ARIANA GRANDE

Best Rap Verses on R&B Songs Over the Last Five Years

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In hip-hop, versatility pays. Continue reading…

Doja Cat Is An intergalactic Diva In The ‘Get Into It (Yuh) Video

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Just like Ariana Grande before her, there’s nothing Doja Cat loves more than an intergalactic moment. The pop/rap/R&B star is still slowly but surely doling out videos from her extremely successful 2021 album Planet Her, and tonight she’s shared a video from one of the record’s deep cuts, “Get Into It (Yuh).” And speaking of Ariana, she gets more than just a nod in the album title track — which features a spelled out version of signature “yuh” adlib — but also in the lyrics when Doja commands: “y’all b*tches better “yuh” like Ariana.”

Nothing we love more than when the girls are getting along! That’s how masterful pop culture moments like the “34 + 35” remix video come along. Anyway, in her own video for the track, Doja is a diva in all kinds of space suit getups, alternating between ruling a crew of musical women in a spacecraft, fighting off aggressive alien interlopers, and dancing alone in what looks like a space station elevator shaft. What has this evil boss done? Stolen a beloved cat, one of the most heinous crimes in the entire galaxy. Don’t worry though, just like she’s winning down here on earth, Doja gets the best of him in the end. Watch the clip above.

Adam McKay Gushes Over Ariana Grande And Kid Cudi’s Acting Performances In ‘Don’t Look Up’

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Ariana Grande Kid Cudi Don't Look Up
Netflix

Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi’s involvement with Don’t Look Up doesn’t stop at their song “Just Look Up,” as they also have substantial parts in the film. Furthermore, Adam McKay has heaped praise on the two for their performances in the movie.

McKay said of Grande, “It made sense to have the biggest pop star in the world play the biggest pop star in the world. We got her on set for her first scene with [Leonardo DiCaprio] and [Jennifer Lawrence], and she’s improvising lines. I knew she’d nail the song, but I didn’t know she could improvise.”

He spoke more about Grande’s improvisational skills in a recent video from Netflix about the movie’s improv, starting at 4:19 into the video.

Grande also offered a quote about McKay, saying, “Adam’s one of my comedy heroes. I was jumping out of my skin when he pitched me the idea of playing this pop star in this yucky tabloid frenzy. Playing this little part and getting to work with Adam and this beyond incredible cast was such a special experience.”

McKay also had compliments for Cudi, saying, “[I] knew who Kid Cudi was, but in meeting Scott Mescudi, I was completely taken aback. He can really act. He was immediately natural on set and such a humble guy. Scott was incredibly open and collaborative.”

Of course, it makes sense that both Cudi and Grande would be comfortable on a set, as they’ve both spent plenty of time in that environment. Before music, Grande was known for playing the character Cat Valentine in two Nickelodeon series, Victorious and Sam & Cat. As for Cudi, he been in the main cast of shows like How To Make It In America, Comedy Bang! Bang!, and We Are Who We Are.

2021’s Most-Liked Instagram Posts Were From Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, And A Mermaid

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Ariana Grande The Kelly Clarkson Show 2021
Getty Image

Musicians are major players in the realm of social media, and that remained true in 2021: A good chunk of the most-liked Instagram posts from the past year were by musicians or were music-related.

Ariana Grande has the top post among musicians and the second most-liked one overall, as a May 26 post featuring photos from her wedding with Dalton Gomez has over 26 million likes (according to Wikipedia, with data accurate as of December 23 and updated by Uproxx on December 27 for this post). It could be argued, though, that Billie Eilish actually fared better on the list: While the aforementioned Grande post is her only one in the top ten, Eilish has two posts on the list, the most among musicians. A post revealing her blonde hair ranks at No. 4 with 23 million likes and a photo from her Vogue photoshoot is No. 6 with 22.1 million likes.

Other musicians make cameos on the list as well. Kylie Jenner’s pregnancy announcement post from September, in which she tagged Travis Scott, is No. 3 with 24.6 million likes. Meanwhile, Iron Shore Mermaid, a professional mermaid performer, had a post in the top ten, a video set to The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber’s “Stay.”

Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodriguez had the honor of having the year’s top post, as their pregnancy announcement racked up over 32 million likes since it was shared in late October. Meanwhile, Lionel Messi had three posts in the top ten, making him the person with the most top-ten posts this year.

In terms of the people involved, this year’s list looks similar to the 2020 ranks, as Ronaldo, Messi, Grande, and Jenner all had some of last year’s top posts, too.

