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Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.

This week saw long-awaited new music from Adele and what may be one of Coldplay’s final albums. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.

For more music recommendations, check out our Listen To This section, as well as our Indie Mixtape and Pop Life newsletters.

Adele — “Easy On Me”

Adele isn’t one to drop non-album singles between projects, so before this year, the last new song we heard from her were from the 2015 album 25. Now, though, 30 is finally on the way next month, and ahead of then, Adele made her triumphant return with “Easy On Me,” an evocative piano ballad that includes a knockout performance from one of music’s most powerful and beloved voices.

Young Thug and Mac Miller — “Days Before”

With how omnipresent Young Thug has been over the past decade, it’s hard to believe that his new album, Punk, is only his second LP. Collaboration has been one of the keys to his career, and he secured some big ones here, including linking up with the late/great Mac Miller on the brief and chill “Days Before.”

Coldplay — “Biutyful”

Last week, Coldplay released their ninth album, Music Of The Spheres (which is perhaps one of their last LPs). The band didn’t drop a new single in the week leading up to the album (probably since “My Universe” is still dominating the world), but some album tracks are particularly interesting, like “Biutyful.” It’s a catchy, airy, midtempo pop-rock tune most notably characterized by an artificially high-pitched voice, which avoids being a gimmick and instead works as a charming musical choice.

Anitta — “Faking Love” Feat. Saweetie

Brazilian pop star Anitta and Santa Clara’s Saweetie come from different backgrounds, but they’re a natural pairing on Anitta’s “Faking Love.” As Uproxx’s Aaron Williams notes, the song “is a brazen breakup anthem, so it’s fitting that she tapped the Bay Area’s own Icy Princess, Saweetie, to deliver a slick, dismissive verse to really drive the message home.”

Summer Walker — “Ex For A Reason” Feat. JT

Summer Walker is gearing up to further stake her claim in the R&B landscape with her second album, Still Over It, but before then, she offered a tantalizing preview of it last week. The song is “Ex For A Reason,” and on it, she and JT of City Girls address themes that line up perfectly with the album title. After sharing the track, Walker noted, “Don’t fight over a n**** that got his attention all over the place. I hope y’all learn from my mistakes.”

Snail Mail — “Ben Franklin”

Lindsey Jordan is continuing to deliver on all the promise she’s shown over the past half-decade with the rollout for her upcoming sophomore Snail Mail album, Valentine. The latest preview of it is “Ben Franklin,” a groovy alt-rocker that sees her getting vulnerable, as it reveals that she recently spent time in rehab.

Maxo Kream — “Greener Knots”

Houston’s own Maxo Kream has an album coming in a matter of hours at that point. Before unveiling the whole thing, last week, he dropped “Greener Knots.” The track features the rapper diving into his rough childhood over some smooth production.

PinkPantheress — “Reason”

It seems there are new ways to blow up in the music industry every day, and PinkPantheress has done so by riding a TikTok-boosted wave. After gaining attention on the platform, her debut mixtape, To Hell With It, is here. It includes tracks like “Reason,” which balances relaxing guitars and vocals with its frenetic rhythm.

Pink Sweats — “I Feel Good”

Pink Sweats is only a few months removed from Pink Planet, but he’s already treating his fans to more, as last week brought a new song, “I Feel Good.” Uproxx’s Wongo Okon notes of it, “The track is a soft and heartwarming release that finds the singer appreciating the world around him and how great life feels nowadays.”

Courtney Barnett — “Smile Real Nice”

Barnett’s main focus at the moment is her upcoming album Things Take Time, Take Time, but last week, she took time, took time for something else: a TV theme song. She wrote the theme (titled “Smile Real Nice“) for the upcoming animated Harriet The Spy series and it sees Barnett adapting her sound to fit wonderfully in a jaunty and immediately catchy format that’s going to sound great over the show’s opening credits.

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

The first two seasons of the LeBron James-Anthony Davis partnership have unfolded in starkly different manners. In year one, they missed a combined 13 games, guided the Los Angeles Lakers to the NBA’s second-best record and rolicked to the franchise’s first title since 2010. In year two, injuries tripped them up and interrupted a title defense. James and Davis were sidelined for 63 games and Los Angeles stumbled to the West’s seventh seed before falling to the Phoenix Suns in six games in the first round.

While concerns surrounding James’ durability moving forward are valid, given his age and recent injury history between last season and 2018-19, he was still an MVP-caliber player prior to spraining his ankle in mid-March. Davis, however, never truly rediscovered the magic of his dominant 2019-20 as one of many stars who were playing catch up because of the absurdly truncated offseason. For the Lakers to punch their second NBA Finals ticket in three years, they’ll be hoping that the four and a half month layoff has revitalized Davis.

