Between the bee-inspired name and the focus on obsessive fans, it seemed pretty clear from the get-go that Donald Glover and Janine Nabers’ new series Swarm (which just released on Amazon Prime Video today, March 17) was inspired by Beyoncé and her enthusiastic fan base, known as the Beyhive. Glover (aka Childish Gambino) means no ill will, though, and actually took a moment to address Bey’s fans in regards to the show.
In a clip from the Swarm premiere event in Hollywood earlier this week, Glover spoke to the audience, saying, “I am so happy that you guys are here, able to enjoy this, and uh, yeah… like, um… Beyhive: don’t kill us. It’s not that bad. It’s actually, like, pretty cool.”
There are probably no hard feelings between Glover and Beyoncé over the show, and if you’ll remember, the two actually have a history together: They voiced Simba and Nala, respectively, in the 2019 remake of The Lion King.
The tour kicks off tonight, March 17th, at State Farm Stadium in Swift City, er, Glendale, Arizona. Setlist.fm better tredecuple check its servers because Swifties worldwide will be checking to see which songs made the cut.
Ahead of the surge, I thought it would be interesting to look at her old setlists, and see which tracks from every album have been played the most and the least. It’s an imperfect methodology, as we’ll get into below, but it gives a sense of Swift’s personal favorites, the songs she must feel obligated to play every show, and the rarities that could be resurrected for the Eras Tour.
Taylor Swift (2006)
big machine
Most played: “Our Song”
Least played: “Cold As You”
The first Taylor Swift show on setlist.fm dates back to 2001, when a teeny, tiny Taylor played the Fairgrounds Square Shopping Mall in her home state of Pennsylvania (she also wrote her first song, “Lucky You,” that year). But the first documented live performance of her most-played song on her self-titled album isn’t until 2006, when she debuted “Our Song” (and two officially unreleased tracks) at Fort Loudoun Lake in Knoxville, Tennessee. Needless to say, she would not be playing random lakes near the Wigsphere much longer.
Fearless (2008)
big machine
Most played: “Love Story”
Least played: “Breathe”
Swift has a lot of bangers in her discography, obviously, but I stand by my assertion that “Love Story” is her best karaoke song. It’s a love story, baby, just say yes to getting drunk and screaming out the story of Romeo and Juliet in a room of equally inebriated strangers. It would be a shame if “Love Story” didn’t make the Eras Tour setlist, even if it’s literally her most-played song ever with nearly 500 performances. Meanwhile, “Breathe” has only been played once: at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium in 2018 during the Reputation tour.
Speak Now (2010)
big machine
Most played: “Sparks Fly”
Least played: “Innocent”
I didn’t see Taylor live until the 1989 Tour (I know I know I’m sorry), a decision I regret every time I watch the “Sparks Fly” music video. It’s pure exuberance, a live-action fairy tale that evokes infinite possibilities. Except for seeing Taylor in 13,000 seats-sized venues again. That is not possible anymore.
“Sparks Fly” has been played hundreds of times, but two other songs from Speak Now have only been heard live once, “Innocent” and “Superman.” I’m singling out “Innocent” because a) “Superman” is a deluxe edition bonus track and I’m not including those for this setlist exercise, and b) that single performance was during the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. An interesting choice, even with the context that the tender ballad was written in response to what happened between her and Kanye West at the previous year’s VMAs.
Red (2012)
big machine
Most played: “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”
Least played: “I Almost Do” and “Sad Beautiful Tragic”
“We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” narrowly edged out “I Knew You Were Trouble” for first place among Red tracks, although I was surprised to the severely underrated title track in third place. In fifth, sixth, and seventh place: “All Too Well,” “Holy Ground,” and “State of Grace,” all of which Swift should play at every show for the rest of her career. Thank you in advance. In last place, so to speak (and not including bonus track “Come Back… Be Here”), are “I Almost Do” and “Sad Beautiful Tragic.” One of which is much better than the other. I won’t say which, though (yes, I will, it’s “I Almost Do”).
