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Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.

This week saw Nicki Minaj and Tate McRae close out 2023 with strong releases. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.

For more music recommendations, check out our Listen To This section, as well as our Indie Mixtape and Pop Life newsletters.

Nicki Minaj — “Let Me Calm Down” Feat. J. Cole

December is often a crapshoot with new music releases, but Minaj gave hip-hop fans something to get excited about in 2023’s final weeks with Pink Friday 2. The highly anticipated project features link-ups with some greats, including J. Cole, Drake, Lil Wayne, Lil Uzi Vert, and others. SZA and Billie Eilish even low-key get in on the action.

Tate McRae — “Calgary”

McRae also pulled a Minaj but on the pop side of things. She told Uproxx’s Megan Armstrong of her new album Think Later, “Honestly, writing for this album came a lot more naturally because I was pulling from real experiences I had gone through. Both the experiences that led to the confident, empowered tracks like ‘Greedy’ and the experiences that led to more contemplative, reflective, and nostalgic songs like ‘Calgary.’”

Fred Again.. and Baby Keem — “Leavemealone”

Fred has proven himself a master at taking existing vocal samples and flipping them into something new and exciting. His latest example of that is “Leavemealone,” on which he borrows snippets of Keem’s “Bullies” and “South Africa” and brings them to the energetic dance floor.

Pharrell Williams, Swae Lee, and Rauw Alejandro — “Airplane Tickets”

Pharrell has wrangled a hitmaker or two in his day, and for his latest star-studded effort, he teamed up with Swae Lee and Rauw Alejandro on “Airplane Tickets.” Uproxx’s Alex Gonzalez notes of the track, “On the streamy new single, the three fly fellas look to treat their ladies with the finer things, by way of international travel, excursions, and fine fashions.”

Jack Harlow and Dave — “Stop Giving Me Advice”

Harlow is doing better than most people trying to do what he does, so there aren’t many people who could give him useful advice. He actually seems tired of it on “Stop Giving Me Advice,” a collaboration with Lyrical Lemonade and fellow hip-hop success story and UK favorite Dave.

Tems — “Not An Angel”

Tems’ two new songs from 2023 were her first in a couple years, so hopefully this is a sign that a new album is on the way. Her latest is last week’s “Not An Angel,” of which Uproxx’s Alex Gonzalez notes, “Over sparse drums and pulsating beats, Tems is at more principled place, moving forward from the wreckage of a lost love.”

Rina Sawayama — “Flavour Of The Month”

Sawayama had one of her biggest years yet thanks to her role in John Wick: Chapter 4. She also just made time to revisit her successful 2022 album Hold The Girl with a deluxe edition. Among the new songs is “Flavour Of The Month,” a self-assured pop banger with an edge.

Lil Yachty — “The Paradigm”

Yachty had perhaps the biggest left turn of the year with his pivot into psychedelic rock on Let’s Start Here. He’s not done with exploring that style yet, as he gets back into a dreamy space on “The Paradigm,” a new one from the soundtrack of Netflix’s Leave The World Behind.

Adrianne Lenker — “Ruined”

Lenker has built herself an impressive solo discography outside of Big Thief. She expanded it last week with “Ruined,” a stripped down number guided by piano and Lenker’s vocals that are distinctly adept at conveying heartbreak.

J Balvin — “Amigos”

It’s been a little while since Balvin’s latest album, 2021’s Jose. He still dropped a few new tracks this year, though, and he offered one more last week with “Amigos,” and no, it’s not about Bad Bunny.

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

We’ve all thought about quitting our jobs and traveling the world, but Trevor Noah actually did it. He left The Daily Show after a triumphant run with his sanity and youthful visage shockingly intact after years of covering US politics, the Trump presidency, and a global pandemic. And then he hit the road, touring the world while connecting with people from different cultures. And now he’s passing on some of his learnings to you, dear comedy consumer, in his fourth Netflix comedy special, Where Was I, which drops December 19.

