Pop

Skrillex Recruited Missy Elliott And Mr. Oizo For The Club-Ready Anthem ‘Ratata’

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Skrillex is making his big comeback this year. His new album Quest For Fire is finally out, and it’s his first in nine years. He already released loads of compelling singles with exciting collaborators; “Real Spring” had Bladee, “Way Back” had PinkPantheress and Trippie Redd, “Xena” had Nai Barghouti, and there’s even more on the record.

Quest For Fire is a dynamic adventure through and through, especially with the track “Ratata,” which features Missy Elliott and Mr. Oizo. From the kickoff, the track is sensory-overload; the beat vibrates and buzzes and the flows are quick and full of quips.

Skrillex is going to be taking over Madison Square Garden in New York City alongside Fred Again.. and Four Tet. It’s taking place tomorrow, February 18. In January, Skrillex and Fred Again.. released their collaborative song “Rumble,” which also featured Flowdan.

About his comeback, Skrillex clarified on Twitter, “People ask why ‘I’ve been gone’ or ‘fell off,’ rightfully so,” he wrote. “Like I said, 22 was sort of my tipping point, I had to put everything on ice, especially my projects/career.”

He continued: “For the first time in 4-5 years I’ve found a new sense of peace. It took so much work and sacrifice to get here.”

Listen to “Ratata” above.

Rihanna Didn’t Call Katy Perry, Friend And Fellow Super Bowl Halftime Show Performer, For Advice (Which Perry Understands)

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Rihanna is of course fresh off performing the Super Bowl Halftime Show. Just a few years ago, though, it was Katy Perry’s turn in the NFL spotlight, when she put on a memorable Super Bowl performance of her own (never forget Left Shark) in 2015. Rihanna and Perry are friends, but despite having a former Super Bowl halftime performer at her disposal, Rihanna opted not to seek advice about the big show from Perry (which Perry totally gets, by the way).

Perry and Lionel Richie were on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last night (February 16) to promote American Idol. During the interview, Kimmel asked Perry if Rihanna called her before the Super Bowl looking for some halftime show insight, and Perry said, “She don’t need no pointers: she’s Rihanna!”

The host then wondered if Perry knew about Rihanna’s pregnancy beforehand. She noted that she was filming American Idol in Hawaii on the day of the Super Bowl, and that she had to go to set right when Rihanna was about to start her performance. She continued, “So we were trying to drag our feet, because we all want to see Rihanna play the Super Bowl. We actually had to film and then it happened and we came back, and we found a cut of it, and no, we all saw it then for the first time then, and it was amazing! It was so beautiful.”

Watch Perry and Richie’s Kimmel interview above.

Rihanna And Hoobastank Once Collaborated, But The Band Released The Rihanna-Free Version Of The Song Instead

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The mid-2000s were a different time. Hoobastank had a hit in 2003 with “The Reason,” and the band would follow The Reason the album by getting to work on Every Man For Himself, which came out in 2006. Around this same time, Rihanna was on her way to becoming a star, as her 2005 debut single “Pon De Replay” was a major success. Believe it or not, in this era, Hoobastank and Rihanna’s paths crossed when the two collaborated.

After Rihanna’s recent Super Bowl Halftime Show performance, Hoobastank singer Doug Robb tweeted, “True story. There is a version of a @Hoobastank song featuring @rihanna when she was a ‘newer’ artist. Displaying a total lack of foresight, we didn’t use that version of the song for the album. We also didn’t think The Reason was a single though either so… Oops.”

Robb later expanded on that story, telling Consequence:

“Back when we were recording our third album, Every Man For Himself, we were approached by someone at our label, Island Def Jam, about potentially featuring a ‘new artist’ on one of the songs. This kind of stuff happens all the time. We said, ‘Sure. Who do you have in mind?’ It was Rihanna. I had never heard of her. I don’t think anyone else in the band had, either, at the time.

We gave her camp a song called ‘Inside Of You.’ I think they rearranged some of the music to create a pre-chorus section, that wasn’t originally part of the arrangement, for her to sing a small part on. We heard it and didn’t really love it so we passed on using it. It’s really just that simple. I think we had already gotten used to hearing the song as it was written so it just felt weird to us. […]

I think if we had done a proper collaboration with her, writing the song knowing there was gonna be another artist on it and making space for it, we probably would have felt differently and used it. I think the way we did it was just wrong. The paint had already dried so to speak. Well, it was that, plus a stunning lack of vision to see what a star Rihanna was going to be. […]

We’d run into her at various award shows after and she was always very sweet and super cool. I think everything worked out ok for her in the end. [crying laughing emoji].”

As Robb famously sang on “The Reason,” “I’m not a perfect person / There’s many things I wish I didn’t do.” For example: turn down a Rihanna collab.

Listen to the Rihanna-less “Inside Of You” below.

