast, whose album Jubilee was free of dull moments and overall constituted an electrifying and heartfelt effort from the musician.

Best Pop Solo Performance

Justin Bieber — “Anyone”

Brandi Carlile — “Right on Time”

Billie Eilish — “Happier Than Ever”

Ariana Grande — “Positions”

Olivia Rodrigo — “Drivers License”

Who will win: Olivia Rodrigo — “Drivers License”

Who should win: Olivia Rodrigo — “Drivers License”

This year’s Best Pop Solo Performance category includes more ballads than upbeat pop bangers. Even still, Billie Eilish did put on a wonderful display of her talents in “Happier Than Ever” and Ariana Grande busted out her far-reaching vocals for “Positions.” However, Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” is the most likely winner in the category. The track was both her debut single and the song that put her on the map, leading to several weeks at No. 1. While the rest of her catalog is filled with more dance-ready tunes, the emotions in “Drivers License” are tangible and most definitely Grammy-worthy.

Best Pop Vocal Album

Justin Bieber — Justice (Triple Chucks Deluxe)

Doja Cat — Planet Her (Deluxe)

Billie Eilish — Happier Than Ever

Ariana Grande — Positions

Olivia Rodrigo — Sour

Who will win: Olivia Rodrigo — Sour

Who should win: Doja Cat — Planet Her (Deluxe)

We all know that Olivia Rodrigo’s has some impressive pipes, but Doja Cat’s Planet Her deserves the award due to its versatility. The album features some radio-ready, melodic bops like “Kiss Me More,” but it also includes several songs that show Doja trying out inventive tactics. Her voice is breathy and robust on “Woman” while she distorts her voice into airy and swaggering bursts on “Get Into It (Yuh).” The combination of styles on this Planet Her makes for an enticing and impressive effort, and one that should win Best Pop Vocal Album.

Best Progressive R&B Album

Eric Bellinger — New Light

Cory Henry — Something To Say

Hiatus Kaiyote — Mood Valiant

Lucky Daye — Table For Two

Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper, 9th Wonder and Kamasi Washington — Dinner Party: Dessert

Masego — Studying Abroad: Extended Stay

Who will win: Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper, 9th Wonder and Kamasi Washington — Dinner Party: Dessert

Who should win: Lucky Daye — Table For Two

Today’s modern R&B genre is stacked with prolific and groundbreaking artists, as exemplified by this year’s Best Progressive R&B Album category. Acclaimed artists Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper, 9th Wonder and Kamasi Washington came together for the jazzy joint album Dinner Party: Dessert, which tapped a massive team of collaborators and is likely to take home the winning trophy. But Lucky Daye’s album Table For Two also shines bright. The New Orleans native showed off his multi-faceted artistry on the album, seamlessly flipping from soulful ballads to sultry and rhythmic tracks. Either would be great wins, to be quite honest.

Record Of The Year

ABBA — “I Still Have Faith In You”

Jon Batiste — “Freedom”

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga — “I Get A Kick Out Of You”

Justin Bieber — “Peaches” Feat. Daniel Caesar and Giveon

Brandi Carlile — “Right On Time”

Doja Cat — “Kiss Me More” Feat. SZA

Billie Eilish — “Happier Than Ever”

Lil Nas X — “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”

Olivia Rodrigo — “Drivers License”

Silk Sonic — “Leave The Door Open”

Who will win: Olivia Rodrigo — “Drivers License”

Who should win: Doja Cat — “Kiss Me More” Feat. SZA

Record Of The Year is awarded to artists whose finished song made a huge cultural impact — and this year’s list includes a number of deserving names. Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” is the likely winner, seeing as the song dominated pop culture for months on end. But Doja Cat’s “Kiss Me More” featuring SZA is more than worthy of the award. The track is one of the most straightforward pop songs that both Doja Cat and SZA have ever made, and it definitely worked to their benefit. Not only is it playful, snappy, and captivating, but it offers a space for the two singers’ impressive vocals to shine through.