Following last year’s fantastic I Wish You Would and filmed at Detroit’s Fox Theater, the special is directed by David Paul Meyer, who has a long history of working with Noah on The Daily Show and on his past specials.

What’s it all about? The synopsis released by Netflix is short and sweet: “Trevor Noah shares his hilarious experiences from his recent travels around the world, ranging from foreign national anthems to varying cultural norms.” From that, you can assume Noah isn’t going to be spending too much time delivering a Daily Show-light kind of set that fixates on US domestic issues. Which is good. Noah’s ambition to hit the road after the show was made clear on his way out the door and it wasn’t born from a need to do his Trump impression and talk about Lindsay Graham, spreading word of America’s sometimes unique (and sometimes painfully unoriginal) batshittery. The idea that the US is the center of the universe, particularly when it comes to comedy, is outdated and uninteresting. Finding the things that connect us despite borders and other barriers? That’s the true challenge, something Noah has excelled at previously, and something it seems like he’s ready to attempt again with this new special which, again, drops on Netflix December 19.

All signs point toward a Dua Lipa album sooner than later. The UK pop supernova already dropped “Houdini,” fitting perfectly within the “psychedelic-pop vibe” expected from her forthcoming third LP. This morning, December 11, Mad Cool Festival unveiled its 2024 lineup, with Lipa headlining alongside the likes of The Smashing Pumpkins, Janelle Monáe, Pearl Jam, Jessie Ware, Sum 41, Bring Me The Horizon, and Avril Lavigne. Other notable performers include Uproxx’s August 2023 cover star Ashnikko, Arlo Parks, Greta Van Vleet, Kenya Grace, Genesis Owusu, and The Gaslight Anthem.

The annual festival will take place from Wednesday, July 10 to Saturday, July 13, 2024 in Madrid, Spain.

According to Mad Cool’s official website, there will be a pre-sale for Santander customers beginning tomorrow, December 12, at 12 p.m. local time and running through Thursday, December 15, at 11:59 a.m. local time. Find more information here. There will also be a pre-sale for Mad Cool members beginning tomorrow, located here. The general sale is scheduled for Thursday, December 15, located here.

“As well as announcing the first names set to appear at next year’s installment, the organizers at Mad Cool have also announced ways that it will be making improvements across the site to improve the overall attendee experience,” NME relayed. “This includes a reduction in the number of stages, going from eight to six, as well as a general reduction in public capacity. These look to improve flows within the festival and reduce schedule conflicts and artist overlaps.”

See the full lineup below.

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

Google has released its annual results for the year’s most-searched everything in the United States, including movies (Barbie), meme (Kevin James), and songs. That list is led by three tracks that were embroiled in culture-war controversy: “Try That In A Small Town” by Jason Aldean, with its pro-guns message and edited music video; “Rich Men North Of Richmond” by Oliver Anthony, who was hailed by the right-wing for being a real American before they turned on him; and “Unholy” by Sam Smith and Kim Petras, which Texas senator Ted Cruz dubbed “evil” following a demonic Grammys performance.

2023’s 10 most-searched songs on Google in the United States

1. “Try That In A Small Town” by Jason Aldean
2. “Rich Men North Of Richmond” by Oliver Anthony
3. “Unholy” by Sam Smith and Kim Petras
4. “Ella Baila Sola” by Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma
5. “Boy’s A Liar Pt. 2” by Ice Spice and PinkPantheress
6. “Kill Bill” by SZA
7. “Cruel Summer” by Taylor Swift
8. “Margaritaville” by Jimmy Buffett
9. “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” by Shakira
10. “Vampire” by Olivia Rodrigo

2023’s 10 most-searched songs on Google globally

1. “アイドル” by Yoasobi
2. “Try That In A Small Town” by Jason Aldean
3. “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” by Shakira and Bizarrap
4. “Unholy” by Sam Smith and Kim Petras
5. “Cupid” by FIFTY FIFTY
6. “ERE” by Juan Karlos
7 .”Kill Bill” by SZA
8. “Rich Men North Of Richmond” by Oliver Anthony
9. “Pasilyo” by SunKissed Lola
10. “Seven” by Jungkook

You can find more from Google’s Year In Search here.

