Author: GoneTrending

For a former owner of a bar and grill (no RIP has yet surfaced for Shooter’s Grill’s pork sliders), Lauren Boebert sure does trip up on the subject of beer. The last time that this happened, Boebert credited a quote by John Adams (the 2nd U.S. president) to Samuel Adams (a founding father, yes, but more commonly referred to as a beloved brewery’s namesake). She has also, on a similar note, botched pronouns while shading trans rights.

Now, the lawmaker from Colorado has combined both rootin’ tootin’ pastimes to step into the same anger-bear shoes that Kid Rock wore while shooting up Bud Light cans out of protest for the brand’s campaign starring trans activist Dylan Mulvaney. Boebert is keeping the MAGA-themed fury alive, but she strangely chose to do so with this mocked-up graphic of fallen U.S. Army Specialist-Turned-Corporal (and former NFL player) Pat Tillman on a beer can. Boebert also tweeted, “Hey Bud Light, here’s the one America wanted!”

Boebert does not appear to look at her replies because this tweet still exists. However, one user swiftly tweeted a quote from the 2017 The Athletic-relayed anecdote from Tillman’s college coach, Lyle Setencich:

“‘Hey coach, you ever coach any gay guys?’ That’s what Pat said to me. I said. ‘I have.’ Pat said, ‘What do you think about gay players?’ This was in the middle of the 1990s. I said, ‘I’ don’t know all the issues but if they can play football I love them,’” Setencich recalled. “‘Good,’ said Pat. “Good.’”

As well, the Pat Tillman Foundation’s website has pointedly celebrated Pride Month, and this doesn’t even touch how Tillman was killed by friendly fire while on tour in Afghanistan. Let’s just say that there are lots of layers here, and Boebert appears to be unaware of them, and people let her know this.

Is this all Boebert “performance art”? An interesting thought.

The Weeknd is gearing up for the premiere of his upcoming HBO series The Idol, which he co-created alongside Euphoria‘s Sam Levinson. Over the past few weeks, the “Blinding Lights” singer has been teasing new music for the series.

He previewed some new music via Instagram Live, which sounded rather dark and ominous.

In a recent interview with Interview, The Weeknd revealed that he has produced an entire album to accompany the show. He also shared that he had been listening to iconic albums by Pink Floyd and Prince for inspiration.

“I’ve been inspired by The Wall and Purple Rain,” said The Weeknd.” “But even films like Shaft, the music is literally telling the story of the film. But I want to take it to the next level. I want to challenge myself and I feel like, as a musician, I’m the best I’ve ever been. But I have ADD. I can’t focus on just that. It’s like, how do I throw a wrench in it?”

Elsewhere in the interview, The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, revealed that his character, Tedros, who is a cult leader, is someone who appeals to him, but he insists he is nothing like him.

“I wrote him,” he said, “but what drew me to play him was just getting to pretend to be someone else. It was a challenge, because The Weeknd, obviously, isn’t me. But I drew a lot from myself to create that character. Tedros is nothing like me.”

The Idol premieres 6/4 on HBO and will be available for streaming on Max.

Janet Jackson kicked off her Together Again Tour just a few days ago, with two stops in Florida so far. As she gears up to perform in other parts of the country, fans might be wondering exactly what songs to expect at her shows.

During the opening night of the tour, Jackson debuted “Danita Jo,” “Like You Don’t Love Me,” “Do It 2 Me,” and a Blackstreet cover live for their debuts. She also played “Because Of Love” for the first time since 1995, according to Setlist.FM.

For the most recent concert at Hollywood, Florida’s Hard Rock Live, you can find Jackson’s complete setlist below.

1. “Damita Jo”
2. “Together Again” (DJ Premier Remix)
3. “Feedback”
4. “So Much Betta”
5. “If” (contains elements of the Kaytranada remix)
6. “No Sleeep”
7. “Got ‘Til It’s Gone”
8. “That’s The Way Love Goes”
9. “Enjoy”
10. “What Have You Done For Me Lately” (Contains elements of “BURNITUP!”)
11. “Nasty”
12. “The Pleasure Principle”
13. “Because Of Love”
14. “When I Think Of You”
15. “Diamonds” (Herb Alpert cover)
16. “The Best Things In Life Are Free”
17. “Control”
18. “When We Oooo”
19. “Together Again” (Jimmy Jam Deeper Remix)
20. “Come Back To Me”
21. “Let’s Wait Awhile”
22. “Again”
23. “Any Time, Any Place”
24. “I Get Lonely”
25. “Doesn’t Really Matter”
26. “All For You”
27. “Come On Get Up”
28. “Throb” (Contains elements of “Free Xone”)
29. “Girlfriend/Boyfriend” (Blackstreet cover)
30. “Like You Don’t Love Me”
31. “Do It 2 Me”
32. “So Excited”
33. “The Knowledge”
34. “Miss You Much”
35. “Love Will Never Do (Without You)”
36. “Alright”
37. “Escapade”
38. “Scream” (Michael Jackson cover) (Contains elements of “Black Cat”)
39. “Rhythm Nation”
40. “Together Again” (original version) (encore)

