We are just days away from the 2023 Grammy Awards, and while we’re still not sure who’s performing, we can still expect to see some of our favorite artists at the ceremony. Today, the Recording Academy has revealed some of the presenters.
Olivia Rodrigo, who won the Best New Artist Grammy last year, as well as the Best Pop Vocal Album award for her debut album, Sour, and Best Pop Solo Performance for her breakthrough hit, “Drivers License,” is one of the artists scheduled to present an award on Sunday night. Cardi B, who won the Best Rap Album Grammy in 2019 for her debut album, Invasion Of Privacy, is also among the presenters for the awards show. Five-time Grammy winner Shania Twain will also present an award this Sunday.
In addition to some of our favorite artists, some notable figures will also deliver music’s highest honor. First Lady Jill Biden will be in attendance to present awards. Actor Billy Crystal, who is currently nominated for Best Musical Theater Album for his work in Mr. Saturday Night, and actress Viola Davis, who is nominated for Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording for her memoir, Finding Me, are also set to present.
Also among this year’s presenters are The Late Late Show host James Corden, who hosted the Grammys back in 2017, as well as actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
The Grammys will air on Sunday, February 5 beginning at 8 p.m. EST on CBS. The ceremony will also be available for streaming on Paramount+.
Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Ticketmaster is not having the most pleasant run this holiday season. While they’ve very publically endured the wrath of the Swifties, who have filed two lawsuits since the disastrous pre-sale for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, several other fanbases have jumped on the “Ticketmaster is cancelled” train.
Earlier this month, Bad Bunny fans in Mexico were distraught to find that Ticketmaster had allegedly sold them fake tickets through their official sales outlets, resulting in them being turned away at the entry point.
The sales for Death Grips’ upcoming tour, their first in four years, were also handled by Ticketmaster. But like the presale for Swift’s upcoming tour, several fans alleged that many of the Death Grips presale tickets went to bots and resalers.
Tickets for Bruce Springsteen And The E-Street Band’s were going for over $5,000 in some cities. While Springsteen defended the prices, he promised fans who weren’t satisfied on the way out of the tour that they could have their money back.
Some of the issues fans have been having with Ticketmaster date back to last year, when Olivia Rodrigo fans were unable to purchase tickets for her Sour tour due to technical difficulties.
But these recurring issues have fans nervous going forward. Recently, tickets for SZA’s SOS tour with Omar Apollo proved to be rather pricey. And although Beyoncé has yet to formally announce her Renaissance tour, the prices for SZA tickets prompted fans to start saving, so they can be ready for when Bey finally does make the announcement.
As a late Christmas gift, country singer Zach Bryan decided to give the gift of live music to his fans, so they wouldn’t have to pay Ticketmaster prices. The album is appropriately titled, All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster.
Some of the artists mentioned are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Celebrity wax figures are hit or miss. A Billie Eilish one from earlier this year raised some eyebrows, but Madame Tussauds has a strong track record, like with their well-received Drake figure from 2019. Tussauds’ latest figure is of Lil Nas X and it looks fantastic. It’s so convincing, in fact, that the rapper was able to use it to prank some of his famous friends.
In a video he shared yesterday (September 20), Nas is in a room with his figure and he decides to FaceTime some people, calling them but only putting the figure in frame. One of the first calls was to Olivia Rodrigo, who cheerfully answered and seemed to think the call was frozen. The real Nas then jumped in and said, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it’s a wax figure,” which got a laugh from Rodrigo.
The final call of the video is to Lizzo, who answers by saying, “Hi,” before waiting a beat and exclaiming, “What the f*ck?” Nas then makes the reveal, much to Lizzo’s amusement, who adds, “I f*ckin’ thought it was you. I was like, ‘Why are you in your Met Gala outfit?’”
In the clip, Nas also pranks Troye Sivan, Steve Lacy, Rico Nasty, and others, so check it out above.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Do Revenge, a teen dark comedy starring Maya Hawke and Riverdale’s Camila Mendes just hit Netflix today. The film, which fancies itself a Hitchcockian homage, features an inviting soundtrack of songs that will certainly appeal to not only today’s teen audiences, but also to those of us who have fond memories of certain songs in our teen years as well.
