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After a fast and furious couple weeks of smash hit singles, a love triangle, and lots of internet rumors, the dust is beginning to settle on Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License.” The hit single is a torch song about Olivia’s broken heart, and has managed to rack up debut streaming numbers that rendered Spotify execs speechless, while earning her praise from Taylor Swift, Halsey, and Cardi B. It’s also drawn attention of another kind, from Olivia’s rumored ex Joshua Bassett, her Disney+ co-star, and his rumored new girlfriend, Sabrina Carpenter.

In the days since “Drivers License” success, both of these entertainers have taken it upon themselves to release new singles — “Lie Lie Lie” and “Skin,” respectively — that appear to play into the narrative of Olivia’s original song. It’s arguable that “Drivers License” references the pair’s new relationship in its lyrics, but her take is ambiguous enough that probably no one would’ve done more than guess and move on if Bassett and Carpenter hadn’t decided to issue response songs. And, sadly, neither of their songs even come close to the pathos or momentum that Olivia’s original has.

In fact, fans are now beginning to wonder if Bassett and Carpenter, and particularly Carpenter’s song “Skin,” which seems to take the descriptor of “blonde” hair in “Drivers License” personally (even though it’s just an objective fact and not a dig?) are simply trying to ride on the coattails of Olivia’s success. It certainly seems to be working, the “Lie Lie Lie” video has racked up over 5 million views at the time of writing, even though most of the other videos on his channel only have thousands of views. “Skin,” on the other hand, has only been out for two days and it already 3.5 million views and is making major strides on Spotify charts.

Either way, all three of the artists are benefitting from the attention, but it’s still Olivia who is the most — “Drivers License” currently sits at 62 million views on Youtube and the No. 1 song on the Billboard chart. “Skin” is nowhere near that level, but it’s building quickly. Listen below if you haven’t heard it yet.

Oh and before you go, just know that Sabrina and Joshua have a collaboration on his forthcoming EP called “We Both Know.” The games are just beginning…

Last year, Nicki Minaj celebrated the tenth anniversary of her classic debut album, Pink Friday, by releasing a super deluxe new edition. Called Pink Friday: The Complete Edition, it boasted eight new tracks, but it’s a song from the album’s standard edition that wound up being quoted by MSNBC’s Ari Melber.

During a recent news segment on the news channel, Melber discussed Donald Trump’s upcoming impeachment trial and the possible repercussions — such as ensuring he can never run for office again — that the former president would face if he was impeached. He then decided to quote a few lyrics from “Moment 4 Life” in order to get his point across.

“There’s no more significant amount of time than for life. That’s why Nicki Minaj famously sang ‘for life, for life,’ and if the work is vindicated, best believe when it’s done it will be syndicated for life, for life,” Melber said. “And just as Nicki declared herself in this very moment a king, the question here is if the Speaker will ultimately slay Goliath with a constitutional sling.”

This is far from the first time Melber has light-heartedly quoted an artist during a news segment. Earlier this week, he took lyrics from 21 Savage’s “A Lot” to emphasize Donald Trump’s laundry list of problems. Over the years he has also quoted the likes of 50 Cent, Jay-Z, and Drake.

The Brooklyn Nets dropped two games in a row to the Cleveland Cavaliers this week. While the Cavaliers are much-improved and are firmly in the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference at this early juncture, the losses mean the Nets fell in their first two games since Kyrie Irving returned from his hiatus to play alongside Kevin Durant (who, in fairness, missed the second game) and new teammate James Harden.

Because of how hyper-reactive basketball punditry can be, it’s led to some very preliminary questions about this group, particularly its ability to defend near the rim due to the fact that Brooklyn parted with Jarrett Allen in the Harden trade and their big man depth chart is not particularly robust, something that was firmly on display as Allen and the Cavaliers thrashed them in the paint.

On Saturday morning, Irving appeared to respond to all of this on his Instagram account, reminding fans that the team is in the midst of a “long journey” and that he is confident that the Nets “will be on that stage” where “‘the best of the best’ meet.”

While there are some pretty obvious concerns about the Nets — namely their ability to protect the paint, the depth on their roster in the aftermath of the Harden trade, and their defense — Irving is right that they have plenty of time to get things all figured out. More importantly, the trio of superstars that they have is as impressive a collection of talent as we’ve seen since Durant’s Warriors squads, and even if they need to figure out how to play with one another, it’s very much a “marathon, not a sprint” situation.

