Pop

Ed Sheeran Recalls Smoking Weed With The Game

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Ed Sheeran 2022 Brits
Getty Image / Tolga Akmen

Contrary to what he says in his 2012 breakout hit “The A-Team,” Ed Sheeran won’t “go mad for a couple grams.” Of weed, that is. During an appearance on Australia’s Fitzy And Wippa radio show, the “Shivers” singer recalled studio sessions with rapper The Game, which went down shortly after “The A-Team” took off.

“We were in the studio,” Sheeran said, “and we probably made like 13, 14 songs. And towards the end of the session, his boys come in and… it starts being a bit of a party… I took a tiny, tiny, tiny puff on something and I was out, I had to go home. I don’t really do that at all.”

Since the debauched studio sessions, Sheeran and The Game have collaborated on the tracks “City Of Sin” and “Roadside,” both of which appear on The Game’s 2019 album Born 2 Rap.

Sheeran’s radio appearance coincides with the announcement of his 2023 Australian stadium tour. He’s set to kick off the first leg of his +-=÷x Tour, also known as The Mathematics Tour, next month in Cork, Ireland, with dates throughout Europe and the UK. Sheeran is expected to announce American tour dates soon.

Ahead of his tour, Sheeran will perform a series of “warm-up shows” kicking off in London next week.

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

Lorde, Jack Harlow, And Migos Will Headline The 2022 Life Is Beautiful Festival

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Lorde 2021 Guggenheim Gala
Getty Image / Dimitrios Kambouris

The Life Is Beautiful festival is set to return to downtown Las Vegas this September. Headlining the positivity-focused fest, which goes down from September 16 to 18, are Lorde, Jack Harlow, Migos, Arctic Monkeys, Gorillaz, and more. Also set to appear are Rico Nasty, Sylvan Esso, Charli XCX, and Big Boi. Elsewhere in the EDM-heavy line-up of hitmakers are Calvin Harris and Kygo. More acts are expected to be added, and an official schedule of performances will be revealed soon.

“Every year we learn a little bit more from our audiences,” said Craig Asher Nyman, head of Music & Live Performances at Life Is Beautiful, in a statement. “What are they inspired by? What do they crave? And every year we have an opportunity to create something better and impact our community in a truly positive way.”

In addition to an eclectic musical line-up, Life Is Beautiful promises comedy performances and “world-renowned culinary offerings.” The
festival’s IDEAS Series will feature lectures by prominent speakers, previous line-ups having included RuPaul Charles, Deepak Chopra, and Bill Nye.

General on-sale begins Friday, March 18.

Check out the full line-up below.

Life Is Beautiful 2022 Line Up
Courtesy of Life Is Beautiful

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

Performing At The 2022 Grammys Are Billie Eilish, BTS, Lil Nas X, And Others

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Billie Eilish 2022
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Slowly but surely, this year’s Grammy Awards ceremony is starting to come together. At the top of the year, the event was postponed, and not long after that, organizers revealed the show would be taking place on April 3 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, not its original venue, Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena. Now, we’re getting an idea of who’s going to be there: The Recording Academy and CBS revealed some of this year’s performers, a list that so far includes BTS, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Lil Nas X with Jack Harlow, Brandi Carlile, and Brothers Osbourne.

Those artists have a storied history with the Grammys. Eilish, for instance, won all four major awards at the 2020 show and had a major presence the next year, winning Record Of The Year for “Everything I Wanted,” which she also performed. As for BTS, this is their second year both being nominated for a Grammy and performing at the ceremony. Rodrigo had a huge Grammy year in 2021 as she was nominated for a whopping seven awards, which she called “probably the most meaningful” of her dreams that came true that year.

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

Lizzo Speaks Up Against Recent Texas Laws: ‘Trans Rights Are Human Rights’

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Lizzo SXSW 2022
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Famous singer Lizzo has to spend a lot of time advocating for herself, and she does for others, too. Most recently, she took the stage at the Austin Convention Center for SXSW to talk with radio host Angela Yee. The focus was mainly on her forthcoming Amazon Prime streaming series Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, but she, being an international star, had a lot to discuss, and she used her platform to bring up the pressing issues that have been going on in Texas, both where SXSW is and where she grew up.

