Category: News

The arrival of the omicron COVID-19 variant is the reason why many musicians are canceling their events and performances all across the country. But when the coronavirus strain first broke out in the US, R&B fans flocked to Twitter to decide that dubbing the new variant the Omarion variant was a much catchier term. After a wave of memes, the “Touch” singer has finally addressed the jokes and assured fans they don’t need to “have a negative test result” in order to dance to his music.

Despite the severity of the omicron variant, Omarion was in good humor about all the jokes. The singer shared a cheeky video to TikTok addressing the meme and reminding everyone that he’s an artist and an entertainer, not a COVID-19 variant. “Hi everybody, this is Omarion. I am an artist, not a variant,” he said in the video. “So please be aware that if you just so happen to run into me on the street, you don’t have to isolate for five days, nor do you have to have a negative test result in order to dance to my music. So please, be safe, be healthy, happy new year.”

Watch Omarion address the omicron jokes above.

Miley Cyrus rang in the new year in a big way by celebrating the start of 2022 with a massive New Year’s Eve TV special. But things didn’t go exactly as planned. Right before launching into a rendition of her hit track “Party In The USA,” the strap on Cyrus’ silver crop top broke and she still continued with the entire song while experiencing a major wardrobe malfunction.

Cyrus, alongside Pete Davidson, was the official host of NBC’s New Year’s Eve special, Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party. The star-studded event saw performances by the likes of Saweetie, Jack Harlow, Brandi Carlile, and more before they counted down to 2022. But things took a turn when Cyrus’ top had a wardrobe malfunction while she was on stage.

While the official livestream doesn’t show much of the wardrobe malfunction presumably thanks to an expert team behind the cameras, a fan-captured video shows exactly what went down. Cyrus hugged one of her guest performers goodbye and as she pulled away from the embrace, her metal top snagged and the strap broke off. The singer immediately clutched her chest but still managed to play things off. “Okay, people are officially watching my tits out,” she sad into the mic as “Party In The USA” began. “This is still the most amount of clothes I’ve worn onstage,” she later joked.

Watch clips of Cyrus’ “Party In The USA” performance above.

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

It’s official: The honor of being named college football‘s national champions will be determined in a rematch. After Alabama blew out Cincinnati earlier on New Year’s Eve in the Cotton Bowl to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff title game, Georgia put on a show in the evening at the Orange Bowl, blowing out the Big Ten champion Michigan Wolverines to put themselves in position to get a measure of revenge for their SEC championship game loss to the Crimson Tide earlier this year.

From the jump, Georgia made clear it was not particularly interested in letting this game be close. The Bulldogs overwhelmed a good Michigan defense with its physicality and speed on offense, while the Wolverine offense struggled to get off the ground against the nastiest defense in all of college football. By the time the clock hit zero, the Bulldogs walked off the field with a 34-11 win.

There just wasn’t all that much Michigan could do on the evening — Georgia outgained them, 518-321, with Bulldogs starting signal caller Stetson Bennett putting on a show. A former walk-on and lifelong Georgia fan, Bennett went 20-for-30 with 310 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions.

Bennett wasn’t the only one getting things done through the air, as the Bulldogs’ second score of the evening came via some trickery. Kenny McIntosh, one of the handful of options Georgia has in its running back room, took a handoff from Bennett and looked like he was going to try and run a standard outside zone. Instead, McIntosh let it fly, throwing a dime to Adonai Mitchell for six.

Georgia boasts the best defense in America, and unfortunately for Michigan, that lesson had to be learned the hard way. The rushing attack that ground Ohio State to dust and ran wild on Iowa in the Big Ten title game couldn’t get going against the Bulldogs’ front seven, with standout running back Hassan Haskins toting the rock nine times for 39 yards and his co-pilots, Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards, combining to run the ball seven times for 22 yards. They couldn’t get into a rhythm through the air, either, as Cade McNamara and his backup-turned-replacement once the game got out of hand, JJ McCarthy, combined to go 18-for-36 with 237 yards and a pair of picks.

Their only touchdown came late in the game, when McCarthy threw a strike to fellow freshman Andrel Anthony to get the Wolverines into double digits on the day.

Now, the Bulldogs and the Crimson Tide will get some time to recharge before heading to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Jan. 10 with a national championship on the line. The game is a rematch of their SEC title game showdown, when Georgia, then undefeated and the top-ranked team in the nation, got blown out by Alabama, 41-24.

