Entertainment

The Rock Went To ‘Great Lengths’ To Keep His Surprise Appearance At The Grammys For Adele A Secret

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It’s not often that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson isn’t the most famous person in the room, but that was the case on Sunday during the 2023 Grammys. Attendees includes Beyoncé, Taylor Swift (who worked with the wrestler-turned-actor for her “The Man” music video), Bad Bunny, and Adele. “Someone that I’ve never met that I think I would actually cry is The Rock,” the “Easy on Me” singer once admitted. Her wish came true at the Grammys, providing one of the night’s more delightful moments.

Johnson told Variety how he pulled off the surprise.

“We wanted to do something special for Adele,” he said. “I know that she is a very big fan of mine and has made that clear publicly many times. But I’ve got to tell you, I am a huge fan of hers, as well — her music, her journey, her openness and directness in how she speaks. I’ve always admired that about her.” The Rock went to “great lengths to make sure that Adele was authentically surprised in the moment, and she was.” He also called Adele “a special iconic brilliant inspiring artist who has inspired a generation and who will continue to inspire generations to come. I love that woman.”

If she slips a bottle of Teremana into her next music video, he’ll love her even more.

(Via Variety)

Hulu Shares The First Look At Their Upcoming ‘RapCaviar’ Docuseries Featuring Tyler The Creator And Pharrell Williams

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One of Spotify’s top hip-hop playlists is jumping from audio formats to visual ones. Next month, RapCaviar will debut its docuseries, RapCaviar Presents on Hulu, with seven episodes featuring stories by some of the best hip-hop acts of our time.

Several artists are set to appear in RapCaviar Presents, including City Girls, Jack Harlow, Polo G, Roddy Ricch, Coi Leray, Tyler The Creator, and Pharrell Williams.

In a sneak peek clip of the series, the latter two reflect on how the two met. Tyler recalls working with Pharrell for the first time and how the superproducer inspired him to switch up his sound. Pharell then shared a lesson he learned from Jimmy Iovine early on in his career.

In other episodes, RapCaviar Presents will offer “a deep dive into current events that untangles important subjects and offers a view of the world from an artist’s perspective,” according to a press release.

Karam Gill serves as the series’ executive producer, as well as its creative director. Carl Chery, who oversees the playlist and its accompanying podcast, will oversee creative on the show, alongside Liz Gateley.

All seven episodes of RapCaviar Presents will arrive on Hulu on March 30.

You can check out a first look above.

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

Janelle Monáe Threatened To Withhold New Music After A Fan Joked She Doesn’t Dress ‘Like The Monopoly Man’ Anymore

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Janelle Monáe may have gotten their foot in the door as a musician, but these days, newer fans tend to forget that little fact due to their blossoming acting career. So despite Monáe’s schedule filling up with more on-screen opportunities partly due to the success of Glass Onion, they’ve promised to give day-one fans new music to hold them over.

Last month, the triple threat shared a video of them working on new material in the studio. Then finally, a few weeks ago, Monáe released an extended teaser video for their upcoming single, “Float.” But thanks to a viral tweet, the whole track may never see the light of day.

A user on Twitter garnered a lot of attention by tweeting, “Janelle Monáe finally showing off how fine she is instead of dressing like the monopoly man.”

Monáe’s signature monochromatic black-and-white fashions, oftentimes suits, were a way to pay homage to their mother and grandmother every time they took the stage. The singer told the Huffington Post, “It’s a dedication to uniformity, and I’m a minimalist by heart, but a lot of it had to do with me wanting to have a uniform like the working class, like my mom and my grandmother.”

Well, once the tweet crossed the desk of the singer, she came back with a playful response: “35.7k likes?? No new tour. hope it was worth it beloved,” closing with the winky kissy face emoji.

Fans rushed to let the singer know not all of them felt that way and that they shouldn’t suffer without new music because of the original user.

The original users’ mentions were riddled with angry fans, but they stood firm in their comments, saying that although it was a joke, they meant what they wrote and also respect Monáe’s artistry. Monáe jumped back in to say, “Monopoly man?? [crying emoji] You’re pretty and funny. [kissy face emoji].”

It looks like everything worked out, and Monáe will return to music soon.

Questlove Explained Why Will Smith Had To Back Out Of The 2023 Grammys’ All-Star Hip-Hop Tribute

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We’re approaching the one-year anniversary of “The Slap.” Last March, Will Smith waltzed on stage during the 2022 Oscars and slapped Chris Rock after Rock made a distasteful joke about Jada Pinkett Smith. And though Rock declined to file charges, Smith is banned from attending the Oscars for the next decade.

Smith is not banned from attending the Grammys, though, and people noticed his absence on Sunday night, February 5. The 2023 Grammys featured a medley performance celebrating hip-hop’s 50th anniversary. The segment was directed and produced by Questlove, introduced by LL Cool J, and narrated by Black Thought.

