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Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson gave some fans the surprise of their lives on Saturday when he pulled up beside a bus full of tourists near his home. The “Jungle Cruise” star rolled down his window and called to the group of tourists asking, “Hey you guys know where I can find The Rock?”

The topless bus exploded with screams and everyone had huge smiles on their faces. In Los Angeles, it’s rather common to run across the occasional celebrity, but for these folks from out of town, it was a massive shock. Given their excitement, it’s pretty clear they got their money’s worth.

The former pro wrestler turned actor chatted with the tourists for a few moments and gave them enough time to get a picture.

After greeting the crowd, he pulled away in his vehicle laughing, saying, “Ah well, that was fun. It was a good way to start off my Saturday.”

The Rock is one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood and lives an incredibly lavish lifestyle, but it’s good to see that he still has love for the fans who made it all happen. In a town where there are far too many entitled celebrities to count, it’s great to see someone enjoy the wonderfully blessed life they have.

“One of the cool parts of fame & my job ~ makin’ a few folks happy,” he captioned the post on Instagram.

Olivia Rodrigo continues basking in the success of her debut album, Sour. The album not only made her the first woman in 11 years to have her debut LP spend four weeks at No. 1, but her track “Drivers License” was the fastest song by solo female artist to achieve a billion streams on Spotify. Now continuing to hype up the release, Rodrigo shares a vibrant video to her fan-favorite song “Brutal.”

Directed by Petra Collins, Rodrigo’s “Brutal” video puts her at the center of pop culture. It opens with her taking a painful tumble during ballet class while she sings of the pitfalls of comparing herself to other women on social media. It then shows clips of her in various celebrities roles: on TV, promoting a drink at a photo shoot, and having a faux emotional breakdown on a livestream.

In a statement about the video, Rodrigo thanked Collins for her directorial work. “had the best time ever making this. so so so grateful for @petrafcollins who constantly inspires me and who directed this video so incredibly,” Rodrigo wrote on Instagram. “hope u guys love the vid and all my teen angst lol.”

Watch Rodrigo’s “Brutal” video above.

Sour is out now via Geffen/Interscope. Get it here.

A COLORS Show is well-known for breaking new and international artists, mostly focusing on rising stars or favorites from places like Britain, France, and various African countries. Every so often, though, the show secures a performance from a big-name American star like Alicia Keys, Black Thought, or Smino. Today, Colors Studio shared an eye-popping performance from Isaiah Rashad, who played a relaxed rendition of his low-key The House Is Burning song, “HB2U.”

Decked out in a Fuschia ensemble, Rashad pops out against the electric yellow background as he croons and spits his surprisingly complex verses with well-practiced ease, barely even seeming to take a breath despite the densely packed, syllable-stacking lyrics. “HB2U” — an acronym for “Happy Birthday to You” — is one of the cornerstone pieces of his new album The House Is Burning, finding him conversing with himself to unpack his self-destructive behaviors as he reflects on getting older and hopes to grow wiser in proportion.

Isaiah was a recent guest on Uproxx’s People’s Party podcast, discussing his favorite rappers and recalling studying Outkast to master his flow.

Watch Isaiah Rashad’s vivid performance of “HB2U” at Colors Studios above.

Isaiah Rashad is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Despite his “Cyber Symposium” going down in flames earlier in the month, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell is still charging full speed ahead with wild conspiracy theories that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Donald Trump. In a decidedly dangerous move, Lindell is now making another claim about Dominion Voting Systems, which is probably not the best idea considering the software company’s billion-dollar lawsuit against Lindell was given the green light by a judge.

While stopping by Steve Bannon’s Real America Voice podcast, where Lindell has been doing most of his nonsensical ranting lately, the MyPillow CEO boldly claimed that there would soon be a “nationwide injunction” against Dominion that would completely prove the election was stolen. Via Raw Story:

“You guys, this is the smoking gun of all time,” the pillow executive claimed. “Dominion is caught red-handed.”

“One of the first things we’re going to be doing is we’re putting an injunction against Dominion,” he added. “It’s a nationwide injunction prohibiting Dominion from making any modifications to their voting systems that would destroy prior election data. That’s what they’re doing right now. They’re going across the great country and deleting stuff.”

According to Lindell, the injunction will happen by the end of the week. However, keep in mind that is this same man that said Trump would be reinstated by August 13. When that date came and went, Lindell shifted gears and now claims Trump will definitely, totally be reinstated by the end of the year. For real this time.

(Via Raw Story)

It’s the rare breakup that worked out for both partners: The Walking Dead is one of the biggest shows on cable, and Steve Yeun is an Oscar nominee. But the Minari star’s character, Glenn (who was murdered by Negan in season seven), hasn’t been forgotten.

