Lizzo Picked The Best Artists In R&B, Pop, And More, But She Intentionally Skipped Hip-Hop

If there is one thing that will never change about music, it’s that people will spend non-trivial amounts of time ranking the best artists, albums, and songs and then debating those rankings. It seems like every other day, somebody makes headlines because they ranked the best rappers or the best artists in another style. Now Lizzo has decided to enter the conversation, doing so by declaring the “king,” “queen,” “prince,” and “princess” of various genres.

She began by declaring in a tweet that Usher is the “king of R&B,” and from there, she decided to hand out similar superlatives in subsequent tweets. Her picks include Beyonce, Justin Bieber, Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, and others:

“King of Pop- Michael Jackson
Queen of Pop- Janet Jackson
Prince of pop- Bieber
Princess of Pop- Britney Spears
The Pop princess- Rihanna
Queen of music- Beyonce
Queen of soul- Aretha
Queen of R&B- Mariah
Queen of hip hop soul- Mary J
Queen of rock & roll- Tina Turner.”

Notably, she didn’t touch on rap. She responded to a fan asking why she did that, writing, “Pop is easier to speak on rap got too many variables– I have my opinions tho…. But Ima mind my business.”

Find Lizzo’s tweets below.

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

The Weeknd Credits Two Songs By Britney Spears As Inspirations For His Next Album

Following months of vague tweets that hinted at new music, The Weeknd has officially kicked off a new era in his career. It’s expected that the singer will share his next body of work within the next few months. In a GQ profile earlier this month, The Weeknd shared what can be expected on the new album. “The music hit the studio like a Mack truck,” he declared. “The new project is packed with party records. Like real-deal, illuminated-white-tiles-on-the-floor party records. Quincy Jones meets Giorgio Moroder meets the best-night-of-your-f*cking-life party records.”

Just a week after the GQ profile dropped, The Weeknd shared additional inspirations for the project through his Apple Music radio show. The most recent episode of Momento Mori, whose description promised he would play “a mix of music that showcases tracks inspiring the new Dawn era,” found him tapping into the catalogs of several artists. This includes Britney Spears, as he played “Everytime” and “Toxic” from her 2003 album In The Zone.

Other tracks that were aired during the episode came from artists that include Nas, Swedish House Mafia, Kid Cudi, Kanye West, and Tyler, the Creator.

Elsewhere in the episode, he shared an update on the state of his next album. “Album is pretty much done,” he said. “Just doing some final tweaks, some mixing notes, additional vocals.”

Matt Gaetz, Currently Under Investigation For Human Trafficking, Is Still Trying To Make Himself The Face Of The #FreeBritney Movement

Matt Gaetz has been under investigation by the FBI since late last year, over his alleged connection to a sex trafficking ring. But the Florida representative has been doing what many Republicans do when they’re being probed for criminal activity: ignore and distract. On Wednesday, a rally was head in downtown Los Angeles for the #FreeBritney movement, which seeks to end pop icon Britney Spears’ restrictive conservatorship, which is run in part by her father. And guess who randomly showed up to make a fiery speech?

The Florida lawmaker was there to show passionate support for a person who achieved fame when she was very young. “If this case does not result in freedom for Britney Spears,” Gaetz bellowed to the crowd, “it is a black eye for the American justice system.”

Gaetz declared that Spears — whose conservatorship is so strict that she’s not allowed to remove her IUD, which prevents her from having children — deserves “the freedom and liberty that should be offered to every single American.” He continued:

“She’s been abused by the media. She’s been abused by her grifter father. And she has been abused by the American justice system. And so we need to come together and create a federal cause of action — a federal change in the law that will free Britney and the millions of Americans [presumably referring to those who are also under conservatorships].”

He added, “One thing we can all agree on is that Jamie Spears is a d*ck.”

Preach! But a few people didn’t think Gaetz was the person who should be trying to gain hosannas for sticking up for someone like Britney Spears.

Gaetz is one of a handful of GOP lawmakers who’ve tried to get Spears to testify in Washington D.C. (Then again, one of them is Marjorie Taylor Greene.) Whatever his real motives, one wonders if he got the idea to glom onto her plight after getting made fun of three months ago in a Spears-centric SNL sketch.

(Via Variety)

Courtney Love Was Brought To Tears While Covering Britney Spears’ ‘Lucky’

As Brintey Spears’ conservatorship battle continue, many artists have found their own ways to show support for the singer and she continues the fight. Some have shared thoughtful messages on social media, especially after Britney’s explosive court hearing at the end of last month where she labeled the court arrangement as “abusive.” Others have thought of different ways to show love to the singer.

This includes Courtney Love who recently shared a cover of Britney’s 2000 song, “Lucky,” which appears on her Oops!… I Did It Again album. In the middle of her performance, Love was brought to tears but continued to complete the song.