Best New Artist

Arooj Aftab

Jimmie Allen

Baby Keem

Finneas

Glass Animals

Japanese Breakfast

The Kid Laroi

Arlo Parks

Olivia Rodrigo

Saweetie

Who will win: Olivia Rodrigo

Who should win: Olivia Rodrigo

One of the great aspects of the Best New Artist category is that it’s a career highlight just to be nominated. This year has some incredible honorable mentions, like Japanese Breakfast, whose third studio album Jubilee was a masterpiece, or Arlo Parks, whose debut LP Collapsed In Sunbeams was pure poetry. But this year, the award will likely go to the deserving artist Olivia Rodrigo. With her debut album Sour, Rodrigo managed to go from Disney Channel actor to one of today’s biggest names in music over the course of just a few months. The album put her name on the map and earned her the title of certified pop star.

Song Of The Year

Ed Sheeran — “Bad Habits”

Alicia Keys and Brandi Carlile — “A Beautiful Noise”

Olivia Rodrigo — “Drivers License”

HER — “Fight For You”

Billie Eilish — “Happier Than Ever”

Doja Cat — “Kiss Me More” Feat. SZA

Silk Sonic — “Leave The Door Open”

Lil Nas X — “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”

Justin Bieber — “Peaches” Feat. Daniel Caesar and Giveon

Brandi Carlile — “Right On Time”

Who will win: Olivia Rodrigo — “Drivers License”

Who should win: Silk Sonic — “Leave The Door Open”

The Song Of The Year category, which oftentimes gets confused with Record Of The Year, awards those involved in the actual writing process of a track (which sometimes doesn’t include the artist). Olivia Rodrigo’s debut single “Drivers License” became a ubiquitous feature of pop culture shortly after its release and is likely to take home the trophy. It even got its own SNL-dedicated sketch. But the real winner in 2021 was the debut single “Leave The Door Open” by Silk Sonic, the duo of Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars. Inspired by the soul greats like Bootsy Collins and James Brown, “Leave The Door Open” is sensual, dreamy, and one of the most sonically interesting tracks in this category.

Album Of The Year

Jon Batiste — We Are

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga — Love For Sale

Justin Bieber — Justice (Triple Chucks Deluxe)

Doja Cat — Planet Her (Deluxe)

Billie Eilish — Happier Than Ever

HER — Back Of My Mind

Lil Nas X — Montero

Olivia Rodrigo — Sour

Taylor Swift — Evermore

Kanye West — Donda

Who will win: Billie Eilish — Happier Than Ever

Who should win: Olivia Rodrigo — Sour

The Album Of The Year category is perhaps the most coveted award at the Grammys. This year, there were ten different nominees to choose from. While music lovers and critics alike may have a clear winner in mind, the Recording Academy oftentimes chooses to throw a curveball in this category, like when Beck beat out both Beyonce and Ed Sheeran in 2015. But this year, it’s likely that the award will go to Billie Eilish. The Recording Academy is clearly fond of Eilish, seeing as she holds seven wins and 17 nominations in the two years she’s submitted her music. But the award truly deserves to go to Olivia Rodrigo, whose debut album Sour was an exceptionally strong effort from a new artist. Everything about Sour is a hit — from its genre-fluid, catchy tracks to its on-point elevated schoolgirl aesthetic. All generations of music lovers can relate to the songs on Sour, making it without a doubt the album of 2021.

The 2022 Grammys airs April 3 at 8:30 pm EST. Find out how to watch it here.

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

With Oscar Isaac set to bring the latest Marvel live-action hero, Moon Knight, to Disney+, MCU fans who aren’t familiar with the character are curious what kind of powers and skills he brings to the table. As seen in trailers and previews, Moon Knight attacks his foes with a brutal efficiency reminiscent of Batman — he even throws moon-shaped boomerangs — but there’s also a mystical touch to his movements and actions, which ties into his origin story.

Before he became Moon Knight, Marc Spector was a mercenary who was left for dead during a desert mission. After being revived by the Egyptian moon god, Khonshu, Spector became the white-clad vigilante whose already fierce fighting abilities are enhanced by other-worldly powers, according to his official Marvel Comics bio:

Over his years as Moon Knight, Spector has also exhibited periodic demonstrations of supernatural powers such as enhanced strength during nights with full moons, prophetic visions and dreams, and the ability to drain another person’s life energies through physical contact.