So for every song like Olivia Rodrigo’s “Brutal,” Billie Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever,” and Tate McRae’s “She”s All I Wanna Be,” there’s also a heavy dose of Gen X and millennial teen classics like Third Eye Blind’s “How’s It Going To Be,” “Dreams” by The Cranberries and Fat Boy Slim’s “Praise You.”
Check out the complete list of songs that will appear on the Do Revenge soundtrack below.
Hayley Kiyoko – “For The Girls”
Robyn – “Do You Know (What It Takes)
Syd – “Cybah”
Olivia Rodrigo – “Brutal”
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – “The Impression That I Get”
Third Eye Blind – “How’s It Going To Be”
Chloe Moriondo – “I Eat Boys”
Rosalía – “Milionària”
Hole – “Celebrity Skin”
Le Tigre – “Deceptacon”
Blu DeTiger – “Blondes”
Mazie – “Dumb Dumb”
Caroline Polachek – “So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings”
Kacy Hill – “Easy Going”
TOBi – “Move”
The Symphonic Pops – “How Bizarre” (orchestral version)
Maude Latour – “Kids In America”
Juliana Madrid – “Pretend”
Helen – “Bitter Bitch”
MUNA – “Silk Chiffon” (feat. Phoebe Bridgers)
Harvey Danger – “Flagpole Sitta”
Tate McRae – “She”s All I Wanna Be”
Pom Pom Squad – “Shame Reactions”
Billie Eilish – “Happier Than Ever”
Chloe Adams – “Dead To Me (Simonyouth remix)”
Fatboy Slim – “Praise You”
Meredith Brooks – “Bitch”
The Cranberries – “Dreams”
Some of the artists mentioned here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Anybody who thought the vinyl resurgence was just a fad was mistaken: The industry has experienced a legitimate revival. As a result, music fans are interested in physical media in ways they may not have if the decades-old medium hasn’t made a comeback. That doesn’t mean everybody is listening to just their parents’ old music, though. That’s part of it, sure, thanks to rereleases that present classic albums in new ways. A vital part of the renewed vinyl wave, though, is new projects being released as records, of which there are plenty.
Whatever you might be into, Vinyl Me, Please has a new vinyl-adjacent offering for the connoisseurs among us: The Abbey, a new knife made in partnership with The James Brand that was designed specifically for opening new vinyl records.
Each month brings a new slew of vinyl releases that has something for everybody and naturally, some stand out above the rest. So, check out some of our favorite vinyl releases of May below.
Olivia Rodrigo — Sour
Geffen
Olivia Rodrigo is perhaps pop’s biggest vinyl supporter (she even got the Jack White stamp of approval on that front). So, as her debut album Sour turns a year old, it’s not surprising Rodrigo is celebrating with fresh vinyl: For the anniversary, Rodrigo has re-issued the album in some new colored pressings, including the light blue version pictured above.
Taking Back Sunday — Tell All Your Friends (20th Anniversary Edition)
Craft Recordings
Taking Back Sunday’s 2002 debut album is one of the most esteemed emo releases ever and it turns 20 years old this year. To celebrate, Craft Recordings has dropped a reissued version of the album, which includes newly remastered audio and four previously unreleased demos of “Mutual Head Club,” “Bike Scene,” “The Blue Channel,” and “Great Romances Of The 20th Century.” On the vinyl version, those demos comes on a bonus etched 10-inch disc.
Abba (who somehow only just picked up their first-ever Grammy nomination, by the way) have a storied discography and now you can own it all thanks to a new box set. It features each of the band’s nine albums — including their latest, last year’s comeback LP Voyage — along with ABBA Tracks, which includes non-album singles and B-sides.
The Pearl Jam leader dropped a new solo album, Earthling, earlier this year, and in his solo discography, that LP was preceded by 2011’s Ukulele Songs. That album was just reissued in standard and deluxe edition vinyl pressings, the latter of which was pressed on high-grade 180-gram black vinyl and comes with a 16-page booklet and a special lithograph.