Fashion Icon Rihanna Called Dressing For Pregnancy A ‘Piece Of Cake’ But ‘Didn’t Know What To Put On’ After Giving Birth

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Rihanna is on the new cover of British Vogue alongside her partner, ASAP Rocky, and their first child. Throughout the story, she touches on everything from the long-awaited ninth album to her decision about finally headlining the Super Bowl halftime show.

Given the nature of the cover photoshoot and her newly-revealed second pregnancy that she debuted during her performance, Rihanna also spoke about her pregnancy. Particularly, about how she planned her outfits for it — and the struggles afterwards.

For those who remember, her and Rocky revealed the first pregnancy news with a fashion-forward photoshoot last January. She wore a pink puffer jacket that was unbuttoned and a ton of fancy jewels on a necklace.

“Dressing for pregnancy was such a piece of cake,” Rihanna said. “But dressing in postpartum, what the f*ck do you do? The week that I came home from the hospital — that was nothing but sweats and hoodies. But the weeks after that, you don’t know what to put on. Everything is too small or too big. You kind of just gotta wait it out otherwise you end up buying so many clothes you’re not going to use. Well, unless you get pregnant again.”

And, given that this cover story was conducted and written before Rihanna’s official new baby announcement, it seems this was just another teaser.

Rihanna Shared The Adorable First TikTok Of Her Newborn Son To Counter A Run-In With The Paparazzi

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While Rihanna is one of the most prolific pop icons of our time, she prefers to keep her personal life private. This past weekend, during her Super Bowl halftime performance, she revealed she is expecting her second child. As of now, we don’t even know much about her firstborn child, other than a TikTok she shared last year.

In a recent interview with British Vogue, she revealed that she shared that TikTok specifically so she could beat the paparazzi to the punch, as they were waiting to capture a photo of her son when Rihanna, ASAP Rocky, and their baby were about to get out of a limo.

“It’s the thing you never want to happen,” she said “We get to decide as parents when and how we do that. End of story. Throw me to the wolves. Do what you want with me. But he doesn’t have a say in any of this. We’ve been protecting him thus far and you don’t have any consent to be posting photos or selling photos of my child, a minor. Get the hell out of here with that.”

She continued, saying, “I just went straight into protective mode. Like there wasn’t even time for rage. [Rocky and me] drove up to the trailer area and we sat in the car chatting and working out how we move forward. As parents, it just feels so icky, like a violation.”

As of now, its safe to say she’s keeping details about her family as air-tight as she is details about her upcoming ninth album.

Rihanna Explained What Pushed Her To Do The Super Bowl Halftime Show After Previously Rejecting It

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Rihanna, ASAP Rocky, and their first child have graced the new cover of British Vogue, complete with an interview that sheds light on how the singer’s doing.

While she just headlined the Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show over the past weekend, Rihanna faced some initial pushback. She had been previously critical of the organization for its treatment of Colin Kaepernick and turned down a performance opportunity in 2018.

“So what changed? There’s still a lot of mending to be done in my eyes, but it’s powerful to break those doors, and have representation at such a high, high level and a consistent level,” Rihanna explained about her decision to finally perform. “Two Super Bowls back-to-back, you know, representing the urban community, globally. It is powerful. It sends a really strong message.”

“Of course, raising a young Black man is one of the scariest responsibilities in life,” she added. “You’re like, ‘What am I leaving my kids to? This is the planet they’re gonna be living on?’ All of those things really start to hit differently.”

Rihanna admitted that she was approached again to headline shortly before the official announcement but waited to give them a direct answer.

“It’s this knowing that you can do anything, even things that seem the craziest, like, ‘I’m going to say yes to the Super Bowl in the middle of postpartum?’” Rihanna described, and, as we now know, she used the event to reveal her second pregnancy. “What the heck am I thinking? But you’re geeked on a challenge like that because you know what your body just did. You feel this sense of ‘Nothing is impossible.’ It was almost like an out-of-body experience. I have not been on stage in seven years. Seven years! From zero to Super Bowl? That’s mental.”

Here Are The Best Valentine’s Day Posts From The Music World

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Love was truly in the air yesterday! Some musicians celebrated the holiday coupled up with their loved ones, while others shared some steamy snaps that could easily catch a single’s eye.

Continue scrolling to see the best Valentine’s Day posts from the music world.

Cardi B shared on Twitter this morning that Offset clearly raised the standard, possibly when it came to gifts. “My baby did soo good yesterday………Gave him that Henny neck 3000!” Cardi posted.

“I’m my own valentine this year,” Chlöe captioned an Instagram post of herself posing in pink lingerie.

Bebe Rexha continued the pink theme by rocking a giant heart while interspersing her post with themed Valentine’s cards that featured her face.

City Girls’ Yung Miami rocked a white bikini as she was filmed walking onto a beach and into the ocean as she celebrated both V-Day and her B-Day.