According to Rolling Stone, Lizzo spoke on Texas governor Greg Abbott’s decision to treat gender-affirmative childcare as child abuse: “I’m proud to rep Houston but I’m not proud to rep Texan politics right now. There are very regressive laws being passed. They’re taking away the right for young children to have a chance to live authentically as themselves. It’s a violation of human rights. Trans rights are human rights.” She also weighed in on the restrictive abortion law: “We got a lotta ugly babies y’all need to be handling instead of y’all being in people’s homes and telling them what to do with their bodies and being all up in their uteruses. The abortion ban is atrocious as well. Mind your business. Stay out of my body.”

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

Omar Apollo Is A Bilingual Crooner In His Retro ‘Killing Me’ Performance On ‘The Tonight Show’

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Bilingual crooner Omar Apollo is gearing up to release his sophomore album, Ivory, and he recently appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to give fans a taste of what’s to come. Following up his major label debut, Apolonio, Omar is back already with a brand new song cycle. This isn’t his first time appearing on Jimmy Fallon either, he performed “Go Away” back in 2021, and now he’s back with an even more clear picture of his next project.

The Mexican-American singer-songwriter premiered the new track with his live performance on late night TV, and also shared a studio version of the song as well, which you can check out below. “Killing Me” is the fourth single Apollo has shared off his upcoming album, following “Invincible,” which features Daniel Caesar, a previously released single called “Bad Life,” which is his second collaboration with Kali Uchis, following up their past song together, “Hey Boy” off Apolonio, and finally, the album’s first single, “Go Away.”

It’s really quite compelling to listen to Omar’s music, because aside from his beautiful vocals, the effortless way he switches between English and Spanish is even more impressive. And with Latin pop and reggaeton making a huge impact on mainstream pop music, it couldn’t be a better time for his breakout. Watch the live, retro performance of “Killing Me” up top, and look out for Ivory coming out April 8 via Warner Records.

Ava Max And Tiësto Shared Another Visual For ‘The Motto,’ And This One Is Another Epic Dance Party

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Back when Ava Max and Tiësto dropped their dark, clubby anthem, “The Motto,” the producer and pop star pair shared a pretty luxurious video to go along with it. The vibe made sense for Ava, who was fresh off a stint of stadium shows opening up for Maroon 5, but now she and Tiesto have released another visual to go along with the track.

Directed and choreographed by Charm LaDonna — who previously worked on Ava own “My Head & My Heart” video, along with the Weeknd’s Super Bowl halftime show last year — the video was shot in LA and features a number of dancers. Filling out the cast are Darrion Gallegos, Caho Kitaori, Joseph John Perez, Gato Waddell, Maggie Anne Wade, Cache Melvin, Candice Savage & Honey Balenciaga. As the third single off TIesto’s next album, “The Motto” has become a streaming hit since it was released last November. It was the first time Ava and Tiësto had worked together, and he was really excited to work with her on the song.

“Ava is such an exciting young talent and her beautiful voice adds such depth to the song,” the producer said of their collaboration. “I cannot wait for the world to hear our collaboration. ‘The Motto’ is the party anthem keeping us dancing into 2022 as we close out a crazy year!” Guess his prediction came true — and manifested in an even dancier video to go along with the song. Check it out above.

Megan The Stallion And Dua Lipa Offer An Enticing Taste Of The ‘Sweetest Pie’ In Their Seductive Video

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Megan Thee Stallion and Dua Lipa have grown to be two of music’s most exciting musicians. Both have top-5 albums, those being Good News and Future Nostalgia respectively. They also have top-2 records on the singles chart with Megan’s being “Savage” and Dua Lipa’s being “Don’t Start Now” and “Levitating.” Add in Grammy wins and it’s clear that the two artists are well on their way to stardom, if they’re not already. With that being said, it’s only right that they join forces for their new song “Sweetest Pie,” a record that comes with an enticing video.

The new visual begins with two men walking in a forest when they’re greeted by Megan and Dua Lipa. At first, they’re intrigued by the artists, but soon enough they realize that Megan and Dua’s sweetest pies are too much for them to handle and they quickly run away. The men return with an army of guys to try and take down Megan and Dua, but they fail in their attempt as the ladies overcome their attack to reign supreme.

The song arrives as a high moment for both artists. Megan was recently forced to sue her label, 1501 Certified Entertainment, after they refused to count her last project, Something For Thee Hotties, as a project to fulfill her contract with them. As for Dua Lipa, she received two lawsuits that accused her of stealing from other songs to create her hit record “Levitating.”

You can watch the video for “Sweetest Pie” above.

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