In Sunday’s season 11 premiere, “Acheron: Part I,” Maggie (Lauren Cohan) takes her group on an underground “death march,” and “you are the goddamned pied piper,” as Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) calls her. Tensions have always been high between the two — the whole “killing her husband” thing didn’t help matters — but they boil over when he makes a reference to Glenn. “Look, you all want to put your lives in her hands? Her head isn’t even in the game, because I’m in her head, living rent-free,” Negan says. “So, Maggie, me dying on your terms, it ain’t happening. So, whaddaya say? Let’s just get her done. Right here and right now. Because I am not going to let you drag me through the mud, filth, and slime to put me down like a dog. Like Glenn was.” Dang.

The only reason that Maggie doesn’t punch him in the face is because Daryl beats her to it (she would have done much worse if she knew what Negan would do to her later).

The line is a gut-punch callback to Glenn’s death, one that Dean Morgan fought against.

“I fought it! That’s the one line that I immediately called [showrunner Angela Kang] and I was like, ‘I can’t say it. I can’t f*cking bring up Glenn’s name here.’ And I was like, ‘Any goodwill that Negan has gotten on his side is going to go out the window the minute I say Glenn.’ I tried to nix the line completely,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “I didn’t think it was necessary. And I thought, for sure, they would let me change it.” The scene was filmed “three or four different ways,” but “then, of course, when I saw the cut, I was like, ‘Oh, f*ckers!’ They had to put it in,” Dean Morgan added.

The final episode of The Walking Dead still has 23 episodes to go. There’s plenty of time for Maggie to get her revenge.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

It seemed like 2021 was the year the live music industry would start returning to normal. In some ways, it has, as concerts are starting to happen again, but things aren’t back to how they were just yet. We’re not out of the woods yet COVID-wise, and some artists and event organizers are realizing that, like Phoebe Bridgers, who just changed her 2021 tour so it’s outdoor shows only. Pixies, meanwhile, have gone ahead and outright canceled their September tour dates.

The band shared a statement on social media that reads, “Regretfully, we announce today that we are cancelling our 11-date U.S. September run. We have determined that with the current surge in COVID cases — made worse by the Delta variant — that this is the right decision for our fans and crew members’ safety, as well as our own. Ticket holders can obtain refunds from point of purchase. We ask that our fans stay safe and healthy and we hope to see you all soon.”

Check out the list of canceled shows below.

09/10 — Port Chester, NY @ Capitol Theatre
09/11 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
09/13 — Louisville, KY @ Old Forester’s Paristown Hall
09/14 — Fort Wayne, IN @ Foellinger Theatre
09/16 — Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest
09/17 — Chesterfield, MO @ The Factory at The District
09/18 — Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room/Outdoors
09/19 — Chicago, IL@ Riot Fest
09/21 — Cleveland, OH @ Jacobs Pavilion, (with Nine Inch Nails)
09/23 — Cleveland, OH @ Jacobs Pavilion (with Nine Inch Nails)
09/26 — Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom

Mike Richards will not host Jeopardy! after a tumultuously brief stint as the official replacement for Alex Trebek. But the show didn’t go far to find a guest host to pick up the slack.

According to a CNN report, Mayim Bialik will step in to host episodes in the wake of Richards abruptly leaving the role after a string of controversies involving comments that he’s made and a lawsuit during his time on The Price Is Right:

Bialik will host the episodes that are taped this week, people familiar with the matter told CNN Business. Since the game show typically tapes a week’s worth of episodes on a single day, this means she will host several weeks of “Jeopardy!”
Sony, the show’s producer, declined to comment.

Bialik, who according to a TMZ report was offered the full-time gig herself but could not accept because of other obligations, will fill in as the show’s first guest host of Season 38, which started taping last week. The CNN report notes that’s the case as well, though the altered timeline for finding a full-time host has apparently put her back in the running for the gig:

“The studio loves Mayim but at the time of the decision for the current season, her schedule for ‘Call me Kat’ was set and she wouldn’t have been able to juggle the syndicated show and her fox sitcom,” the person said.

“Now that there is some more time to figure things out, she has become a real viable choice for Sony,” the person continued. “It just makes sense to ask her to step in for several weeks while they figure out next steps.”

Richards is still serving in his executive producer role on the show, and there’s some speculation about whether he will be part of the decision-making on his full-time replacement. But it’s likely we see a number of guest hosts return who competed with Bialik and Richards for the hosting job that the latter won, then very quickly lost.

(Via CNN)

Basilica Soundscape 2021 has been canceled due to ongoing COVID-19 pandemic concerns, organizers announced today.