Coachella’s first weekend is officially behind us. However, if you weren’t able to catch your favorite pop artists, either in-person or by livestream, there are a few on this list who used the festival as a launching point for new music. From disco to divorce ballads, and even a remix of a pop-punk hit, there is once again something for those of all tastes.

Here is Uproxx’s roundup of the Best New Pop tunes from this week.

Kelly Clarkson – “Mine”

Clarkson’s return to music had been highly-anticipated after her talk show covers segment continues to go viral online. And she delivered with two songs: “Me” and “Mine.” The latter is an emotional piano take that finds her reflecting on her divorce — with a sense of regret in the lyricism.

Lewis Capaldi – “Wish You The Best”

Lewis Capaldi’s “Wish You The Best” is his reflection about the struggles of a breakup. He had previewed the track on some earlier tour dates, with it being included on his sophomore album. “It’s a song about what we don’t say to those people. I was fascinated by the things left unsaid, whether that be in a relationship or a friendship,” he explained in a statement, according to Euphoria.

Lauren Spencer-Smith, Gayle, and Em Beihold – “Fantasy”

A serious crossover of rising pop stars, Lauren Spencer-Smith, Gayle, and Em Beihold all rose to fame from TikTok, making their “Fantasy” collab one for the books — as it leans away from what some might expect. Throughout the well-produced track, it finds the three backing each other up through toxic relationship situations. “Funny how a fantasy can end up as a tragedy / All you ever had to be was someone who was nice to me,” they add toward the end.

Dominic Fike – “Dancing In The Courthouse”

Inspired by Dominic Fike‘s life growing up in Florida, “Dancing In The Courthouse” the first preview of his upcoming album finds him raising the vibes with some motivational advice. “We make our problems fade by facin’ ’em / We make the wind our wings by raisin’ your arms / At the top of the world,” he sings.

Jessie Ware – “Begin Again”

Continuing her disco-influenced dance tunes, Jessie Ware’s “Begin Again” was inspired by the singer’s time in Brazil, with a dreamy energy. Plus, her new album, That! Feels Good!, drops later this month — so it’s definitely worth grabbing a listen to this single before it does.

Eladio Carrión, Anuel AA – “Triste Verano”

Translating to “sad summer,” Eladio Carrión and Anuel AA’s new collaboration finds them thinking about their past relationships over a hypnotic beat. As another Coachella performer, Carrión covered Anuel’s music on stage — although their collab didn’t make the setlist.

Charlotte Cardin – “Confetti”

Two years after the release of her debut album, Charlotte Cardin is back with “Confetti.” Cardin describes the song as an “ode to introverts,” adding, “I had the realization that at every single party I had ever been to, I would lock myself in the bathroom at some point and try to compose myself and gather my thoughts. And when I became aware of that, I thought, ‘Okay I should write a song about this.’ It’s a party track for people who hate actually being at the party.”

Gym Class Heroes – “Cupid’s Chokehold (Club Mix)” (Feat. DJ Sliink)

Putting a new spin on their classic 2005 hit, “Cupid’s Chokehold,” Gym Class Heroes brought along DJ Sliink for a creative club mix. The band, who are currently planning to reissue their four studio albums and lead singer Travie McCoy’s solo one on vinyl, released the updated version to build hype for the drop — which it certainly has.

Shygirl, Erika De Casier – “Crush”

Shygirl dropped her new album over the weekend — with a lot of fun and creative features. One of the standouts is her sparkly, psychedelic collaboration with Erika De Casier, which was co-produced by the two musicians and finds them musing over exactly what the title suggests.

Rosie – “Someone You Once Had”

“The process of creating ‘Someone You Once Had’ was both painful and cathartic at the same time, because it’s about learning to love myself in the face of heartbreak, hardship, and loss!” Rosie said of her new song in a statement. “It’s easy to search for self-worth in someone else, but this song is about me finding it within myself for the first time, and finally feeling confident in who I am.”

