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If The Marías’ debut album Cinema would fit into any film genre, lead singer María Zardoya thinks it would be a dramedy. But it’s nothing like the kitschy, rose-tinted world of movies like 500 Days Of Summer or teen-centered dramas like Juno. Instead, the album lives in a cinematic universe that’s dripping in glamour and romance, swathed in lush red velvet that’s dimly illuminated by moody lighting.

As someone who grew up in a small town outside of Atlanta to Spanish and Puerto Rican parents, Zardoya became a film buff at a young age as a way of imagining her life outside a town whose only cultural events revolved around the church. Cinema pays tribute to the films Zardoya watched in her youth, drawing inspiration from the artistically-inspiring works by Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar, many of which revolve around strong female characters. “Watching his films felt like a rebirth,” Zardoya said about Almodovar’s films over a Zoom call. “It felt like a cultural reset of sexual freedom and artistic freedom that I was really craving as a young adult living in this small town that lacked all of that.”

Cinema is as romantic yet less campy than Almodovar’s films. It’s fully-instrumental album opener “Just A Feeling” acts as an exposition, setting the scene for the remainder of the album with swirling, orchestral violins and a languid guitar. Zardoya’s hushed vocals then cut through with buzzing synths on the following laid-back pop number “Calling U Back,” showing off The Marías’ knack for loungey and beguiling psych-pop numbers that originally built the band’s fanbase and introduced them as indie-pop innovators on their first two EPs, Superclean Vol. I and Superclean Vol. II.

When it comes to her own taste in music, Zardoya appreciates musicians who aren’t afraid of experimenting with genres. “I like that concept of music right now that you don’t have to fit into this mold or just do one thing,” she said. “And you can tell in Cinema, we’ve got a Reggaeton-inspired song, but then we have a more acoustic song with harps and strings.” When it comes to her lyrics, Zardoya definitely doesn’t fit the indie-pop mold. With many of her songs, on Cinema as well as other releases, Zardoya moves fluidly between delivering her lyrics in Spanish and English. “The feeling that I get from singing a song in Spanish is different from the feeling I get from singing a song in English. It comes from a different part of you and your emotions. When I sing in Spanish, it’s just more nostalgic and a bit more romantic.”

While Zardoya draws inspiration from a wide variety of genres, she’s a true Britney Spears fan at heart. She previously transformed Spears’ hit track “Baby One More Time” into a simmering dark-pop anthem and even labeled Cinema’s buoyant song “Hush” The Marías’ “Britney moment.” “I just loved her as an artist and looked up to her so much,” Zardoya said about Spears’ influence on her songwriting. “She’s such a strong force and such a strong woman. That, I think, intimidates a lot of people on her team and a lot of people just in general in the industry.”

Zardoya also noted she’s personally inspired by innovative women musicians, which is why she curated a playlist for Uproxx of her favorite rising female pop stars. “I grew up listening to a lot of female musicians and artists, both Latin and non-Latin,” she said. To Zardoya, listening to music is a means of escape and relaxation, which is why she listens to “a lot of chill music.” Sleepy chords and drawn-out synths can be heard throughout her curated playlist with artists like the dreamy group Men I Trust and tropical synth-pop duo Buscabella. But it also features some more dancey numbers, like breakout pop artist Remi Wolf’s jazzy number “Liz” and French electro-pop band L’Imperitrice’s funk-forward song “Peur Des Filles.”

Check out Zardoya’s full playlist below, along with her explanation for why she opted to highlight each track.

Biig Piig — “Oh No”

“The Biig Piig ‘Oh No’ song, I love the vocal production and the layers of this song, I think. And just the overall, it’s kind of dark and moody, but it’s still dreamy and edgy, and I love the lyrics as well. I can relate to the lyrics.”

Maye — “Yours”

“And the Maye song, Maye’s a friend of mine, and I just love this song. It’s such a feel-good song. And the music video is her in a roller skating rink, and that’s like the perfect visual for this song. It’s just, it just feels good.”

Arlo Parks — “Black Dog”

“The Arlo Parks song ‘Black Dog,’ it’s a song kind of that deals with mental health, and I can relate to it a lot. And I think a lot of people during quarantine and post-quarantine can relate to the feeling of anxiety, and having this dark sort of force sort of present in your life, and how it feels to deal with that. So I can relate a lot to this song, and I really like the message that she sort of encapsulated in that song.”