1989 (2014)
Big Machine
Most played: “Shake It Off”
Least played: “This Love”
Will Swift ever retire “Shake It Off” from the setlist? Unlikely. It’s not technically her biggest song (it’s not even the biggest song on 1989; according to Spotify streams, that honor goes to “Blank Space”), but I would argue it’s her most well-known song. Everyone knows “Shake It Off,” from kids to grandmas who famously love to get down with sick beats. Besides, it’s super fun! Less fun but more lovely is “This Love,” an atmospheric fan-favorite track that got a Taylor’s Version makeover before much of the rest of 1989. Swift must have affection for it, as do I. Here’s hoping it gets dusted off at least once.
Reputation (2017)
big machine
Most played: “…Ready for It?” and “Delicate”
Least played: N/A
Are you ready for “…Ready for It?”? If you saw Swift during the Reputation tour, you better have been: she played it at basically, if not literally, every concert, along with a few Jingle Ball shows. “Delicate” (hot take: her best music video) was also a setlist mainstay, as most of the Reputation tracklist.
It’s hard to figure out the least-played song from the best because, for instance, “New Year’s Day” is listed as having only been played five times — but that doesn’t include the 50-plus times it was mashed up with “Long Live.” It will be interesting to see how much Reputation (her most polarizing album) makes the Eras Tour cut. Whatever the setlist looks like, hold on to the memories of seeing Taylor live, they will hold on to you.
Here’s Swift’s top most-played songs live, according to Setlist.fm:
1. “Love Story”
2. “Our Song”
3. “You Belong With Me”
4. “Tim McGraw”
5. “Picture to Burn”
6. “Teardrops on My Guitar”
7. “Should’ve Said No”
8. “Fifteen”
9. “Fearless”
10. “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”
As for Lover, Folklore, Evermore, and Midnights, Swift hasn’t toured behind any of those albums yet (or the Taylor’s Version vault tracks) due to the pandemic. But among random one-off gigs, “ME!” leads the way with over a dozen performances, while “Anti-Hero” from Midnights made its live debut during a surprise appearance with The 1975. It would not surprise me if that’s the song Swift uses to kick off the Eras Tour. Or maybe “Tim McGraw” to really span the eras. We’ll find out soon enough.
The first episode has only been out for a few hours, but it looks like Donald Glover’s new show Swarm is already the internet’s favorite show to dissect, discuss, and debate. He might just have another hit on his hands. Fans have been enamored with the acting of the show’s stars like Billie Eilish, flustered by co-star Chlöe’s first-ever sex scene, and grooving to the psychedelic soundtrack, which features new Childish Gambino tracks like “Sticky.”
Another moment that has viewers gagging is a joke in the show in which Paris Jackson compares herself to Halsey. During a conversation between Jackson’s character Hailey and the show’s protagonist, Dre, portrayed by Dominique Fishback, Hailey mentions that she had to “run away” from a relationship because her partner didn’t like that she was Black. Of course, we’ve all seen Paris Jackson (who’s had to address this topic in the past in real life), and Dre is understandably a little thrown by this assertion.
“You’re Black?” she asks incredulously.
“Yeah,” Hailey replies. “My dad’s half.”
“Half what? Black?”
“Yeah,” Hailey says, winding up for the pitch. “That’s why my stage name’s Halsey. You do know who Halsey is, right?” Here’s the clip:
Halsey catching a stray from Paris Jackson via Donald glover & Janine Nabers is crazy https://t.co/gXSpsxJUIt
I’ll give you a minute to process Halsey being Black, in case that’s a revelation for you (Halsey’s father is Black, while her mom’s Italian). Honestly, it’s a pretty good joke, playing on a shared attribute between Halsey and Paris, as well as a discussion that both have had to have probably more times than they want to remember.
Meanwhile, it’s clear that Swarm is already becoming the next Euphoria, which may owe to its satirical premise of an out-of-control, serial-killing stan of a famous pop star. The funhouse mirror version of fan Twitter is, of course, already fan Twitter’s favorite new toy, and you can check it for yourself now on Amazon Prime Video.
Fred Again.., Skrillex, and Four Tet have dropped their new collaboration, “Baby Again..,” to the delight of many fans. And, as the title describes, Lil Baby sings on it.