Numbers can never encapsulate the entirety of a player, but the decline in some key areas help indicate the contrasting versions of Davis during his first two seasons as a Laker. In 2019-20, according to Cleaning The Glass, he generated a rim frequency of 42 percent, which fell in line with his prior two seasons of 44 percent. He aptly blended his face-up shooting and driving prowess to attack defenses. The result was one of his most efficient scoring campaigns to date before he went supernova from midrange in the playoffs and had the luxury of taking a few more jumpers each night.

Last season, his rim frequency plummeted to a career-low 32 percent. He floated aimlessly more often, settled for contested jumpers and didn’t display the same pop and vigor of months prior — likely due in part to some injury issues. Davis is a solid shooter among big men, but he’s an elite finisher. More than half his shots came from midrange and he converted just 43 percent of them en route to a career-worst 55.6 percent true shooting. Swapping out those looks at the rim for midrange jumpers didn’t suit him.

After a Defensive Player of the Year-caliber regular season and playoff run, Davis followed 2019-20 up with a lackluster showing. He was late as a helper more commonly, didn’t look as spry as a perimeter mover and failed to maintain the impact of his fellow elite defenders around the league, even if he was still good on the aggregate.

Statistically, the waning defensive activity was reflected in a career-low block rate of 2.7 percent. Because the bar he’s set for himself is towering, that still placed him in the 79th percentile, per Cleaning The Glass, but never before had he dipped below the 83rd percentile in his career.

A resurgent year from Davis should be anticipated. Despite various ailments and a brutally short offseason, he was a (very) good player. He just created such lofty expectations following 2019-20, which is a testament to his greatness. Last year, he and the Lakers had fewer than two and a half months between the end of the NBA Finals and their first regular season game. This year, they’ll have close to five months. The hope — nay, the goal — is that’s the sort of elixir for Davis to rediscover his superstar ways and spearhead another prolific season in Southern California.

Due to the “constraints of arenas,” The Weeknd has postponed his After Hours Tour dates and announced that new dates will be forthcoming in 2022. The singer apparently got a taste for the scale a stadium performance can bring after performing at the 2021 Super Bowl and wants to bring that to the tour he has planned for his latest album.

“The tour dates are moving and will commence in the summer of 2022,” he wrote in his social media announcement. “Due to constraints of arenas and the demand for more shows I want to do something bigger and special for you which requires stadiums. Current tickets will be refunded automatically and all ticket holders will be given priority to buy tickets for the stadium shows when they go on sale. New dates forthcoming.”

Prior to announcing the postponement, The Weeknd suggested that his next “full body of work” could arrive before the tour — something that now seems like a near certainty, if the dates have been pushed back for him to move up to bigger venues. More recently, he intimated that the project is already complete and is only awaiting a few features. Meanwhile, he’s also working on an HBO show titled The Idol, so perhaps the additional wait for the tour will give him the leeway to get all this work off his calendar.

The Memphis Grizzlies have been one of the NBA’s most pleasant surprises the last two years, as they’ve gone from a team that looked like it would be staring down a lengthy rebuilding process after the end of the Grit N Grind era, to a playoff team in just two seasons.

Still, this is a team that is keeping focus on the future, using this offseason to add more young talent and continue trying to figure out who is and isn’t part of their long-term vision, even while trying to compete in the immediate. The two unquestioned members of that long-term core in Memphis are Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr., heading into their third and fourth years respectively. Morant has become one of the NBA’s best young point guards and is in line for what one figures to be a max extension next year.

Jackson, meanwhile, has shown flashes of his immense talent on both ends of the floor in his three seasons with the Grizzlies, but has only played in 126 games over those three years due to injuries. That has kept him from tapping into his full potential so far, but Memphis is banking on that happening sooner than later, inking him to a four-year, $105 million extension on Monday just ahead of the extension deadline, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

It’s the type of deal that makes sense for both parties, as Jackson gets some financial security despite his injury history, while the Grizzlies get a tremendous talent on a deal that could very well look like a steal if Jackson can stay on the floor and continue his upward trajectory. Jackson joins Trae Young, Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Michael Porter Jr., Mikal Bridges, and Robert Williams III as members of the 2018 Draft class to ink extensions this offseason, with the most notable exception remaining being No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton.

