Pop

Osheaga Festival Gears Up For 2023 By Announcing Kendrick Lamar And Billie Eilish As Headliners

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The largest pop music festival in Montreal, Osheaga Art And Music Festival is returning in 2023 with an illustrious cast of headliners. The festival announced today that Kendrick Lamar, Billie Eilish, and Rufus Du Sol will serve as the top-billed acts for the 2023 edition. The Compton rapper will close out the festival’s main stage on Sunday, while Grammy darling Eilish plays Saturday and the Australian electronic music trio will headline Friday evening’s slate.

Osheaga will take place from August 4th through 6th, 2023 at the Parc Jean-Drapeau on Montreal’s St. Helen’s Island. The complete lineup will likely be announced early next year. For context, the 2022 edition with Foo Fighters, ASAP Rocky, and Dua Lipa, only announced the complete lineup in late February of this year.

The 2023 headliners for Osheaga are interesting, because they could very well be foreshadowing what acts will be in play for the summer music festival circuit in 2023. Kendrick Lamar and Billie Eilish particularly seem destined to be atop a lot of festival bills in 2023.

As for the city of Montreal, it becomes a haven for music and cultural festivals in the summer. Staples like Montreal Jazz Festival, Pop Montreal, and Just For Laughs will also taking place.

3-Day festival passes to Osheaga 2023 go on-sale Friday, 12/16 at noon ET here.

Madlib And Mark Ronson’s New Collaboration Is In The Can And Made From Recycling Plant Sounds

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From conscious hip-hop to environmental consciousness, Madlib has dropped a new album featuring samples of sounds from the Coca-Cola recycling plant. Having teamed up with Mark Ronson, the two superproducers introduced Recycled Records in a new video narrated by rap veteran MC Lyte.

“It sounds very crazy and overstated to say it, but anything can become a sample, right? Ronson said in the video. “Like any sound, you can somehow manipulate in to a drum. The sounds and the rhythms and the pulses of sounds from everyday life can also be incredibly inspiring.”

In the video, we see both Madlib and Ronson in their studios, mixing, looping, and distorting sounds from the recycling plant — like the sound of crushing trash, and warping and reshaping bottles — into hip-hop-influenced instrumentals.

“It’s not everyday you get the opportunity to create music using objects found in everyday life to emulate new forms of sound,” Madlib said in a statement on the Coca-Cola website. “Recycled Records is an EP of original tracks made from the sounds of the closed loop recycling process.”

The album consists of seven unnamed tracks, five of which are Madlib beats, and the other two, Mark Ronson beats.

You can check out a trailer for the Recycled Records project above.

Beyoncé, Kate Bush, And 2022’s Other Best Music Moments Get Broken Down In A New Top 5 Video

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We’re at the point in the year where it’s not quite done yet, but done enough to start looking back on everything that happened. That’s especially true of music, as year-end list season is in full swing (Uproxx recently ran our top albums and songs of the year lists, for example). 2022 was busy, but in a new “Top 5” video, host Jackie Powell condenses the past few months into five key moments.

She begins with one of the year’s biggest album releases: Beyoncé’s Renaissance. The comeback project was Queen Bey’s first album since 2016’s iconic Lemonade and the follow-up has earned similar acclaim. Both the album and lead single “Break My Soul” spent some time at No. 1 on their respective Billboard charts, and zooming out, the project added a new dimension to Beyoncé’s already complex and beautiful legacy.

One of 2022’s other most notable figures was Kate Bush, who had an unexpectedly prosperous year thanks to Stranger Things making her 1985 single “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” one of the year’s biggest songs. It topped Billboard‘s global chart, artists like Coldplay covered it, and it got Bush some hefty checks. Bush herself couldn’t really believe the tune’s resurgence, but stranger things have happened.

As for what else the “Top 5” video covers, you’ll have to watch above to find out.

‘The Voice’ Season 23’s Judging Panel Gets Fresh Faces With Two New Judges And One Long-Awaited Return

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Reality competition show, The Voice wrapped up its 22nd season last night, NBC is moving full steam ahead to iron out the details for season 23. Although viewers enjoy seeing some of the biggest names in music, including Snoop Dogg, Taylor Swift, and Ed Sheeran, appear as mentors, along with host Nick Jonas’ entertaining commentary, the essential part of the show is the judging panel.

In an exclusive report by EW, season 23’s judging panel will be a mix of returns, exits, and debuts. According to EW, the new season’s panel will feature Blake Shelton, Niall Horan, Kelly Clarkson, and Chance The Rapper.

Although fans of the show might be sad to learn this will be country music singer Blake Shelton’s final season on the show, a fan favorite, Kelly Clarkson, is returning to the judges’ panel. The final two judges are former One Direction member Niall Horan and Chance The Rapper. Horan and Chance are new to the show. However, Horan brings a unique experience with him: As a former reality music show competitor, Horan, is sure to provide a rich level of insight to the contestant, especially since Camila Cabello’s departure.

Season 23 of The Voice is set to premiere on March 6 at 8 pm EST, exclusively on NBC.

