Pop culture’s hottest power couple of the moment, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, both came up big at this weekend’s People’s Choice Awards.
The ceremony went down yesterday (February 18) and Swift ended up coming away with four awards: Female Artist Of The Year, Pop Artist Of The Year, Concert Tour Of The Year for The Eras Tour, and Social Celebrity Of The Year. Kelce, meanwhile, won his sole nomination for Athlete Of The Year.
Elsewhere, other highlights included Jung Kook picking up Male Artist Of The Year; Bad Bunny and Shakira winning Male and Female Latin Artist Of The Year, respectively; Nicki Minaj getting Hip-Hop Artist Of The Year; Beyoncé being named R&B Artist Of The Year; and Ice Spice being crowned New Artist Of The Year.
As far as music people outside of the music categories, Selena Gomez’s Only Murders In The Building won Comedy Show Of The Year, Gomez won Female TV Star Of The Year for the show, The Voice won Competition Show Of The Year, Billie Eilish won TV Performance Of The Year for her role in Swarm, and The Kelly Clarkson Show won Daytime Talk Show Of The Year.
Check out the nominees of the music awards (with winners in bold) below and find the full list of winners in all categories here.
Male Artist Of The Year
Bad Bunny
Drake
Jack Harlow Jung Kook
Luke Combs
Morgan Wallen
Post Malone
The Weeknd
Female Artist Of The Year
Beyoncé
Doja Cat
Karol G
Lainey Wilson
Miley Cyrus
Nicki Minaj
Olivia Rodrigo Taylor Swift
Male Country Artist Of The Year
Chris Stapleton
Cody Johnson
Hardy Jelly Roll
Kane Brown
Luke Combs
Morgan Wallen
Zach Bryan
Bad Bunny
Bizarrap
Feid
Manuel Turizo
Maluma
Peso Pluma
Rauw Alejandro
Ozuna
Female Latin Artist Of The Year
Ángela Aguilar
Anitta
Becky G
Kali Uchis
Karol G
Rosalía Shakira
Young Miko
Pop Artist Of The Year
Billie Eilish
Doja Cat
Dua Lipa
Jung Kook
Miley Cyrus
Olivia Rodrigo
Tate McRae Taylor Swift
Hip-Hop Artist Of The Year
Cardi B
Drake
Future
Jack Harlow
Latto Nicki Minaj
Post Malone
Travis Scott
R&B Artist Of The Year
Beyoncé
Brent Faiyaz
Janelle Monáe
SZA
Tems
The Weeknd
Usher
Victoria Monét
New Artist Of The Year
Coi Leray Ice Spice
Jelly Roll
Jung Kook
Noah Kahan
Peso Pluma
PinkPantheress
Stephen Sanchez
Group/Duo Of The Year
Dan + Shay
Fuerza Regida
Grupo Frontera
Jonas Brothers
Old Dominion
Paramore Stray Kids
TOMORROW X TOGETHER
Song Of The Year
Dua Lipa, “Dance The Night”
Luke Combs, “Fast Car”
Miley Cyrus, “Flowers”
Gunna, “F*kumean”
Tate McRae, “Greedy”
Morgan Wallen, “Last Night”
Doja Cat, “Paint The Town Red” Olivia Rodrigo, “Vampire”
Album Of The Year
Miley Cyrus, Endless Summer Vacation
Drake, For All The Dogs
Luke Combs, Gettin’ Old Olivia Rodrigo, Guts
Karol G, Mañana Será Bonito
Bad Bunny, Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana
Morgan Wallen, One Thing AT A Time
Nicki Minaj, Pink Friday 2
Collaboration Song Of The Year
Lil Durk Feat. J. Cole, “All My Life” Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice with Aqua, “Barbie World”
Eslabon Armado X Peso Pluma, “Ella Baila Sola”
Drake Feat. J. Cole, “First Person Shooter”
Zach Bryan feat. Kasey Musgraves, “I Remember Everything”
Jung Kook feat. Latto, “Seven”
Karol G and Shakira, “TQG”
Grupo Frontera X Bad Bunny, “Un x100to”
Concert Tour Of The Year
Ed Sheeran, +–=÷x Tour
Coldplay, Music of the Spheres World Tour
Harry Styles, Love on Tour
Luke Combs, World Tour
Morgan Wallen, One Night at a Time World Tour
PInk, Summer Carnival Tour
Beyoncé, Renaissance World Tour Taylor Swift, The Eras Tour
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Jim Nantz and Tony Romo are two of the best in the business when it comes to football broadcasting, which is why they were tasked with calling Super Bowl LVIII for CBS this weekend. So, all due respect to them and everybody else involved in the CBS broadcast, but Nickelodeon’s Super Bowl coverage was so clearly the most fun way to watch the big game.