DJ Jazzy Jeff was one of many legendary artists to perform, but where was Smith, aka/fka The Fresh Prince?

Questlove told Entertainment Tonight that Smith was “99.4 percent” committed to performing, “but they started shooting Bad Boys 4 this week, so he couldn’t make rehearsals.” Questlove added, “He wanted to do it.”

For those keeping score at home, Questlove apparently doesn’t hold grudges. Smith’s slap occurred as Rock was presenting the Oscar for Best Documentary. The award went to Questlove for Summer Of Soul, and Smith later apologized to Questlove for overshadowing his first Academy Award.

Smith posted a video last July apologizing not only to Questlove but to Rock, Rock’s mother, Rock’s entire family, his own family, and more.

“It really breaks my heart to have stolen and tarnished your moment,” Smith said to his “fellow nominees” in the video. “I can still see Questlove’s eyes. It happened on Questlove’s award, and you know, it’s like, ‘I’m sorry’ really isn’t sufficient.”

Watch the 50-year hip-hop anniversary tribute below.

‘Miserable’ Ben Affleck Got Roasted For Looking Like He’d Rather Be Anyplace Else While Attending The Grammys

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Sad Batman is back, y’all. One of the more fascinating parts of the past decade of pop culture is how Ben Affleck tends to look pretty “over it” most of the time. I think, maybe, that’s simply how his face is? It’s entirely possible. I’m similarly afflicted but fortunately do not have people scrutinizing my every move like Affleck, who gets meme’d every time he’s spotted carrying around Dunkin’ with a sad face. See, he loves Dunkin,’ so really, I think that is simply his resting expression.

Well, Ben brought that face to the Grammys, where he supported his new bride, JLo, which was all well and good, but boy, he seemingly wanted to be anywhere else. He looked completely uncomfortable while barely vibing to the music. The two have made clear that they are very much in love and have Gigli firmly in the rear view mirror, but people could not help but notice that Ben would probably rather be at home.

No matter how he actually felt, though, the verdict was pretty clear. The dude looked “miserable” and like he wanted to vanish into thin air.

Perhaps, this is simply the introvert coming out, so to speak? Yet also, he might have hated the entire evening. Severe battery drain coming at ya.

There was also this odd interaction between the couple:

Do you think JLo noticed and/or cared about what people said about Ben? If she did hear or see any responses, she didn’t make any indication.

Fingers crossed that Ben got some Dunkin’ today. Also, his Super Bowl commercial is coming, so that should make him happy.

Khalid, Lil Baby, Elley Duhé, And More Will Perform At A Special ‘Outer Banks’-Themed Festival This Month

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We are just weeks away from the return of Outer Banks season three, but the surprises don’t stop at hotly-anticipated new episodes. Ahead of the show’s season 3 premiere, Netflix has announced a special music festival called Poguelandia: An Outer Banks Experience.

Poguelandia will take place at Huntington Beach in California on Saturday, February 18, just days before the season 3 premiere of Outer Banks. Set to perform are Khalid, Lil Baby, Elley Duhé, Alt-J, Surf Mesa, and The Nude Party.

In addition to these musicians, the cast of Outer Banks will also be in attendance. According to the festival’s poster, attendees will also be able to “vibe out by the twinkie,” “drink up at the boneyard,” and “chow down at the wreck,” and most importantly, “make some memories worth their weight in gold.”

Clothing brand American Eagle will also be present at the event, offering live custom printing of exclusive Outer Banks designs, and selling items from their exclusive Outer Banks capsule collection.

Tickets for the festival are set to go live tomorrow (February 4). Fans will be able to register for free tickets here. You can check out the festival lineup below.

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All episodes of Outer Banks‘ third season will premiere on Netflix on Thursday, February 23

JID And Lute Share The First Taste Of The ‘Creed III’ Soundtrack With Their Powerful Collab, ‘Ma Boy’

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On the first single from the official soundtrack to Creed III, JID and Lute step into the ring, hyping each other up on the energetic track, “Ma Boy.” The song features the Dreamville labelmates giving each other encouragement, as they put on their boxing gloves and get ready for an epic fight.

“Boy, boy, that’s my brother, so play it cool / He a fool, a tool, a loose screw / Pickin’ on me, ain’t no pick and choose / Either way that you look, it’s a lose-lose,” raps JID on his first verse.

Soon after, Lute joins in, matching JID’s energy, rapping, “You know that we ain’t the same / You know how I got these stripes / They know I’m rooted in blood / Y’all just be lit of the hype, you know this really my life.”