Normani had a great 2021. She burst back onto the scene with “Wild Side,” her first collaboration with Cardi B, and their steamy video and Sean Kinghead choreography kicked off a whole host of reactions and copycat dances from excited fans. After performing the song live at the VMAs, and paying homage to Janet Jackson in the process, Normani is definitely ready to move on into some new music. And she made that clear today with a preview of a brand new song.

Sitting in her car and rolling down the window for dramatic effect, Normani took the last day of the year and turned it into an opportunity to get fans excited for the next single. Titling her tweet “Dear 2022,” and then including the video of her listening to the song, based on the lyrics shared it’s very unlikely that’s the name of the song… but it does seem to indicate that we will finally be getting new music from the rising pop star next year.

She also decided to let fans get a look at the outfit she’s rocking in the clip, posting a tweet before the clip with the self-confident caption “willing to bet on myself.” This is the energy we need for 2022! Keep an ear out for news of a new single coming soon.

For the sixth time in eight years during the College Football Playoff era, the Alabama Crimson Tide will play with a national championship on the line. The top-seeded Crimson Tide took on the No. 4 Cincinnati Bearcats, and thanks to a smothering defensive display and a trio of touchdown passes by Heisman Trophy winning signal caller Bryce Young, Alabama handed Cincinnati a 27-6 loss, the Bearcats’ first of the year.

The Crimson Tide imposed their will on both sides of the football, gaining 482 yards of total offense on the vaunted Bearcat defense and preventing Cincinnati from getting much of anything going. While Cincy is not exactly known for having an explosive offense, Alabama’s defense completely slammed the door on them, holding them to 218 total yards, 144 passing yards, 74 rushing yards, and a paltry 2-for-12 mark on third downs.

Interestingly enough, it wasn’t necessarily the brilliance of Young that got them across the finish line. Alabama hasn’t ran the ball as well this year as it has in the past, but on Friday, its offensive line pushed Cincinnati around and Tuscaloosa native Brian Robinson ran wild, running the ball 26 times for 204 yards, the most for a running back in a bowl game in program history.

Young, meanwhile, had his season-low mark in passing yards, going 17-for-28 for 181 yards and a pick. But when the Tide needed to get into the end zone, Young was able to find his receivers, lining up with Slade Bolden, Ja’Corey Brooks, and Cameron Latu for scores on the evening.

Now, the Crimson Tide will sit back and wait to see who they’ll play on Jan. 10 in Indianapolis. A little later this evening, No. 2 Michigan and No. 3 Georgia will go head-to-head in the Orange Bowl with a spot in the national title game on the line — the Wolverines are the champions of the Big Ten, while the Bulldogs’ only loss this year came when it faced off against Alabama in the SEC title game.

By now you’ve likely heard that one of entertainment’s most beloved icons, Betty White, passed away today at 99, just days short of what would have been her 100th birthday. As the New York Times noted in its obit published this afternoon, White is probably best known for portraying “the nymphomaniacal Sue Ann Nivens on ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’ and the sweet but dim Rose Nylund on ‘The Golden Girls.’” She won five Emmys in a TV career that spanned seven decades and later in life became a beloved figure on the internet.

From the aforementioned New York Times obit:

One of her last in-person appearances was on the 2018 Emmy Awards telecast.

“It’s incredible that you can stay in a career this long and still have people put up with you,” she told the assembled TV luminaries, who gave her a prolonged standing ovation. “I wish they did that at home.”

Just a few days ago, White gave an interview to People to discuss her upcoming 100th birthday and the magazine noted that “nowadays, White enjoys a quiet life in Los Angeles playing crossword puzzles and card games. She also likes to watch animal documentaries, Jeopardy! and sports, particularly golf.” When asked about her diet, White told People, “I try to avoid anything green. I think it’s working.”

Naturally, there’s been an outpouring of tributes and remembrances for White on social media this afternoon. Below are some of our favorites — some funny, some poignant, some informative, some memory-inspiring.

Pour one out tonight for a true legend on this New Year’s Eve.

It’s official: The Chicago Bulls will enter 2022 sitting atop the Eastern Conference. The Bulls moved to 23-10 on Friday afternoon thanks to a 108-106 win over the Indiana Pacers. It was hardly a sure thing, though, as Chicago required some heroics from its biggest acquisition over the summer to take down their division rivals.