Need proof? Take a look at the celebrities who were in attendance on the Nick broadcast. Offering some shots of CGI fish characters made to look like famous folks, Nick showed off aquatic music stars like Billie Eelish, Doja Catfish, and Herring Styles in the Bikini Bottom stands, along with other celebs like LePrawn James, Clamuel L. Jackson, and Fin Diesel.
Nick had a ton of fun beyond that, too. “Sweet Victory” finally made its first appearance at the big game. On top of that, SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star were on hand to provide in-game commentary, alongside Noah Eagle and Nate Burleson. At one point during the game, the camera cut to Leonardi DiCaprio in attendance, and Tom Kenny (voicing SpongeBob as he has since 1999) had a great quip: “Leonardo DiCaprio, 25. That was about his dating history,” a perfect reference to this classic SpongeBob scene.
It happened: Universal Music Group has removed its artists’ songs from TikTok. As of today (February 1), official songs from artists signed to UMG labels no longer appear under the “Sounds” tab on the TikTok app, and previously published videos that featured those songs now have muted audio.
UMG has officially started removing their artists’ catalogs from TikTok.
Official songs are no longer appearing for UMG artists under the ‘sounds’ tab, with the exception of fan-made edits. pic.twitter.com/Aw8MRpPDe4
Impacted artists include Taylor Swift, Drake, The Weeknd, Bad Bunny, SZA, Olivia Rodrigo, Steve Lacy, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, Harry Styles, Rosalía, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Adele, U2, Elton John, J Balvin, Pearl Jam, Bob Dylan, Post Malone, and many others.
TikTok and UMG had a licensing agreement that expired yesterday (January 31), and the day before it did, there were clear indications that negotiations on a new contract were not going well.
“As our negotiations continued, TikTok attempted to bully us into accepting a deal worth less than the previous deal, far less than fair market value and not reflective of their exponential growth. How did it try to intimidate us? By selectively removing the music of certain of our developing artists, while keeping on the platform our audience-driving global stars.
TikTok’s tactics are obvious: use its platform power to hurt vulnerable artists and try to intimidate us into conceding to a bad deal that undervalues music and shortchanges artists and songwriters as well as their fans.
“It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters.
Despite Universal’s false narrative and rhetoric, the fact is they have chosen to walk away from the powerful support of a platform with well over a billion users that serves as a free promotional and discovery vehicle for their talent.
TikTok has been able to reach ‘artist-first’ agreements with every other label and publisher. Clearly, Universal’s self-serving actions are not in the best interests of artists, songwriters and fans.”
At the moment, it’s not clear when or if a new licensing agreement between TikTok and UMG will be reached, and when/if the artists’ music will return to TikTok.
Beef between two major media companies was made public yesterday (January 30), and the feud could have a noteworthy impact on the day-to-day content people consume.
TikTok and Universal Music Group have a licensing agreement that expires today, and this agreement allows UMG songs to appear on the TikTok platform and be utilized in videos from TikTok users. Negotiations on a new contract have apparently been going poorly, as indicated by the open letters both companies shared criticizing each other. If a new deal isn’t reached, music by UMG artists could soon leave TikTok.
Which UMG Artists Will Be Removed From TikTok?
Let’s start by looking at what UMG is: Broadly speaking, it’s a massive company that owns a ton of recognizable record labels, including but not limited to Interscope, Geffen, Capitol, Def Jam, Island, Polydor, Republic, and Virgin Music Group.
So, presumably, in the event that a new licensing agreement is not reached, all acts on those labels would see their music leave TikTok. That includes so many hit-making artists, like Taylor Swift, Drake, The Weeknd, Bad Bunny, SZA, Steve Lacy, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, Harry Styles, Rosalía, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Adele, U2, Elton John, J Balvin, Pearl Jam, Bob Dylan, and Post Malone.
Those artists have an estimated 950 trillion streams between them (note: exaggerated estimate for comedic effect only), and a ton of beloved acts not even mentioned above are also under the UMG umbrella. So, should their music be wiped off of TikTok, it would be a noticeable loss for the platform’s users.
The 66th Annual Grammy Awards are coming right up, as the 2024 ceremony is set to go down on February 4 at 8 p.m. ET. Aside from seeing who ends up winning what awards (find the list of nominees here), the other main appeal of the broadcast is checking out the live performances.
Who is performing at the 2024 Grammy Awards?