Men I Trust — “Before Dawn”

“The Men I Trust song, ‘Before Dawn,’ this is on their newest album, and the first time I listened to this song, I just, I fell in love with it. The beat, the tones of the synths, even the tone of her voice, which is kind of in the back, it’s almost its own instrument in the song. It’s a beautiful, beautiful song. I can turn it on whenever, and it just transports me.”

L’Imperatrice — “Peur Des Filles”


“The L’Imperatrice song, this is a French band that I love, that I discovered during quarantine. And this song in particular is just a feel good dancey song. Just get up and dance. I have no idea what she’s saying, but it doesn’t matter because it takes me to the mood, and that’s kind of the most important thing.”

Lav — “Wavvy”


“And this love song ‘Wavvy,’ I discovered it during quarantine as well. And I kind of had it on repeat. It was just the feeling of the song. It’s like a slow jam, a song that gives the emotions of longing and sort of heartbreak. But it’s a beautiful song. And the bass, the tone of the bass is amazing.”

Remi Wolf — “Liz”

“This Remi Wolf song, ‘Liz,’ is amazing. It’s one of my favorite Remi Wolf songs. The melody is just so good. It’s so catchy. And yeah, it’s just like a feel-good song. And I love like the tones that they use, and her vocal inflections, and the dynamics of her vocals as well, is really good.”

Raveena — “Headaches”

“This Raveena song I’ve loved for a long time. I love the way that it starts as one song and then sort of takes you to a different part, almost like a different song, but it happens so seamlessly. And it’s just a beautiful song. I love her voice. It’s like just very healing and relaxing to listen to. I love all of her music.”

Luna Li — “Cloud Castles”

“I love Luna Lee. She is just a force, she plays all the instruments on her, on her songs. And just this project was, it was amazing. Again, like the tones of like the bass and the guitar and how she like is able to weave all of these instruments together in the most seamless ways. It’s so good. She actually played harp on one of our songs on the album and strings on a couple of them as well.”

Buscabulla — “Nydia”

“I love, it just feels like an old Bailara, but in an amazing, modern way it’s, it’s feel is so nostalgic. Feeling of the song is just, it takes me back to a time and place from my past. But it’s just a beautiful song and I love the band and I love the project.”

Cinema is out now via Atlantic. Get it here.

The Marías are a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Seven years ago, French Montana released “Don’t Panic,” warning listeners that “we just getting started.” Now that he’s nearly two decades deep in the game, it appears he’s giving us all the green light to lose it with his new single, aptly titled “Panicking.” It features Brooklyn rapper Fivio Foreign and a hook that boasts that now “we got ’em panicking.”

The song arrived with a tongue-in-cheek video that follows French and Fivey as they pull off a high-altitude heist, shoving a pallet of cash out of the back of a cargo plane and promptly following it down. However, it looks like their parachutes opened a little late; they crash into a fancy spa filled with gorgeous women, declaring “we in a buffet!” After a wardrobe change, we see the boys getting pampered by their new acquaintances wearing silk robes and boasting that they’ll have “your favorite rapper naked on that OnlyFans” (apparently they are assuming that your favorite rapper is either a beautiful woman or selling so poorly they need alternative income — they really should clarify these things). Unfortunately, our boys get caught at the end; as thieves, they should really have been observing Heat rules here: “Don’t let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner.”

“Panicking” is the latest single from French’s upcoming fourth full-length studio album, They Got Amnesia, which drops on November 12 Epic Records/Bad Boy Entertainment. You can pre-order the project here.

Watch French Montana and Fivio Foreign’s “Panicking” video above.

There’s no time for misbehavin’: The Righteous Gemstones season 2 trailer is here.

The new season of one of TV’s funniest and most cutting comedies “finds our blessed Gemstone family threatened by outsiders from both the past and present who wish to destroy their empire,” according to the official plot summary for HBO. John Goodman, Danny McBride, Adam Devine, Edi Patterson, Tim Baltz, Cassidy Freeman, Tony Cavalero, Jennifer Nettles, Skyler Gisondo, Greg Alan Williams, and of course Walton Goggins as Baby Billy Freeman are all back, while Jason Schwartzman, Eric Roberts, and Eric Andre have been added to the recurring cast.