The track opens with a building electronic beat as Baby’s vocals are slowly introduced. A bonafide synth dance instrumental, it’s perfect for any kind of party, especially one with lights that are timed to the addictive loops. It continues for over five minutes but still doesn’t seem to overstay its welcome.
“Baby puttin’ on for the city / Baby, he the realest, Baby prolly got a couple million / Baby hang with four or five killers / Baby got children, Baby prolly still drug dealin,” he says in the bridge.
Fred Again.. first teased the song during his Boiler Room show last summer, per a press release. It had been created after the three musicians had done an impromptu studio session in Pangbourne. Just earlier this year, the trio played a massive show at Madison Square Garden to a sold-out crowd for about five hours of back-to-back performances.
“I did something and I didn’t like it. I thought I ruined the song,” Skrillex previously said on BBC Radio 1 (via EDM) about his other work with Fred Again… “I was scared to play it.”
Check out Fred Again.., Skrillex, and Four Tet’s new “Baby Again..” collaboration above.
Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
James Corden has made The Late Late Show a cultural staple since taking over the late-night program in 2015. The experience hasn’t been entirely positive, though, as it sure looks like a lot of people hate Corden. He certainly didn’t earn himself public favor last year with joke-stealing accusations and the infamous restaurant situation. So, on the latest “Carpool Karaoke” segment, Bad Bunny got to do something it seems a lot of people wish they had the chance to try: put Corden in a headlock.
Bad Bunny has a strong connection to WWE, and towards the end of “Carpool Karaoke,” that conversation topic came up. So, Bunny and Corden took to a wrestling ring, in which Bunny showed Corden some moves, including a headlock, a camel clutch, and more. Wrestling legend Rey Mysterio also made a surprise appearance and helped Corden develop a more intimidating wrestling attitude.
Bad Bunny is one of the last “Carpool Karaoke” guests before Corden leaves The Late Late Show, as his final episode is set for April 28. That last show will be preceded by a prime-time special, The Last Last Late Late Show. While Bunny is as of now the final confirmed “Carpool Karaoke” guest, given how important the segment has been to Corden, it feels likely there will be some sort of new installment in the special and/or the finale.
Just days after Jimmy Kimmel hosted the Oscars, his talk show’s executive producer (and his wife) Molly McNearney is setting the record straight about how some viewers thought he said Rihanna’s name wrong during the show.
“We had two versions of the monologue,” Kimmel’s wife Molly McNearney told Variety. “One if Rihanna was in her seat, one if she was not in her seat. One if Rihanna had her baby on her lap, which she wanted to do. And one if her baby was not on her lap. A lot of our jokes were kind of at the mercy of people being in their seats.”
“Jimmy is obsessed with pronouncing people’s names correctly,” McNearney said. “There is a guy at the show whose job is to find the pronunciations. We always find video of the person saying their own name on camera. And that is the way you pronounce Rihanna. There’s a whole interview with her about it.”
“Jimmy said, ‘I want to call her the way the name that she calls herself.’ And that’s how she says it in Barbados,” she added. “It felt funny to people. Now America knows how to pronounce her name, although they won’t. They’ll just assume Jimmy f*cked up but no, he did not!”
As the seasons change and the weather warms up — allegedly, anyway — it’s time for a spring cleaning. While it’s important to take care of the cobwebs around your apartment and finally donate that musty bag of clothes in the back of your closet, it’s also an apt time to refresh your go-to playlists. No, we’re not telling you to stop streaming SOS, but it might be good for your mental state to mix it up a bit…
Without further ado, here are ten artists to help you shake off the winter blues, from a Korean rapper that mashes up punk rock with hyperpop to a queer Chicano singer that wants to smooch on all his homies. And best of all? None of these tracks would feel out of place on a playlist with “Kill Bill” and “Snooze.”
GALE
For fans of: Rosaliá, Avril Lavinge
Last November, GALE scored her first Latin Grammy win for a co-write on Christina Aguilera’s latest Spanish language album, Aguilera — but it’s her own tracks that will have you slamming the repeat button. It’s no surprise that the singer was raised on Shakira and Avril Lavinge; her latest tracks mirror the IDGAF-itude found on Laundry Service and Let Go.
