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Tems is having a stellar year. The Nigerian R&B-afrobeats singer-songwriter broke out in early 2021 as a result of her feature on fellow Nigerian artist Wizkid’s fan-favorite single “Essence,” which catapulted her into the US spotlight and sent listeners scrambling back to her September 2020 EP For Broken Ears. Since then, she’s released another EP, If Orange Was a Place, featured on Drake’s new album Certified Lover Boy, and embarked on her first-ever US tour, which is helping to show her breakout was no fluke.

Now, as if to put the exclamation point on the above-mentioned accomplishments, she offers her take on the star-making NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert. The Tiny Desk (Home) Concert format allows her to spread out, as she and her band perform in an elegantly-appointed ballroom. With a setlist consisting of “Found,” “Free Mind,” “Looku Looku,” “Replay,” and the standout “Damages,” Tems establishes herself as a performer of uncommon talent, managing to be as captivating sitting on a stool as any number of much more animated artists.

Tems’ rise to stardom now has her performing on late-night television shows and videos like “Crazy Tings” racking up millions of plays, making it clear that there are even greater heights in store.

Watch Tems’ Tiny Desk Concert above.

After a 12-year hiatus, Academy award-winning filmmaker Jane Campion (The Piano) is back with a film that already appears both brutish and beguiling in its first official trailer. In The Power of the Dog, Campion casts Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange, Sherlock) against Kirsten Dunst (Spider-Man, The Virgin Suicides) in a tense Western drama about masculinity, romance, and, of course, power. The film is scheduled for a limited theatrical release on November 17, before quickly becoming available to stream on Netflix on December 1.

Based on Thomas Savage’s 1967 novel of the same name, The Power of the Dog follows “severe, pale-eyed, handsome, Phil Burbank,” (Benedict Cumberbatch) as he unleashes a campaign of torment against his sister-in-law, Rose (Kirsten Dunst) and her son Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee). While the trailer is good about keeping most of the film’s plot under wraps, those of you more interested in just what transpires can read the thorough Netflix description below:

The year is 1925. The Burbank brothers are wealthy ranchers in Montana. At the Red Mill restaurant on their way to market, the brothers meet Rose, the widowed proprietress, and her impressionable son Peter. Phil behaves so cruelly he drives them both to tears, reveling in their hurt and rousing his fellow cowhands to laughter – all except his brother George, who comforts Rose then returns to marry her.

As Phil swings between fury and cunning, his taunting of Rose takes an eerie form — he hovers at the edges of her vision, whistling a tune she can no longer play.  His mockery of her son is more overt, amplified by the cheering of Phil’s cowhand disciples. Then Phil appears to take the boy under his wing. Is this latest gesture a softening that leaves Phil exposed, or a plot twisting further into menace?

In addition to Cumberbatch, Dunst, and Smit-McPhee, the film also stars Jesse Plemons, Thomasin McKenzie, Genevieve Lemon, Keith Carradine, Frances Conroy, Peter Carroll, and Adam Beach. When The Power of the Dog premieres at the 78th Venice International Film Festival on September 2, 2021, it was met with praise and critical acclaim particularly for Cumberbatch and its ensemble cast.

Last year, Brazilian pop star Anitta teamed up with Cardi B for the showstopping single “Me Gusta.” For her latest single “Faking Love,” Anitta set her sights on another groundbreaking rapper: Saweetie. This week, the duo came together to perform the joint track on The Late Late Show With James Corden.

The captivating rendition of “Faking Love” marked the duo’s debut TV performance of the single. Armed with backup dancers, moody red lighting, and unstoppable confidence, Anitta and Saweetie delivered cutting lyrics about feigning interest in a romantic partner.

Ahead of the set, Anitta and Saweetie chatted with Corden about the exact inspiration behind the track. Anitta admitted that her relationships usually have a three-month expiration date. While writing the song, she was seeing guy she was seeing for about three months and decided it was time to end things. But because it was his birthday week, she decided to wait and “fake love” until after the celebrations ended. “I got to three months and I said, ‘No. He’s not nice,’” she told Corden. “But I didn’t want to break up with him in that moment because it was his birthday week because I’m a nice girl. So I was faking for that week so that after his birthday was [done], I would break up and that’s what I did.”

