Pop

Justin Timberlake Voices His Support For The End Of Britney Spears’ Conservatorship

by
Getty Image

On Wednesday, Britney Spears appeared at a court hearing on the subject of her conservatorship, which is now in its 13th year. The singer asked a judge to terminate it, deeming it “abusive” as well as restrictive on her desired lifestyle. “I’ve been in denial,” she admitted. “I’ve been in shock. I am traumatized. I just want my life back.” A number of stars from the music world stepped forward to show their support — including her ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake.

“After what we saw today, we should all be supporting Britney at this time,” he wrote on Twitter. “Regardless of our past, good and bad, and no matter how long ago it was… what’s happening to her is just not right. No woman should ever be restricted from making decisions about her own body.” He added, “No one should EVER be held against their will… or ever have to ask permission to access everything they’ve worked so hard for.”

To conclude, Timberlake added that his wife, Jessica Biel, is also in support of the singer’s freedom from the conservatorship. “Jess and I send our love, and our absolute support to Britney during this time,” he wrote. “We hope the courts, and her family make this right and let her live however she wants to live.”

The Music World Reacts To Britney Spears Calling For The Termination Of Her Conservatorship

by
Getty Image

On Wednesday, the music world turned their attention to the latest hearing in Britney Spears’ conservatorship trial, where the pop sensation pled for her freedom, asking a judge to terminate the court-ordered arrangement. “I am traumatized. I’m not happy, I can’t sleep. I’m so angry I’m insane,” she told Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny. “It’s my wish and my dream for this to end.” Britney also detailed how restrictive the conservatorship has become on her life.

“All I want is to own my money … and for this to end … and for my boyfriend to be able to fucking drive me in his car,” she added. “And honestly … I want to be able to sue my family … I have an IUD in my body right now that won’t let me have a baby and my conservators won’t let me go to the doctor to take it out. I wanna be able to get married and have a baby.”

After hearing the singer speak, a number of acts from the music world hopped on Twitter to express their support for Britney. In a pair of tweets, Halsey wrote, “I admire her courage speaking up for herself today.” Mariah Carey chimed in with her own words of encouragement, writing, “We love you Britney!!! Stay strong [heart emojis].”

You can read more tweets in support of Britney from the music world below.

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

Britney Spears Says She Can’t Have A Baby Because Of An IUD Her Conservators Won’t Let Her Remove

by
FX Networks

On Wednesday, and for the first time in her 13-year conservatorship, Britney Spears directly addressed a judge in court. In her message, she asked that the court arrangement, which she claims has restricted her freedom, be terminated. This comes after months of court battles from the singer and her legal team as well as added attention to the case thanks to the documentary Framing Brintey Spears, plus the second wave of the #FreeBritney movement. Spears was very vocal during the hearing and gave several reasons as to why the conservatorship should come to an end. One example came when the singer revealed her conservators would not allow her to have a baby.

“All I want is to own my money … and for this to end … and for my boyfriend to be able to f*cking drive me in his car,” she said, according to the Rolling Stone. “And honestly … I want to be able to sue my family … I have an IUD in my body right now that won’t let me have a baby and my conservators won’t let me go to the doctor to take it out. I wanna be able to get married and have a baby.”

In regards to the overall conservatorship, Brintey said, “I’ve been in denial. I’ve been in shock. I am traumatized. I just want my life back.” She also requested to have the conservatorship end “without having to be evaluated.”

Tate McRae Is The Cool Babysitter In Her ‘Working’ Video With Khalid

by

After dancing since she was in elementary school, 17-year-old Canadian artist Tate McRae is seeing a successful launch of her singing career. “I always used to say ‘I’m a dancer who sings, not a singer who dances.’ That’s how it always went,” McRae told Uproxx in a recent interview. Now after dropping her debut EP Too Young To Be Sad, McRae has linked up with Khalid to flex some of her choreography skills in the “Working” video.

McRae’s “Working” visual opens with her feeling despondent at a high school graduation party before it gives a look at what she has in store for the rest of her summer vacation. She gets a job as a laid-back babysitter, watching the kids play video games and go for joyrides in the car, all while she can’t help but get a failing relationship out of her mind.

Ahead of the visual’s release, McRae told Uproxx that she doesn’t want to be pigeonholed into just one genre. “The crazy thing is that I’m still trying to find my sound,” she said. “I think there are a million different ways that you can play around, and a different million different artists [to work with] that will shoot you in different directions. But I can’t really define what I do [musically]. I think it changes every month… you can do so many things nowadays.”