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

Aziz Ansari is taking another stab at making his feature film directorial debut, and he’s already locked in one heck of a cast for the project. The Master of None creator is writing and directing the new comedy, Good Fortune, which he’ll also star in alongside two of Canada’s finest: Keanu Reeves and Seth Rogen.

Details on the plot and characters are being kept tightly under wraps, but Good Fortune will reportedly start filming next month in Los Angeles and Lionsgate will be shopping the film at Cannes. Via Variety:

“We have indeed found good fortune with this film. We love the script and believe strongly in Aziz as both a performer and a director, “said Lionsgate’s Motion Picture Group chair Joe Drake. “And when you add in Seth and Keanu — two incredible world-class talents — toplining alongside Aziz, this has the potential to be a very special film for us. We moved quickly to land this project once it was available.”

Good Fortune is Ansari’s second attempt at a directorial debut after his previous film, Being Mortal, was suspended indefinitely following allegations against Bill Murray that reportedly left one production staffer “horrified.” The actor allegedly tried to kiss the much younger staffer in an incident that he thought was “funny” but she “interpreted his actions as entirely sexual.”

Rogen was also supposed to star in Being Mortal, but it looks he’s game for working with Ansari again and presumably Keanu. Who doesn’t want to work with Keanu?

(Via Variety)

It was fun while it lasted, but it looks like the era of AI-generated reproductions of rappers’ voices online is already facing its end. As I predicted a couple of months ago, it only took the right/wrong artist being unwillingly exploited for profit before the labels stepped in, shutting down some of the more notable tracks.

“Heart On My Sleeve,” one such track that had gone viral after being posted on DSPs, was the subject of a takedown request by Universal Music Group, which had it pulled from streamers. The track garnered attention for pairing the voices of Canadian artists Drake and The Weeknd for a song about The Weeknd’s ex Selena Gomez; it was a reunion of sorts for two artists who were once a dynamic duo but have since seemingly kept each other at arm’s length after a falling out.

Drake, it should be noted, wasn’t laughing when an AI-generated cover of his voice rapping Ice Spice’s “Munch” came to his attention. It’s just one of many fan-created joke tracks, which even include a phony Eminem verse on a David Guetta song.

And while proponents said “Heart On My Sleeve,” created by anonymous TikToker ghostwriter977, sounded just like something the two performers would actually make, detractors derided the song for only doing so on a surface level, throwing in additional criticism for listeners who praised it, calling them nothing short of racist for downplaying the true creativity that goes into hip-hop (you don’t see, for instance, AI-generated pop-punk or country music going viral for sounding “authentic”).

In a statement to Billboard, UMG decried the practice of generative AI copies of artists’ vocals, saying:

The training of generative AI using our artists’ music (which represents both a breach of our agreements and a violation of copyright law) as well as the availability of infringing content created with generative AI on DSPs, begs the question as to which side of history all stakeholders in the music ecosystem want to be on: the side of artists, fans and human creative expression, or on the side of deep fakes, fraud and denying artists their due compensation. We’re encouraged by the engagement of our platform partners on these issues – as they recognize they need to be part of the solution.

And hey, look: The irony of a major label complaining about “denying artists their due compensation” is not lost on me here. (Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.) But they’ve got a point: AI doesn’t just cut out the middleman (in this case, the labels), it also cuts out artists, who don’t get a say in the sort of subjects these fan-generated AI reproductions will ultimately indulge in (it’s only a matter of time until someone turns Kanye’s borderline neo-Nazi rants into a song, sung by an artist like Beyoncé or Rihanna). So, it’s probably best someone steps in sooner rather than later — at least to get some sort of legal framework in place so artists have recourse when they’re inevitably “forced” to “say” something they never said.

Ice Spice and Instagram might have some issues now. The “Bikini Bottom” rapper had her post removed, citing it represented “violence and dangerous organizations,” which went against the app’s community guidelines.

Her original post was a selfie, which she captioned “Ayo Isis,” along with an eye emoji. She then posted a screenshot of the deletion alert to her Instagram story, writing, “can’t type my name is ode,” with a crying emoji. Because the Bronx musician’s real name is Isis Naija Gaston.

While Ice Spice has millions of followers on the platform, you’d think it wouldn’t have gotten flagged for what it thought it was referencing, but the social media algorithms seem to just be… doing whatever these days.