Naturally, the live-action version of Moon Knight will make its own tweak to the character as seen in the featurette on his skills below. Not only are his impressive fighting techniques on full display, but his cape seems to have mystical qualities as its shown warding off a hail of gunfire. Moon Knight’s suit also seems to have the ability to magically appear — either at will, or unpredictably — which is way more convenient than having to fit regular clothes over that thing. Seriously, how would you hide that cape?

Moon Knight starts streaming March 30 on Disney+.

Everyone is still talking about what went down at The Oscars. Actually, they’re not talking about the awards but about how Will Smith smacked Chris Rock onstage, which follows a 2016 occurrence that adds some context but doesn’t do anything to ease the mess. But there’s another situation that brewed over the weekend, one that shouldn’t spark any divisive opinions: Jason Momoa, who presented at the Oscars on Sunday evening, had hernia surgery on Saturday. And he still showed up and did the thing.

For sure, the French braid-sporting Momoa seemed much less boisterous than usual while he presented alongside Josh Brolin, and they joked about not winning awards themselves. He also endured an awkward Covid-19 “patdown” bit, all while it was apparent that Momoa otherwise wasn’t feeling 100%. He looked stiff, to say the very least, and sure enough, ET Online reports that Momoa opened up about his procedure on the red carpet:

“I had hernia surgery yesterday so I’m a little like…” Momoa, who is a presenter at this year’s ceremony, revealed as he adjusted his black tuxedo jacket. “I’ve got to present eight amazing awards.”

Backstage was a different kind of night for him as well. In an Instagram story, Momoa revealed his BTS belly-button icing regimen while everyone enjoyed the show.

He did, however, find the energy for posing next to Zendaya and Shirtless Chalamet, as one does. Rock on, Momoa and pals.

(Via ET Online)

While this year’s Oscars may be known for the already infamous moment of Will Smith smacking Chris Rock, there was a more wholesome exchange onstage between Lady Gaga and Liza Minnelli that caught people’s attention. The pair presented the night’s biggest award together, and Gaga proved to be supportive of the 76-year-old actress who was in a wheelchair. While the audience gave a standing ovation, Gaga held her hand and said, “You see that? The public, they love you.”

When Minnelli expressed confusion over her cue hards, Gaga assured her: “I got you.” She then turned to the crowd and said of Minnelli, “You know how I love working with legends, and I’m honored to present the final award of the evening with a true show business legend.” The heartwarming energy between the two of them was palpable, and provided the Oscars with some good vibes. Watch the interaction and see fan reactions below.

Meanwhile it was just recently reported that Chris Rock declined to file a police report against Will Smith for the slap. Diddy made a statement about the situation, claiming, “That’s not a problem. That’s over. I can confirm that. It’s all love. They’re brothers.” He also confirmed that the two had “agreed to make amends later in the evening.”

NORE’s Drink Champs podcast has become a pretty reliable source of eyebrow-raising quotes in recent months. After sparking the disagreement between Kanye West and Big Sean, and drawing out The Game’s questionable soundbite comparing West’s contributions to his career to Dr. Dre’s, it could very well be the source of the next rap beef — especially if Remy Ma has anything to say about it. This week’s guest had a lot to say about both her past conflict with Nicki Minaj and the most recent classes of female rappers — minus Doja Cat, who she thinks doesn’t fit the criteria for that classification.

“They be putting her in the rapper category,” Remy offered when asked her thoughts about Doja. “I don’t think she’s a rapper. But she makes dope records, and I think she’s dope.”

Of course, fans were quick to offer their opinions on Remy’s assessment, questioning whether Remy gave Doja the backhanded compliment out of ignorance or due to her association with Nicki Minaj, with whom Remy traded diss tracks in the past. While some agreed, others posted examples of the young star showing off her rap skills, both in the form of mashups of verses from her hit singles and freestyles with the likes of LA underground rap veteran Dumbfoundead, who she knew from her days performing at Verbz’s monthly residency Bananas.