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

The 81st annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony is set to air on January 7, 2024. Before that, though, the full list of nominees was revealed today, December 11. Notably, there there are some key representatives from the music world with a presence in the TV- and film-focused awards.

In Best Original Song, there are three Barbie songs nominated (Dua Lipa’s “Dance The Night,” the Ryan Gosling-sung “I’m Just Ken,” and Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For), as well as tunes by Bruce Springsteen, Jack Black, and Lenny Kravitz.

Outside of the music-specific categories, Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour movie picked up a nod in the Best Cinematic And Box Office Achievement category, while Selena Gomez is nominated for Best Actress In A TV Series, Musical Or Comedy, for her work on Only Murders In The Building.

Check out the music-related nominations below and find the full list of all nominees here.

Best Original Song – Motion Picture

“Addicted To Romance,” Bruce Springsteen (She Came To Me)
“Dance The Night,” Caroline Ailin, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt (Barbie)
“I’m Just Ken,” Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt (Barbie)
“Peaches,” Jack Black, Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, Eric Osmond & John Spiker (The Super Mario Bros. Movie)
“Road To Freedom,” Lenny Kravitz (Rustin)
“What Was I Made For?,” Billie Eilish & Finneas (Barbie)

Best Original Score – Motion Picture

Jerskin Fendrix, Poor Things
Ludwig Göransson, Oppenheimer
Mica Levi, The Zone Of Interest
Daniel Pemberton, Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
Robbie Robertson, Killers Of The Flower Moon
Joe Hisaishi, The Boy And The Heron

Best Cinematic And Box Office Achievement

Barbie
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3
John Wick: Chapter 4
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Oppenheimer
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour
The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Best Actress In A TV Series, Musical Or Comedy

Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary
Elle Fanning, The Great
Selena Gomez, Only Murders in the Building
Natasha Lyonne, Poker Face
Ayo Edebiri, The Bear

Famous actors and actresses, as opposed to voice actors and actresses, often give uninspired performances in animated movies. Chris Pratt isn’t doing a Mario voice in The Super Mario Bros. Movie — he’s doing a Chris Pratt voice with a slight Italian inflection (it’s even less disguised in The Garfield Movie). Call it the “Zendaya is Meechee” effect. But every so far, celebrity stunt casting works out, like Robin Williams in Aladdin, Tom Hanks in Toy Story, or that master of chaos himself, Robert Pattinson, in The Boy and The Heron.

In the dubbed version of the majestic Studio Ghibli film (which debuted at #1 at the box office), Pattinson voices the titular heron, a nasty little guy who teases Mahito (a.k.a “The Boy”) about his dead mother before they go on an adventure in an alternate world together. GKIDS president Dave Jesteadt told IndieWire that Danny DeVito was originally considered for the role, but Studio Ghibli wanted to go in a different direction. “They said, ‘Oh no, in Japan it’s actually going to be played by a young, 30-year-old hot singer-actor guy [Masaki Suda]. “I was like, ‘What!?’ They said, ‘Yeah, so for the English dub we want someone who matches that age and would also be unusual in the role.’”

They landed on Pattinson, but voice director Michael Sinterniklaas was initially hesitant. “There was nothing in his body of work to indicate that he could do this crazy thing,” he said, but when The Batman star “came to our studio in L.A., he was like ‘OK, I’ve been thinking about this role and I recorded some stuff. Do you want to hear it?’ And he whips out his iPhone and plays some stuff that he’s just been doing in the Memos app and it was already the voice.” Sinterniklaas added, “I was like, ‘Oh, bingo, you’ve already got the character.’”