As for her music, she recently collaborated with Nicki Minaj on “Princess Diana” and PinkPantheress on the “Boy’s A Liar” remix.

“I’m so excited to be collaborating with her because I’m really a huge fan, ever since I first heard of her I’ve been a fan,” Spice shared with Dazed about PinkPantheress earlier this year. “So for her to ask me to hop on ‘Boy’s a Liar,’ I’m really excited. And the video is fire too. It’s unexpected, but we still have a correlation to each other somehow. Even before the record, fans really wanted it. There was already requests for that.”

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

Does anything slap as hard as the combination of beans, rice, and cheese wrapped in a warm tortilla? Few fast food menu items can compare to this simple masterpiece, especially when you consider value. Every drive-thru operation that serves bean, cheese, and rice burritos will sell them to you for under S3 — a steal! Even as a side order, a burrito is a straight-up meal, few value menu items can say the same. A side order of fries is just a box of carbohydrates, an order of nuggets is all protein (and oil), mozzarella sticks, and jalapeño poppers are just cheese (gulp, plus more oil), but with a burrito, you get it all!

Not enough for you? Buy a second one, you’ll still land under $5.

Because I live in Southern California, I can get a great burrito at whatever the closest taqueria is, but not everyone is so lucky and we feel for you. We know that sometimes fast food is as good as it gets. So who makes the best version of this burrito in the fast food universe? We set out to find out by ordering the legendary BRC burrito at three popular fast-food chains.

PART I — Methodology

Compared to our previous blind taste tests, this one was incredibly simple. A bean, cheese, and rice burrito holds heat better than any other fast food dish, and two of the three chains we selected for this contest were in the same strip mall parking lot, so it only took me 15 minutes to collect all three.

Once home, my girlfriend split the burrito in half (for photo purposes) and served me a burrito at random. Rather than just a few bites, I ate a whole half before moving on to the next. Not for any reason in particular besides the fact that I love bean, cheese, and rice burritos.

Here was this challenge’s tasting class:

• Del Taco — Bean and Cheese Burrito with Rice
• El Pollo Loco — BRC Burrito
• Taco Bell — Bean, Cheese, and Rice Burrito

To break down the individual elements I rated each component (beans, rice, cheese, tortilla) on a 5-point scale and added them up for a total score. Let’s get to the tasting!

PART II — The Tasting

Taste 1

Beans: 3. The beans have a good meaty flavor, but the texture here is muddy. Think a very thick bean broth with very little texture.

Cheese: 2. Too salty, almost American-cheese-like. It has no depth.

Rice: 1. It might as well be nonexistent. Not only is it flavorless, it adds little if any texture.

Tortilla: 5. This is my sort of tortilla. It’s gummy, buttery, thin, and a bit greasy.

Taste 2

Beans: 2. This has the opposite problem from Taste 1, the beans here are too dry. While the texture is fluffy and tender and the flavor is great, it’s too easy to taste each individual bean, there is nothing binding them together.

There also isn’t nearly enough here, the ratio of this burrito is totally off.

Cheese: 5. Creamy, salty, almost nutty, this is Monterey Jack cheese, a classic and the only correct cheese for a burrito.

Rice: 4. There sure is a lot of it here. It’s textural, with some nice umami from the tomato sauce, but its overuse makes this burrito a bit drier than it should be.

Tortilla: 2. I can tell it would be a good tortilla if they bothered to heat it up on the flat top. Seriously what happened here? Did they microwave this?

Taste 3

Beans: 5. This is the real deal, fluffy, tender (I’m tasting oregano and garlic in there), flavorful, and there is a lot of ‘em. This is the perfect ratio of beans.

Cheese: 3. It’s more complex than Taste 1, but it’s not Monterey Jack. It’s nutty and has a bold present flavor, but there isn’t enough in here.

Rice: 2. It’s white rice, which is fine from a textural standpoint, but it doesn’t have the nice tomato complexity that Spanish rice offers. It’s not flavorless though, it’s almost buttery, which is something.

Tortilla: 4. Fluffy, and gummy, but a bit thicker than I like my tortillas. At least it’s been warmed on a flat top!

Part 2: The Ranking

3. Taco Bell (Taste 1)

Total Points: 11

Sorry to Taco Bell fans but this burrito is doing the bare minimum. It’s practically a dead ringer for one of those frozen gas station microwaveable burritos. It gets the job done in a pinch but it’s not worth looking forward to, and that’s sad.

I’ve heard rumors that Taco Bell’s beans aren’t real beans, but some freeze-dried powder stuff that they add water into. I wouldn’t doubt that given how bad the beans were here.

