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Last November marked the 10-year anniversary of Ellie Goulding’s debut studio album, Lights. Today, the UK singer announced she is using all she’s learned in her decade-spanning career for a forthcoming two-part album. Titled Brightest Blue, the record includes many of her previously-released singles, including her track with the late rapper Juice WRLD.

Following her single “Power,” which Goulding released just last week, the singer has finally shed a light onto her next release. Brightest Blue boasts many big-name features from Juice WRLD to Diplo and will be her latest studio effort since her 2015 album Delirium.

Reflecting on her thoughts about the first half of the record, Goulding says that it mirrors her vulnerability: “It acknowledges a complex world where relationships still dictate our happiness and heartbreak and can still be the most painful thing in the world, no matter how enlightened you are. The tracks also symbolize growing up and becoming a woman.”

About the second half of the album, Goulding says it “encapsulates my confident, brave and fearless side and features all my recent collaborations. I often find myself writing about my thoughts and emotions in a way that I know will be catchy and memorable. I will always seek to use my voice in ways that no one would ever expect and look to collaborate with the least likely, exciting and eclectic group of other artists.”

While the record will see a physical release in stores, Goulding and her team worked to manufacture packaging using environmentally-friendly materials in order to minimize a carbon footprint. “Great progress has been made on this and I’m pleased we’ve been able to push the industry forwards, but we are still pushing to do more,” Goulding said.

Check out Goulding’s Brightest Blue cover art and tracklist below.

Side A — Brightest Blue
1. “Start” Feat. Serpentwithfeet
2. “Power”
3. “How Deep Is Too Deep”
4. “Cyan”
5. “Love I’m Given”
6. “New Heights”
7. “Ode To Myself”
8. “Woman”
9. “Tides”
10. “Wine Drunk”
11. “Bleach”
12. “Flux”
13. “Brightest Blue”

Side B — EG.0
1. “Overture”
2. “Worry About Me” Feat. Blackbear
3. “Slow Grenade” Feat. Lauv
4. “Close To Me” Feat. Diplo & Swae Lee
5. “Hate Me” Feat. Juice WRLD

Brightest Blue is out 7/17 via Interscope. Pre-order it here.

The latest chapter of the console wars will be written sometime this year by Microsoft and Sony. Both have announced that the latest editions of their signature consoles will drop in the coming months — Microsoft plans to release the Xbox Series X sometime in late-2020, while Sony’s PlayStation 5 will hit shelves during that same period of time.

Details have been trickling out for both consoles for quite some time, and in the coming days, Sony will give us a glimpse into the games that will appear on its new platform. According to Bloomberg, the company plans on holding an event sometime soon to showcase PlayStation 5 releases.

The virtual event could be held June 3, though some people also cautioned that plans have been in flux and that the date may change. Other PlayStation 5 events may follow in the coming weeks and months, and Sony is not expected to reveal every essential detail on the console during its first presentation.

Previously, Sony has announced some of the details on the controller that the system will use. As Bloomberg mentioned, Xbox has used frequent streams to announce details on games that will appear on its new console, using the opportunity to promote games like Madden and the newest Assassin’s Creed that will be compatible with the Xbox Series X. We’ll have to wait and see if Sony will follow a similar path forward with its game releases, or if this upcoming event will be a one-time thing.

Megan Thee Stallion has been celebrating for the past couple days, and for a great reason: Yesterday, it was revealed that “Savage” (more specifically, the remix featuring Beyonce) finally made its way to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. This is Megan’s first No. 1 song, and in light of that, she got a nice congratulatory message from her collaborator.

Yesterday, Megan took to her Instagram Story to show off the flowers that Beyonce got for her after her big achievement. The gift was also accompanied by a note that read, “Congrats on your number one, queen. Love, B.”