Unlike another acclaimed HBO series, The Righteous Gemstones will address the pandemic. “COVID was very kind to the Gemstones,” McBride told Entertainment Weekly. “They were able to deliver to the world a streaming service that allowed people to stay at home and watch Gemstone broadcasts. So while everyone around them suffered, they’re in a better position than they’ve ever been in before.” He also said that Baby Billy “comes back with a bang this year… Baby Billy is a man who has some things that he has to face from his past, as much as he would prefer not to. It was awesome to have Walton back, and the stuff he gets up to this season is too much fun.”

I agree: Walton Goggins is awesome. The Righteous Gemstones returns on January 9.

Former FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb has delivered what is probably the most optimistic news since the pandemic began almost two whole years ago. According to Gottlieb, a new experimental antiviral pill from Pfizer (as well as new a therapeutic from Merck) has given him enough confidence to say that that America is nearing the light at the end of the tunnel in regards to COVID-19.

“I think the bottom line is the end of the pandemic‚ as least as it relates to the United States, is in sight right now given that we have the tools to combat this disease,” Gottlieb told CNBC on Friday morning.

Gottlieb was so confident about his assessment that he actually started issuing calls for the Biden administration to celebrate even though he feels the country is looking at approximately two more months of dealing with the Delta variant. Via Mediaite:

“I think that this therapeutic and the other innovations that we’ve seen coming to market really mark the end of the pandemic in the United States,” Gottlieb said. “And we need to think how we put that victory sign on the side of the White House, and we declare victory over this pandemic, at least here in the United States.”

As for why Gottlieb is betting very large on the new Pfizer pill, according to the Associated Press, the Pfizer pill not only cuts hospitalizations and deaths by nearly 90% in “high-risk adults,” but independent experts actually told Pfizer to end its study early and apply for FDA approval because the results were coming back so strong.

(Via Squawk Box on Twitter)

A week after Dave Chappelle made a string of trans jokes after enduring “the worst three weeks of my life,” he’s adopting an unrepentant stance again. The controversial comedian arrived at San Francisco’s Chase Center for his sold-out Thursday night appearance. Officially, this is the start of his 10-city tour to screen his Untitled documentary, which he said was cancelled by film festivals amid the controversy over his trans jokes in Netflix’s The Closer. If you were wondering if Chappelle has changed his tune on the reaction to those jokes, well, that didn’t happen.

Via Rolling Stone, Chappelle couldn’t resist likening himself to notorious crime boss Al Capone while he addressed the crowd who gave him a standing ovation. Yep, he’s still going back and forth on whether or not he’s thrilled to be cancelled. Here’s his latest:

[M]uch of the comic’s material focused on his self-proclaimed status as a cultural pariah. “Man, I love being cancelled,” Chappelle told the crowd of 19,000. “It is a huge relief. It’s like getting Capone on tax evasion.”

The gleefully abrasive comedian, who previously declared that Netflix’s trans employees “will not summon” him and must agree to conditions on speaking with him (to date, they haven’t shown interest in doing so), later proceeded with screening Untitled.

As Rolling Stone relayed and Yahoo further elaborated upon, the Untitled documentary screener went over well with the live audience (one attendee called it “fantastic” while many grew emotional). The film focuses upon how America grappled with both the economic devastation wrought by the pandemic and the killing of George Floyd, followed by civil unrest and associated debates on policing, all while Chappelle worked to pull off a grassroots comedy camp in Yellow Springs, Ohio. By reported accounts, Untitled is a thought-provoking film about how Americans “are trying to process the grief and isolation of the last year,” yet unfortunately, Chappelle continues to be unrepentant about those trans jokes and focus a lot of his energy on being at odds with marginalized groups.

That juxtaposition is… something.

(Via Rolling Stone)

Brooklyn rapper Bobby Shmurda has been steadily working toward a comeback ever since his release from prison earlier this year. In addition to returning to the stage at Rolling Loud — both the Miami and New York editions — he’s released a handful of new singles and guest appearances, including a remix to Eladio Carrion’s “Tata” with J Balvin and Daddy Yankee, the wide-eyed “No Time For Sleep Freestyle,” and now, his latest, the hungry “Splash.”

