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It’s now clear that 2022 is not the year of cryptocurrency. NFTs have cratered in value, crypto companies continue to struggle and even a proposed merger of two major companies in an effort to keep one solvent might be evaporating as you read this. It’s kind of wild to think how quickly things have changed. It was just February when the world was awash in crypto ads, flooding the Super Bowl and billboards and basically anywhere startups could advertise that they could sell you Ethereum. Even NFTs were still a thing people talked about in mixed company.

It seems we’re a world away from that now, though. As of Tuesday, crypto trader FTX was on the brink of collapse with a competitor, Binance, on the verge of acquiring it just to keep it afloat. As the New York Times reported on Wednesday, the deal was a last-ditch effort to keep thousands of crypto investors from losing it all.

As news spread of FTX’s collapse, crypto markets took a battering, with Bitcoin and Ether both dropping more than 15 percent since Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Mr. Bankman-Fried framed the Binance takeover as a measure to ensure that FTX customers did not lose their money. But the deal is not finalized and its exact terms remain unsettled, leaving open the possibility that FTX’s hundreds of thousands of customers could lose their funds and set off another crash in crypto prices.

That deal, though, might not actually go through. As Coindesk reported later Wednesday, Binance started “strongly” considering backing out of the deal once their executives actually got a look inside FTX’s finances. Which is to say, well, they might actually be worse than first thought.

Binance’s nonbinding letter of intent for the takeover – announced Tuesday as FTX’s financial position appeared to be spiraling out of control – hinged on Binance performing due diligence. Roughly half a day into that process of reviewing FTX’s internal data and loan commitments has led Binance to strongly lean against completing the transaction, the person said.

So what does this mean? Well, if you’re investing in crypto right now, your portfolio may be at risk. News of the merger falling apart caused prices of crypto to dip further on Wednesday, and an actual liquidation of FTX would be a disaster for thousands of investors, including founder Sam Bankman-Fried. And that’s true of some major figures who invested heavily in the market and even promoted crypto back in the salad days of [checks calendar] several months ago. Like, well, Tom Brady. As Gizmodo points out, Brady had apparently invested big in crypto as part of his post-retirement plans.

Back in 2021 Tom Brady and his then wife, Brazilian model Gisele Bündchen, reportedly planted a large stake into the FTX crypto exchange, after having already announced a partnership with FTX and its CEO Sam Bankman-Fried back in 2020. As brand ambassadors, the two gained an unknown equity stake in the company in exchange for crypto, likely FTX’s native coin FTT.

Brady, that means, could be taking a bath on his investment right now, unless he offloaded his assets before things got dicey in the last few weeks. But another big name might actually have made out better than anyone else: Larry David. David, of course, got the proverbial bag in actually starring in the commercial. And the longform message of the commercial is to not “be like Larry David.” But on Wednesday, with news of a Binance/FTX merger on the ropes, plenty of folks on social media were sharing just a small clip from that very expensive commercial from just eight months earlier. Namely, the part where the Curb star was very skeptical.

While Brady definitely had some crypto from his brand ambassadorship with FTX, it doesn’t seem like David was actually saddled with the volatile currency. In a Hollywood Reporter interview with longtime David creative collaborator Jeff Schaffer after the ad debuted in February, payment methods actually came up. And though they apparently asked, everyone involved in that spot got cold hard cash for their efforts.

“We did ask about getting paid in crypto, but I don’t think they were set up for it for us, which was fine,” Schaffer said. “But we definitely did ask.”

In hindsight, it’s a very good thing that they got USD instead of whatever it is FTX may have paid them in. Otherwise, David might have been making a few frantic phone calls this week trying to get out from under what’s starting to look like a very unstable market.