After the news broke yesterday, Megan shared multiple celebratory posts. In one, she wrote, “HOTTIES WE ARE NUMBER 1 ON THE HOT 100 FOR THEE FIRST TIME EVERRRR [fire emojis] WE F*CKING DID IT [crying emojis] thank you god [praying emojis] this is our first but it damn sure won’t be our last ! I love y’all so much [blue heart emojis] HOUSTON WE GOT ONE.” She added in another, “Hotties we’re number 1 on billboard and number 1 at urban and rhythmic radio. thank y’all. We did this sh*t together. Shout out to everyone who’s been going hard for these wins #realhotgirlsh*t”

“Savage” topping the charts of course comes a couple weeks after it initially competed for the No. 1 spot with Doja Cat and Nicki Minaj but ultimately finished second.

Gunna and Wheezy take an intergalactic space trip in the video for “Rockstar Bikers & Chains,” the latest single from Gunna’s new album, Wunna. With imagery inspired by Michael and Janet Jackson’s groundbreaking “Scream” video, Gunna and his producer Wheezy rock out in a gleaming spacecraft. Although their dance moves don’t come close to their inspirations’ — although that’s nothing to be ashamed of — they make up for it with some flashy props of their own — including a flamethrower guitar straight out of Mad Max Fury Road wielded by Wheezy.

“Rockstar Bikers & Chains” is the latest single from the Wunna promo run, which also included the Jamaica-set video for the title track and lead single “Skybox,” as well as a pair of Young Thug collaborations, “Dollaz On My Head” and “Quarantine Clean,” which doesn’t appear on the album. The latest video certainly puts the focus back where it needs to be after Gunna accidentally posted one to his Instagram Story that depicted the rapper during an awkward moment that had fans concerned for his well-being. Hopefully, he’ll stick to music videos for the duration of the promo run.

Watch the “Rockstar Bikers & Chains” video above.

Wunna is out now on Young Stoner Life Records / 300 Entertainment. Get it here.

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

Bright Eyes have a comeback album on the way, but thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, it’s not clear when the project will actually drop. Regardless, Conor Oberst and company have been releasing new songs from it, and today, they’ve returned with “One And Done.” The contemplative and apocalyptic song (which was written before the current global situation) tells the story of a singer in the midst of what appears to be the final days of life as humanity knows it.

Oberst paints a picture, singing, “This whole town looks empty but we knew it wouldn’t last / Behind bulletproof windows they’re still wiring the cash / Whatever they could scrape up, whatever that they had / There’s a lot of mouths to feed through this famine.”

Oberst recently spoke with The 1975’s Matty Healy about the new Bright Eyes album, saying, “I would say that loss is a pretty big theme in the new songs. I guess it always was to a certain extent. […] I’ve lost friends and I’ve lost people over the years, but […] when you lose one of your brothers, it’s kind of a whole different ball game when it comes to the way it impacts. It impacted me psychologically and my parents, just everybody. It’s just a life-changing event where this thing that had always been a foundation of your life is gone. Trying to pick up the pieces and move on from that, you know, it’s a hard thing.”

The band has yet to confirm a new release date for their comeback album, but they assured fans back in March that regardless of what happens, it will be out in 2020. They wrote, “We, like so many others, had many plans for 2020. We will be releasing a new album this year no matter what. We also have lots of touring plans which we are now reassessing. We will keep you informed as things progress. We very much want to get on the road and hope to see you all in person sooner rather than later.”

Listen to “One And Done” above.

As you’re no doubt aware, we’re living in strange times, and I’m not even talking about our current global pandemic situation of which we shall not speak, for at least the next handful of minutes. I’m referring to the so-called United States “Space Force,” which is a thing that (apparently) exists in our reality. I’m still as surprised as anyone else about that development, and it’s not worth rehashing how that fifth branch of the U.S. Armed Forces came to be. Yet the better news is that this real-life “WTF” inspired a launching point for the reteaming of The Office‘s Steve Carell and creator Greg Daniels. The resulting Netflix series, understandably, aims to resurrect the magic while also trying hard to be The Not-Office. The end result is sometimes messy and manic.

On some level, one has to acknowledge that The Office comparisons are inevitable, and it feels like the show was too conscious of this incoming criticism, to its detriment. Carell and Daniels, because of their previous success, are also bound by it until Space Force can prove that it’s shifted into a different gear. Yet given that all nine seasons of The Office are still streaming on Netflix (until later this year), viewers are more than equipped to judge from that high-up standard. Also, yes, we’ve got another workplace comedy from Daniels, who’s now co-creating with Carell, and Ben Schwartz is also onboard to bring the Parks and Recreation vibes. Mostly, though, the show hopes to be a different beast than both previous hits. It’s a tough spot to be in, man, since Space Force (as a Daniels-Carell project) exists because of The Office, but it’s bound to that predecessor even while aiming at different stars.