The soundtrack to the third installment of the Creed series will be executive produced by Dreamville, alongside Proximity Media (Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Göransson, Archie Davis), Outlier Society (Michael B. Jordan) and Executive Music Producer Frank Brim. In the past, the soundtrack to the second film was produced by Mike Will Made-It, and the first by Kevin Weaver.

The Creed III soundtrack will arrive next month, in tandem with the movie’s premiere.

In the meantime, you can stream “Ma Boy” here.

The Creed III soundtrack is out 3/3 via Dreamville and Interscope.

Taylor Lautner Thought Taylor Swift And Kanye West’s Infamous VMAs Moment Was Just A Bit Until He Saw Swift’s Face

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The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards are remembered for exactly one thing: Kanye West interrupting Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech to shout out Beyoncé. A less-remembered detail about that VMAs moment is that Taylor Lautner was on that stage, too, as he presented the award to Swift. Now, he has looked back on that day and revealed what was going through his head at the time.

In a recent episode of The Squeeze podcast, the host (Lautner’s wife, who is also named Taylor Lautner) asked if there was a moment Lautner would like to go back and change and he responded, “Probably the 2009 VMAs when I presented the award to Taylor and was unaware that the Kanye thing was not a skit.”

The host noted Lautner and Swift were publicly in a relationship at the time. Lautner continued, “I presented the award to her. I took five steps back and was standing five feet behind her. Kanye jumps up on to the stage. I could barely hear it, I can’t see them. I’m just assuming this whole thing was a practiced and rehearsed skit, because why else would Kanye West be jumping up on the stage interrupting Taylor Swift? It just didn’t make sense. If you look back at it, I’m actually caught laughing and giggling at them. […] He jumped off, she finished. The second she turned back around and I saw her face for the first time, I was like, ‘Oh. This… that wasn’t good.’”

Watch the Taylor Lautners recount the incident below.

@podcast.nation

Show: The Squeeze🎙Hosted by #TaylorLautner and @Tay Lautner! 🍋 #twilight #taylorswift #vmas

♬ original sound – Podcast Nation

Go Ahead And Add The ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ TV Series To The List Of Things We Need To Thank Dolly Parton For

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For years, there have been rumors that Dolly Parton was a secret producer on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series that became a massive genre hit in the late ’90s and early 2000s. Well, it’s no longer a mystery. While appearing on The Tonight Show, Buffy star Sarah Michelle Gellar confirmed to Jimmy Fallon that the iconic singer played a silent role in the show’s breakout success. Not only that, but Parton was a fan of the vampire-slaying series and its star, which Gellar was not prepared for at the time.

Via Gizmodo:

“Little known fact, the legend Dolly Parton was a producer,” Gellar revealed on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon. “And you know, we never saw her. We’d get Christmas gifts in the beginning that would have our name and I would think, ‘She doesn’t know who I am.’ And then one day somebody asked her about it and she complimented the show and my performance. And I was like ‘Oh, I can die now. Dolly Parton knows who I am and thinks I’m good.’ Her partner was Sandy Gallin and they produced Buffy.”

Of course, producing shows like Buffy is just the kind of benevolent person that Dolly Parton loves to be. Case in point: The iconic singer helped put up money to develop a coronavirus vaccine and was heralded as a saint when it turned out she backed the Moderna vaccine that, along with Pfizer, helped turn the tide of the pandemic. Is there anything Dolly can’t do? We’d probably believe it if someone said she could levitate.

(Via Gizmodo)

Normani Voices A ’90s Music Star In A New ‘The Proud Family: Louder And Prouder’ Teaser Clip

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Normani may be holding off on the release of her debut solo album, but that hasn’t stopped the singer from using her voice in other arenas. Yes, the cross-over act has dropped a string of singles over the years, including “Dancing With A Stranger” featuring Sam Smith, “Motivation,” “Wild Side” featuring Cardi B, and most recently, “Fair.” Still, she’s kept her creative options open.

Now, the musician is looking to add the title actress to her growing resume. In a new teaser clip shared by Disney+, the New Orleans native will blend her vocal skills both as a voice actor and as a singer thanks to her new role on The Proud Family: Louder And Prouder. Normani will play the role of Giselle, a member of the show’s fictional ’90s music group, The Soul Vibrations.

The episode is described as the staple character Uncle Bobby (played by Cedric the Entertainer) reliving his musical glory days as the leader of the fictional band. In the clip of the scene featuring Normani, Bobby recounts to his Penny (played by Kyla Pratt) all about Giselle’s early start in the industry as his backing support. Based on its description, Normani may make several appearances throughout the season. It makes you wonder, did Normani use her admiration for ’90s music star Janet Jackson to get into character?

Watch the episode teaser clip above.

The Proud Family: Louder And Prouder is exclusively available on Disney+. New episodes will be available for streaming starting on February 1.

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