The cover arrived hours after The New Yorker shared an investigation they conducted into Britney Spears’ conservatorship. It revealed how much control the singer’s conservators had on her life and the great lengths she had to go through for brief moments of freedom. This includes borrowing phones from strangers to contact people as her own phone was being monitored by conservators. She was also pushed to call 911 on the day before her explosive June 23 hearing to “report herself as a victim of conservatorship abuse.” Lastly, she accused her conservators of forcing her to do a European tour, however, they’ve denied the singer’s claims saying she “begged” to do to 2018 tour.

You can watch the cover in the video above.

Britney Spears Reportedly Called 911 About Her Conservatorship Just A Day Before Her Explosive Hearing

Despite its 13-year existence, the public continues to learn more and more about Britney Spears’ conservatorship, and more specifically, how the singer herself feels about it. During a court hearing last month, she labeled the court arrangement as “abusive” and pleaded for a judge to terminate it. While the conservatorship was not removed, the singer’s desire for its end was not hidden at all in the days leading up to the hearing.

According to an investigation conducted by The New Yorker’s Ronan Farrow and Jia Tolentino, Britney made a 911 call on the eve of the June 23 hearing to “report herself as a victim of conservatorship abuse.”

The publication confirmed the call thanks to a person close to the singer and law enforcement in Ventura County, California. Normally, emergency calls in California are accessible to the public, but the county sealed the records of the call citing an ongoing investigation. They added that the singer’s team began “texting one another frantically” as they were all worried about what Spears could say in court the following day.

The same report from The New Yorker also revealed that the conservatorship controls Spears so tightly that she was often forced to borrow phones from strangers at gyms and grocery stores.

“Last time she called me, she was at Ralphs, in Calabasas,” her former manager Sam Lufti said in the article. “After she hung up, I got a call from the same number — it’s an Asian doctor, who says, ‘Wow, this is surreal, Britney just borrowed my phone.’ Five years ago, she borrowed a phone at the gym and just made off with it.”

You can read the full piece on The New Yorker here.

Britney Spears’ Conservators Deny That They Forced The Singer To Do A European Tour Despite Her Claims

A lot has come to light about Britney Spears’ conservatorship in the last couple of weeks. During a court hearing about the conservatorship on June 23, the singer called it “abusive” and asked a judge to end it altogether. “All I want is to own my money … and for this to end … and for my boyfriend to be able to f*cking drive me in his car,” she said. It was during that same hearing that she claimed conservators forced her to go on a European tour back in 2018.

“I was on tour in 2018. I was forced to do … my management said if I don’t do this tour, I will have to find an attorney and by contract, their own management could sue me if I didn’t follow through with a tour,” she said during the hearing, according to TMZ. “He handed me a sheet of paper as I got off the stage in Vegas and said I had to sign it. It was very threatening and scary. I couldn’t even get my own attorney, so out of fear, I went ahead and did the tour.”

However, the publication reports that sources “connected to the conservatorship” tell them Spears wanted to do the tour. They said that after her 2018 Vegas residency, she realized “she had nothing on her calendar for almost all of 2018. She then asked Management to find something for her to do so she wouldn’t be bored for a year.”

They added, “She literally begged to do the 2018 European Tour run. She was very excited about it and called repeatedly to ask to have it confirmed. There is a text message exchange between Management and Britney on December 16, 2017, where management provides her with the tour routing. She asks a few questions, and expresses how excited she is to do it.”

Report: Britney Spears Is So Tightly Controlled That She Secretly Borrows Phones From Strangers At Gyms And Grocery Stores To Contact People

Britney Spears has been actively seeking to alter her conservatorship, a court-ordered arrangement that began 13 years ago. There have been multiple hearings about the matter, and on June 23 she finally got the chance to address the matter, calling the arrangement as “abusive” and describing the many ways it restricted her desired lifestyle. “I’ve been in denial,” she admitted. “I’ve been in shock. I am traumatized. I just want my life back.”

Nearly two weeks we learned more details in an article by The New Yorker. In it, the singer’s ex-manager, Sam Lufti, shared an example of the increased surveillance the singer allegedly endures under the conservatorship.

“I’ll go years without contact, and then I’ll get a call every once in a while from her in a closet,” Lufti said. He also suggested that the singer’s phone is monitored by her lawyers and that she calls and texts only when she gets another phone. “Last time she called me, she was at Ralphs, in Calabasas[…] After she hung up, I got a call from the same number — it’s an Asian doctor, who says, ‘Wow, this is surreal, Britney just borrowed my phone.’ Five years ago, she borrowed a phone at the gym and just made off with it.”

Lufti added that his last in-person meeting with Britney, which occurred back in 2015, left him concerned for the singer’s well-being. “My opinion is that this conservatorship has drastically affected her mind-set,” he said.

You can read the full piece on The New Yorker here.

Iggy Azalea Claims She Had A Shady Encounter With Britney Spears’ Father

After Britney Spears spoke about her conservatorship in court recently, some of her peers in music came forward with messages of support for the pop star. Now, Iggy Azalea — who collaborated with Spears on the 2015 single “Pretty Girls” and performed with her at at 2015 Billboard Music Awards — shared some experiences she had with Spears, her father, and her team.