Watch McRae and Khalid’s “Working” video above.

Usher Allegedly Sent T-Pain Into A Long Depression By Saying His Auto-Tuned Singing ‘F*cked Up Music’

by
Getty Image

T-Pain is a talented vocalist, as he has proven on many occasions. His 2014 Tiny Desk Concert stands out as a shining example of that. Ultimately, though, he is best known for his songs that make use of Auto-Tune to alter the sound of his vocals. His Auto-Tuned voice dominated the music landscape in the latter half of the 2000s, but not everybody was a fan. The way T-Pain tells it, that group includes Usher, who allegedly accused T-Pain of ruining music, a moment that sent T-Pain into a long depression.

In a clip from Netflix’s This Is Pop, T-Pain tells the story about the time he and Usher were on a plane, on their way to the 2013 BET Awards:

“We were actually going to the 2013 BET Awards, and we were all in first class and I went to sleep. I was awakened by the flight attendant. She said, ‘Usher would like to talk to you in the back.’ So I got up and went back and he was like, you know, ‘How’s everything going?’ Quick small talk, no big deal. And he was like, ‘Man, I want to tell you something, man.’ I was like, ‘What’s good?’ I thought he was about to tell me something real. He sounded real concerned. He was like, ‘Man, you kind of… you kind of f*cked up music.’

I didn’t understand. Usher was my friend. He was like, ‘Yeah man, you really f*cked up music for real singers.’ Literally, at that point, I couldn’t listen. ‘Is he right? Did I f*ck up music?’ And that is the very moment… I don’t even think I realized this for a long time, but that’s the very moment that started a four-year depression for me.”

Watch the clip above.

The 2022 Just Like Heaven Festival Will Be Led By Interpol, Modest Mouse, And M.I.A.

by
Getty Image

The pandemic shut down a lot of festivals in 2020 and 2021, but it was especially unfortunate to see newcomer event Just Like Heaven not get to keep up the momentum it built with its inaugural 2019 event. Now, though, the one-day Goldenvoice festival is finally returning for its second year, on May 21, 2022 at Brookside at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

Next year’s lineup will be led by Interpol, Modest Mouse, The Shins, and M.I.A. The full lineup, in alphabetical order, consists of !!! (Chk Chk Chk), Bloc Party, Chromeo, Cut Copy, Franz Ferdinand, Geographer, The Go! Team, The Hives, Islands, Kele Okereke (DJ set), The Cribs, Interpol, M.I.A., Modest Mouse, Peaches, Santigold, The Shins, The Raveonettes, Them Jeans and More Cinespace DJs, Wolf Parade, and Yelle.

Interpol’s Paul Banks shared a statement about the festival, noting that it will mark the band’s post-pandemic return to Los Angeles: “Interpol is overjoyed to announce we will be performing at Brookside at the Rose Bowl, headlining Just Like Heaven 2022. It’s an incredible line up of artists, we couldn’t think of a better way to be returning to LA!”

Meanwhile, it’s a big day for fans of The Shins: Aside from this news, it was also revealed today that the group’s 2001 album Oh, Inverted World just charted on the Billboard 200 for the first time thanks to a recent 20th anniversary reissue.

Taylor Swift’s Dad Still Has The Singer’s Guitar Picks From Her ‘Red’ Tour ‘If They’re Needed’

by
Getty Image

Taylor Swift has been re-recording her old albums. The first was Fearless (Taylor’s Version), released back in April. Now she’s set to do another. The singer revealed her 2013 album Red would be her next re-recorded record. Her fans were excited after hearing the news. One of them was Taylor’s dad, as she revealed in a Father’s Day post for him on Sunday.

“Happy Father’s Day to all the dads but mostly mine, who called me yesterday to remind me he still has guitar picks from the Red Tour, ‘if they’re needed,’” she wrote in a Twitter post.

“In the land of heartbreak, moments of strength, independence, and devil-may-care rebellion are intricately woven together with grief, paralyzing vulnerability and hopelessness,” she wrote. “Imagining your future might always take you on a detour back to the past. And this is all to say, that the next album I’ll be releasing is my version of Red.”

Taylor is surely due for success with Red (Taylor’s Version) as she saw previously saw Fearless (Taylor’s Version) top the album charts. Her next redo is set to be released to the world in November, so hang tight.

Red (Taylor’s Version) is out 11/19 via Republic. Pre-order it here.