Maxo Kream’s new album, Weight Of The World, is out now, arriving after an impressive rollout featuring the singles “Local Joker,” “Big Persona” with Tyler The Creator, and “Greener Knots.” We last heard from the Houston rapper in 2019, when he released the autobiographical Brandon Banks; Weight Of The World addresses the changes that have taken place in his life since then, as well as showing off the polishing he’s put on his pen game on tracks like “Streets Alone,” which features ASAP Rocky.

Over a thumping beat produced by Cardo — a departure from the producer’s usual laid-back, funk-influenced instrumentals — “Streets Alone” finds the two rappers stuck knee-deep in their respective vices even despite the best efforts of the positive role models in their lives. “Momma prayin’ that I leave the streets alone,” raps Rocky on the hook. “Preacher prayin’ that I leave the reefer ‘lone / I’m just gettin’ money, leave the beef alone / But I’m out here thuggin’ and my tee VLONE.”

In addition to ASAP Rocky and the aforementioned Tyler The Creator, Maxo’s new album also features appearances from fellow Houstonian Don Toliver, fresh off the release of his own new album Life Of A Don, and Freddie Gibbs, another hardcore rapper steeped in thug life narratives.

Listen to “Streets Alone” above.

Weight Of The World is out now via RCA Records. You can get it here.

The Succession Report Card is a weekly recap feature where we attempt to assign grades to the important people, things, and themes from each episode of Succession. The grades are entirely subjective and the criteria for scoring will change from week to week and occasionally mid-week. Someone might get detention. It’ll probably be Roman.

FAILING

Shiv Roy

Not a great start for Shiv on any major front. She was passed over for CEO, in large part because she couldn’t secure Lisa Arthur as the attorney for the company in the cruise ship fiasco. She also couldn’t secure Lisa Arthur as her own sounding board. And she might have learned that they’re not the “friends” she thought they were. Couple all of that with Roman heaping spoonfuls of salt in every wound and the thing when she appears to be calling a panic-audible heading into next episode, and… yeah.

Not great.

GRADE: F

MUST IMPROVE: Identifying friends, securing attorneys, not just kind of melting down a lot

Connor Roy

Willa’s play continues to get savaged to the point he’s pitching a lean-in to ironic viewing for “the hipsters and dipshits.” He’s such an afterthought that Logan needed to be reminded to give him a task and then that task ended up being, “Uhhhh idk just stay here.” Just a useless man.

GRADE: F

MUST IMPROVE: Pretty much anything would be a good start

Various Karls and Franks

The non-family, non-Gerri members of the team had a weird week. Let’s hit some highlights:

• Frank was told repeatedly that he can’t be trusted and once that he’s “mashed potatoes,” which is not something I had ever heard used as an insult before this
• Karl, bless his soul, missed a van from the airport because he was getting a sandwich
• Karolina got kicked out of a car after Kendall accused her of being “a weevil in the flour sack,” which is also not something I had heard before this

GRADE: D-

MUST IMPROVE: Job security, keeping their heads down, not being mashed potatoes and/or weevils

Tom Wambsgans

One of my favorites things on this show is watching Tom inflate and deflate based on who he’s talking to. Anyone he perceives as lower status? He’s a big strong cruel man. Anyone he perceives as higher status? Sniveling weasel. He’s a fascinating creature. I kind of want to see his entire origin story.

GRADE: D

MUST IMPROVE: Playing the reverse banjo

TREADING WATER

Logan Roy

Here’s the thing about Logan: He’s in a dogfight right now, with the government maybe coming after him, and a son leading the charge, and an investor revolt on his hands, and a public relations nightmare, and… I think he kind of loves it? Like, he’s angry about it. He’s furious. But I think he relishes the fight itself a little. The dude is a scrapper and always has been, which is how he got to where he is now. And he has a way with words unlike any other character on television. “We’re on saliva and adrenaline” is a phrase that’s going to stick with me for a while.

GRADE: C-

MUST IMPROVE: Rearing children, not overseeing a massive and corrupt enterprise

Kendall Roy

What a dope. Just a big old dummy. Like, yes, he’s doing the right thing here in blowing the whistle on the company for the cruise ship sex abuse scandal, so kudos on that, but he’s really only doing it as his latest power play. And he’s so proud of himself about it. That line at the end where he bragged to Greg about all the brilliant women around him was maybe the funniest thing I’ve ever heard, considering he had just talked over half of them and invited his new girlfriend to his ex’s house, which he had commandeered as an action station, family heirlooms and all.

He’s going to screw this up. You know it, I know it, I think he ever knows it. Maybe he doesn’t. Dopes rarely know they’re dopes.