“With heavy hearts, we write to inform you that Basilica Hudson has made the impossibly difficult, though necessary, decision to cancel Basilica Soundscape 2021,” wrote organizers in a statement posted to Instagram. “This was not an easy conclusion to come to, but ultimately one done out of caution to prioritize the safety of our beloved artists, team and you — our cherished audience.”

The note also mentioned how Soundscape artist William Basinski had previously decided to cancel his entire fall tour due to COVID concerns, and “our food vendors and various tech and photo staff have had to withdraw due to Covid-related obstacles.”

The September event, programmed by Basilica Hudson founders and creative directors Melissa Auf der Maur and Tony Stone, had been set to feature Moor Mother, Basinski, Circuit des Yeux, and Tomberlin. “Supporting independent and innovative artists is at the core Soundscape,” wrote the festival organizers. “We so appreciate you believing in this new, different iteration of the festival, and for trusting us to create an experience that you could safely put your creative faith in.”

For a look at the best festivals coming in 2021, be sure to check out the Uproxx Music Festival Preview.

Saweetie‘s McDonald’s meal has been out for a couple of weeks now, which means it’s time for its accompanying merch collection to hit the net as well. While Travis Scott’s collection included wild entries like Cactus Jack house slippers and Chicken McNugget body pillows, Saweetie’s stuff sticks to the most functional items like apparel and accessories.

In the press release, Saweetie noted that the designs here suit her own personal style, which includes oversized t-shirts and hoodies, and claimed a favorite. “Y’all know I stay dipped in the latest fashion, so it was only right I drop some icy merch to celebrate my McDonald’s collab,” she said. “There are so many oversized pieces that I love, like my favorites: the Saweetie ’N Sour Hoodie and Fry Tees.”

In addition to those items, the collection includes the Dats Right fanny pack, the Pop Art sticker tote, a pair of trucker hats, and socks with her snowflake logo. The simplicity of the collection will probably ensure that the supply issues that plagued J Balvin’s collection can be avoided this time around. You can check out a few pieces below and make your purchases on the official website.

Music fans are celebrating the return of live shows this year, but several musicians themselves have tightened safety measures in recent weeks. A number of artists like Japanese Breakfast and Jason Isbell are requiring fans to show proof of vaccination against COVID before entering their concert, and Phoebe Bridgers is taking a similar stance.

Bridgers unveiled the dates to her 2021 Reunion Tour last month, which celebrates her 2020 album Punisher. But on Monday, the singer returned to announce the decision to move all of her upcoming shows to outdoor venues. The singer is also requiring fans to show proof of vaccination, or proof of a negative COVID test result in a few select cities:

“Let’s try this again… In the interest of safety, I’ve decided to only play outdoors for the upcoming tour. We are moving all previously scheduled indoor shows to outdoor venues and we’ve needed to postpone shows in a couple cities so please check the updated schedule.

At my request, there are updated health and safety requirements. Entry will require proof of vaccination against COVID-19. Where that’s not permissible by law, we’ll agree to proof of vaccination OR proof of negative test result (PCR preferred/Antigen accepted) within 48 hours prior to entering those venues.

And please wear a mask. I love you. See you soon.”

Check out Bridgers’ new 2021 Reunion Tour dates below.

09/03 — St Louis, MO @ Chesterfield Amphitheater
09/04 — Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Festival
09/05 — Louisville, KY @ Iroquois Amphitheater
09/08 — Indianapolis, IN @ TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park
09/10 — Chicago, IL @ Pitchfork Music Festival
09/11 — Minneapolis, MN @ Surly Brewing Festial Field
09/12 — Madison, WI @ Breese Stevens Field
09/14 — Detroit, MI @ The Aretha Franklin Amphitheater
09/15 — Lewiston, NY @ Artpark Amphitheater
09/17 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE Outdoors
09/18 — Columbus, OH @ Express Live
09/19 — Charlotte, NC @ Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheater
09/21 — Raleigh, NC @ Red Hot Amphitheater
09/22 — Philadelphia, PA @ Skyline Stage At The Mann
09/23 — Dover, DE @ Firefly Festival
09/25 — New York, NY @ Governor’s Ball Festival
09/26 — Boston, MA @ Leader Bank Pavilion
09/27 — Boston, MA @ Leader Bank Pavilion
09/29 — Cleveland, OH @ Jacobs Pavilion At Nautica
10/02 — Austin, TX @ ACL Festival
10/04 — Birmingham, AL @ Avondale Brewing Company
10/09 — Austin, TX @ ACL Festival
10/16 — Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre
10/21 — Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre
10/22 — Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre
10/24 — Atlanta, GA @ Shaky Knees Festival

For a look at the best festivals coming in 2021, be sure to check out the Uproxx Music Festival Preview.

Punisher is out now via Dead Oceans. Get it here.