Look, Space Force is an okay and watchable series, although uneven. If one takes the whole first season (there’s a tee-up for a sophomore turn) into account, the biggest problem is that the show doesn’t immediately reckon with its own identity. At moments, it feels like it’s flirting with the being a bigger-budgeted, higher-concept incarnation of the Office without the mockumentary structure. The show also takes stabs at Dr. Strangelove levels of farcical madness, only without Stanley Kubrick’s masterful helming of characters who belly-flop into sheer stupidity despite certain failure as an outcome. The show also sometimes feels like a twisted family comedy, but Space Force begins to know itself after a handful of episodes, when it starts edging toward an equilibrium.

Carell, of course, is making his return to comedic TV (following Apple TV+’s The Morning Show) to portray the unwitting leader of the U.S. Space Force. Officially, he’s the U.S. Air Force’s highly decorated General Mark R. Naird, who packs up his (also reluctant) family for an incredibly not-scenic, but secret, Colorado base to sign off on billion-dollar missions that spectacularly fail. He’s assisted and opposed by an ensemble cast of recognizable and even iconic presences. John Malkovich (!), Ben Schwartz, Jimmy O. Yang, Tawny Newsome, Lisa Kudrow, Jane Lynch, Patrick Warburton, Noah Emmerich, and Diedrich Bader all pop into and out of the frame at a sometimes dizzying pace. It’s a lot to take in — this cast and this show. As a result, Space Force attempts to be a lot right out of the gate and only starts to succeed when it stops being so “extra.”

A lot of the try-hard feel comes from Carell leaning into Michael Scott mode during scattered, shouty moments that linger past their screentime. Naird’s development feels too arrested until around the midseason point, when he spends an episode in a moon-simulation base. Magically, his struggles then become compelling and watchable and even relatable, and that’s when the show’s writing becomes crisper and other characters more well-rounded. It’s an odd turning point for the show, and a welcome one, since the first episodes of this Netflix series didn’t grab me. Yet it was a relief to see Naird become something other than a (to be blunt) pompous prick who does unfunny things like tasking a monkey with equipment repairs. Once those quirk-stunts stop happening, Space Force becomes a different, better show, although the less-than-smooth introduction may mean that people don’t get that far. Likewise, those who surround Naird start to gain characteristics that move beyond surface level development.

Those players would include the great John Malkovich as Dr. Mallory, the Space Force head scientist and voice of reason; Ben Schwartz as an F-bomb hurling media director whose name and aura suggests The Mooch; and Jimmy O. Yang’s scientist, who’s the closest to being the brains of the operation. Meanwhile, the women of this series are woefully underused for awhile, other than Naird’s daughter, played beautifully by Diana Silvers. It feels like Lisa Kudrow gets the shaft as Naird’s wife, and Tawny Newsome (who plays a Space Force captain that is initially relegated to being Naird’s personal pilot) also isn’t allowed to shine until quite late in the season.

One key strength of Space Force is an unexpected one. Due to the inspiration for its high concept, I expected the show to be much more inherently political than it turns out to be. That’s a relief, although the series doesn’t shy away from an overall critique of governmental ineptitude and appalling, billion-dollar levels of waste. The T-word never surfaces, although it’s plenty clear that the show’s mad-tweeting POTUS (who wants to put “boobs” on the moon, and it might be a typo) is you-know-who. Likewise, the show’s handling of space warfare manages to treat the subject with such absurdity that one would be hard-pressed to find it politically offensive on either side of the coin.