Kodak Black spent nearly two years in jail after falsifying documents in order to purchase a gun, but thanks to Donald Trump, he was pardoned and freed earlier this week. In celebration of his newfound freedom, the rapper released his new single, “Last Day In,” in which he addresses the pardon. “Trump just freed me, but my favorite president is on the money,” he raps on the song. “All they hatin’ presidents has become evident to me.”

Once he was released, Kodak addressed Trump over Twitter, where he’s been permanently banend. “I Want To Thank The President @RealDonaldTrump For His Commitment To Justice Reform And Shortening My Sentence,” he wrote. “I Also Want To Thank Everyone For Their Support And Love. It Means More Than You Will Ever Know. I Want To Continue Giving Back, Learning And Growing.”

Despite the pardon, the rapper still faces sexual misconduct charges in South Carolina, stemming from a 2016 incident. Prosecutors in South Carolina say they will pursue a case for the incident, a process that was disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. In the summer of 2016, he was charged with criminal sexual conduct after being accused of raping a 17-year-old fan in a hotel room. He was banned from returning to the state unless it was to face trial, where he faces a potential 30-year sentence.

You can listen to the new song above.

Kodak Black is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

On Saturday, word broke that Larry King — legendary broadcaster and prolific interviewer, whose CNN show was long the network’s top-rated show — had passed away at the age of 87. Tributes poured in, with people remembering some of his finest moments. One clip got more attention than most: The time, in 2007, when he enraged Jerry Seinfeld on-air, while the comic was promoting his film Bee Movie, which also featured a cameo from King himself.

The clip finds King — who famously never prepared for interviews, simply asking inquisitive questions — asking whether NBC cancelled his beloved show Seinfeld, which aired its final episode nine years prior. Of course they didn’t — it was the network’s top show, and Seinfeld simply decided to end it while it was on top. But Seinfeld took extreme umbrage with the idea that there was any doubt.

“You’re not aware of this?” Seinfeld asks after shooting him a bewildered look. “You think I got cancelled? You’re under the impression that I got cancelled?” He didn’t let up. “This is pretty well-documented. Is this still CNN?” He even let out a semi-mocking, “Do you know who I am?” Seinfeld eventually starts laughing along with King, but it’s clear the implication that he was forced off the air got under his skin.

A lot of people dug up the clip as well.

Some dug out an image of King and Seinfeld in the movie the latter was promoting.

Despite his sterling reputation, King was known to occasionally screw up. When he scored an interview with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, he accidentally called the latter “George.” She even pissed off Elizabeth Taylor after he suggested that her late husband Richard Burton sometimes took roles that were beneath his talents. Then there was his interview with Danny Pudi, which went viral late last year.

But King got along famously with almost everyone, getting them to loosen up and produce great break-out moments. He was held in such esteem that Marlon Brando chose Larry King Live as the only place he would promote his memoir Songs My Mother Taught Me — an interview that ended with them singing “Got a Date with an Angel” together and Brando kissing him on the lips. There was no one like Larry King.

Back in 2017, VH1 launched a new talent show entitled Signed. The series invited unsigned hip-hop and R&B talents to Atlanta to audition in front of three judges — Rick Ross, The-Dream, and Lenny S. — for the chance to get signed to one of their respective record labels. Signed was canceled after its first and only season, but a clip from it recently resurfaced on Twitter and it’s caused fans to pounce on Rick Ross.

Two contestants named Brittany and Kaiya were auditioning for the judges during an episode of the show. They both used an instrumental of Rick Ross’ “Ashton Martin Music,” with Brittany singing her version of the song first. Once she completed her version, Lenny S. called the audition the “smartest move of her life,” while Ross and Dream applauded her. Brittany then pointed out that another contestant used had the same beat as her. That person would be Kaiya, who went up next to give her audition.

Despite impressing with her vocals, Ross cut Kaiya’s audition short and said her use of the “Ashton Martin Music” instrumental “wasn’t the best platform for your voice.” He added, “You have a unique voice and Brit did sound better than yours. Every time you present your music, you better be a superstar.” Kaiya thought otherwise and shared her thoughts with viewers after her audition. “My song is original. I wrote it myself. Brittany used the same exact melody and the same ad-libs. You didn’t change anything,” she said. “I think he was so blinded by the butt that he wasn’t paying attention like that.”

After the clip resurfaced on Twitter in a tweet that was captioned, “The music industry in a nutshell,” fans dragged Rick Ross for his comments and proclaimed that Kaiya clearly had the better audition.

You can read some of the tweets from fans below.