The first wave of performers was announced yesterday (January 15), and it’s short and sweet, featuring Olivia Rodrigo, Dua Lipa, and Billie Eilish (all of whom previously won the Grammy for Best New Artist, coincidentally). More artists are set to be announced as the ceremony approaches.
Eilish and Rodrigo have a lot on the line this year, as they’re both nominated for six Grammys. Eilish’s Barbie hit “What Was I Made For?” is up for Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year, Best Pop Solo Performance, Best Song Written For Visual Media, and Best Music Video, while her and Labrinth’s “Never Felt So Alone” is up for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
Rodrigo, meanwhile, is nominated for Album Of The Year, Best Pop Vocal Album (both for Guts), Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year, Best Pop Solo Performance (all for “Vampire”), and Best Rock Song (for “Ballad Of A Homeschooled Girl.”
Lipa’s Barbie song “Dance The Night” has a couple nods as well, for Song Of The Year and Best Song Written For Visual Media.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Generally, I’ve found, there are two kinds of party games: The ones that are fun on their own, exactly as the game makers designed them, and the ones that absolutely MUST be played by “house rules.” The latter, of course, vary from house to house, which is what makes them so chaotic, and the chaos is what makes them fun.
I think that it is widely agreed upon that the most chaotic of these is Uno. Uno house rules have become so ingrained in the fabric of the game that fans even shouted down the game’s official account on Twitter when it posted the “real” rules.
Some of music’s biggest stars — Billie Eilish, Denzel Curry, Duckwrth, Thundercat, and Vince Staples — set off another massive debate online after posting a video of their unhinged holiday session on social media. Denzel poplocks into a Draw 4, Billie shrieks with laughter, the whole thing just looks like the most fun ever.
Of course, absolutely no one can agree on the legal move here, but you know what? Sounds like y’all soft to me. Uno is RUTHLESS in the hood, so you just know they’re using the rappers’ rules. Shout-out to Billie for hanging in there — and hey, you never know. I’ve seen some pretty stunning comebacks in my day… she just might have turned this around. One thing everyone can agree on, though: This is their “dream blunt rotation” — whatever that is (coughcough).
They’re stacking 2s on 4s? Horrible way to play respectfully
In the newest example of celebrities being just like everyone else, a new clip of one of the biggest pop stars in the world playing a game of Uno is making the rounds. That’s Billie Eilish, who is enjoying some holiday time with a few friends by playing the legendary card game. But those friends aren’t just anybody, among them are Vince Staples and Denzel Curry. The game their playing is pretty energetic as well with numerous players getting up and jumping around with each card played.
Despite the intensity of the game, fans couldn’t help but notice they weren’t exactly following the rules. In the comments of a repost of the video fans called out the mistake they made in the game. “N*ggas can’t put draw 2 over 4,” one of the top comments reads. Many others shared the same sentiments. “Now pick up 2 for y’all mistake because you can’t throw out a draw 2 on a draw 4” and “n*gga broke so many rules too lol” two more comments read. Check out the video of the exciting card game below.
Vince Staples has popped up a few times this year on other artist’s music. Most recently, he teamed up with Earl Sweatshirt and The Alchemist for their joint album VOIR DIRE. He appeared on the single “The Caliphate” and the deep-cut “Mancala.” Both songs appeared on the album when it was released on streaming services. The project originally dropped exclusively on an NFT-driven streaming platform that left it inaccessible to many listeners.
Vince and Alc are frequent collaborators and good friends. The last time they crossed paths before this year was on the producer’s 2021 EP This Thing Of Ours 2. Vince made an appearance on the closing track “6 Five Heartbeats.” What do you think of Vince Staples, Denzel Curry, and Billie Eilish enjoying an exciting game of Uno together? Let us know in the comment section below.
Earlier this month, Nicki Minaj released her highly-anticipated 5th studio album Pink Friday 2. Just hours before the project dropped she teased that pop superstar Billie Eilish was involved. While many fans were hoping for a feature it ended up being a sample, albeit a pretty substantial one. The album’s opening track “Are You Gone Already” uses a hefty sample of Billie’s track “When The Party’s Over” from her 2018 debut album When We All Fall Asleep Where Do We Go.
Now 5 years after the track was originally released it’s returning to Billboard charts in the wake of Pink Friday 2. The track returned to two different charts in this week’s tracking period. Those charts are the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart and the Hot Alternative Songs chart where the song landed at number 25 and 14 respectively. Eilish has a pretty extensive history with success on the Billboard charts. Both of her studio albums debuted at the top spot on the Billboard 200 in their first weeks. She also scored a number one hit on the Hot 100 with her smash single “Bad Guy” in 2019.