Check out the top ten list of the year’s most-liked Instagram posts below.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodriguez — pregnancy announcement (October 28; 32.3 million likes)
2. Ariana Grande — photos from her wedding with Dalton Gomez (May 26; 26.7 million likes)
3. Kylie Jenner — second pregnancy announcement (September 8; 24.6 million likes)
4. Billie Eilish — blonde hair reveal (March 17; 23 million likes)
5. Lionel Messi — First post after signing with Paris Saint-Germain F.C. (August 11; 22.1 million likes)
6. Billie Eilish — Vogue photoshoot (May 2; 22.1 million likes)
7. Lionel Messi — photo with the Copa América trophy (July 11; 22 million likes)
8. Lionel Messi — post announcing his departure from Barcelona during a press conference (August 8; 21.2 million likes)
9. Mermaid Montana — Iron Shore Mermaid (August 18; 20.2 million likes)
10. Tom Holland — birthday post for Zendaya (September 1; 19.6 million likes)

Basically Every Popular Musician Performed On ‘The Voice’ Season Finale, Like Kid Cudi, Ed Sheeran, And Coldplay

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Kid Cudi Ariana Grande The Voice Finale 2021
Getty Image

Usually, your best bet to see a bunch of well-known artists performing on TV in rapid succession is to catch an awards show like the Grammys. Well, the next Grammy ceremony is set for late January, but ahead of then, last night offered a different kind of opportunity to watch a ton of musical firepower taking the stage on the same broadcast: The Voice aired the live finale episode of its 21st season last night and pretty much every musician you’ve ever heard of took the stage.

Aside from the show’s contestants, artists who performed included Coldplay and BTS; Walker Hayes; Tori Kelly, Keke Palmer, and some contestants; Ed Sheeran; Jennifer Lopez and Lukas Nelson; Carrie Underwood and John Legend; Alicia Keys; Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi; Kelly Clarkson; Blake Shelton; and John Legend.

Of particular note was Kid Cudi and Ariana Grande giving their Don’t Look Up single “Just Look Up” its live debut. Meanwhile, Coldplay opened the show with “My Universe,” and while BTS couldn’t be there in person, they did show up on stage as holograms. Later, Ed Sheeran, who was a Mega Mentor on the show this season, stopped by to play “Shivers.”

By the way, Ohio sibling trio Girl Named Tom ended up winning the season, making them the first group to do so.

Check out the other performances from The Voice finale below.

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

Basically Every Popular Musician Performed On ‘The Voice’ Season Finale, Like Kid Cudi, Ed Sheeran, And Coldplay

by
Kid Cudi Ariana Grande The Voice Finale 2021
Getty Image

Usually, your best bet to see a bunch of well-known artists performing on TV in rapid succession is to catch an awards show like the Grammys. Well, the next Grammy ceremony is set for late January, but ahead of then, last night offered a different kind of opportunity to watch a ton of musical firepower taking the stage on the same broadcast: The Voice aired the live finale episode of its 21st season last night and pretty much every musician you’ve ever heard of took the stage.

Aside from the show’s contestants, artists who performed included Coldplay and BTS; Walker Hayes; Tori Kelly, Keke Palmer, and some contestants; Ed Sheeran; Jennifer Lopez and Lukas Nelson; Carrie Underwood and John Legend; Alicia Keys; Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi; Kelly Clarkson; Blake Shelton; and John Legend.

Of particular note was Kid Cudi and Ariana Grande giving their Don’t Look Up single “Just Look Up” its live debut. Meanwhile, Coldplay opened the show with “My Universe,” and while BTS couldn’t be there in person, they did show up on stage as holograms. Later, Ed Sheeran, who was a Mega Mentor on the show this season, stopped by to play “Shivers.”

By the way, Ohio sibling trio Girl Named Tom ended up winning the season, making them the first group to do so.

Check out the other performances from The Voice finale below.

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

Ariana Grande And Kid Cudi Give A Grand Performance Of ‘Just Look Up’ In ‘Don’t Look Up’

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The latest Netflix movie, the Jennifer Lawrence- and Leonardi DiCaprio-starring Don’t Look Up, is out today, and music fans have surely heard by now that Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi have roles, playing music power couple Riley Bina and DJ Chello, respectively. They shared “Just Look Up,” the song they made for the film, last week, and now that the movie is out, they’ve shared the scene from the film in which they perform it live.