Larry King, the legendary and prolific talk show host and interviewer, died on Saturday, a few weeks after being hospitalized with COVID-19. (However, no cause of death has yet been released.) Tributes poured in, with people honoring his long career on radio and television. But one of those memoriams — from Piers Morgan, who replaced King after his long-running CNN show ended in 2010 — was widely seen as disrespectful over social media.

“Larry King was a hero of mine until we fell out after I replaced him at CNN & he said my show was ‘like watching your mother-in-law go over a cliff in your new Bentley.’ (He married 8 times so a mother-in-law expert)” Morgan wrote. He added, “But he was a brilliant broadcaster & masterful TV interviewer.”

Morgan’s “tribute” to King was seen by many as narcissistic.

Others just generally found it disrespectful.

Some dwelled on the fact that Morgan included a pretty decent diss from the late Mr. King.

People told him where to go.

Others were just sad to see that Piers Morgan was being talked about at all.

Starting in 1985, Larry King Live ruled the CNN airwaves, becoming not only their longest-running program but also it’s highest-rated. King did as many as 50,000 interviews over the show’s run, from politicians — including every president from Richard Nixon on — to UFO “experts.” The show ended in 2010, and was replaced by Piers Morgan Live. That program was cancelled after three seasons due to continuously declining ratings.

While Eminem is known for keeping to himself most of the time, the rapper’s love for combat sports captures the public’s attention from time to time. There was his inclusion on the 2015 soundtrack for the film Southpaw, plus the news that he spends some of his personal time boxing. Before Justin Poirier and Conor McGregor’s UFC 257 matchup Saturday afternoon, during which his music video “Higher” will premiere, Eminem delivered a strong message to UFC’s chief Dana White during their appearance on ESPN’s Sportcenter.

Eminem told White, “The best part about your opinion is that it doesn’t matter and if every fighter that you had listened to your opinion when you doubted them, you wouldn’t have a f*cking league.” White was left with a surprised look on his face, clearly taken aback by the rapper’s unfiltered comments.

This comes after Eminem shared a trailer for the “Higher” video, which saw appearances from White and ESPN’s Michael Eaves. The video will also feature footage from fans, the rapper having asked people to send him videos of them singing the song’s main hook. The track itself is derived from his 2020 album, Music To Be Murdered By which broke a 50-year-old Billboard record, thanks in part to its deluxe version.

Things were already plenty weird for MyPillow founder and spokesperson Mike Lindell. A ride-or-die Trump supporter, he’d not only spread lies involving election fraud, he even went to the White House during his final days, ready to pitch the idea of martial law. Then there was this: Last week a rumor spread that he’d been involved in a secret relationship with 30 Rock actress Jane Krakowski. Lindell denied the rumor, even threatening a lawsuit. Now Krakowski has denied it, too, though she took a slightly more lighthearted path.

A rep for the actress reached out to People with a jokey response to the Mad Libs-y rumor. “Jane has never met Mr. Lindell. She is not and has never been in any relationship with him, romantic or otherwise,” the rep said. “She is, however, in full-fledged relationships with Brad Pitt, Regé-Jean Page and Kermit the Frog and welcomes any and all coverage on those.”

So there you have it. Of course, being romantically linked to a famous actress is the least of Lindell’s problems right now. Not only is his favorite president out of a job and, almost certainly, both economically and legally doomed, he may also be the target of a massive lawsuit from Dominion voting machines, who were the target of some of his election fraud lies. What’s more, his pricey pillows have been dropped by Bed, Beth and Beyond. Krakowski, meanwhile, seems to be doing just fine.

(Via People)

Larry King, the prolific interviewer of everyone from politicians to UFO “experts,” has died, according to The New York Times. He was 87 years old. The cause of death is currently unknown, although he had recently been hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19.

A native Brooklynite, King began his career in Florida, where he was a local radio interviewer and sportscaster. He rose to prominence in the late ’70s, when he hosted an all-night, coast-to-cast radio interview call-in show. In 1985 he started hosting his most famous program: Larry King Live, CNN’s longest-running and highest-rated show. He also had a prolific movie career, albeit almost always playing himself, starting with Ghostbusters — which predated Larry King Live by a year — and including Dave, Contact, and Bulworth.

It’s estimated King interviewed half a million people over the show’s 25 years, including every president from Richard Nixon on. (It was on his show that business magnate Ross Perot announced his candidacy for the 1992 presidential election.) He was at least as fascinating as his guests, if not moreso: He was married eight times, twice to the same woman, and he was a chronic gambler who twice declared bankruptcy. What’s more, it’s claimed that he never prepared for interviews. He just asked questions.

(Via The New York Times)