After Caris LeVert made a pair of free throws with less than a minute to go in regulation, DeRozan buried a pair of buckets to give Chicago a 108-106 win. The first was a two-point jumper to cut Indiana’s lead to one, and after a missed dunk attempt by LeVert, the Bulls raced the other way. DeRozan had it in his hands the entire time and decided he was going to try to win the game on his own.

It wasn’t easy — the Pacers hounded DeRozan and forced him into an awkward shot attempt. But somehow, despite shooting an off-balance jumper from a few feet behind the three-point line, DeRozan’s attempt was perfect, going straight through the cylinder and barely even touching the rim.

On the day, DeRozan led the Bulls with 28 points, six assists, three rebounds, and three steals. He only made one of his three attempts from behind the three-point line, but the one he made was pretty good.

Dua Lipa has been filling our Instagram feeds with lots of lovely island photos of late, but she’s been on the job while traveling, too. The pop star is ending 2021 on a high note, by performing at the Unicef Gala in St. Barts. Though Dua only released her second album, Future Nostalgia, last year, she’s been using the time off from touring during the pandemic to release multiple variations of the record, from the Club Future Nostalgia take to the Moonlight Edition, and honing her performance skills in the meantime, too. With a massive tour on the horizon for 2022, including dates with both Megan Thee Stallion and Caroline Polachek, a few days on an island for a private performance sounds like a great way to get back into the live performance rhythm.

As Rolling Stone points out, Dua’s private performance was for the LuisaViaRoma Gala in St. Barths that raises money for UNICEF. In a short setlist that included some of her Future Nostalgia hits like “Physical” and “Levitating” — and her breakout hit, “New Rules” — Dua closed out the evening with the lead-off track for her second album, “Don’t Start Now.” Check out a clip of that performance below, and some shorter clips from Dua herself, along with a shot of the iconic green pants she wore during the performance.

The football world suffered an incalculable loss earlier this week. John Madden, the legendary coach and broadcaster whose entire life revolved around a love for the sport that few others could match, died unexpectedly at age 85, with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell saying, “Nobody loved football more than Coach. He was football. He was an incredible sounding board to me and so many others. There will never be another John Madden, and we will forever be indebted to him for all he did to make football and NFL what it is today.”

Almost immediately after the news of Madden’s death became public, football players, coaches, and fans immediately began showering him with tributes. Whether they remember him as a coach, as a broadcaster, or learned the sport through the video game that bears his name and has become a model for other sports games to replicate, it was evident that Madden’s impact on generations of football fans cannot be understated.

On Friday, Madden’s life was eulogized by CBS, the first network for which he called games. CBS enlisted Jim Nantz to provide the voice over, with Nantz praising Madden’s “lifelong love for the game.”

“Above all else,” Nantz said, “he made the game fun, no matter what he was doing.”

Betty White, the eight-time Emmy winner who charmed millions over her decades-long career, has died at 99 years old, weeks short of her 100th birthday (January 17).

“Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever,” her agent Jeff Witjas told Deadline. “I will miss her terribly and so will the animal world that she loved so much. I don’t think Betty ever feared passing because she always wanted to be with her most beloved husband Allen Ludden. She believed she would be with him again.”

White got her start in the 1930s (she was all of eight years old when she made her professional debut on the radio program Empire Builders) and was a frequent presence on television throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, including hosting Hollywood on Television and playing Sue Ann on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

But she’s best known for her performance as Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls, which aired from 1985 to 1992. “We showed up for the read through [and] it was like batting a tennis ball over the net. It was so exciting to be with four people with that chemistry — I’ll never forget that first read,” White once said about her co-stars Beatrice Arthur, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty on the NBC sitcom. “It was like we had been working together forever! I still get goosebumps thinking about it.”

In recent years, she starred on TV Land’s wildly popular Hot in Cleveland, guest starred on countless shows (including The Simpsons, Community, and SpongeBob SquarePants), and focused on animal advocacy. “White worked on many charitable projections involving animal disease research. She served for three years as the president of the Morris Animal Foundation and served on the board of trustees for the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Assn,” according to the Hollywood Reporter.

R.I.P. to a legend.

(Via Deadline and the Hollywood Reporter)