Anitta also revealed that, with this guy, she took some inspiration out of the 2003 film How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days and did some “disgusting things” to him in order to try to get him to break up with her — but it didn’t quite work.

Watch Saweetie and Anitta deliver their joint single “Faking Love” on The Late Late Show above.

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

Late last month, a number of individuals within the Phoenix Suns organization released a statement refuting a story that had not yet been published that allegedly detailed instances of racism, sexism, and sexual harassment by the team’s longtime owner, Robert Sarver. The piece, by Baxter Holmes of ESPN, dropped on Thursday afternoon, and it included a number of anecdotes from “more than 70 former and current Suns employees throughout Sarver’s 17-year tenure.”

Among them was an interaction that Sarver had with former Suns head coach Earl Watson, who told ESPN about the exchange. In the aftermath of a 106-100 loss to the Golden State Warriors, Sarver allegedly entered the locker room and had a conversation with Watson surrounding Draymond Green using the n-word.

As Watson told it, Sarver used the actual word and was told by Watson to stop, which led to the owner asking why he could not use it if Green did.

“You know, why does Draymond Green get to run up the court and say [N-word],” Sarver, who is white, allegedly said, repeating the N-word several times in a row.

“You can’t say that,” Watson, who is Black and Hispanic, told Sarver.

“Why?” Sarver replied. “Draymond Green says [N-word].”

“You can’t f—ing say that,” Watson said again.

The piece includes a number of other ex-staffers telling stories of times they heard Sarver use the word, including his belief that the team needed to hire Lindsey Hunter instead of Dan Majerle as head coach in 2013 because “these [N-words] need a [N-word].” While Sarver denied these accounts and claimed “I don’t use that word,” he did say in a statement that one time, he used the word:

“On one occasion a player used the N-word to describe the importance of having each others’ back,” Sarver, via his attorneys, told ESPN. “I responded by saying, ‘I wouldn’t say n—a, I would say that we’re in the foxhole together.’ An assistant coach approached me a short time after and told me that I shouldn’t say the word, even if I were quoting someone else. I immediately apologized and haven’t said it ever again. The N-word has never been a part of my vocabulary.”

In recent months, Charli XCX has dropped some hints about what her next album is going to be like and when it’s coming, but she hadn’t actually offered any concrete info. That changed today, though: Charli has announced that her next album is called Crash and it’s set to drop on March 18, 2022.

She hasn’t shared a tracklist yet, but pre-order listings note the album will have 12 tracks and among them are “Good Ones” and “New Shapes,” the latter of which she shared today and which features Christine And The Queens and Caroline Polachek.

In a recent interview, Charli explained how “Good Ones” is reflective of Crash as a whole, saying, “It definitely sets the palette for the rest of the album. It is heavily ’80s-inspired. There are a lot of uptempo tracks. It’s dark, it’s kind of sexy and sexual and sort of demonic at points, I suppose. But then there are lighter moments, too. But yeah, I think the whole record is about my relationship with relationships and sex and power. But the song itself, I suppose, it’s about falling for a toxic person, being always ready to put myself in the most dangerous positions, just to feel something, which I guess it’s kind of the whole record, but I feel like we’ve all been there at points in life.”

Listen to “New Shapes” above. Charli also announced some 2022 tour dates today, so find those below.