In a tweet she tagged #FreeBritney, Azalea showed support for Spears and wrote that she “personally witnessed the same behavior Britney detailed in regards to her father last week.” One example she noted was, “I saw her restricted from even the most bizarre & trivial things: like how many sodas she was allowed to drink.” She also wrote, “Her father conveniently waited until literally moments before our BMAs performance when I was backstage in the dressing room & told me if I did not sign an NDA he would not allow me on stage.”

Azalea concluded her post, “Britney Spears should not be forced to co-exist with that man when she’s made it clear it is negatively impacting her mental health. This is not right at all.”

Find Azalea’s post below.

“Its basic human decency to at the very least remove a person Britney has identified as abusive from her life. This should be illegal.

During the time we worked together in 2015, I personally witnessed the same behavior Britney detailed in regards to her father last week and I just want to back her up & tell the world that: She is not exaggerating or lying.

I saw her restricted from even the most bizarre & trivial things: like how many sodas she was allowed to drink. Why is that even Necessary?

Her father conveniently waited until literally moments before our BMAs performance when I was backstage in the dressing room & told me if I did not sign an NDA he would not allow me on stage.

The way he went about getting me to sign a contract, sounded similar to the tactics Britney spoke about last week in regards to her Las Vegas show.

Jamie Spears has a habit of making people sign documents while under Duress it seems, and Britney Spears should not be forced to co-exist with that man when she’s made it clear it is negatively impacting her mental health.

This is not right at all.”

Iggy Azalea Claims She Had A Shady Encounter With Britney Spears’ Father

After Britney Spears spoke about her conservatorship in court recently, some of her peers in music came forward with messages of support for the pop star. Now, Iggy Azalea — who collaborated with Spears on the 2015 single “Pretty Girls” and performed with her at at 2015 Billboard Music Awards — shared some experiences she had with Spears, her father, and her team.

In a tweet she tagged #FreeBritney, Azalea showed support for Spears and wrote that she “personally witnessed the same behavior Britney detailed in regards to her father last week.” One example she noted was, “I saw her restricted from even the most bizarre & trivial things: like how many sodas she was allowed to drink.” She also wrote, “Her father conveniently waited until literally moments before our BMAs performance when I was backstage in the dressing room & told me if I did not sign an NDA he would not allow me on stage.”

Azalea concluded her post, “Britney Spears should not be forced to co-exist with that man when she’s made it clear it is negatively impacting her mental health. This is not right at all.”

Find Azalea’s post below.

“Its basic human decency to at the very least remove a person Britney has identified as abusive from her life. This should be illegal.

During the time we worked together in 2015, I personally witnessed the same behavior Britney detailed in regards to her father last week and I just want to back her up & tell the world that: She is not exaggerating or lying.

I saw her restricted from even the most bizarre & trivial things: like how many sodas she was allowed to drink. Why is that even Necessary?

Her father conveniently waited until literally moments before our BMAs performance when I was backstage in the dressing room & told me if I did not sign an NDA he would not allow me on stage.

The way he went about getting me to sign a contract, sounded similar to the tactics Britney spoke about last week in regards to her Las Vegas show.

Jamie Spears has a habit of making people sign documents while under Duress it seems, and Britney Spears should not be forced to co-exist with that man when she’s made it clear it is negatively impacting her mental health.

This is not right at all.”

Iggy Azalea Claims She Had A Shady Encounter With Britney Spears’ Father

After Britney Spears spoke about her conservatorship in court recently, some of her peers in music came forward with messages of support for the pop star. Now, Iggy Azalea — who collaborated with Spears on the 2015 single “Pretty Girls” and performed with her at at 2015 Billboard Music Awards — shared some experiences she had with Spears, her father, and her team.

In a tweet she tagged #FreeBritney, Azalea showed support for Spears and wrote that she “personally witnessed the same behavior Britney detailed in regards to her father last week.” One example she noted was, “I saw her restricted from even the most bizarre & trivial things: like how many sodas she was allowed to drink.” She also wrote, “Her father conveniently waited until literally moments before our BMAs performance when I was backstage in the dressing room & told me if I did not sign an NDA he would not allow me on stage.”

Azalea concluded her post, “Britney Spears should not be forced to co-exist with that man when she’s made it clear it is negatively impacting her mental health. This is not right at all.”

Find Azalea’s post below.

“Its basic human decency to at the very least remove a person Britney has identified as abusive from her life. This should be illegal.

During the time we worked together in 2015, I personally witnessed the same behavior Britney detailed in regards to her father last week and I just want to back her up & tell the world that: She is not exaggerating or lying.

I saw her restricted from even the most bizarre & trivial things: like how many sodas she was allowed to drink. Why is that even Necessary?

Her father conveniently waited until literally moments before our BMAs performance when I was backstage in the dressing room & told me if I did not sign an NDA he would not allow me on stage.

The way he went about getting me to sign a contract, sounded similar to the tactics Britney spoke about last week in regards to her Las Vegas show.

Jamie Spears has a habit of making people sign documents while under Duress it seems, and Britney Spears should not be forced to co-exist with that man when she’s made it clear it is negatively impacting her mental health.

This is not right at all.”