Joe Berlinger continues to turn true-crime TV on its head. The Metallica: Some Kind of Monster helmer previously dramatized Ted Bundy (portrayed by Zac Efron in Extremely Evil, Shockingly Wicked and Vile) before launching the Crime Scene series of miniseries (what a set of words) on Netflix. We previously spoke to Berlinger about the spooky mysteries housed within Crime Scene: Vanishing At The Cecil Hotel. The series continued with The Times Square Killer installment, and now, The Texas Killing Fields, which is executive produced by Berlinger, is nearly upon us.

Over the course of three episodes, the season will take a similar approach to the rest of the seasons, which treat a crime scene like an actual character in the story. And do expect a based-in-fact approach to the 1980s-90s disappearance of four (individual) girls who somehow wound up dead alongside the interstate corridor in between Houston and Galveston. When the trails go cold, one father continued to seek answers, not only for his family but other families who are similarly and tragically affected. All grow frustrated by seemingly dropped balls in these Calder Road cold cases

At this time, the FBI continues to welcome any tips they might receive from people who dig into these still-unsolved murders. And as the below trailer indicates, family members have accused investigators of doing “their best to convince me that I had lost my damn mind” and mishandling/misplacing evidence. We’ll see those accusations unfold on November 29. You can see the Texas Killing Fields docuseries trailer below.

Three of Brazil’s top drag pop stars teamed up for a stellar performance. On Tuesday night (November 8), Pabllo Vittar sang “Lady Marmalade” live with Gloria Groove and Grag Queen.

Pabllo Vittar is the most-followed drag queen on Instagram with over 12.6 million followers. In her music career, Vittar has collaborated with global pop acts like Lady Gaga, Charli XCX, and Anitta. Groove is following in Vittar’s footsteps as the next big drag pop star. Earlier this year, she surpassed RuPaul to become the second most-followed drag queen on the platform. Grag Queen rose to prominence last December as the winner of RuPaul’s reality series Queen of the Universe.

On the Brazilian program Música Boa Ao Vivo, Vittar, Groove, and Grag Queen united for a special performance of “Lady Marmalade.” The trio of drag pop stars tackled the Moulin Version of the song that was sung by Christina Aguilera, Mya, Pink, and Lil Kim. During the live performance, Vittar, Groove, and Grag Queen took turns belting the heck out of the sexy anthem. With their powerhouse performances, these fierce singers proved why they’re among Brazil’s most successful artists.

Earlier this month, Vittar released the bewitching music video for her single “Ameianoite” featuring Groove. The song is a part of Vittar’s upcoming project, which is dubbed PV5 for now.

While Bruce Springsteen has appeared as a guest on The Tonight Show in the past, he’s never actually performed on the late-night staple now hosted by Jimmy Fallon. That’s about to change, as Springsteen will not only be the show’s lead guest for a takeover of sorts next week, but he’ll also be performing songs from his new album of cover songs, Only The Strong Survive.

Springsteen’s appearance on The Tonight Show will take place on three consecutive nights, from Monday, November 14 through Wednesday, November 16. He’ll also appear again on The Tonight Show’s Thanksgiving special on Thursday, November 24. According to Rolling Stone, The Boss will be performing four new songs from Only The Strong Survive. The appearances will coincide as promotional appearances for the album’s release, which is on Friday, November 11.

The late-night talk show residency is becoming an ultra-promotional event of sorts. St. Vincent recently embarked on a week-long residency on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, something Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles, and Coldplay did last year, too. The Tonight Show has featured high-profile residencies in the past from the likes of Justin Bieber and U2.

Meanwhile, Springsteen has a tour incoming in 2023 with the E-Street Band following his appearances on The Tonight Show. Although it’s been as notable for Ticketmaster’s flexible (high) pricing structure as it has been for the actual mega tour that it is.

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

In all likelihood, fans of both 21 Savage and Drake knew exactly what they were getting when the duo announced their joint album Her Loss. After all, both rappers’ brands are well established at this point. 21 is the heartbroken gangster, monotoning his way through maliciously cartoony threats while masking the R&B karaoke artist inside; Drake is the Certified Lover Boy, offering backhanded compliments and sulking through his latest split with a woman who was never good enough anyway (or the same one from 2009 – it’s kind of hard to tell).