03/26/2022 — Oakland, CA @ Fox Theatre
03/29/2022 — Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
04/01/2022 — San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park
04/03/2022 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Greek Theatre
04/06/2022 — Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
04/08/2022 — Austin, TX @ ACL Live at The Moody Theater
04/09/2022 — Houston, TX @ House of Blues Houston
04/10/2022 — Dallas, TX @ House of Blues Dallas
04/12/2022 — New Orleans, LA @ Orpheum Theater
04/13/2022 — Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern
04/15/2022 — Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
04/16/2022 — Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa
04/18/2022 — Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore Philadelphia
04/20/2022 — Boston, MA @ House of Blues Boston
04/22/2022 — New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom
04/23/2022 — New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom
04/25/2022 — Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall
04/26/2022 — Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
04/28/2022 — Saint Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre
04/29/2022 — Chicago, IL @ Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
05/13/2022 — Dublin, Ireland @ Olympia Theatre
05/15/2022 — Glasgow, UK @ O2 Academy
05/17/2022 — Manchester, UK @ Victoria Warehouse
05/18/2022 — Birmingham, UK @ O2 Academy
05/19/2022 — London, UK @ Alexandra Palace
05/02/2022 — Norwich, UK @ UEA
05/22/2022 — Sheffield, UK @ O2 Academy
05/23/2022 — Nottingham, UK @ Rock City
05/25/2022 — Paris, France* @ Trianon
05/27/2022 — Brussels, Belgium* @ La Madeleine
05/28/2022 — Utrecht, Netherlands @ TivoliVredenburg (Ronda Hall)
05/30/2022 — Berlin, Germany @ Astra
05/03/2022 — Cologne, Germany @ Carlswerk Victoria
06/02/2022 — Barcelona, Spain @ Primavera
06/04/2022 — Milan, Italy @ Fabrique
06/07/2022 — Madrid, Spain @ La Riviera
06/09/2022 — Barcelona, Spain @ Primavera

Crash is out 3/18/2022 via Asylum Records UK/Warner Records UK. Pre-order it here.

On Tuesday night, Jimmy Kimmel had a lot to say about the QAnon followers who had gathered in Dallas to await the reemergence of JFK, Jr., and possibly his dad. On Wednesday night, Kimmel brought it up again, as he’s still not sure how this isn’t a much bigger story—and rightfully so. Here was Kimmel’s take:

“The illiterati gathered by the hundreds because they believe JFK, Jr. and JFK, Sr. were going to reemerge and reinstall Donald Trump to power—because obviously the Kennedys would be big Trump fans. I cannot overstate how crazy this event, that is getting almost no coverage, was.”

Kimmel cut to footage of the crowd, who had composed some pretty wacky—albeit on-brand—call and responses, including as resounding “No!” to the question “Did we land on the Moon?”

“Sadly, the Kennedys did not show up in Dallas,” Kimmel said. “So then the new rumor—they pivoted—was that they’d show up at a Rolling Stones concert. There was a Stones concert in Dallas last night, and some of those in the audience became convinced that Keith Richards was JFK.” Kimmel shared a tweet from one attendee, who claimed that: “Whether you like it or not, JFK Senior was there and I feel he was Keith Richards.”

“Who should be more insulted,” Kimmel wanted to know. “Keith Richards, by people who thought he was 104-year-old JFK? Or JFK for them thinking he was a 77-year-old Keith Richards? I don’t know.”

You can watch Kimmel’s full “QAnut” rant above.

In 2012, the martial-arts action thriller The Raid was a pop culture phenomenon, becoming one of the most impactful Indonesian works ever to hit the US at the time. So it makes sense that Rich Brian — who was born and raised in Indonesia before moving to the US to pursue his music career — would channel its uber-violent aesthetic in the video for his aggressive new single “New Tooth.”

Over a rollicking beat by frequent collaborator Diamond Pistols, Brian vents about the jagged path he’s had throughout his artistic career, illuminating both his struggles and his growth as the beat switches from a frenetic fight instrumental to more laid-back synth-heavy meditation music. The video, which follows an elaborate revenge plot highlighted by SWAT team shootouts, was directed and edited by Brian himself. “I really took my time on this song & I think it was worth it,” he said in the press release. “The video was very fun to shoot & edit I feel like I went back to my 2011 filmmaking days, shoutout to Jason Ano.”

The acting skills he displays in the video act as a precursor to Brian’s upcoming film debut Jamojaya, which is directed by Justin Chon and recently wrapped in Hawaii, according to Deadline.

Watch Rich Brian’s “New Tooth” video above

Earlier in the week, conservative White House correspondent Emerald Robinson ran afoul of Twitter’s misinformation policies by tweeting out a conspiracy theory that the Moderna COVID vaccine contains a Satanic tracking device called “luciferase.” While luciferase is an actual luminescent enzyme that exists, it is not used in the Moderna vaccine, which Reuters first reported back in May when the conspiracy theory emerged.