Lizzo Was Worried The Grammys Were Going To ‘Overlook’ Her Album ‘Special’ Because 2022 Was Such A ‘Goated Year’

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The race to the 2023 Grammys is on. But, even after earning a No. 1 hit with the single “About Damn Time” and high praise from industry peers, including Missy Elliott, singer Lizzo wasn’t sure if her sophomore album, Special, would make the cut.

The singer stopped by SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show to discuss the multi-nominated project. When asked who she’s facing off with, the singer chuckled, “All of the greatest and biggest names in music: Beyoncé, Bad Bunny, Adele, Kendrick Lamar, you name it… God!”

Remaining humble, Lizzo shared, “I genuinely feel like a winner already. When I go to the Grammys, and I walk the carpet with f*cking gown and look f*cking amazing, and I go on that stage and perform my f*cking ass off, and everybody loves the sh*t out of it — I’m like, that’s my trophy. It really is.”

She continued, “And to be nominated in this goated year — I remember being like, what if they just completely overlook my album because Harry [Styles], Adele, Beyoncé, all of these big people, Kendrick Lamar drop, what if they overlook my album? Which could have easily happened. It’s the sophomore blues, they always say. Your second album kind of flops, and I did the opposite of that. I got a No. 1 [record] and six Grammy nominations. I’m winning. I’m good.”

That’s nothing to brush off, either. Lizzo is currently nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance, Best Pop Vocal Album, Song Of The Year, Best Remixed Recording, and Album Of The Year.

In another portion of the interview, Lizzo also discussed the criticism her music receives for being “white-sounding,” saying, “[It is] very hurtful only because I am a Black woman. I feel like it challenges my identity and who I am. It diminishes that, which I think is really hurtful. And on the other end, I’m making funky, soulful, feel-good music that is so similar to a lot of Black music that was made for Black people in the ’70s and ’80s.”

The 65th Annual Grammy Awards are going down on February 5, 2023.

Watch the full clip of Lizzo’s appearance on Stern above.

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

Billy McFarland Was ‘Too Scared’ To Watch The Fyre Fest Documentaries With His Fellow Prison Inmates

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Billy McFarland, known as the co-creator of the disastrous Fyre Fest scam, recently completed his prison sentence. In addition to planning another business attempt, McFarland appeared on The Diary Of A CEO series (as NME notes), where the Fyre documentaries — Netflix’s Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened and Hulu’s Fyre Fraud — were brought up.

He spoke about his time in prison, specifically when one of the documentaries was screened after being brought into prison on a USB stick. He said, “I literally went outside, I think I was one of two people who wasn’t in the TV room watching the documentary, but I couldn’t do it,” McFarland said. “I think I was still in the combative phase where I just hadn’t come to reality with everything that had happened and I was too scared to hear allegations or comments by the people and not be able to respond.”

“I just hadn’t come to reality with everything that happened. I was too scared to hear allegations or comments by other people and not be able to respond,” he continued. “I wouldn’t have been able to do anything about it, so I feel like I wasn’t stable enough or mature enough at that time to watch it, and probably still am not.”

McFarland’s upcoming PYRT (pronounced “Pirate”) business venture will be seemingly hosted in the Bahamas for a “handful of artists, content creators, entrepreneurs and any of you guys who end up joining the PYRT crew,” according to his TikTok. Just in case anyone still has Fyre Fest FOMO.

Ticketmaster Said Bad Bunny Fans In Mexico Were Turned Away Due To Fake Tickets, Not An Oversell

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This past weekend, several Bad Bunny fans were denied entry into his Mexico City shows on December 9 and 10. Several customers claimed they purchased tickets through Ticketmaster, but were turned away at entry. Following the fiasco, Ticketmaster issued a statement via social media, denying an oversell of tickets and claiming that the fans had actually purchased counterfeits.

“As has been reported, on Friday an unprecedented number of fake tickets were presented at the entrance of [Estadio Azteca], purchased outside our official channels,” said Ticketmaster. “In addition to causing confusion among entrance officials, this situation generated a malfunction in our system, which for moments at a time, couldn’t properly identify legitimate tickets. It’s important to underscore that there was no oversale of tickets. Ticketmaster took the technological and logistical measures needed to ensure what happened on Friday would not happen on Saturday.”

Over 1,600 fans were turned away on the December 9 show, and 100 fans were turned away the following night. According to a report from Billboard, Mexico’s Federal Attorney’s Office for Consumers (PROFECO) conducted an investigation, which concluded that several of the counterfeit tickets were purchased through legitimate channels.

The events occurred just weeks after Taylor Swift fans filed a lawsuit against Ticketmaster after a disastrous presale for her Eras tour.

Lizzo Is ‘100% That Grinch’ As She Twerks Her Way Into The Festive Holiday Spirit On Instagram

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The holidays look different for everybody. For some, a cozy pajama set gets them in the festive holiday spirits. Maybe a cheerful holiday playlist featuring classics like “All I Want For Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey. Others require a few cups of spiked eggnog or hot cocoa. But for Emmy-Award-winning rapper/singer Lizzo, it’s a combination of a few things.