GRADE: C

MUST IMPROVE: Situational awareness, comebacks, tweets

Roman Roy

Roman is a sad little boy who needs a hug at all times. His thing with Gerri is kind of stalling out, he also got passed over as CEO, and his advice about stonewalling the entire investigation — Congress and reporters and everything — was actually pretty terrible. He should not be in charge of a family of hamsters let alone an international corporation that employs thousands of human people.

And yet… I love him. He’s adorable. That awful little goofus.

GRADE: C

MUST IMPROVE: Being an adult

Jess Jordan

Imagine this is your job, to relay insults back and forth between a father and son who can hear each other in the background of the phone call you’re attempting to mediate. Imagine explaining this to someone when they say “What do you do for a living?” It’s a weird life that Jess Jordan has.

I hope she ends up running the company.

GRADE: C

MUST IMPROVE: Hitching her wagon to a better horse

Lisa Arthur

Lisa Arthur:

• Seems like she has her stuff together
• Is probably just dealing with Kendall as a necessary evil to achieve some combination of building her brand and providing aid to the harmed cruise ship employees
• Has cool glasses

GRADE: C+

MUST IMPROVE: Maybe not getting involved with any of these jackals

HEAD OF THE CLASS

Gerri Kellman

Things started out weird for Gerri with that phone call to the White House where she was straining analogies to their breaking points. (“It’s out of our hands.” “Not if you grab it.”) And she got the CEO gig only after each of the blood candidates set themselves on fire after dousing themselves in incompetence. And this could all end poorly for her, considering she’s just a figurehead atop a company that is about to get dragged to Hell a little bit.

But still. Good for her. Gerri rules.

GRADE: B

MUST IMPROVE: Strange mommy-son pseudosexual relationships with coworkers

The Succession theme song

I don’t think I’ve ever pushed the Skip Intro button on this sucker and I don’t see myself starting any time soon. Those strings and pianos, man, just rising and falling and tinkling and cascading. It’s a good song. I might start playing it in my car.

GRADE: A

MUST IMPROVE: Hmm… maybe add a Method Man verse? I’m splitting hairs here.

Cousin Greg

He’s a sweet boy. I want him to start a podcast about memes. Good Meme-age With Cousin Greg

GRADE: A

MUST IMPROVE: Leave him alone. He’s doing the best he can.

Tater tots

Delicious and underrated. Should be on more menus instead of french fries. When I was little I used to cover them in ketchup and mustard and mash them all up into a sloppy mush and eat them with a spoon. I might do it again this week. A top-tier food.

GRADE: A

MUST IMPROVE: Marketing themselves as a food adults eat regularly

It’s hard to imagine anyone other than Harrison Ford as Star Wars scoundrel Han Solo (no offense, Alden Ehrenreich), but dozens, if not hundreds of other actors auditioned for the part. To name a few: Al Pacino turned it down at a time when he was “offered everything,” Burt Reynolds “just didn’t want to play that kind of role,” and Sylvester Stallone met with George Lucas but “I don’t look good in spandex holding a Ray gun.”

Christopher Walken also auditioned to play the Millennium Falcon captain, but he knew at the time that it wasn’t a good fit.

“I did audition [for Star Wars], but I don’t think I came remotely close to getting the job. About 500 other actors auditioned, so it wasn’t as if it was down to me and somebody else,” he told the Financial Times. Walken also brought up another ill-fated audition, in which he failed to land a part in 1970’s Love Story (it went to Ryan O’Neal). “In both those cases, I was lucky because I’d have been awful in them,” he said.

Star Wars and Love Story are two of the biggest movies of all-time when adjusted for inflation. But considering Walken’s movies have grossed a combined $4.4 billion at the box office (I bet you can’t guess what number one is!), I think he’s doing fine.

(Via the Financial Times)

After the new The Batman trailer dominated yet another DC FanDome on Saturday, fans quickly got to work sifting through the longer look at Robert Pattinson‘s upcoming turn as the Dark Knight. Despite Paul Dano appearing in the opening seconds of the trailer (leaving behind a coffee cup with a question mark in the foam after being arrested), fans were quick to notice that you see just enough of him from the side to know its the actor, but then his face is noticeably hidden throughout the entire trailer.

While The Batman‘s plot has been shrouded in secrecy even after a year-long delay due to the pandemic, it’s been widely reported that Dano is playing The Riddler. The aforementioned coffee cup scene confirmed as much. But with his face being hidden during the trailer, fans can’t help but speculate that maybe something else is afoot.