Atmosphere — Lucy Ford: The Atmosphere EP’s (20th Anniversary Reissue)
Rhymesayers Entertainment
In 2001, Atmosphere — an institution in the well-respected Minneapolis hip-hop scene — dropped Lucy Ford: The Atmosphere EP’s, which compiled Ford One, Ford Two, and The Lucy EP into one release. That was two decades ago, so now the duo is celebrating with a reissue on vinyl, which actually marks the first time this fan-favorite compilation has been pressed on vinyl.
In March 1997, Rolling Stones, at the long-running height of their power, played two secret concerts at Toronto’s The El Mocambo, a 300-capacity club. Now, for the first time, audio from those sets has been released in full — specifically, the full March 5 set and three songs from the previous day’s performance. Previously, just four of the songs had made it onto the band’s Love You Live album. The vinyl edition comes in black and neon pressings, each consisting of four LPs.
The Clash — Combat Rock/The People’s Hall (Special Edition)
The Clash
The Clash’s Combat Rock is a classic album for multiple reasons: It’s the final Clash album from the group’s classic lineup — Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, and Topper Headon — and it features two iconic singles, “Rock The Casbah” and “Should I Stay Or Should I Go.” Now, 40 years after the album’s original release, it gets a fresh vinyl reissue, alongside a selection of 12 additional tracks (the The People’s Hall part of the reissue’s name).
Roxy Music — Stranded (Reissue) and Country Life (Reissue)
Virgin
Roxy Music has popped up in this space recently because they’re in the midst of a series of vinyl reissues. The latest albums to get that treatment are two big ones in the Roxy Music oeuvre: 1973’s Stranded was their first No. 1 album in the UK while the next year’s Country Life is often considered to be perhaps the group’s best album.
The Cranberries — Stars: The Best Of 1992-2002 (Reissue)
UMe
The Cranberries were one of the toasts of the ’90s thanks to a run of memorable albums and singles. That era was encapsulated in a greatest hits collection, which has now been reissues on vinyl. In addition to hits like “Zombie,” “Dreams,” and “Linger,” the collection also includes two songs not available on other albums: “New New York” and “Stars.”
Justice came hot out of the gate with their 2007 debut album (also known as Cross), as it was among the year’s most revered albums and it earned the French electronic duo a handful of Grammy nominations. Now, Vinyl Me, Please has a striking reissue of the album, pressed on gorgeous “gold nugget” vinyl.
As talk of an apparently impending overturn of Roe v. Wade spreads, people are using their influence to take action. Now, a bunch of musicians have come together to do just that, by attaching their names to a new full-page New York Times ad from Bans Off Our Bodies and Planned Parenthood.
The ad reads, “The Supreme Court is planning to overturn Roe v. Wade, taking away the constitutional right to abortion. Our power to plan our own futures and control our own bodies depends on our ability to access sexual and reproductive health care, including abortion. We are Artists. Creators. Storytellers. We are the new generation stepping into our power. Now we are being robbed of our power. WE WILL NOT GO BACK — AND WE WILL NOT BACK DOWN.”
Below that are the names of 160 young artists who signed the ad. Some of the musicians who appear include Angel Olsen, Ariana Grande, Ashe, Ashnikko, Bethany Cosentino, Billie Eilish, Blu DeTiger, Camila Cabello, Cautious Clay, Clairo, Dave Burd (Lil Dicky), Demi Lovato, Dorian Electra, Finneas, Gayle, Grandson, Halsey, Hayley Kiyoko, Holly Humberstone, Karlie Kloss, Kelsey Lu, King Princess, Lauren Jauregui, Lauv, Lykke Li, Madison Beer, Megan Thee Stallion, Meghan Trainor, Miley Cyrus, Mitski, Noah Cyrus, Olivia Rodrigo, Paramore, Phoebe Bridgers, Pink Sweats, Pom Pom Squad, Princess Nokia, Rebecca Black, The Regrettes, Rina Sawayama, Selena Gomez, Shawn Mendes, Snail Mail, Soccer Mommy, Sunflower Bean, Tate McRae, Tinashe, Weyes Blood, and X Ambassadors.
Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation Of America, also offered a statement, saying, “Should the Supreme Court take away the constitutional right to safe, legal abortion, young people stand to lose the most. So many of us — who grew up with the understanding that Roe was settled law — could have never imagined that our own children would have fewer rights and less freedom over their own bodies and futures. What we see in young people from all walks of life is that they aren’t backing down — not today, not ever. Like the artists who signed on to this ad, their resolve to keep bans off their bodies is a source of hope during a dark time, and we are determined to keep fighting alongside them, for them.”
Check out the ad below.
Bans Off Our Bodies
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Olivia Rodrigo is currently on tour behind her celebrated debut album, Sour, but one of the best parts of her rather small live shows has been the covers and guests that have featured along the way. For the dates that Gracie Abrams was on the road with them, Olivia and Gracie would often do early 2000s pop songs together, and recently Liv teamed up with fellow pop star friend, Conan Gray, for a great rendition of Katy Perry’s “The One That Got Away.” And, of course, Olivia has been covering her very obvious predecessor and influence, Avril Lavigne, mainly doing the hit “Complicated” during her set. (And no, she hasn’t been covering Paramore, that’s just how similar “Good 4 U” sounds to Hayley Williams’ biggest song, “Misery Business.”)
But during tonight’s tour stop in Toronto, fans got a real treat when Avril herself took a break from her engagement to Mod Sun and and her new Love Sux era, and decided to join Olivia on stage to help her pull off “Complicated.” Needless to say, having the OG performer of the track involved made this the best rendition of the song Olivia has ever done. Check out the clip up above.
Is it unfiltered talking head interviews from an artist’s inner circle, narrating their rise to fame and filling in the gaps with unheard tales of tragedy and triumph? Is it hundreds of hours’ worth of archival footage that transports fans back to the tour buses and motels and the chaotic marathon of on-the-road, small-town gigs? Is it the artist themselves taking control of the camera to give us a more intimate, insightful look into their creative process — the highs, the lows, the sacrifices, and the perks of fame?
Is it a combination of all of these?
Whatever that magical “it” factor is, all of the docs on this list — from tranquil recording sessions to cinematic road trip movies to dramatic reenactments to reels of film that have been hidden away for decades — have it in some form or other.
There’s a kind of mythos surrounding The Beatles, their meteoric rise, and their complicated break-up. Much of that is fueled by the untimely death of their founding member, John Lennon, but more still stems from the group’s prolific lyrical output — something that’s on full display in Peter Jackson’s biographical epic, Get Back. The three-part six-hour-long documentary is a musical odyssey, one that peels back the veneer of nostalgia and gives us a raw, moving, and at times unbearably intimate look at the four lads whose influence is still being felt, decades after their initial peak of stardom. Subdued and unstructured but made with purpose, the series gives us a glimpse of these figures with episodes of genius on full display — like when Paul riffs on his bass and produces one of the band’s biggest hits in just a few minutes. The best moments come when we get an unedited look at the strife, tension, and profound connection these musical icons shared, though.
Billie Eilish: Happier Than Ever, A Love Letter to Los Angeles (2021)
Run Time: 65 min
Billie Eilish has had a prodigious career. That’s not hyperbole, it’s simply a fact. She’s ticked off everything from Grammy wins and Oscars trophies to headlining the world’s major music festivals and being interesting enough that not one, but two documentaries have attempted to distill her star power to something us mere mortals can understand. In this doc, which stands as Billie’s love letter to her hometown, director Robert Rodriguez throws animation into the mix, creating a kind of hybrid doc/album concept film that’s both beautifully straightforward and deceptively insightful.
Go all the way back to the consequential summer of 1969 as Roots crew drummer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson brings the incomparable Harlem Cultural Festival to life with his Oscar-winning Summer Of Soul. Filled with a collection of performances from iconic musicians like Stevie Wonder and Gladys Knight, this doc doubly rewards viewers by diving into the intersection between current events and music, showcasing the power of music and an event that has been shockingly under-remembered until now.