Space Force‘s debut season has a lot going for it, but when one has an incredible cast, an obviously generous budget, and polished production values, those assets can be both a blessing and a curse while a show tries to find its (space) legs. Likewise, the co-creators’ legacies make this a tricky show to evaluate when nostalgia gets involved. When it comes to The Office, affection runs so high (throughout multiple audience generations) that people might forget that its first season wasn’t so wonderful. The show took awhile to catch hold of hearts and minds, and I wonder if Space Force should initially be allowed that same latitude. Is such audience leniency possible in 2020? I’m not sure, though my suspicion is that people will feel very strongly (in a positive or negative sense) about a show that’s more than alright, although not spectacular.

Netflix’s ‘Space Force’ streams on May 29.

The world recently learned that Tom Cruise was indeed going to win his unofficial space race with the Fast and Furious franchise to make the first narrative feature actually filmed in outer space, or as close as he can realistically get to that label, while teaming up with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Soon enough, NASA confirmed that they’re working alongside Cruise and Musk to help make it happen with filming set to go down on the International Space Station. Of course, the film has no projected shooting date, given that we’re still in the middle of the pandemic, and Cruise is still sandwiched within lingering Mission: Impossible franchise productions.

However, the outer-space project does officially have a director, who’s currently writing the script, and the fellow’s previously worked with the lead actor. Given that clue, one might guess that Steven Spielberg is involved (he helmed War of the Worlds with Cruise and is known to get space-y with his subject matter), but nope, it’s not Spielberg. The correct answer would be Doug Liman, who directed Cruise in American Made (with Cruise as a CIA-recruited pilot wrapped up in the War on Drugs). The pair also worked together in Edge of Tomorrow, with Cruise fighting aliens while trapped in a time loop. In other words, the Top Gun: Maverick star has found the right guy for the job. Here’s another nugget from Hollywood Reporter:

Plot details are being kept secret, but it is known that [Doug] Liman is writing the script … Liman and Cruise, who will also both produce, have been cooking up the onscreen adventure for some time.

The piece also reconfirms that Musk and NASA are onboard. This will be another leg of their adventure after the SpaceX Demo-2 mission — still scheduled for Wednesday, May 27, pending weather — which will place NASA astronauts aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft. It should be a historic mission, as will be the case for the next Cruise-Liman project. Yep, Dominic Toretto is definitely getting Cruise’d.

(Via Hollywood Reporter)

Rum is ever-expanding and massively varied. That makes finding the best rum tough. You can make it anywhere and there are far fewer rules on what makes rum, well, rum. Generally speaking, rum is a sugar cane distillate that uses either raw sugar cane juice, sugar cane honey (condensed sugar cane juice), or molasses (a by-product of sugar production).

That being said, you can technically make rum from any product that has sugar in it. Case in point, Tuzemák (from the Czech Republic) is made with sugar beets and potatoes. Some craft distillers are starting to use sorghum (a grass) as their base. It’s easy to argue about what rum even is sometimes. But, for this, we’re focusing on the standard, sugar-cane-based stuff.

To figure out which rums the people are drinking, we popped over to Ranker. Over 10,000 votes we’re cast for the best rum brands, a clear top ten emerged. We dropped them below alongside call outs for bottles we think you should give a shot.

10. Malibu

Expression to Try: Malibu Black
ABV: 35%
Average Price: $17

The Rum:
This Barbados classic (owned by Pernod Ricard) has been the mainstay of bartenders and sweet rum lovers for decades. The base for Malibu Black is a Malibu’s dark rum blended with their signature coconut liqueur. The ripple with this expression is the higher ABV (standard Malibu is only 21 percent), giving this one a bit more kick.

Tasting Notes:
Expect a mild alcohol burn followed by an oily sense of coconut and molasses. There’s a saccharine nature to the sip that calls out for ice and fruit juices to temper the rough edges. In the end, if you’re mixing this deep into a piña colada, you’ll be fine.

9. Diplomatico

Expression to Try: Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $40

The Rum:
This is a massive step up from Malibu and also probably deserves a much higher spot on this list. The Venezuelan rum is a blend of 12-year-old rums made on antique copper pot stills from both molasses and sugar cane honey. The juice is then mellowed in ex-bourbon barrels for over a decade before the master blender creates a damn-near perfect sip.

Tasting Notes:
Red fruits, soft vanilla pods, and dark spices greet you. There’s movement from the sharp spice towards a fresh herbal nature that leans almost savory as the sweetness peaks but never overpowers. Notes of wood, smoke, and citrus make appearances as the velvet end fades slowly through the senses.