Plus, it’s a The Lighthouse reunion with Willem Dafoe.

You can hear a croaky Pattinson as the Heron below, and see some reactions to his performance.

(Via IndieWire)

It was only just last week that Taylor Swift publicly referred to herself and Travis Kelce as a “couple” for the first time. NFL commentator Tony Romo is apparently ready for them to take things to the next level, though.

While praising a Kelce play during the Kansas City Chiefs’ game against the Buffalo Bills yesterday (December 10), the broadcast showed Swift happily applauding in the audience, and Romo made note of that, saying, “…as you see… Kelce’s wife, Taylor Swift, in the audience… or, I’m sorry [laughs]: girlfriend.”

Swift and Kelce, of course, are not married as far as the public knows. Romo caught his mistake quickly, but that didn’t stop it from going viral online.

One of the most common reactions from Swifties was to crack a joke about Tree Paine, Swift’s longtime publicist, taking action. (Paine recently got upset over rumors that Swift and Joe Alwyn were previously married, tweeting, “Enough is enough with these fabricated lies about Taylor from Deuxmoi. There was NEVER a marriage or ceremony of ANY kind. This is an insane thing to post. It’s time for you to be held accountable for the pain and trauma you cause with posts like these.”)

Others wished Romo the best of luck as Swifties were surely about to invade his social media pages.

Swift recently brought more clarity to her and Kelce’s relationship timeline, saying in an interview, “This all started when Travis very adorably put me on blast on his podcast, which I thought was metal as hell. We started hanging out right after that. So we actually had a significant amount of time that no one knew, which I’m grateful for, because we got to get to know each other. By the time I went to that first game, we were a couple.”

As you surely know, awards season has been bizarre for several years. The 2023 Primetime Emmy nominations still haven’t been resolved with a ceremony, and now, the Golden Globes are releasing the HFPA nominations, which would usually launch the official 2024 awards season. The winner’s ceremony is set for January 7 on CBS with no host announced as of yet. Do we really need a host? Probably not, but I nominate Richie from The Bear. Fight chaos with more chaos.

Speaking of that series, we can likely expect The Bear to figure prominently into the TV drama categories, and even though that category still seems loosey goosey, it’s gotta go somewhere. Other probable nominees from both drama and comedy include Succession, The Crown, Ted Lasso, Only Murders In The Building, and Beef. Perhaps the Taylor Sheridan world will see some 1923 or Lawmen: Bass Reeves love, too? On the film side of things, Killers Of The Flower Moon, Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Poor Things should scare up some nods.

Please follow along with the below list as we update it.

Best Motion Picture, Drama
Oppenheimer
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Past Lives
The Zone of Interest
Anatomy of a Fall

Best Picture, Musical or Comedy
Barbie
Poor Things
American Fiction
The Holdovers
May December
Air

Best Motion Picture, Foreign Language
Anatomy of a Fall
Io Capitano
Past Lives
Society of the Snow
The Zone of Interest

Best Television Series, Drama
1923
The Crown
The Diplomat
The Last of Us
1923
The Morning Show

Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy
Abbott Elementary
Barry
Jury Duty
Only Murders in the Building
Ted Lasso
The Bear

Best Director, Motion Picture
Bradley Cooper, Maestro
Greta Gerwig, Barbie
Yorgos Lanthimos, Poor Things
Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer
Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon
Celine Song, Past Lives

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Drama
Brian Cox, Succession
Kieran Culkin, Succession
Gary Oldman, Slow Horses
Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us
Jeremy Strong, Succession
Dominic West, The Crown

Best Actor in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy
Matthew Macfadyen, Succession
James Marsden, Jury Duty
Alan Ruck, Succession
Alexander Skarsgård, Succession
Billy Crudup, The Morning Show

Best Actress in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary
Elle Fanning, The Great
Selena Gomez, Only Murders in the Building
Natasha Lyonne, Poker Face
Ayo Edebiri, The Bear