Pink Friday 2 itself also made a pretty significant splash on a number of Billboard charts. The biggest achievement for the album was debuting at the number one spot on the Billboard 200. It’s a record-breaking third number-one album for Nicki Minaj putting her ahead of any other female rapper. The album also pulled sold more than 200k units in its first week alone.
14 different songs from Pink Friday 2 also landed on the Hot 100 this week. That includes three inside the top 50. The achievement is even more impressive given the time of year. During late November and throughout December Christmas songs take up a majority of the Hot 100’s top 50 as they rack up hundreds of thousands of streams. What do you think of a Billie Eilish song from 2018 returning to the Billboard charts following the release of Pink Friday 2? Let us know in the comment section below.
Before Nicki Minaj dropped her album, Pink Friday 2, last night, she had kept a lot of the details surrounding it under wraps. Between the full tracklist and the collaborations, fans were in for a complete surprise when they went to go press play.
The record’s opening track, “Are You Gone Already,” has raised some questions. Throughout the song, listeners can hear Billie Eilish’s voice, sparking questions as to whether she had a feature on the album.
Here’s what to know.
Is Billie Eilish On Nicki Minaj’s “Are You Gone Already” From Pink Friday 2?
Billie Eilish can be heard on Nicki Minaj’s “Are You Gone Already,” as the song features a sample of the pop star’s 2019 song, “When The Party’s Over.” Minaj had teased her love for the opening track, as well as Eilish’s presence, before the record’s official release.
“Welp that did it for me… crying in less than 25 seconds of the intro,” she wrote on Twitter. “Again. Finneas, if this finds you in #GagCity, God bless you… I haven’t even been able to tell you about ALL the geniuses on this project. Ppl I really love. Ppl who love music. Ppl who inspire me to be better.”
Welp that did it for me…crying in less than 25 seconds of the intro. Again. Finneas, if this finds you in #GagCity, God bless you
I haven’t even been able to tell you about ALL the geniuses on this project. Ppl I really love. Ppl who love music. Ppl who inspire me to be better
This year’s Uproxx Gift Guides are brought to you by Sirius XM, check out their site to find all the holiday music and content you need to get into the gifting spirit.
Hanukkah starts on December 7, Christmas is on the 25th, and any other holidays you may be observing before 2023 comes to a close are probably kicking off soon, too. So, if you haven’t already gotten your holiday shopping done, time is running out. If you still have some music fans to buy for, we have you covered.
We’ve rounded up some of the best music-related gifts worth considering this year, and there’s a healthy mix of things that should appeal to just about everybody, whether they’re into audio, reading, hip-hop, rock, or whatever else. The items below come in at a range of price points, too, so no matter who you’re shopping for, get started by checking out the list below.
Powerbeats Pro Wireless High-Performance Earbuds
Beats
Price: $249.95
A quality pair of headphones can really let a song’s production and impact flourish, and Beats is one of the leading brands in the market. Their Powerbeats Pro earbuds are a solid pick, as they boast a 9-hour battery life, Siri functionality, and a bunch of other ease-of-use features.
Seeing a live performance is perhaps the best way to hear music, but it’s also one of the loudest and potentially most harmful ways. Hearing protection is important, and Vibes’ hi-fidelity earplugs lower sound without sacrificing quality, making them a must-use for the next show you attend.
Another hearing protection option worth looking into is EARPIECE’s collaboration with the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. They have standard and pro options, and if you’re unsure which one to get, the EARPIECE website has a quick rundown that should help you decide which set is right for you.
The rise of concert films of Taylor Swift and Beyoncé doesn’t just mean people going to the theater for a concert experience, it also means that soon, people could be experiencing them in their home. But, to optimize that, you need a good sound system for your television. You can’t go wrong with the TCL Q Class Premium 3.1 Channel Sound Bar, a simple two-piece setup that offers high-end home audio at an affordable price point.
Do you know somebody who’s trying to throw a party in the woods? A rave in a cave? Some other sort of gathering with music, far away from an outlet? That calls for Soundboks, a huge, portable, battery-powered speaker that lets you crank it up to 126 decibels. The specs are impressive: It can go for up to 40 hours on a single charge (6 hours at full volume), it has an effective frequency range of 40 Hz to 20 kHz, and it’s splash proof.
Between his time in Nirvana, Foo Fighters, and the many other endeavors he’s been involved in, Dave Grohl has seen some stuff, which means his memoir ought to be pretty darn interesting. If you want a taste of what to expect before committing to the buy, here’s an excerpt he shared previously, about the time he met Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.