Meanwhile, Doja may well disprove Remy’s theory in due course. Last year, she said during an Instagram Live stream she wanted to release a full-on hip-hop album produced by 9th Wonder, and she’s more than proven her hip-hop head credentials, name-checking Little Brother and rapping along to one of their songs during another stream. And although Doja’s proven herself to be versatile and resistant to definition, one thing she’s always been able to do well is rap.

Watch Remy Ma’s full interview with the Drink Champs podcast crew above.

Earlier this month, Pete Davidson’s girlfriend, also known as Kim Kardashian, was basically torn apart on social media after giving some questionable advice to “women in business.” The entertainment mogul originally said “I have the best advice for women in business: get your f*cking ass up and work. It seems like nobody wants to work these days.” This did not go over well, as many social media users criticized the mogul, as she was pretty much born a millionaire.

Now, the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star is saying her comments were taken out of context. “That statement that I said was without questions and conversation around it, and it became a soundbite really with no context,” she told Good Morning America.

“In that soundbite, I came off of the notion in the question right before, which was, ‘After 20 years of being in the business, you’re famous for being famous.’ And my whole tone and attitude changed with the previous question that went into that question about, ‘What advice would you give to women.’”

She continued, “You have to really work hard to get there even if it might seem like it’s easy, and you can build a really successful business off of social media,” she said. “And you can, if you put in a lot of hard work. And it wasn’t a blanket statement towards women or to feel like I don’t respect the work or think that they don’t work hard. I know that they do. That was taken out of context but I’m really sorry if it was received that way.” Well, Kim, you did tell a bunch of people to “get off your f***ing ass” so it’s safe to say some people received it in a negative way.

As both a Hollywood actor and stand-up comedian, Whoopi Goldberg understands both sides of the equation when it comes to the now-infamous moment at the Oscars when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock over a joke he told about Jada Pinkett-Smith. During Monday morning’s episode of The View, Goldberg offered her perspective on the situation, and basically, she feels that Smith “overreacted.” That said, she understands why Smith felt irritated in light of Rock also making jokes about Will and Jada’s marriage at the 2016 Oscars.

“I would’ve been a little annoyed,” Goldberg said. “I think he had one of those moments where it was just like G-D it. Just stop.”

The View co-host also noted that “all of the pressure” on Smith to maintain his composure with a potential Best Actor win on the line didn’t help the situation. Goldberg also praised Rock for not feeding into the moment. Via IndieWire:

“I get it. Not everybody acts the way we would like them to under pressure. Some people just snap. He snapped. What I do want to say was that it was remarkable, wonderful, that Chris Rock did not take it to that other place it could’ve gone. I don’t know if they spoke or apologized or not. All I know is sometimes you get to a point where you behave badly. I myself have behaved badly on occasion.”

Despite having a sympathetic view of the situation and completely writing off talk of rescinding Smith’s nomination, Goldberg does feel that the Academy will take some sort of action. “There will be consequences for sure.”

(Via IndieWire)

The Boston Celtics are the hottest team in the Eastern Conference and have vaulted their way from a play-in battle in January to the 1-seed after dominating the Timberwolves on Sunday night.

However, that win also came at a price as center Robert Williams exited the game with a knee injury and on Monday had an MRI to determine the severity. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, that MRI revealed a torn meniscus that figures to keep the star out for “several weeks.”

How much time Williams misses will likely be determined by whether he has to have surgery to repair the tear or not, as that typically brings with it a 4-6 week timetable from the surgery date. With the NBA Playoffs beginning on April 16, the Celtics will likely have to prepare to play at least their first round series without Williams and possibly later rounds as well, which makes their quest to emerge from the East all the more difficult. A first round series for the top teams in the East isn’t guaranteed to be an easy one, as the Brooklyn Nets lurk in the play-in and figure to land either the 7- or 8-seed.

Williams’ presence as a shot blocker and rebounder is critical to the Celtics being at their best on the defensive end, and on offense he is terrific at extending possessions on the glass and finishing them as an elite lob threat in the pick-and-roll. An extended absence from Williams will shift more responsibility onto veteran Al Horford, as well as pushing Daniel Theis into a larger bench role.