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SZA has “Good Days” on her mind with her latest single, and the Billboard Hot 100 chart has “Good Days” on its radar with its No. 38 debut this week (dated Jan. 9).
She previewed the track, which she co-wrote with and features vocals from Grammy-winning musician Jacob Collier, as the outro of the music video for “Hit Different,” featuring Ty Dolla $ign. The biblical references to Jericho, Job and Jesus’ cross indicate that although the R&B crooner has felt broken, burdened by the weight of her emotional struggles and like she’s lost control at times, she still looks forward to good days ahead.
Check out the lyrics below.
Good day in my mind, safe to take a step out
Get some air now, let your edge out
Too soon, I spoke, you be heavy in my mind
Can you get the heck out?
I need rest now, got me bummed out
You so, you so, you, baby, baby, babe
I’ve been on my empty mind sh–
I try to keep from losin’ the rest of me
I worry that I wasted the best of me on you, baby
You don’t care
Said, not tryna be a nuisance, it’s just urgent
Tryna make sense of loose change
Got me a war in my mind
Gotta let go of weight, can’t keep what’s holding me
Choose to watch
While the world break up and fall on me
All the while, I’ll await my armored fate with a smile
Still wanna try, still believe in (good days)
Good days, always (good days)
Always inside (always in my mind, always in my mind, mind)
Good day living in my mind
Tell me I’m not my fears, my limitations
I disappear, if you let me
Feeling like (on your own)
Feeling like Jericho
Feeling like Job when he lost his sh–
Gotta hold my own, my cross to bear alone, I
Ooh, paid a deal, way to kill the mood
Know you like that sh–, yeah, groovy baby, baby
Heavy on my empty mind sh–
I gotta keep from losin’ the rest of me (losin’ the rest of me)
Still worry that I wasted the best of me on you, babe
You don’t care
Said, not tryna be a nuisance, it’s just urgent (it’s urgent)
Tryna make sense of loose change
Got me a war in my mind (my mind)
Gotta let go of weight, can’t keep what’s holding me
Choose to watch
While the world break up and fall on me
All the while, I’ll await my armored fate with a smile
Still wanna try, still believe in (good days, good days on my mind)
good days (good days on my mind)
Always sunny inside (always in my mind, always in my mind, mind)
Good day living in my mind
Gotta get right, tryna free my mind before the end of the world
I don’t miss no ex, I don’t miss no text
I just choose not to respond
I don’t regret, just pretend sh– never happened
Half of us layin’ waste to our youth, is in the present
Half of us chasin’ fountains of youth and it’s in the present now
Always in my mind, always in my mind, mind
You’ve been making me feel like I’m
Always in my mind, always in my mind, mind
Lyrics licensed & provided by LyricFind
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Solana Rowe, Carter Lang, Christopher Ruelas, Carlos Munoz, Jacob Collier
Roblox, the massively popular gaming platform played by over half of U.S. kids under 16, has raised $520 million in a new Series H funding round that includes investors Warner Music Group, Altimeter Capital and others. (Warner’s investment was eight-figures, according to a source familiar with the situation.) The new round increases Roblox’s valuation to $29.5 billion, and the company plans to use the additional funds to “advance Roblox’s growth initiatives.”
This isn’t the first time Warner Music Group has partnered with Roblox, with Atlantic Records artist Ava Max hosting a launch party for her album Heaven & Hell on the platform in September. Roblox vice president and global head of music Jon Vlassopulos told VentureBeat at the time that the company had struck a partnership with Warner Music Group to launch more virtual concerts and “enable WMG’s artists to tap into the power of Roblox’s platform in the weeks and months ahead.”
Warner Music Group has been focused on growing its footprint in gaming for some time. “Ultimately, everything is going toward gaming, and we want to make sure we’re capturing value within it. It’s the future of entertainment,” Oana Ruxandra, Warner Music Group’s chief digital officer, told Billboard last September. The music industry has certainly been flocking toward gaming platforms over the past year, with Travis Scott pulling in 27.7 million participants during his Fortnite in-game performance last April, kicking off a wave of artists looking to set up virtual concerts on similar platforms. Roblox launched its first virtual concert in November, with a virtual concert by Lil Nas X that racked up 33 million views.
“COVID has supercharged the demand for 2D and 3D live streaming events, and we’ve successfully facilitated virtual concerts on platforms like Wave XR, Roblox and Fortnite,” Warner CEO Steve Cooper said during the company’s fourth quarter earnings call in November. “On track to be a several hundred billion-dollar market by 2025, gaming is among the fastest-growing sectors of digital media, and we’ve positioned ourselves to forge meaningful partnerships within the gaming community.”
The move to raise another funding round hasn’t been a long-term plan for Roblox, which was supposed to go public in 2020 before delaying its IPO due to uncertain market conditions. Like many gaming companies, Roblox saw a huge surge in user engagement at the beginning of the pandemic, with a 40% increase in users in March 2020. Last April, Roblox reported that two-thirds of all kids between the ages 9 and 12 in the U.S. were using its platform.