Early in her career, Adanna Duru appeared on both The Voice and American Idol, but it’s clear the singer, now 26, has since taken time to figure out who she is as an artist. Despite proving to be more than capable of a big vocal moment, Duru has discovered a necessary ingredient that makes her soulful debut EP, Nappy Hour, sound like pure butter: restraint.
Check out: “ur a bitch,” “POP!”
Bentley Robles
For fans of: Jonas Brothers, Charlie Puth
It’s impossible to make it through Brooklyn-based Bentley Robles’ catalog without cracking a grin. Whether he’s begging his homies to “come taste my lips, it’s just platonic” on the horny “kiss my friends,” or answering Lady Gaga’s “Alejandro” from a queer, Chicano perspective with “salvatore,” Robles is a much-needed dose of serotonin for the coming spring season.
Check out: “kiss my friends,” “salvatore,” “kim kardashian”
Noelle
For fans of: Carly Rae Jepsen, Halsey
Raised on the Tyendinaga Mohawk territory in Ontario, Canada, Noelle was exposed to a menagerie of influences, from jazz greats like Sarah Vaughn and Nat King Cole to the native wind flute and powwow drum of her indigenous roots. After finding her footing through viral YouTube covers, the singer found her voice writing her own songs — the latest of which have a sparkling, synth-heavy sound.
Check out: “Cold Killer,” “Mars”
Whiterosemoxie
For fans of: Travis Scott, Omar Apollo
Not many artists would think to draw inspiration from a bizarre Young Thug tweet, but that’s exactly what Detroit’s whiterosemoxy did on bass-heavy “girls die,” spinning Jeffery’s rumination into a thesis on the bittersweet feeling of life’s resets. The poignant track is a sample of the artist’s forthcoming debut full-length album.
Check out: “girls die,” “whts rght,” “CALL!”
Vivi Rincon
For fans of: Olivia Rodrigo, Phoebe Bridgers
Vivi Rincon’s debut EP, crash landing, opens with the vulnerable ballad “if we lived on the moon,” a delicate track in which she confesses the struggles of being in a queer relationship. With stingers like, “we’d never think twice about who we’d offend, and we’d never say we’re just friends,” it’s clear that Rincon has the songwriting goods — a promise she makes good on through the project’s bitter (but relatable!) closing number, “the party.”
Check out: “if we lived on the moon,” “the party,” “overflow”
Lil Cherry
For fans of: Doechii, Doja Cat
South Korean rap sensation Lil Cherry’s unique sound can be found at the intersection of hyperpop and punk rock, and it was developed with guidance of her older brother and producer GOLDBUUDA. Last year, the sibling duo dropped their adrenaline-soaked collaborative album, Space Talk, which included the belligerent, Rico Nasty-assisted “Catwalk.” Most recently, the rapper flexed her agility by teaming up with MVW and TiaCorinne for a more subdued contribution to the hazy “Tru Tru.”
Check out: “Catwalk,” “Tru Tru,” “PYE LIFE”
Blake Rose
For fans of: Shawn Mendes, The 1975
If you haven’t been introduced to Perth export Blake Rose yet, get familiar. The 25-year-old made his U.S. television debut on The Late Late Show with James Corden last month and followed it with a solid 7-track EP, You’ll Get It When You’re Older – the bulk of which was self-produced.
Check out: “Use Me,” “Demon,” “Already Be Dead”
Ayleen Valentine
For fans of: Taylor Swift, mxmtoon
It’s actually shocking that singer-songwriter-producer triple threat Ayleen Valentine is only 21-years-old given the sheer intricacy of her work. The Berklee dropout’s latest project involves releasing sets of singles in pairs as a way to explore the idea of opposites.
Check out: “anesthetized,” “stars”
iyla
For fans of: Kehlani, Ariana Grande
The Los Angeles native’s latest EP, Appetite for Disaster, begs to not be put into a box. The project sees iyla cooing jazz-influenced harmonies on one track, spitting rhymes over a trap beat on another and yodeling — yes, yodeling — on another. On standout track “Sad Bitch Bad Bitch,” the singer shares a meme-worthy mantra: “I don’t get mad, I get pretty/ Can’t have me, I’m too busy.”
Check out: “Mona Lisa,” “Sad Bitch Bad Bitch,” “2LATE”
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
In the midst of executive producing the soundtrack for Creed III and planning Dreamville Fest 2023, J. Cole is still finding time to put his pen to pad to drop new music. His latest featured verse on international music star J-Hope’s new single “On The Street” is the ultimate hip hop/K-pop crossover. However, as J-Hope revealed in the behind-the-scenes video, this collaboration was nearly a decade in the making.
During the video, J-Hope revealed, “When I started listening to music, the first artist I listened to was J. Cole. Being able to work with J. Cole after 10 years as a fan, I’m so happy. It’s just all new, and I still can’t believe it.”
J. Cole didn’t let any potential language barrier stop him from sharing his admiration for J-Hope. Working with a translator, the rapper said, “It’s a blessing to be here with y’all.” The pair initially met back at Lollapalooza 2022 and have kept an eye on each other’s work.
Inside the comment section for the official music video, fans are raving about the collaboration. In fact, the most liked comment reads, “Wow, unexpected. J Cole is my icon. I wouldn’t have thought of seeing him collaborating with a BTS member, but that is great glad it happened.”
Watch the behind-the-scenes video for “On The Street” above.
Pedro Pascal had a big day yesterday (March 12). Aside from the Season 1 finale of The Last Of Us debuting last night, the actor was also a presenter at the Academy Awards, where his sister Javiera Balmaceda (Amazon’s head of Originals, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, and Chile for Prime Video) was on hand to represent the Oscar-nominated Argentina, 1985. There were a ton of stars on hand for both the actual Oscars ceremony and for the Vanity Fair afterparty, and at the latter, Pascal was momentarily immobilized when he thought he saw Rihanna.
Towards the start of a red-carpet interview with Chicken Shop Date host Amelia Dimoldenberg, as the two exchanged opening pleasantries, Dimoldenberg asked Pascal how he’s doing. As she asked the question, though, Pascal’s demeanor became more serious and distant as he looked off behind Dimoldenberg. After pausing for a few seconds, he asked, “Is that Rihanna?”
(It was not Rihanna he saw from behind, but rather, Saweetie.)
Dimoldenberg quipped that if it was Rihanna, Pascal should abandon the interview and go introduce himself. Pascal responded, “I will literally shove you out of the way.” Dimoldenberg said she’d do the same thing in his shoes and he replied, “If you didn’t do it, I wouldn’t understand.”
Pascal very clearly had Rihanna on the brain all night: In an earlier red-carpet interview at the actual Oscars with Ashley Graham, Pascal spoke about what he was looking forward to that night. He said he was happy to support his sister and to just watch the show before asking, “Is Rihanna performing?”
Festival season is upon us. Just last weekend, Rolling Loud California shut down the greater Los Angeles area for several days. Next month, Coachella will storm the grounds of the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. However, as music fans across the world look for festivals near them, scammers are looking to take advantage of this growing demand.
According to Complex, a Canadian festival by the name of Festival Aurora is the latest example of this ploy. Allegedly led by Harry Styles, Doja Cat, Tyler The Creator, SZA, Khalid, and Charli XCX, fans of the musicians are calling out the festival on its Instagram page (@festivalaurora). Specifically, fans of Styles noticed that the date listed for the singer to appear, June 3, seems nearly impossible given that his Love On Tour will be in France the day before and the Netherlands on June 4th.
The lineup got people excited, though, as the festival reportedly made $7,000 in ticket sales in five days.
After receiving several inquiries about the legitimacy of the festival, The Vieux-Port de Montreal (overseers of Montreal’s Old Port district), released a statement denying that the event has been approved for use of the space, writing, “We learned about this festival like the general public, through social media and their online platform. A festival with such popular names would have to be planned months in advance, and neither the SVPM nor the other partners on our territory (Port-de-Montréal / Grand Quai) were approached.”
The supposed festival has not responded to the statement released by Vieux-Port de Montreal. As of today (March 10), the festival’s Instagram page is still active.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
@SwarmOnPrime pic.twitter.com/pvocJGLybj