The scene shows Grande’s character performing the song with a grand stage set-up that doesn’t look dissimilar to something she’d present on one of her tours. Grande wears a white outfit with feather-like protrusions sticking out of her torso, and Cudi’s character later joins her on stage with a complementary white jacket. All the while, Lawrence and DiCaprio’s characters are watching from the side of the stage, as one brief shot shows.

Of all modern music stars, Grande and Cudi are among the ones with the most acting experience. Before music, Grande was best known for playing the character Cat Valentine in two Nickelodeon series, Victorious and Sam & Cat. Meanwhile, Cudi has been in the main cast of shows like How To Make It In America, Comedy Bang! Bang!, and We Are Who We Are.

Watch Cudi and Grande perform “Just Look Up” above.

Ariana Grande, Megan Thee Stallion, And Jimmy Fallon Keep Things Safe On ‘It Was A… (Masked Christmas)’

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Jimmy Fallon has worked with Ariana Grande and Megan Thee Stallion a bunch before. Grande has appeared on The Tonight Show plenty of times, and Meg previously linked up with Fallon to re-work “Hot Girl Summer” into “Hot Girl Fall.” While those collaborations were mostly Tonight Show bits with no life outside of the program, now Fallon has teamed up with those two on an actually commercially released single, “It Was A… (Masked Christmas).”

The track is led by punchy drums and a simple but catchy keyboard melody, and Fallon sings on the hook, “It was a masked Christmas, we stayed in the house / We covered our nose and covered our mouth / But it’s Christmas time / We’ll be in line for a booster.”

The song is Fallon’s first official single since 2014’s “Ew!” with Will.i.am, which managed to peak at No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making it Fallon’s only charting single so far. Meanwhile, his most recent album is 2012’s Blow Your Pants Off, which consists of songs first performed on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.

Watch the “It Was A… (Masked Christmas)” video above.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Ariana Grande And Kid Cudi Are Majestic And Captivating On ‘Just Look Up’

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Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi are more or less a year removed from the release of their most recent albums, those being Positions and Man On The Moon III: The Chosen. In the months that have followed, both artists have contributed to a collection of songs, and now, Grande and Cudi connect for their first collaboration. The track is titled “Just Look Up” and it appears in the newly-released Netflix film, ironically titled Don’t Look Up. The track is quite the majestic and captivating release that makes for an very satisfying combination from two artists who are quite different.

Don’t Look Up arrives on Netflix complete with an A-list cast that includes Grande, Cudi, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, and more. Lawrence spoke about meeting Grande while shooting the film during a conversation with Vanity Fair. Lawrence said Grande “plays a pop star named Riley Bina And that was, like, one of the coolest days of my life. I took a picture with her—I looked like a radio contest winner. She couldn’t be nicer.”

Elsewhere, Grande also delivered a great cover of Britney Spears’ “Oops I Did It Again.” As for Cudi, he recently honored the late Virgil Abloh with a touching Instagram post. He also teamed up with Willow and Travis Barker for a remix of their “Transparent” collaboration.

You can listen to “Just Look Up” in the video above

Bryson Tiller Announces A ‘Special’ Christmas Project Inspired By Justin Bieber And Ariana Grande

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Bryson Tiller Lights On Fest 2021
Getty Image

Bryson Tiller has a lot of music on the way. After he took just a little over five years without new music, he released his third album, Anniversary, at the end of last year. Once again, Tiller is gearing up to close out the year with a new release and he took to Twitter to make the announcement.

“Before we get into my next album, i wanted to share another special project i worked on for you guys,” he wrote in an Instagram post. “This one was really fun to make. Inspired by Bieber, Ariana, and by one of my loneliest holiday seasons ever.. A Different Christmas.” He added, “Happy Holidays from me to you, especially if you’re spending them alone!”

Tiller revealed that the project will arrive next Friday, November 19. Tiller also attached the cover art. The inspirational Christmas projects from Bieber and Grande that he refers to are most likely Bieber’s 2011 release Under The Mistletoe and Grande’s 2013 EP Christmas Kisses as well her 2015 EP Christmas & Chill.

The announcement comes after he gave an update on his upcoming album Serenity earlier this year. “Over the years, I realized how much f*cking music that I had for Serenity, all this different sh*t, so Serenity is now not one album, but it’s three albums,” he said. “It’s three volumes, one is a rap album, one is an R&B album, and then one is a pop album.”

You can view Tiller’s announcement for A Different Christmas above.

A Different Christmas is out 11/19 via Trapsoul/RCA.