In some other spicy snaps, Summer Walker opted for red lingerie, as fellow V-Day poster Chlöe replied, “beautiful” on Instagram.

Halle took to the red theme instead also, as she shared her photoshoot to Twitter. “Happy valentine’s day,” she captioned, complete with a heart (the organ one) emoji.

As for Rubi Rose, who found herself in a tense triangle between Halle and DDG a few days earlier, she treated her sisters to some special gifts. “‘23 hybrid Porsche for big sis and a tessie for baby sis . You know I’m always finna spin bout y’al,” she wrote.

Flo Milli noted that she was “just nasty dancing” at her photo shoot in a leopard-printed getup.

Raveena teamed up with Halsey’s AF94 makeup line for a creative Valentine’s theme that included fun face gems and a heart drawn.

“Nothing screams toxic like poison ivy,” Erica Banks captioned her holiday post, as she posed in jade green. She even stuck with the theme by including a Beanie Baby in her shots.

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

Paul Rudd Was Delighted By Lizzo Mistaking A ‘Late Night’ Writer For Him And He Put Their Similarity To The Test

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Shortly before 2022 wrapped up, Seth Meyers and Lizzo spent some time together day-drinking for a Late Night segment. One of the many fun moments from that was when Lizzo saw Late Night writer Seth Reiss in a mask and thought he was Paul Rudd. Once he took his mask off, though, Lizzo exploded into laughter before changing her position and declaring the two don’t look anything alike.

Fast-forward to last night (February 14): Rudd was a guest on Late Night and he and Meyers discussed the Lizzo segment.

Rudd noted, “When I heard Lizzo say my name, I was like, ‘Ooh!’ I got all excited [laughs]. By the way, it’s a weird thing when you’re not expecting to hear that and you hear it.” He went on to call her “so funny” and “so charming.”

Meyers then cut to a clip of Lizzo confusing Reiss for Rudd, and when that ended, Rudd was wearing a mask, as Reiss was in the video. A masked Reiss then emerged to pose next to Rudd, and indeed, there was some definite similarity there.

“You know what? Not as bad as I thought,” Meyers proclaimed. “I owe an apology to Lizzo.”

Watch the Rudd interview above and revisit the original Lizzo segment below.

Lizzo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Rihanna’s Super Bowl Halftime Show Brought In More Viewers Than The Super Bowl Itself

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Rihanna’s halftime show at Super Bowl LVII between the Philadelphia Eagles and the victorious Kansas City Chiefs was already a massive draw, even with the two teams having incredibly eager fan bases. As she took the suspended stage over Arizona’s State Farm Arena, Rihanna used just minutes to announce her second pregnancy and perform her biggest hits, including “Umbrella,” “Diamonds,” and the powerful opener, “B*tch Better Have My Money.”

According to Fox Sports (via Bleacher Report), Rihanna’s halftime show drew in 118.7 million viewers, while the Super Bowl game itself only got 113 million. And, as someone who switched the channel after her performance ended, it seems I wasn’t alone.

She also reportedly had the second most-watched halftime show in the Super Bowl’s history, trailing right behind Katy Perry (remember left shark?) at 121 million in viewership numbers.

Before her performance, Rihanna sat down for a press conference and noted that she had changed her setlist over 30 times. “You’re trying to cram seventeen years of work into thirteen minutes so it’s difficult,” she said.

“Some songs we have to lose because of that, and that’s going to be okay,” Rihanna added. “We did a pretty good job at narrowing it down. There’s probably been about 39 versions of the setlist right now. We’re on our 39th. Every little change counts.”

Cardi B Ran (As Well As She Could In Heels) To Make It To Rihanna’s Super Bowl Halftime Show In A Hilarious Video

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The Super Bowl is the biggest sporting event of the year in the United States. Pair that with the fact that Rihanna performed the halftime show this year, and it must have been a real challenge to actually get to the stadium for those lucky/rich enough to have tickets. It seems like that was the case for Cardi B and Offset, as the two ended up running in an effort to not miss Rihanna’s performance.

In a video shared on Cardi’s Instagram Story last night (February 12), Cardi and Offset are seen running to get into the stadium. It wasn’t a particularly fast run, though, as Cardi was wearing high heels that made speedy travel a challenge.

It appears their effort paid off, though, as it was apparently a really close call for them: In another Instagram Story video, Cardi films the start of the performance and exclaims, “We just made it on time.” She also offered some general excitement and cheering in other clips.

That wasn’t Cardi and Offset’s only Super Bowl presence this year. The pair just launched their own meal at McDonald’s and had a commercial for it during the game. The menu item is named after them and includes a cheeseburger, Quarter Pounder with cheese, barbecue sauce, large fries, an apple pie, a large Hi-C, and a large Coke.

Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.