8. Sailor Jerry

Expression to Try: Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum
ABV: 46%
Average Price: $20

The Rum:
This rum has caught the attention of a lot of bartenders and spiced rum fans the world over. The rum was made to honor legendary tattoo artist Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins. It’s a blend of rums sourced from Caribbean distilleries that are then infused with spices, leaning heavily into vanilla and cinnamon.

Tasting Notes:
The spices come through boldly upfront. There’s a sense of oak somewhere in the background alongside clear hints of vanilla, rum-sugars, and alcohol. Pepper spiciness, oakiness, and tart fruit combine on the long finish.

7. Mount Gay

Expression to Try: Mount Gay Black Barrel
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $30

The Rum:
Back in Barbados, Mount Gay continues to the up the game with their very drinkable rums. Black Barrel just got an overall last year thanks to master blender Trudiann Branker. The expression includes blends of three to seven-year-old mostly pot stilled rums. The blend is then finished in heavily charred ex-bourbon barrels for six months.

Tasting Notes:
There’s a lot going on with this sip. Expect a touch of marzipan next to oak char, bright citrus, and dark baking spices. Wisps of smoke mingle next to rich vanilla, zesty orange, bitter cacao, tropical fruits, and dark molasses. There’s a jammy nature to the end that accents the charred bitterness and banana-rum sweetness as it lingers on the senses.

6. Ron Zacapa

Expression to Try: Zacapa XO
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $110

The Rum:
Diageo’s Ron Zacapa makes one of the best rums to ever come out of Guatemala. This rum is made with only sugar cane honey. It’s distilled at sea-level but it’s aged high up in the mountains in ex-bourbon, ex-oloroso sherry, and ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. The rum is aged for at least six years and sometimes as long as 23 years before blending and then an additional year finishing in ex-Cognac casks.

Tasting Notes:
This subtle sip leans into the wood on the opening with dark, powdery spices and a note of cola sweetness. Hints of smoke lead through the dark and peppery spice as pings of fruit and sugar cane mix on the palate. The end is slow and mild as the spice and wood fade subtly.

5. Bacardi

Expression to Try: Bacardi Reserva Ocho
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $30

The Rum:
Bacardi is one of the most iconic rum distilleries in the world. This Puerto Rican made expression started out in the late 1800s as the private stock for the Bacardi family’s own table. The expression is a blend of rums that have aged at least eight years and works wonders as a sipping or mixing rum.

Tasting Notes:
Stone fruit and Christmas spices coalesce on the nose. Nutmeg and vanilla dominate as orchards full of plums and nectarines lead towards a wisp of smoke and a note of wood. An earthy minerality arrives late with hints of tobacco, cream soda, and a trace of dark chocolate bitterness.

4. Appleton Estate

Expression to Try: Appleton Estate 8 Year Old Reserve
ABV: 43%
Average Price: $35

The Rum:
Master blender Joy Spence has reinvigorated this Jamaican rum with an almost complete relaunch of the brand. Their Eight Year Old Reserve commemorates the 250th anniversary of the distillery. The expression is a blend of mostly pot stilled rums aged up to eight years in barrels hand-selected by Spence.

Tasting Notes:
Fresh honeycomb meets Christmas spice initially. Banana and orange kick around on the palate with a minerality and clear note of oak. That earthiness marries minor notes of fruit, molasses, and herbaceousness on the curt end.

3. Old Monk

Expression to Try: Old Monk Supreme
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $25

The Rum:
This Indian rum is a massively popular brand internationally. The rum is a “dark rum,” meaning that molasses is added after the distillation to add color and sweetness along with other “flavoring agents.” This is a rough one but so widely drunk overseas that it’s not out-of-place to see it listed.

Tasting Notes:
Old Monk Supreme takes some of the rougher edges off by blending slightly older rums. Still, expect a big rush of alcohol followed by a sweetened rum note. There’s the idea of oak but it feels more like essential oil than actual wood. Hints of butterscotch and fruit ring true on the palate as a little bit of dark spice lead towards a hot and sweet finish.