The only female artist who’s had a bigger breakout than Billie Eilish is this Disney star whose catchy-as-hell breakup track, Driver’s License catapulted her to the top of the charts during a pandemic that had us all feeling a little blue. This doc shares some of the same qualities that made that song, and its accompanying music video, such a hit. There’s a barren feeling to all of the deserts and flatlands Rodrigo drives through while on her way from the recording studio where she created her debut album Sour, back home to California. There’s also a vintage, grainy filter imposed on all of the vistas she stops at along the way, performing some of the album’s biggest hits to intimate crowds and fan gatherings. It’s a vibe – and a worthy entry into the music doc space from an artist who’s just getting started.
Of the two stellar albums Taylor Swift dropped in 2020, Folklore was the one with the least fanfare surrounding it — a record Swift quietly unveiled that guided fans even deeper into the fantasy-like wood she’d escaped to during quarantine. And with this doc — an intimate, no-frills recording session in a rustic cabin by a lake, somewhere north of New York City – Swift doubles down on this new era of her career she’s knowingly entered into. This is a doc about Taylor Swift, the songwriter – not the pop star or tabloid target. Stripped down and raw, the doc merges some home videos of Swift recording the album years earlier with frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff and newcomer (to the Swift scene) Aaron Dessner with live performances from Swift, held in between chats that dive deep into her musical knowledge and her artistic process. It’s illuminating in the best way and Swift has never been better.
Before Lin Manuel-Miranda was creating Oscar-nominated bops for Disney flicks and winning Peabody awards for history-making Broadway musicals, he was just a guy on a street corner in the Heights, freestyling with his friends. This doc, which leans heavily on archival footage of Miranda and fellow Freestyle Supreme members like Thomas Kail, Christopher Jackson, and others, charts the rise of the group whose on-stage trick is to take audience suggestions and turn them into feature-length raps and bops and skits for our entertainment. There’s some incredible talent on display here as we see the group perform at fringe fests and basement cellars, but somehow, knowing the success each of these guys will one day find makes viewing their humble beginning even more exciting.
In 1972, Aretha Franklin gave a two-night performance of some of her biggest hits in a crowded Baptist church. Decades later, we finally get that footage. Filmed by Sydney Pollock, this is Aretha Franklin before people universally recognized her as an icon. Her voice is unparalleled, her energy infectious, her talent obvious, but this doc shows the synergy between her religious upbringing and the music she would bring to the world. It might just move you to tears.
Of the two Blackpink docs circulating the streaming world, this Hulu entry highlights the girl group’s undeniable stage presence, weaving concert footage from their most recent internet-breaking performance, “The Show” with older clips from when they were just beginning their reign as the queens of KPop. There’s a bit of commentary from the women as they reflect on their bond and how they’ve gotten this far, but the strongest moments are when fans get to watch them in their element, killing intricately choreographed numbers and serving up some of the best live shows we’ve seen yet.
The most fascinating music docs tell the stories of stars before they became them. Plenty of entries on this list fit the bill, but none do it like this hybrid film that mixes archival footage and glimpses of Madonna’s old stomping grounds in Detroit with dramatic reenactments of the artist’s earliest days in New York. The journey is gripping, from mourning her mother and hoping to escape the dreariness of her hometown, to hitting the scene in Queens during a musical rebirth when fashion and art, and street culture were colliding to form a creative environment unique enough to turn a talented former dancer into a pop music behemoth.
Music fans have likely heard the name Frank Zappa, but few truly understand just how unique and idiosyncratic his career truly was. This doc aims to rectify that, combing through hundreds of hours of archival footage supplied by Zappa’s estate to paint a picture of the sometimes-acclaimed, sometimes-controversial musician that we simply haven’t seen before. From his early beginnings worshipping the musical oddities to spoofing hit Beatles records to fighting American censorship, Zappa was an individual in every sense of the word, which makes charting his musical journey all the more interesting.