Speaking of McCartney: He put out a book of his own in 2021 and it would be a perfect gift for the Beatles fan in your life who has happened to have missed it. A new paperback edition was released recently and it comes with seven new song commentaries, on ’Bluebird,” “Day Tripper,” “English Tea,” “Every Night,” “Hello, Goodbye,” “Magical Mystery Tour,” and “Step Inside Love.”
TMNT is back in the spotlight right now after Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem was one of this summer’s biggest movies. Now, they’ve teamed up with headphone favorites Skullcandy for a new wireless gaming headset that’s a striking “ooze” color and comes with interchangeable headbands.
Like Skullcandy but want it less turtle-y for some reason (or just prefer earbuds to a gaming headset)? The Rail ANC True Wireless Earbuds are worth a look: They boast a 38-hour battery life, they have 4-microphone active noise canceling, and if you forget where you put them, they even have Tile finding technology.
Shortly after Funko announced their new Blackpink collaboration in October, pre-orders sold out. A number of items, like group member keychains, are still available as of this post, though. They’re cheap, too, making them perfect stocking-stuffers for any Blinks on your gift list.
Not enough Blackpink for you? Well, their Funko collab goes deeper: The group teamed with Funko’s Loungefly brand for a line of gorgeous accessories. Specifically, there’s a backpack, crossbody bag, and zip wallet, all of which come in a matching black and pink color scheme that’s perfectly executed.
We don’t really have to explain that Meta Quest 2 is one of the best ways to experience the world of VR entertainment. From a music perspective, though: Meta has the Music Valley Concert Series coming up, and the VR performance lineup includes The Kid Laroi, Jung Kook, Jorja Smith, and Alec Benjamin.
In addition to Ray-Ban being one of the most trusted glasses brands, they pack some impressive tech into their new smart glasses thanks to a Meta partnership. You can livestream with them, you can take pictures, and you can even listen to music thanks to the built-in “discreet open-ear speakers let you enjoy rich audio quality, music and calls, while keeping you connected to the world around you.”
Getting into guitar can be tough, so if you know somebody on your shopping list is getting an axe of their own, a Fender Play subsciption could be a good complementary gift. The service offers guitar lessons to sharpen your skills, bite-size tutorials to learn songs in a flash, and a community where aspiring players can support each other.
A lot of high-end home audio setups can be bulky, but Sonos Era 100 sounds great and comes in a compact form factor. Aside from its minimal footprint and simple-but-elegant aesthetic, it should work with whatever you’re trying to play your music from, whether it’s a Bluetooth-compatible device or an older piece of hardware that can connect via line in.
Rhymesayers Entertainment and MF DOOM’s estate are commemorating the late rapper with a new DOOMSDAY drop. This capsule includes a bunch of limited merch items with a ton of variety, meaning there should be something for everybody. Options include embroidered hoodies, T-shirts, sweatpants, socks, slides with custom printed shoeboxes, skate decks, pins, and more.
It doesn’t matter what your favorite Tyler The Creator album/era is: Spotify’s new merch capsule collection has you covered. You can browse the collection album-by-album and cover yourself head-to-toe in hoodies, socks, hats, and other pieces you can incorporate into your everyday look.
You don’t even have to know what music your giftee is into for this present to work: A Ticketmaster gift card gives the gift of live music (or live sports of theater or anything, really) in all its forms. They’re flexible, too, as you can get a gift card in any amount from $25 to $500.
Eilish has been building herself a nice perfume line for a little while now. She’s up to three different Eau de Parfum scents at the moment, including the recently released Eilish No. 3. That one’s actually sold out as of the writing of this post, but maybe it’ll be back in stock by the time you read this. If not, you can still grab the two previous award-winning scents right now.
Megan Thee Stallion has become a pop culture favorite in recent years, and she has a killer merch line, too, featuring everything from shirts, to bikinis to pet collars. You don’t even have to be a Meg fan to get into her merch, really, as a lot of people could get down with a “Bad b*tches have bad days too!” hoodie.
Taylor Swift is also a merch queen, and while vinyl might be the first thing you think of when it comes to her offerings, she has a bunch of different coals on the fire. We actually wrote a whole Swift-specific gift guide, so that’s a good place to start looking. Then there’s her online shop, which has everything from hoodies to pajamas to a clock.
We put together a Drake gift guide, too, and one of the items worth highlighting here is Titles Ruin Everything, his and Kendra Samir’s poetry book. You’ve seen DJ Khaled reading it, and now you can, too.
First there was the Ice Spice Munchkins Drink from Dunkin, and now Ice Spice is continuing her crusade of perfect branding opportunities with a new Chia Pet. Chia Pets are one of the all-time fun novelty gifts, and getting Ice Spice as the model for one is an absolutely perfect use of the format.
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You cannot STACK a +2 on a +2 
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