2. Kraken

Expression to Try: Kraken Black Spiced Rum
ABV: 47%
Average Price: $20

The Rum:
This spiced from Trinidad and Tobago starts off with rums aged for one to two years. The juice is then spiked with 13 spices, with a focus on cinnamon, ginger, and clove. The rum becomes a deep brown that looks almost black. Caramel is added near the end to hold the color.

Tasting Notes:
Vanilla-heavy cream soda and caramel dance with clear molasses rum notes. The sweetness isn’t overpowering and the spice brings a sharpness next to a mild bitterness. The sweetness and alcohol dominate as the spice fades throughout the finish.

1. Captain Morgen

Expression to Try: Captain Morgan 1671 Spiced Rum
ABV: 35%
Average Price: $20

The Rum:
It’s almost impossible to avoid Diageo’s Captain Morgan, especially if we’re talking about spiced rums. Their 1671 bottle commemorates the actual Captain Morgan sailing the high-seas and aims to be a lower-ABV sipping spiced rum. The spiced rum is moved into Spanish oak for an additional year of mellowing before bottling.

Tasting Notes:
This sip is much like the classic spiced rum from Captain Morgan with a lot of the edges sanded down. There’s a throughline of vanilla, cinnamon, and molasses up top with a hint of Cherry Coke sweetness. Notes of the wood peak in next to bold sweetness and sharp cinnamon. The end is brisk with the thought of those spices, cherry, and molasses lasting the longest.

A lawyer for the family of one of Florida rapper YNW Melly’s alleged murder victims recently addressed rumors that circulated on some hip-hop blogs which speculated that the rapper would be released after one of his co-defendants was granted bail. On Monday, it was reported that Cortlen Henry, aka YNW Bortlen, was granted released against a $75,000 bond, prompting some sites and fans to run with the idea that YNW Melly would also be allowed release. However, John M. Phillips, who represents Christopher “YNW Juvy” Thomas, Jr.’s family, made sure to refute the rumors, saying fans are “beyond delusional” for believing them.

“He’s not getting released unless a jury says so,” Phillips clarified via tweet. “There is evidence he killed these young men in cold blood. Whether you like his music or not, these families deserve justice.” His tweets came as a response to tweets from accounts like @saycheeseDGTL and @djvlad which surmised that court documents pertaining to Bortlen also applied to Melly. Phillips also made it a point to clarify that he represents the family of YNW Juvy, not YNW Bortlen.

Bortlen and Melly are both on trial for allegedly murdering two of their YNW associates and manipulating the crime scene. Evidence found at the scene didn’t match the statement Bortlen gave to police about the shooting, causing police to believe that Melly shot and killed the two fellow rappers, then damaged their vehicle to make it appear as if they’d been killed in a drive-by. Melly pled “not guilty” and has since had a release request denied after reportedly contracting COVID-19.

James Cameron is confident that Avatar is destined to again become the highest-grossing movie ever, and that Avatar 2 will meet its scheduled release date of December 17, 2021. I’m not one to doubt the guy who made Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and Titanic, but I do have a question for the bravest pioneer: what the heck is Avatar 2 about? There’s going to be more FernGully-esque shenanigans from the Na’vi, certainly, and much of the film will be set in water (as seen in this hilarious photo), but actual plot details were scarce until producer Jon Landau spoke to RNZ.

“This is the story of the Sully family and what one does to keep their family together. Jake and Neytiri have a family in this movie, they are forced to leave their home, they go out and explore the different regions of Pandora, including spending quite a bit of time on the water, around the water, in the water,” Landau said. He also explained the appeal of Avatar and why people are willing to wait in multi-hour lines to explore Pandora:

“I think, why do people turn to entertainment today, more so than ever? I think it’s to escape, to escape the world we’re in, to escape the other pressures they have in their lives. I think with Avatar, we have an opportunity to allow people to escape to an incredible world with incredible characters that they will follow, in much the same way as Peter Jackson was able to do with Lord of the Rings, so that’s what we’re looking forward to doing.”

Lord of the Rings has Gollum. Avatar has the Mighty Ikran. Equally beloved.

(Via RNZ)