The Grammy-winning is giving into her unique festive holiday energy, and it’s about damn time. In a fun Instagram video captioned, “100% That Grinch,” Lizzo is taking cosplaying to a whole new level. Dressed in a green striped catsuit with a bondage-style corset overlay, ombré green hair, and long green pointed stiletto nails, the singer is setting into the role of Mrs. Grinch and is ready to get the holiday party started.

As Shelby Swain’s “Mrs. Grinch” plays in the back, she twerks along to the chorus to hype herself up before performing at Z100’s Jingle Ball concert.

We know Missy Elliott requested the singer turn her latest album, Special, into a musical, but now, we’d rather see Lizzo in a remake of the beloved Dr. Seuss story.

This weekend, Lizzo is set to appear on Saturday Night Live alongside actor Austin Butler. It makes you wonder, will Lizzo bring out her reimagined Mrs. Grinch for her featured performance?

‘Dua Lipa’ Rapper Jack Harlow And ‘Dua Lipa’ Inspiration Dua Lipa Are Reportedly Dating And Fans Can’t Handle It

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Dua Lipa and Jack Harlow have a few ties to each other. They’re sort of labelmates, as Harlow’s Atlantic and Lipa’s Warner Records are both owned by Warner Music Group. Earlier this year, Harlow released a song called “Dua Lipa,” on which he expressed his attraction to her with lyrics like, “Dua Lipa, I’m tryna do more with her than do a feature.”

That’s one way to shoot your shot and it actually seems to have worked: Page Six reports the two are dating now. They first opened the channel of communication when Harlow sought Lipa’s permission to release his song named after her. Then, they met in person a couple weeks ago at the Variety Hitmakers Brunch. Per Page Six, they’ve been in “constant communication” since the event.

Since then, Harlow reportedly flew to New York to meet up with Lipa after her Z100 Jingle Ball appearance on December 9. The next day, they were apparently spotted arriving separately at a restaurant for lunch.

Naturally, once this rumor started to spread, fans online latched on and came through with some great reactions. One particularly on-the-nose post is captioned, “jack harlow’s first interview after the news he’s dating dua lipa.” It also includes a video of Harlow saying, “It always felt like a sure thing, no matter how far away it was. It just felt like a sure thing. You know, people want to talk about God and Jesus, that’s fine. Manifestation: that’s what I’m really sold… that sh*t’s real.”

Check out some more reactions below.

Jack Harlow and Dua Lipa are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Janet Jackson Is Going Out On The ‘Together Again’ Headlining Tour In 2023

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There was a moment midway through Janet Jackson’s headlining set at the 2018 Outside Lands Festival where she took what seemed like her first full breath of the night. “It’s a lot of hits, huh?” she asked the rabid crowd. And it really was. Janet has dozens upon dozens of certified #hits, and she’ll finally be taking them on a proper tour of amphitheaters and stadiums in 2023 for the first time in years.

Dubbed the Together Again Tour, there won’t be any festival schedules to look at, just Janet. Well, and Ludacris, who’ll be supporting the “That’s The Way Love Goes” star on each of the cross country and Canada dates of next year’s tour. And as an added bonus, Janet said took to Instagram to also say that, “That there will be new music.”

Check out the full list of Janet Jackson’s Together Again Tour dates below. Fan-club pre-sale begins on Tuesday, 12/13 at 3pm local time and general on-sale tickets will also be available here.

04/14/2023 – Hollywood, FL @ Hard Rock Live Arena
04/19/2023 – Orlando, FL @ Amway Center
04/21/2023 – Savannah, GA @ Enmarket Arena
04/22/2023 – Birmingham, AL @ Legacy Arena
04/25/2023 – Columbia, SC @ Colonial Life Arena
04/27/2023 – Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena
04/29/2023 – Memphis, TN @ FedEx Forum
04/30/2023 – St Louis, MO @ Enterprise Center
05/02/2023 – Kansas City, MO @ T-Mobile Center
05/04/2023 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
05/06/2023 – Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
05/09/2023 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
05/12/2023 – Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion
05/13/2023 – Baltimore, MD @ CFG Bank Arena
05/14/2023 – Virginia Beach, VA @ Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
05/19/2023 – Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center
05/20/2023 – Atlantic City, NJ @ Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena
05/23/2023 – Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage
05/24/2023 – Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
05/26/2023 – Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Music Center
05/27/2023 – Tinley Park, IL @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre Chicago
05/28/2023 – Milwaukee, WI @ American Family Insurance Amphitheater
05/30/2023 – St Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center
06/02/2023 – Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavilion
06/03/2023 – Houston, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
06/04/2023 – Austin, TX @ Moody Center
06/07/2023 – Phoenix, AZ @ Ak-Chin Pavilion
06/09/2023 – Irvine, CA @ FivePoint Amphitheatre
06/10/2023 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl
06/11/2023 – San Diego, CA @ North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
06/16/2023 – Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
06/20/2023 – Portland, OR @ Moda Center
06/21/2023 – Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena