NEWS
Taylor Swift Fan Turns ‘Betty’ Into a TikTok Rom-Com
Taylor Swift‘s “Betty,” one plucky part of what she’s affectionately coined Folklore‘s “Teenage Love Triangle,” ends with a cliffhanger. “If I just showed up at your party, would you have me? Would you want me? Would you tell me to go f— myself, or lead me to the garden?” the song’s protagonist, James, sings throughout the track — but the listener isn’t privy to Betty’s immediate answer. One Swift fan took the liberty to build upon Swift’s fantasy scene with a TikTok comedy series from the perspective of everyone else at that fated high school party, where a teen is fumbling through an apology. In some of TikTok user @kerrinotcarrieokay‘s videos, she’s Betty’s “stupid frie...
MK Files Suit Against Management Over “Unconscionable Agreement”
MK is seeking to have his management agreement declared void, alleging he was duped into an “unconscionable” arrangement by his former team. The renowned music producer and DJ alleges that the agreement from MDM Artists has locked him in for up to a ten-year term, which is reportedly in violation of California law. The state’s “seven-year rule” for employment contracts states that such agreements may only be enforced for a seven-year period. The structure of MK’s agreement in particular included an initial six-year term but also grants an additional four single-year unilateral extensions. Additionally, the suit alleges that the agreement includes a “sunset clause” entitling MDM Artists to a cut of MK’s earnings on deals ...
Watch the Lordstown Endurance EV Pickup Looking Legit Doing Legit Truck Things
The Endurance, not yet on sale, has already endured some hardship in a sense. Lordstown Motors emerged from the ashes of GM’s Workhorse W-15 hybrid pickup situation, which flamed out, but gave a breath of life to a new and arguably more compelling project. But all that history, and any promises Lordstown has made about the upcoming EV pickup, aren’t worth a hill of beans if it can’t do real truck stuff in the way customers want. This promotional video aims to prove that the Endurance has the goods to do the job—and see for yourself if you think customers are ready to jump aboard. The Endurance is just one of a number of EV pickups on the radar, with varying degrees of profile and vastly different ideas of what an EV truck should be. From the retro-futuristic Tesla Cybertr...
Real-Life Barbie Jeep Looks Pretty in Pink, and You Know You Want It
It’s hard to pull off a Jeep Wrangler in pink, but designer Afzal Kahn managed to do just that. This special Wrangler, painted in “3D texture pink military paint,” is currently up for grabs. And it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. The pink Jeep features a special design package from the Chelsea Truck Company. Front and center is a carbon-fiber grille with four slots. The model also features a new front bumper, special front lighting, an Iron Man vented hood, and a set of electrically folding side steps. A suspension lift kit gives the SUV even more presence. In the rear, there is a quad exhaust system and a Chelsea Truck Company spare wheel cover. Finishing off the look are black, star-shaped 20-inch wheels. See all 20 photos Inside, the SUV sports quilted leathe...
Gigi Hadid Kisses ‘Baby Daddy’ Zayn in Sweet Selfie
Soon after Zayn‘s return to Instagram, Gigi Hadid shared a personal snapshot of the couple smooching on her own account. “baby daddy,” she affectionately captioned an intimate Instagram selfie of the pair Friday night (July 31). The supermodel, who’s expecting her first child with Zayn, recently gave followers the first glimpse at her growing belly. “There’s my belly y’all,” she said on Instagram Live on July 15, pointing out that she doesn’t always look pregnant in the pictures she posts because “from the front it’s different.” “I really appreciate your positive messages,” she said at the time. “I’m just taking my time with sharing my pregnancy.” Hadid confirmed that she and the form...
Katy Perry Describes New Album & Explains Why Being Pregnant Makes Her Feel ‘Powerful’
Katy Perry dropped some hints about what fans can expect from her upcoming album, Smile, in a game of “Finish the Sentence” with The Sunday Times Style. As the name of the game implies, the singer answered a variety of questions from home by finishing sentences given to her. “I would describe my new album as hopeful, resilient, joyful and my own journey of coming through hell,” Perry said in the video, which was uploaded to YouTube on Friday (July 31). “The song of mine that best sums up my life right now would be probably either ‘Smile’ or the last track on my album, which is called ‘What Makes a Woman,’ because I am going through very, very feminine things right now,” the pregnant pop star added. A couple sentence prom...
U.S. Marshals Put Fyre Festival Merchandise Up for Auction
More than three years after the highly publicized Fyre Festival famously fizzled out in the Bahamas, merchandise and other “minor assets” are up for sale — courtesy of the U.S. Marshals Service. In a release Thursday (July 30), the U.S. Marshals announced that 126 items from the festival will be auctioned off, with proceeds going toward the victims of Billy McFarland. McFarland acknowledged defrauding investors of $26 million in the 2017 Fyre Festival and over $100,000 in a fraudulent ticket-selling scheme after his arrest in the scam. He was sentenced to six years in prison in October 2018. Now 28, he’s serving his sentence at a low-security prison in Ohio, according to the Bureau of Prisons. “This Fyre Festival-branded clothing and other items that were seized from Billy McFarland were o...
The 1975, Niall Horan, Little Mix & More U.K. Artists and Music Industry Figures Unite Against Racism, Antisemitism
Hundreds of key players in the U.K.’s music industry, including artists, managers, producers and record labels, are co-signing an urgent call to speak out against racism and intolerance. A letter, supported by the likes of The 1975, Niall Horan, Little Mix, Nile Rodgers and Lewis Capaldi, major U.K. labels Universal Music, Warner Music and Sony Music and a number of industry figures — and accompanied with a call-to-action hashtag, #NoSilenceInMusic — was released Saturday night (Aug. 1). It can be read in full below. “We, representatives from the music industry, write to demonstrate and express our determination, that love, unity and friendship, not division and hatred, must and will always be our common cause,” the statement begins. “In recent mont...
Beyoncé Releases Music Video for Major Lazer, Shatta Wale Collaboration “Already” from “Black Is King”
Beyoncé has revealed the official music video for her single “ALREADY,” originally part of the superstar songstress’ album The Lion King: The Gift and now also included on her new visual album Black Is King. The collaboration saw Beyoncé joining forces with Ghanian singer-songwriter Shatta Wale and electronic music group Major Lazer. The dance number opens with dialogue from Rafiki and Simba before angelic falsettos swirl in to the tune of lightly floating chords and rhythmic percussion from the Latin Grammy Award-nominated trio. Major Lazer’s Diplo took to Twitter to thank Beyoncé and Shatta Wale for enlisting the hit-making trifecta as part of the project. “We went from the basement studio to Disney+ with this one...
deadmau5 to Perform Intimate, Socially Distanced Drive-In Show in Toronto
deadmau5 is throwing his hat into the drive-in rave craze, which has continued to pick up steam in the wake of the pandemic’s decimation of the live music industry. The Grammy Award-nominated electronic music producer took to Instagram today to announce a forthcoming drive-in concert in Toronto on August 14th, 2020. “hey Toronto, the boss has been chatting with the city mayor… and we’re happy to let you know we’ve got a small drive-in show booked in for Friday, August 14th!” deadmau5 wrote. Drive-in shows have been a topic of consternation in the aftermath of “Safe & Sound,” a concert in the Hamptons headlined by The Chainsmokers that reportedly devolved into a show devoid of social distancing. They have also proved to be a headache for promoters and ...
The National’s Aaron Dessner Teases New Big Red Machine Music
Aaron Dessner’s making the most out of quarantine. The National multi-instrumentalist played a huge part in the making of Taylor Swift’s new (and pretty damn good) surprise-album folklore, with a co-writer or producer credit on 11 of its 16 songs. But that’s apparently not all he’s been up to. Dessner recently took to Instagram to tease new music with his other project, the Justin Vernon-assisted Big Red Machine. “5+ month studio bender continues,” he wrote alongside a photo of working song titles. “Thank you to everyone who has reached out about folklore….so glad you’re enjoying it as much as I do. Still feels surreal to me. Profoundly grateful to have time and space to work and finish things — and so thankful for the many friends contributing to that music and this new @bigredm...
Raekwon Connects With Ebro Darden To Discuss The 25th Anniversary Of ‘Only Built 4 Cuban Linx’
Source: Tim Mosenfelder / Getty The Wu-Tang Clan remains one of Hip-Hop’s most viable collectives and the crew’s gritty approach coupled with an innovative plan to transform the industry is a case study of strength in numbers. Raekwon, one of the sharp swordsman of Shaolin today will celebrate the 25th anniversary of his classic solo debut Only Built 4 Cuban Linx and a new interview broke down some of its finer points. Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, and special guest Nas joined Ebro Darden for an in-depth breakdown of the creation of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx and how the album cemented the legacy of all involved. Chief among the goals for the Chef was to put his all into the album and be as authentic as possible. “We was definitely on that mission. That mission was do or die. To try to get from ...