The Bottom Line:

This burrito failed to deliver on beans, and considering that’s a pillar of this dish, we’re ranking it at the bottom.

Find your nearest Taco Bell here.

2. El Pollo Loco (Taste 2)

Total Points: 13

El Pollo Loco has some great individual ingredients, but the execution here is what held the burrito back. There weren’t enough beans, there was too much rice, and although the cheese was good the burrito came across as a bit too dry.

Maybe that’s a quality control issue, but considering how easy it is to put together a burrito, there is really no excuse for the lack of execution here.

The Bottom Line:

Great flavors, poor execution.

Find your nearest El Pollo Loco here.

1. Del Taco (Taste 3)

Total Points: 14

Look at that! Our first blind taste that ranked in order, each burrito in this taste test was better than the last culminating in this great but not perfect bean, rice, and cheese burrito. While the simple change of cheddar for Monterey Jack cheese and white rice for Spanish Rice would’ve made this a perfect 20/20 burrito, all of the individual flavors here deliver enough to give this the top spot.

It helps that Del Taco infuses this burrito with green salsa, adding a mild chili flavor into the mix that makes this burrito taste better than the competition, ingredients be damned. Anticipating this, my girlfriend made me try the competing halves with their respective hot sauces/salsas.

I tried El Pollo Loco’s avocado salsa and Taco Bell’s mild sauce on each respective burrito and while it enhanced the experience of both, my ranking remains the same. I’ll give El Pollo Loco points for having the best salsa, but it wasn’t enough to knock it up from second place to first.

The Bottom Line:

The best bean, cheese, and rice burrito you’ll get from an American fast food drive-thru. Hands down.

Find your nearest Del Taco here.

Earlier this month, Ariana Grande revealed that the forthcoming Jon M. Chu movie adaptation of Wicked is halfway through filming.

Now, new photos show the singer donning her puffy pink dress and a massive tiara, while also holding a wand that’s almost taller than her. She also shared a dim movie still on Instagram, but if you squint hard you can see her engulfed in that dress as she ascends stairs.

It was also recently divulged that the movie will be split into two parts.

“As we tried to cut songs or trim characters, those decisions began to feel like fatal compromises to the source material that has entertained us all for so many years,” Chu shared on Twitter. “With more space, we can tell the story of Wicked as it was meant to be told while bringing even more depth and surprise to the journeys of these beloved characters.”

Meanwhile, Grande also acknowledged the batch of unreleased songs of hers that were leaked last month online.

“You guys have heard every bad song and bullsh*t demo that I’ve ever made,” she said in a R.E.M. Beauty video. “Hilarious. It’s impossible to keep things from you. You gotta take some swings and misses.”

After failing to reach a settlement in the Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuit, Fox News is trying out a new strategy: it’s all Donald Trump‘s fault. As the network faces a potentially disastrous trial that could force the conservative media giant to repeatedly apologize to viewers for spouting election fraud claims — despite private messages revealing that its anchors knew full well there was no evidence and didn’t believe the conspiracy theories being spun by the likes of Rudy Giuliani and Sidney “The Kraken” Powell.

In a last ditch legal filing, Fox News’ attorneys are now attempting to argue that its on-air personalities were simply repeating what the president at the time was saying. Via Newsweek:

Such a development, if accepted, could play a key role in the development of the case. To successfully win a defamation suit, the allegedly defamed entity would have to prove the person or organization who defamed it did so with harmful intent.

Because Trump was the president, Fox News’ attorneys argued, his comments about the company were therefore newsworthy, raising questions about whether the conservative network’s personalities were acting with “actual malice” in repeating them on the air.

Fox News’ attorneys reportedly argued that the jury should have to decide “whether allegations being made by a sitting U.S. president have credibility because of who is making the allegations.”

As for how Trump is responding to this strategy, you guessed it, he went on an all-caps rant on Truth Social encouraging Fox to tell its viewers that the 2020 election was stolen. According to Trump, this will take care of the whole lawsuit problem, somehow.

“IF FOX WOULD FINALLY ADMIT THAT THERE WAS LARGE SCALE CHEATING & IRREGULARITIES IN THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, WHICH WOULD BE A GOOD THING FOR THEM, & FOR AMERICA, THE CASE AGAINST THEM, WHICH SHOULD NOT HAVE EXISTED AT ALL, WOULD BE GREATLY WEAKENED,” Trump wrote.

(Via Newsweek)