For the most part, they both deliver on Her Loss. The title of “Pussy & Millions,” the lone track to add another voice to the mix – Travis Scott, because of course – more or less sums up the theme of the album. We’ve never come to Drake for incisive political commentary or 21 Savage for a John Oliver-esque breakdown of current events. Moreover, taking either at face value at this point feels like a fool’s errand. Drake cannot possibly be this lovelorn all the time. Likewise, if even a fraction – less than two percent of his murder talk – were true, he’d not only be deported but someone’s government would probably shoot his plane out of the sky for public safety.

Which is why the discussion surrounding this album is confusing and frustrating. It seems as though rap fans can’t make up their minds. Do they want 100 percent authenticity or literary license? Do they want artists to grow or stay in their lanes? If rappers like Drake and 21 Savage (not to mention peers like Pusha T, Westside Gunn, J. Cole, and Travis Scott) have well-established brands and consistently deliver on expectations, why do listeners just as consistently act surprised that they do?

Drake’s contradictions are clear; he’s a toxic asshole – at least, on record – who can’t help but belittle the women he romances even as he praises them for not being like the others (or woman. Again, it’s very hard to tell if he’s not just rehashing the same breakup over and over again because it sells like hotcakes). Compared to some of the rappers whose music dominated the ‘90s, he’s a sex-relations saint. But he’s also the guy who says “I blow a half a million on you hoes, I’m a feminist” in his verse in “On BS,” tongue firmly in cheek. It’s what the audience demands – despite finger-wagging from fans against this sort of rhetoric on his 2021 album Certified Lover Boy, it still sold 613,000 equivalent units in its first week. I guess rap fans are full of contradictions too.

He’s also been taking heat for a line from “Circo Loco” in which he jokes “this bitch lie ’bout gettin’ shots, but she still a stallion,” prompting an outcry for allegedly dissing Megan Thee Stallion. Now, I’m old enough to remember when Drake’s verse on J. Cole’s 2010 track “In The Morning” elicited disbelief for its “I would always ride the stallions whenever she let me” punchline because apparently a sizable portion of rap listeners had no clue that “stallion” was a slang term referring to tall, thick women in the southern US.

You’ll have to forgive my skepticism that Drake would “diss” someone he’s apparently only met once unprompted — on behalf of Tory Lanez, whom Drake has never seemed to have any love for in the first place, no less. Let’s say it is meant to be a slick punchline; I’d say it’s pretty far from his worst, let alone the worst in rap music as a whole. Obviously, 2022 is not 2012, and these kinds of jokes — delivered, as it was, in the same tongue-in-cheek mode of the album’s freewheeling rollout — are just not okay. He should know that intent doesn’t always go in hand with impact. And we the audience should also know that railing screeds that jump over the nuance of the discussion won’t have the same impact as they’re intended too, either.

So, yes, you could say it’s in poor taste, but again, on the same song, 21 Savage also says “all the opps get a bullet on some Oprah shit” on an album released within a week of Takeoff being shot to death in Houston. It’s not equivalent, but the selective outrage reads weird and dishonest, and frankly, I’m just kind of sick of being a broken record when it comes to this subject. Is it “Oochie Wally Wally” or is it “One Mic”?

The frustration comes in because this uproar means wading through online narratives rather than parsing the music for what it is and what it says. We could be discussing Drake’s tongue-twisting wordplay on “Middle Of The Ocean” or 21 Savage lifting his collaborators’ beloved “location freestyle” format on “3AM On Glenwood” and serving up one of the most hearty verses of his career. We could be dissecting the cleverness behind the project’s terrific, lawsuit-baiting marketing tactics. It’s clear from 21 calling himself “the greatest rapper from [the UK]” and Drake posting anime porn on his Instagram Story that they aren’t taking anything too seriously, let alone themselves.

At the risk of sounding like a grumpy old man telling the kids how it was better “back in the day,” I do feel grumpy that the outrage industrial complex has overshadowed a half-dozen notable points of reference for what should have been one of the most exciting projects of the year. It was announced by surprise, it had an amazing, hilarious rollout, and it finds its principles at the height of their powers, delivering exactly what their fans want from them. To quote another favorite, “Dope beats, dope rhymes, what more do y’all want?” All that was promised was an album-length spin-off of songs like “Knife Talk” and “Jimmy Cooks” – and that’s exactly what Her Loss is.

Her Loss is out now on OVO/Republic and Slaughter Gang/Epic. You can get it here.

When PJ Morton sings, it’s with a tenderness and warmth that truly comes from the bottom of the heart. Born Paul Morton Jr., he’s experienced enough to stand in the spotlight as an OG filled with enough soul to eject into the audience seated before him. He’s young enough to still relate with his fans – which vary in age from as young as their 20s to as old as 40, 50, and beyond – and deliver some banter to them through his performances. All this and more is easily noticeable as the New Orleans native performs in various cities on his Watch The Sun Tour. I myself was seated (and eventually standing) in Boston’s Emerson Colonial Theatre for a stop towards the end of this tour.

Morton opened the night with a performance of “My Peace,” the highlight record from Watch The Sun which features JoJo and Mr. Talkbox. Seated by a piano under purple and orange lighting, PJ Morton – who was also surrounded by an ensemble of musicians that elevated the performances throughout the night – had no issue in finding his groove to begin the night. While seated, he passionately played the keys, dancing his fingers effortlessly on them while soulfully singing from the heart. If he wasn’t seated, Morton was up on his feet walking back and forth on the stage sharing charismatic moments with the audience whether it be through anecdotes from his career, callbacks for certain records, and saying thank you for their past, present, and future support.

Soon enough, Morton took things back to 2019’s Paul to perform “Ready,” which had attendees of the Emerson Colonial Theatre up and out of their seats. The blast into the continue with a stop in 2017 for the euphoric “Claustrophobic” and the powerful “Sticking To My Guns” off of Gumbo. Throughout the night, we’d continue to hear records from these three albums – Gumbo, Paul, and Watch The Sun, and it became clear that PJ Morton had one job in mind: to take this crowd to church. As the son of gospel singer Paul Morton, it’s no surprise that PJ could lead a congregation into praising love, stomping their feet and clapping their hands in the name of it, and just feeling it overall.

Morton’s next turn during the night swung us back into Watch The Sun with performances of “Please Don’t Walk Away,” “So Lonely,” and “Still Believe.” At this point in the show, there were several reasons to be absolutely enthralled by the showcase at hand, and what came next was undoubtedly my favorite section of the show. For the better part of what was left of the night, the audience was permanently removed from their seats starting with Morton’s performance of “Yearning For Your Love.” He then jokingly begged fans to let him take his time as he eased into “First Began,” a crowd favorite. A sweet anecdote behind “Go Thru Your Phone” and a reminder of his Grammy win with “Say So” came next. A medley of “Alright” and “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” followed by an absolutely joyous and crowd-assisted performance of “The Benediction” and “How Deep Is Your Love” brought the night to a close. Amid that final three-track run, church was fully in session, smiles in the crowd were bright and wide, and happiness floated throughout the theatre like a cirrus cloud.

I left Boston’s Emerson Colonial Theatre a bigger fan of PJ Morton’s than I was when I began the night. Morton took this crowd to church and lifted us all up with love. His purity, elegance, and regal authority were just some of the things to admire about the Watch The Sun singer that night. It goes without saying that a PJ Morton show should absolutely be on your bucket list, but what is important to note is that the October night in Boston encapsulated everything Morton worked for. And that is to fill up a room with fans of his own itching to sing his songs even before he’s ready to and more than happy to clap and wave their hands all in the name of jazz, soul, gospel, and most importantly, love.

Adidas may have officially ended its partnership with Kanye West, but apparently, that won’t stop the sportwear giant from using the designs spawned by the Yeezy line, according to Complex. During its Q3 2022 earnings call, Adidas CFO Harm Ohlmeyer said the company intends to continue using those designs as early as next year, while figuring out what to do with its current inventory of Yeezy products, which were recalled after Kanye made antisemitic remarks on social media and in interviews.

As Ohlmeyer said, “I want to repeat very clearly that we are the sole owner of the intellectual property rights to the current and future colorways and we have a lot of things in the archive so there are plans that we are vetting right now.” Meanwhile, Ohlmeyer predicted a short-term impact on Adidas’ income due to the end of the Yeezy deal but said that the company would save €300 million in royalty payments to Kanye as well as marketing for the products. The company could lose $250 million.

Of course, the brand still owns the Yeezy designs so it makes sense that it’d use them after paying for all the research and development upfront. Besides, depending on who you ask, signature atheletes and entertainers rarely have as much input as Kanye seems to want people to believe that he did. If anything, the designs that remain may just be rebranded without the Yeezy name, which Kanye owns and which no one seems to want to associate with at the moment anyway.

It seemed a foregone conclusion that the Brooklyn Nets were going to hire Ime Udoka as the team’s head coach in the aftermath of Steve Nash’s departure. And then, the days went on, and Brooklyn did not bring the embattled Boston Celtics coach on board to fill their vacant position.

Instead, Jacque Vaughn, who has been the team’s interim head coach over the last four games, had the interim label removed from his title on Wednesday, while Udoka continues to be suspended from the Celtics following an improper relationship with a female staff member. Reports indicated that Boston was willing to let Udoka, who was an assistant coach under Nash in Brooklyn, leave for another head coaching position.

Both Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN and Shams Charania of The Athletic bring word of what happened to lead to Brooklyn’s change of heart. Unsurprisingly, the circumstances that led to Udoka’s suspension in Boston played a role, as did the ongoing Kyrie Irving antisemitism controversy in Brooklyn, which has led to the former All-NBA guard receiving a suspension from the team in recent days.

Via ESPN:

The Nets backed off an initial plan to hire Udoka based on several factors, including a prolonged antisemitism controversy with Kyrie Irving coupled with the impending disruption that would’ve come with the hiring of Udoka in the aftermath of his suspension in Boston for an improper relationship with a female subordinate, sources told Wojnarowski.

Charania, meanwhile, cited “an investigation and due diligence process by the Nets into the suspended coach taking longer than initially expected, the outcry after word of their plan became known to people outside and inside the organization and the short- and long-term question marks around the team’s ability to contend in the Eastern Conference as a result of the indefinite suspension of Irving.”

Earlier this week, Marc Stein reported that Nets owner Joe Tsai received advice from “strong voices” to reconsider hiring Udoka, and ultimately the team moved in a different direction. The convergence of a number of factors seemed to result in this change, but it does raise questions about how the team initially handled looking into Udoka’s suspension and whether the longer they looked the more they found that made them have a change of heart.

The White Lotus Misery Index is a weekly accounting of who and/or what is having the worst time in paradise in season two of the HBO series. The rankings are based on a number of factors, none of which can or will be quantified in any way. We are doing art here, not science.

UNRANKED: Lucia and Mia (going on a spending spree, singing beautiful songs at the piano bar, getting to shove it all in Valentina the Manager’s face, really very little to complain about); Cameron and Daphne (we’re going to find out something awful about them eventually but right now they’re just a pair of happy beautiful airheads, which is not the worst thing to be in life); Guiseppe the Piano Man (zero drinks whipped in his face this week, which represent a marked improvement); eating a big bowl of pasta with clams (slurp it up); Rocco the White Lotus staffer (I can’t decide if I want an entire episode just about Rocco or if I just want to see him get yelled at for 10 seconds every episode)

10. Ethan (Last week: Unranked)

Let’s check in on Ethan:

• Waking up super early to go run through Sicily by himself
• Cranking away on himself while his wife is at brunch and then showing no interest in finishing with her when she walks in on him mid-crank
• Said “I’m just pointing out a personality quick. You do it all the time” to his wife, which is something you only do if you are a sweet oblivious dope or boiling with secret white-hot rage

Nothing would surprise me about Ethan at this point. Next episode could open with him just like staring at a spoon for five straight minutes and I’d be like “Yeah, that makes enough sense.” Or he could kill a dog. That’s possible, too. I have zero read on this guy. He fascinates me.

9. Greg (Last week: Unranked)

Let’s see if I have this correct…

Greg wanted to give Tanya her beautiful Sicilian dream day — Vespas and pasta and all of it — before he ran back home to continue his secret relationship with whoever was on the phone at the end, and he made a big deal out of how he only needs to take these “work trips” because she made him sign a prenup, which raises the very real possibility that he is just trying to sweet-talk and guilt trip her into ripping it up so he can leave with half of her fortune and go back to this other woman, but he hates doing anything with Tanya so much that he can’t even hide his displeasure for 10 minutes while they’re cruising around the beautiful Italian countryside together.

Greg has a lot going on. He’s a grifter and a scumbag and a scam artist but he’s not that good at any of it. I hope he gets so fed up with everything by the end of this trip that he just tries to steal a sculpture out of the lobby.

8. Dominic (Last week: 2)

His wife hates him. His daughter hates him. His son mostly hates him but is too much of a sweetheart to say it to his big dumb face. Two teenage Sicilian prostitutes are charging thousands of dollars worth of food and designer outfits to his room. His dad won’t stop talking to him about his failing marriage and how to properly conduct an affair without making your wife furious. The aforementioned teenage prostitutes showed up drunk on cocktails he paid for and nudged him into a hot tub threesome he had been kind of trying to avoid in a half-hearted attempt at being a better man. He’s not sleeping great.

Could be better. Could be worse. I can’t wait to see his face when he gets the bill from the hotel.

7. Valentina the Manager (Last week: 5)

The bad news here is that she has to be nice-ish to Lucia and Mia now that they’re officially signed in as guests of Dom, which has to be tearing her up inside. And she didn’t seem too happy that the staff let Tanya rent a Vespa given… you know, everything about Tanya. I still maintain that she is the most interesting character on this show. I could watch her berate the staff and shoot suspicious eyeballs at hookers all day.

I kind of want to see her apply for a job to run one of the assassin hotels from John Wick. There’s still an opening at the Italian one after the second movie. I was joking when I started typing this paragraph but I’m getting more serious as I go. This happens to me sometimes.

6. Morning people, generally (Last week: Unranked)

I have never been a morning person nor have I ever understood them. I always showed up for high school right as the first bell rang, if not a little late. I’m usually awake past midnight and just hitting my creative groove. I am basically a zombie until I have enough coffee flowing through my system that you can see my pulse through my skin. People who wake up with a natural supply of energy terrify me. What are they up to? What’s so great about waking up that they bounce out of bed at sunrise and start doing activities? It’s suspicious to me. Someone should investigate this. Not me, though. I’ll still be asleep.

In conclusion, morning people are not to be trusted.

5. Tanya (Last week: 8)

ON ONE HAND: Massively insecure. Had a meltdown in public at a restaurant after (correctly) accusing her husband of being a loser and a scumbag. Swallowed a bug.

ON THE OTHER HAND: Got to ride a Vespa and slurp some pasta before it all went sideways.

I love her very much. I do not think I would enjoy knowing her in person. Both of these can things can be true.

4. Portia the Assistant (Last week: 1)

Spent a lovely-ish day touring Italian ruins with Albie and his weird family that was capped off with a romantic dinner where she told him how she just wants a little fun and adventure and a big dumb caveman who doesn’t even know what the word “discourse” means and then that poor sweet boy asked if he could kiss her and said thank you and turned around and retreated to his hotel room because he hates the philandering male authority figures in his life so much that it has cooked his entire brain into a soup of attempted chivalry.

Poor Portia.

3. Bert (Last week: Unranked)

Just wants his whole family together for a nice trip to Sicily to discover their roots. Which will never happen. In part, because of the poison he filled his son’s head with for the last 50 years. Which is… not great, in a lot of ways. I had him all over the top ten in the drafts of this post as I put it together. I settled on three because, while he seems really bummed out about it all and couldn’t even enjoy The Godfather in peace because he could hear his son’s pathetic jacuzzi threesome through the walls of their expensive hotel, he does seem to have a terrific collection of scarves, which has to count for something.

2. Harper (Last week: 3)

Hmm…

• Her husband seems to have no interest in her romantically
• She hates Cameron and Daphne so much and is spending a lot of time with them in part because of the first item on this list
• Can’t even swim in peace without Cameron grabbing her ankle underwater like a shark

The takeaways here are that Harper is not having fun and that Aubrey Plaza was perfectly cast in this role, which I say as a compliment of the highest order.

1. Albie (Last week: 6)

It is generally not great when your first date with a cute girl gets sidetracked by your perpetually horny grandfather talking about ancient gods sexually assaulting humans in hell and how whatever your mopey dad did to ruin your parents’ marriage couldn’t have been quite as bad as that.

This poor, sweet boy. I want this show to do a crossover with Succession just so he and my beloved Cousin Greg can, like, go to the zoo together. I think they would enjoy it.

Multi-genre recording artist Chiiild took fans on a trip back to his hometown on his new experimental single, “Bon Voyage.” If you’re a fan of his previously released tracks, “Eventually” and “Gone” featuring Jensen McRae, you are in for a treat with this self-produced number.

Co-written by long-time collaborator Mic Coogan, “Bon Voyage” is a sensory experience as it pulls together elements of R&B, alternative, and electronic music. The song’s title, which translates to ‘good journey,’ lets listeners know they are in for a sonic adventure. With lyrics like, “if you let me take you ’round / show you things you never found / hold your breath so you won’t drown / Synesthesia, feel the sound,” and, “Meet me on a mountain in a daydream / everybody out here on the same thing / but baby we’re just out here levitating,” listeners are transported into a masterfully conducted journey by the singer.

Always one for the theatrics, in the official video directed by Trey Lyons, Chiiild explores every nook and cranny of his hometown Montreal, Canada. Throughout the video, there are several disorienting shots in which Chiiild at times appears almost larger than life. This artistic touch drives home the point that Chiiild has outgrown his neighborhood and needs to leave the nest in order to fully develop himself not only as a person and as an artist as well.

When asked about the significance behind the track, Chiiild replied, “[‘Bon Voyage’] marks the beginning of this new chapter.” He then went onto Twitter to further expand on his point, writing, “I spent the past year trying to relive the feeling I had when working in my old basement on Brossard. This track was my theme song through that process.”

Chiiild acknowledged this theme would be explored further on his forthcoming album as he answered, “my aim with [Better Luck In The Next Life] is to give you a look inside my mind. Into the doubts, fears, ambitions, and a few connections along the way. It was a form of healing, putting these real situations into songs. When everybody is out here on the same thing, we’re just out here levitating.”

Chiiild has not yet shared the official release date for Better Luck In The Next Life, only promising to deliver it sometime next year. For now, we will accept “Bon Voyage” as a sweet taste of what to expect from the album.

Watch the video for “Bon Voyage” above.