Trevor Noah Dove Deep Into How Spotify Treats Non-Major Artists On ‘The Daily Show’

by

For years now, streaming services like Spotify have faced criticism about how much they pay the artists whose music they depend on. It’s a nuanced situation, so on The Daily Show last night, Trevor Noah broke it down and spoke about how hard it is on make money on Spotify as a non-major artist.

After sharing a compilation of news clips that charted the music industry’s shift from CDs to digital downloads to streaming, Noah got into it, starting by calling streaming “the best thing to happen to the music industry since the government created LSD.” He then noted, though, that while streaming services have “arguably saved music,” they’re “not exactly sharing the wealth.”

Noah shared more video clips, ones illustrating how little artists get paid when their songs get streamed. Then, Noah got into Spotify specifically, giving them credit for providing smaller artists with valuable exposure. He went on to point out, though, that regardless of who subscribers listen to, a hefty portion of their money still goes to major artists. As Noah put it, “Even if you are way too cool to listen to the top ten artists on Spotify, they still get most of your money. And the bands that you do listen to get almost none of it.”

Noah concluded by noting, “For now, maybe the most important things for artists to do is get the word out to their fans.” Then, he introduced Aloe Blacc, who has been vocal about issues with streaming music since he earned just $4,000 from streaming for Avicii’s international hit “Wake Me Up,” which he co-wrote. For The Daily Show, Blacc wrote and performed a new version of his “I Need A Dollar,” with lyrics modified to directly address Spotify and streaming problems.

Watch the whole segment above or find just Blacc’s performance below.

Don Toliver Delivers ‘Drugs N Hella Melodies’ With Kali Uchis On Their Sultry Collaboration

by

This August will mark three years since Don Toliver’s show-stealing appearance on “Can’t Say” from Travis Scott’s Astroworld album. Since then, the Houston rapper has only elevated his game while delivering a sizeable amount of good music which can be found on his first two projects, Donny Womack and Heaven Or Hell. Just a year removed from the latter, Toliver is preparing his third effort for a release. L.O.A.D (Life Of A Don) is set to arrive at some point in July, and with that month just a couple of weeks away, the Houston native returns with the second single from the forthcoming effort.

Arriving with Kali Uchis by his side, Toliver drops his latest single, “Drugs N Hella Melodies.” It lands in fans’ hands with a sultry video that sees the duo spending intimate moments together. From getting cozy during a dip into the tub to deep-sea beside each other, Toliver and Kali look like quite the comfortable couple in the visual.

The song is the first official collaboration between the two artists as well as the first collaboration fans have heard from L.O.A.D (Life Of A Don). It also follows his last single, “What You Need,” an effort that saw Toliver take an unorthodox approach to delivering a sharp flex to listeners.

Toliver also spoke about the upcoming album during a profile story with Flaunt. “It took time,” he said. “It wasn’t an overnight thing at all. I had to do a lot, but it feels good to get here.”

Make sure to press play on “Drug N Hella Melodies” in the video above.

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

Miley Cyrus Will Celebrate Pride Month With An Exclusive Concert Featuring Maren Morris And Others

by
Getty Image

Miley Cyrus has delivered a number of live performances in 2021, despite being more than a year removed from her most recent project, 2019’s Plastic Hearts. The singer brought her talents to the Saturday Night Live stage to perform solo tracks and a remix with The Kid Laroi. Miley also found herself covering songs by Queen, Blondie, and Stevie Nicks during a performance for the NCAA’s Men’s Final Four. Now, the pop singer is preparing to celebrate Pride Month with an exclusive concert alongside a number of acts.

On June 25, Miley and Peacock will join forces for the Miley Cyrus Presents Stand By You concert. It will be an hour-long event filmed at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium and one that finds Miley performing fan favorites like “The Climb” and “Party in the U.S.A.,” while gracing the audience with her own takes of classic records that include “Believe,” “True Colors,” “We Belong,” and “Dancing Queen.” She will also lead a Madonna medley that features some of the legendary singer’s records like “Music,” “Express Yourself,” and “Like A Prayer.”

In addition to performances from Cyrus, viewers will be able to catch sets from LGBTQ+ allies Brothers Osborne, Mickey Guyton, Little Big Town, Maren Morris and Orville Peck in what will hopefully be great night of music in support of PRIDE and the LGBTQ+ community.

You can check out the trailer for the upcoming show in the video above.

Miley Cyrus Presents Stand By You premieres on 6/25 via Peacock.