While Robinson’s luciferase tweet was initially pulled by Twitter, the situation has escalated. Robinson’s entire Twitter account is now suspended for “repeated violations” of the platform’s COVID misinformation policies. More notably, her employer, the extremely right wing Newsmax, has pulled Robinson off of the air while it is “currently reviewing the posts” that prompted her suspension from Twitter. Via The Daily Beast:

Several Newsmax staffers cheered on the decision to bench Robinson. “It’s really buzzing the newsroom,” one current employee told The Daily Beast. “I think it’s a good idea. If we are going to be viewed as a news organization, we have to act like one.” Another staffer agreed, reiterating that “it was a stupid thing to tweet.”

The conservative station also rebuked Robinson’s remarks on Tuesday by stating that the COVID vaccines are “safe and effective” and that “we do not believe the vaccines contain any toxic materials or tracking markers.” Of course, the right-wing network is currently staring down the barrel of two multi-billion dollar lawsuits for falsely repeating election fraud claims, so it’s probably not a bad idea to avoid a third one. Satanic tracking devices are never a good hill to die on.

(Via The Daily Beast)

Major festivals across the globe are slowly but surely returning, and that includes Lollapalooza‘s European counterpart, Lollapalooza Paris. The festival was canceled both in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID but they’re now aiming to make their 2022 event one to remember. Lollapalooza Paris officially unveiled their full 2022 lineup and details about the upcoming festival, showing how they’ve booked some of today’s top musicians.

The festival officially takes place the weekend of July 16-17, 2022 across four stages at Hippodrome De Longchamp, which is actually a massive horse racing track in the city. The lineup features US and European acts alike and includes artists like Imagine Dragons, David Guetta, Anitta, Jack Harlow, Pearl Jam, ASAP Rocky, Megan Thee Stallion, Maneskin, Turnstile, Little Simz, Phoebe Bridgers, White Reaper, and more.

Like many of the major festivals in the US, Lollapalooza Paris fans will get the chance to experience more than just music. Festivalgoers can sample a wide variety of French cuisine and art exhibitions. According to press materials, there will even be a space dedicated for fans to learn more about “how to help the world around them.”

See Lollapalooza Paris’ full 2022 lineup above.

Tickets for Lollapalooza Paris 2022 are on sale now. Get them here.

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

James Carville’s telling it straight to his fellow Democrats when it comes to mopping up the mess after this week’s election losses. That’s what led Ted Cruz to go on a cable-news victory tour and dance all over the place while, strangely, no one is claiming election fraud anywhere. You know that would be the case, had Glenn Youngkin not won the Virginia gubernatorial race over ex-Governor Terry McAuliffe. That issue, though, is beside the point because Republicans saw huge turnout for this week’s elections

Well, veteran Democratic campaign strategist and author James Carville believes that there’s significant backlash to blame here, and he’s pointing the finger at the sharp turn that Democrats have taken into hyper-wokeness. At around the 3:00 minute mark in the above video, PBS NewsHour host Judy Woodruff asked Carville what he believes “went wrong,” and he had a ready answer, which is that Democratic rhetoric is swinging too far to the left:

“What went wrong was this stupid wokeness. Don’t just look at Virginia and New Jersey. Look at Long Island, look at Buffalo, look at Minneapolis, even look at Seattle, Washington. I mean, this defund the police lunacy, this ‘take Abraham Lincoln’s name off schools, people see that. Some of these people need to go to a woke detox center or something.”

It sure sounds like the right wing was ready to push back hard on hyper-wokeness, especially after certain far-right cheerleaders freaked out over a poll that claimed that Republicans might stay home from voting. That didn’t happen here, and yes, there’s a whole lot of extremism on both sides. More to the point, though, Carville believes that the Left is currently “expressing language people just don’t use and there’s a backlash and a frustration at that. Suburbanites in northern Virginia… New Jersey, you know, pulled away a little bit.” He added as well, “Youngkin never ran any ads against Biden,” which suggests that the rhetoric on both extreme sides did all the work in this week’s election, rather than Biden’s low approval ratings.

(Via Mediaite)