Over a sinister, piano-backed beat produced by Aloy and Danny Wolf, Bobby spits a tongue-twisting flow, cockily challenging foes with eye-popping taunts. His new, squelched delivery makes some of the bars harder to understand but “Splash” is much more about the vibe, creating the sensation of speeding down a highway so fast the tires of your vehicle leave the ground.

In addition to putting out new music, Bobby has also been on a philanthropic spree. In June, he arranged a “Father’s Day Give Back Brunch,” treating 200 families to a traditional Jamaican meal and giving out free haircuts for attendees. More recently, he sent 2,000 New York City students back to school with brand-new backpacks full of supplies, telling the kids at six schools “you guys are unstoppable.”

Listen to Bobby Shmurda’s new single “Splash” above.

United States District Court Judge Tanya S. Chutkan vocalized what many of us are thinking when she laughed out loud at Donald Trump’s lawyers. As Raw Story reports, the former president’s attorneys were in court on Tuesday to file a legal brief in which they boldly—and quite falsely—stated that both the FBI and the Senate have cleared Trump of any wrongdoing as it relates to the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6th. Which is patently false, and anyone who follows the news would certainly know that.

While discussing the legal brief, Chutkan jumped right in to ask about a line that stated: “Notwithstanding [the January 6th committee’s] allegations and insinuations of conspiracy, investigations by the FBI and the Senate Committee on Government Affairs and Homeland Security rebuff their contentions of wrongdoing by Trump Administration officials.”

Chutkan, good sport that she is, decided to play along and ask about the basis upon which they had reached that conclusion. To which Trump’s lawyers replied: “Just a published article from Reuters … quoting the FBI.”

Chutkan, now in absolute disbelief, actually laughed out loud at this response, before responding: “You cite an article … That’s your only support for that statement?”

Indeed, it was.

You can listen to the laugh-riot of an argument over at Raw Story.

(Via Raw Story)

Not only is Slayyyter one of the rising pop stars we picked to have a banner year in 2022, but today she’s announced a brand new collab with none other than New Orleans Bounce legend Big Freedia. Earlier this year Slayyyter finally shared her debut album, Troubled Paradise, after popping off big with some early viral hits like “Daddy AF” and “Throatzilla.” So needless to say Slayyyter, aka Catherine Slater and Big Freedia, aka Freddie Ross, have a raunchy streak in common.

For their new song, “Stupid Boy,” the pair roast a potential suitor who may think he’s in control of the situation but, in fact, is being played like a fiddle. Complete with a dance breakdown and boxing ring photo shoot, the song really picks up in the back half when Freedia brings the heat with an unstoppable verse. Slayyyter said she wanted the vibe of the song to evoke WWE divas, and that has definitely been achieved.

“The song came together when I was in a session with my boyfriend Colin and friends Owen Jackson and Miles Comaskey,” Slayyyter said of the song. “We were cutting vocals for something else and Colin and Owen emerged from a back room with a new song idea called “Stupid Boy.” They gave me a poem of silly lyrics to read in a sexy voice and then they turned it into an absolute club banger. We hit Big Freedia’s team about being on it and they were down immediately. I added my own verse later on and the entire vibe of the song reminded me of the powerful WWE divas which is where we took the inspiration for the visuals. It’s one of my favorite songs to date because I made it for fun with my friends.”

Big Freedia is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Canelo Alvarez is almost universally regarded as the best boxer on the planet right now. After going 14-0-1 in his last 15 fights and winning belts across four different divisions since the lone loss of his career to Floyd Mayweather back in 2013, the Mexican fighter has become the face of the sport.

Still, this Saturday night represents a chance to do something he’s never done: become an undisputed champion of a division by claiming all four of the major belts (WBC, WBO, WBA, IBF) at 168 pounds. To do so, he will need to take down Caleb Plant, an undefeated American who has quickly risen to the top of the division in recent years. There is no shortage of motivation for each fighter, helped by a scuffle at their first press conference that left Plant with a cut under his right eye, but for Canelo, this bout is just as much about continuing to take his place among the all-time greats of the sport as it is about taking out an opponent for whom he has a distaste.