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Fantasia Barrino, The Color Purple
Jennifer Lawrence, No Hard Feelings
Natalie Portman, May December
Margot Robbie, Barbie
Emma Stone, Poor Things

Best Motion Picture Score
Jerskin Fendrix, Poor Things
Ludwig Göransson, Oppenheimer
Mica Levi, The Zone of Interest
Daniel Pemberton, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Robbie Robertson, Killers of the Flower Moon
The Boy and the Heron

Best Mini-Series or Movie for TV
All the LIght We Cannot See
Beef
Daisy Jones & the Six

Best Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture made for Television

Best Motion Picture, Animated

Best Performance by an Actress, Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture made for Television

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Drama

Best Performance by an Actor, Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture made for Television

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

Best Supporting Actor, Motion Picture

Best Supporting Actress, Motion Picture

Best Supporting Actor In A Television Series or Miniseries

Best Supporting Actress In A Television Series or Miniseries

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama

Best Television Actor, Musical, or Comedy Series

Best Screenplay, Motion Picture

Best Original Song, Motion Picture

It’s been slightly over a year since SZA released her latest album, SOS, on December 9, 2022. For the past few months, SZA has been teasing a deluxe edition of the album, dubbed Lana (SZA’s full legal name is Solána Imani Rowe). There’s been no release date officially revealed yet, but now fans think SZA has covertly let the cat out of the bag.

In a series of social media posts, SZA shared what appears to be different cover art options for Lana, based on the fact that they’re all in a square aspect ratio, that they all have the parental advisory label on them, and that SZA captioned all the posts, “LANA.” Furthermore, a few of the photos feature SZA wearing a generic sports jersey with the number 15 on it, which has fans thinking the project will be released this Friday, December 15. SZA herself has yet to confirm the speculated release date.

A couple hours before those posts, SZA shared another one reflecting on SOS a year after its release. She wrote:

“a day late but Happy 1 year anniversary to an album that is ACTIVELY CHANGING MY LIFE .. like rn currently changing my life . I haven’t processed this year AT ALL cause it’s still happening .. this is beyond my wildest dreams . I never imagined we’d accomplish a fraction of the accolades that came from this .. it often doesn’t feel real and it’s funny cause I swore I’d know what to do if it ever happened [crying laughing emoji] turns out I I froze .. I know the perils of drinking the koolaid so I won’t dabble in that .. but I have to express the immense GRATITUDE I have for every person that made this possible . Every person that’s been apart of this journey. Thank you to GOD and to my incredible TEAM and My FAMILY . My ancestors . Thank you to every person that streamed this album ,came to a show , blasted it in traffic and connected w ANY part of me . To everyone that continues to believe in me and be patient w me as I figure it all out . your my driving force . I love you [heart hands emoji] [hearts emoji] #campforever #SOSFOREVER.”

The Kansas City Chiefs fell to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday afternoon, 20-17. For a moment, it didn’t look like that was going to happen, as a Travis Kelce lateral after a reception fell into the hands of Kadarius Toney, who ran into the end zone for a late score that put the Chiefs ahead. But unfortunately for Kansas City, Toney lined up offsides on the play, meaning that it was negated.

Patrick Mahomes was furious once the Bills defense was able to get him off the field, and while he had some time to cool off after the game, he was still pretty upset while he spoke to the media. And now, video has popped up of the handshake between Mahomes and Bills quarterback Josh Allen after the game which shows that Mahomes went up to Allen, hugged him, and could not resist the urge to complain about the flag.

“Wildest f*cking call I’ve ever seen,” Mahomes said. “Offensive offsides in that moment, man. F*cking terrible.”

The funniest part of the video is that Allen isn’t sure what Mahomes is talking about, and once he figures out what has him riled up, he gives him a pat on the chest and gets out of there. Regardless, Mahomes isn’t normally the type of guy who gets this upset at officiating, which is pretty fascinating here, because Toney was clearly lined up in the neutral zone.