Director Matt Reeves has repeatedly said that The Batman will be a return to the character’s noir roots and be more of a detective story, which is an element that got pushed to the wayside in previous films. Playing with The Riddler’s true identity would definitely fit the bill, especially with fans going into the film already expecting Dano to be playing the villain.

In the meantime, be prepared for theories like this one:

The Batman hits theaters on March 4.

With their best player, Kawhi Leonard, sidelined due to a knee injury, the Los Angeles Clippers rattled off a pair of wins to eliminate the Utah Jazz in the 2020-21 postseason and were within shouting distance of the NBA Finals, falling to the Phoenix Suns in six games in the Western Conference Finals. A cast of players were responsible for the Clippers staying afloat sans Kawhi, including Paul George, Nicolas Batum, Terance Mann and Marcus Morris. But none exceeded expectations more than Reggie Jackson.

As Los Angeles approaches the 2021-22 regular season, with Kawhi scheduled to miss all or most of the year, Jackson will once again help determine to what degree the superstar wing’s absence is felt. Having drilled 42.9 percent of 345 triples, Jackson has been a dynamite long-range gunner during his year and a half with the Clippers and was a valuable tertiary option throughout last regular season, when he averaged 10.7 points on 57.6 percent true shooting.

Yet the evolution of his role and game during the playoffs was fascinating. Primarily a spot-up guy in the earlier stages and someone who served as a defensive liability, he cleaned up many of his defensive shortcomings and was a lethal on-ball creator by year’s end. He was drilling pull-ups and step-backs, floating in runners, and attacking the cup.

Across 19 contests, he averaged 17.8 points on 62.6 percent true shooting, including 40.8 percent from deep and a staggering 58.2 percent on twos. The dude went supernova and was a potent secondary scorer alongside George. In eight games without Leonard, the veteran guard was even better, posting a 21-4-4-1.5 line on .485/.369/.864 splits. He was a flamethrower during that stretch and vital to Los Angeles’ ability to remain highly competitive in spite of its franchise star’s injury.

Playoff runs are often beholden to small sample stardom like that, though. Expecting Jackson to scale up so well across an entire season and help the Clippers maintain an elite offense is a dubious proposition. He’s 31, has a lengthy injury history and, well, has never been as good as he was in the 2021 postseason. Perhaps, that is the springboard to a full year of step-backs, runners, and torrid shot-making. Sometimes, all a guy requires is the ideal opportunity and context to foster the self-belief necessary to thrive like he never had previously.

Collectively, those eight games following Kawhi’s injury should instill a sense of confidence that this Clippers squad can do more than just survive without him. They have a superstar in George. Tyronn Lue is a superb head coach. Good role players are scattered throughout the roster. Mann looks primed to follow his playoff emergence, which featured a 39-point detonation in the closeout Game 6 against Utah, with a third-year breakout.

Despite all those important components, Jackson’s ball-handling, shooting and creation are paramount to the Clippers maintaining such excellent play. In the playoffs, he broke down defenses, spaced the floor for others to attack, delivered when the ball swung his way for open looks, held up defensively, created for others and complemented George beautifully as offensive focal points. The Clippers constantly had opponents scrambling and Jackson was a primary reason for that.

Los Angeles seems to be conducive to success for him. But there are layers to success and what exactly it looks like for him this season could prove to be the differentiator between a Clippers team vying to avoid the play-in and one competing for homecourt advantage.

Guests at a wedding in Venice, Italy over the weekend were treated to an interesting surprise: A performance from none other than Kanye West. The rapper played a few of his hits at the wedding of D’Estree founder Geraldine Guiotte and Tiffany & Co. Vice President Alexander Arnault, wearing an Eyes Wide Shut-esque mask and an all-black Balenciaga ensemble. Videos from the event popped up on Twitter, confirming that the rapper performed renditions of “Believe What I Say” and “Come To Life” from his new album Donda, as well as fan favorites “Flashing Lights” and “Runaway.”

Prior to the wedding, Kanye’s last performance was arguably his stadium listening events for Donda, where he didn’t so much perform as he did play different versions of the album while hanging out with troubled stars like DaBaby and Marilyn Manson (and set himself on fire for the spectacle).

Meanwhile, Kanye’s got a lot on his plate looking forward to the end of the year, as he’s got a Netflix documentary on the way, he’s reportedly producing Ghostface Killah’s Supreme Clientele sequel, he’s launching a “Donda”-branded tech line, and he’s selling his Wyoming ranch. You can watch videos of him performing at the high-fashion wedding above.