On Wednesday, prior to their fight week presser in Las Vegas, Alvarez sat down with Uproxx over Zoom on behalf of Hennessy to talk about why this fight means so much to him, what he expects from Plant in the ring, and why it’s easy for him to stay motivated even though he’s reached the top of the mountain.

How are you feeling a few days out from fight night?

I feel great. I feel ready for Saturday night.

What’s been your focus in camp as you get ready for Caleb Plant and what he’s going to bring in the ring?

I always focus, focus on being ready 100 percent. You know, we obviously work on how he boxes, like how he moves with jabs, so we trained for that. But at the end of the day, I like to be in the ring the first round and then look how I need to do in the night.

What are you expecting to see from him? Obviously you’ll be ready to adapt, but what are the expectations coming into that first round?

I expect he’s gonna move, using his jab, moving, trying to make the fight difficult for me. So I expect that but I’m, like I say, it’s nothing new for me. I fight before with all the styles, with all the great fighters out there. So for me it’s just, I just need to be patient and do my job.

I know you’ve said you think you can get a knockout in the 7-9 round range. What are the things you think you can do exploit in his defense and wear him down to get to that point where you can finish him?

Like I say, I need to be patient the first rounds and do my job, go forward, moving, and start with the body punches. And then looking for the good combinations, and just like I say, be patient.

This will be your your fourth straight fight at 168. You had a few fights in a row where you were bouncing up and down from middleweight, light heavy, back to super middle. Does it help you to have some consistency in the weight that you’re fighting at and know how your body’s gonna respond in the build up to a fight to be at your best at a certain weight class?

It’s hard going down, going up, so it’s always hard. But I feel great in this weight class. So I feel great in 168. I feel my power is there, my speed, my abilities, I can do it better. So I feel ready in 168.

Why has it been so important to you to go after title fights and go after these unification fights that weren’t always what the top fighters have done in boxing — whether it’s contractual things and all of that. You seem to really pursue those fights.

I like [the] challenge. I always like being there, looking for the best fights out there. In this time, our short term goal is unify all the belts. So for us, it means a lot to be an undisputed fighter, because very few fighters in the history of boxing accomplish that. So for us this means a lot.

You’re partnered with with Hennessy and you’ve been with them for a while. Why is that a brand that you felt has has been aligned with you and your style?

Yeah, because they have the same dreams, the same vision like me. You know, never stop. Never settle. It is like I always thinking about that. I never stop. I never give up. So I feel so good we’re partnered with Hennessy.

When you go from being the guy who’s the young phenom trying to get to the top, to the guy at the top of the sport, how do you maintain that same hunger and drive when you’re the guy being chased?

It’s easy. I love this. I love boxing. I love what I do and for me it’s easy.

Finally, what comes next? Obviously you’re focused on Plant right now, but you said that unification is the short term goal. What’s next on the long term goals for you?

We don’t know yet. So we want to accomplish this fight first and then we will look forward.

When I Am Legend hit theaters in 2007, the film shattered box office records by being the highest grossing non-Christmas movie released in December. However, the movie’s $77 million opening weekend apparently wasn’t good enough for Will Smith at the time. While appearing on the latest episode of Apple TV’s The Oprah Conversation, the blockbuster star revealed that he had such an unhealthy fixation with I Am Legend‘s performance that his producing partner, James Lassiter, actually hung up on him.

Via Entertainment Weekly:

“I’m excited for 30 seconds, and then my mind drifts and I say to J, ‘Hey, why do you think we missed 80?” Smith told Oprah Winfrey. “He said, ‘What?’ And I said, ‘No, it was 77, do you think if we would have adjusted the ending? Because I wanted the ending to feel more like Gladiator.’ He’s like, ‘It’s the biggest opening in history, ever. What are you talking about?’ I’m like, ‘J, I get that, I’m just asking why do you think we missed the 80?’ And it’s the only time he ever hung up on me.”

As Oprah expressed how much she loved that someone actually hung up on Smith, the actor laughed and said that the incident demonstrated the “subtle sickness of material success.”

(Via Entertainment Weekly)