A pandemic isn’t necessarily a bad time to make a strategic investment. Warner’s income growth stalled in the quarter ending Sept. 30 but record labels and publishers have been somewhat protected from disruptions in live music and retail. Moreover, the time is good for an investment because debt is cheap. In October, Warner raised $250 million in a 3% note sale with the specific intent “to fund a portion of the aggregate cash consideration for certain acquisitions.”
Glenn Peoples contributed to this report.
YouTube, Facebook and Twitter have removed a video that President Donald Trump released as his supporters stormed the Capitol building and disrupted the Electoral College vote count.
In the video, posted on social media platforms on Wednesday afternoon, Trump told the rioters to “go home now” while reiterating the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
The New York Times earlier reported that YouTube and Facebook had taken the video down. But the removal from the three major social media platforms didn’t stop it from being widely viewed. Twitter, in particular, kept the video up on its platform for more than two hours, allowing it to rack up 13 million views. The social network had affixed a label on the Trump tweet containing the video, that includes the messaging, “This claim of election fraud is disputed.” It has also disabled replies, retweets and likes on the tweet “due to a risk of violence.”
Representatives for Twitter, Facebook and YouTube did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the video.
Earlier in the day, Twitter a Twitter spokeswoman told The Hollywood Reporter, “In regard to the ongoing situation in Washington, DC, Twitter’s Trust & Safety teams are working to protect the public conversation occurring on the service and will take action on any content that violates the Twitter Rules.”
Users of the social platforms have called on the tech giants to shutter Trump’s account entirely amid the chaos on Capitol Hill. Sacha Baron Cohen specifically called on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki and Google CEO Sundar Pichai to ban Trump from their platforms, writing that “Donald Trump just incited a violent attack on American democracy. Is that FINALLY [sic] enough for you to act?!” Other Hollywood figures who have weighed in include Josh Gad and Sarah Silverman.
The social media platforms have in recent years struggled to control the spread of misinformation and violent rhetoric on their platforms, especially when an elected official like Trump has stoked those flames. During the recent presidential election, Twitter and Facebook both liberally affixed labels to messages that contained misinformation. But they refrained from taking more permanent action against accounts run by Trump and his supporters. Twitter has said it treats Trump’s account differently because of the newsworthiness of his missives. He will not be granted the same protection after he leaves office on Jan. 20.
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
CJ enters the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time with his hit “Whoopty” while topping Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart in the Jan. 9-dated week.
“Whoopty” samples the Indian song “Sanam Re” by Arijit Singh and Mithoon while incorporating Brooklyn drill sounds and flexing his Puerto Rican heritage.
“I’m Puerto Rican, you know what I’m saying? I been in the house, you know my mom be playing Spanish music. I had to you know, embrace my heritage on this song I just felt like it was needed,” CJ told Genius back in November.
Check out the lyrics and music video below.
Loyalty over royalty, y’all n—as know the vibes
(Pxcoyo killed this beat, bi—)
Whoopty
Bi—, I’m outside it’s a movie (whoopty, huh)
Blue cheese
I swear I’m addicted to blue cheese
I gotta stick to this paper like loose leaf (huh?)
Bi—, I’m ’bout my chicken like it’s a two-piece
You can have your bi— back, she a groupie
She just swallowed all my kids in the two-seat (skrrt)
Swagged out
For Milly, we bringin’ them gats out (gang, gang)
I still got some racks stuffed in the trap house
Off the ’42, I’m blowin’ her back out (blowin’ her back out)
I’m back on my bullsh–, swing back with a full clip
They say I’m movin’ ruthless
And my shooters, they shootin’
I won’t take her to Ruth Chris (and my shooters they shootin’)
(Shooters they shootin’, ayy)
I get the breesh, then it’s adiós
If I’m with your treesh then she’s givin’ throat (yeah)
When I see police, then we gettin’ low (when I see police)
That’s another piece, that’s another Zoe
Ice in the VV’s, now she’s down to get treeshy (ice in the VV’s)
I got all this water on me, like Fiji
Bi—, I’m posted up with Hats and the Sleezys (gang)
Smokin’ the Zaza, it goes straight to the māthā
Then I’m uppin’ the choppa
Hittin’ the cha-cha, open his lata
Then he dancin’ bachata
(Smokin’ the Zaza, it goes straight to the māthā)
(Then I’m uppin’ the choppa)
(Hittin’ the cha-cha, then I open his lata)
(Then he dancin’ bachata)
Whoopty
Bi—, I’m outside it’s a movie (whoopty, huh)
Blue cheese
I swear I’m addicted to blue cheese
I gotta stick to this paper like loose leaf (huh?)
Bi—, I’m ’bout my chicken like it’s a two-piece
You can have your bi— back, she a groupie
She just swallowed all my kids in the two-seat (skrrt)
Swagged out
For Milly, we bringin’ them gats out (gang, gang)
I still got some racks stuffed in the trap house
Off the ’42, I’m blowin’ her back out (blowin’ her back out)
I’m back on my bullsh–, swing back with a full clip
They say I’m movin’ ruthless
And my shooters, they shootin’
I won’t take her to Ruth Chris (and my shooters they shootin’)
(Shooters they shootin’, ayy)
Swagged out
For Milly, we bringin’ them gats out
I still got some racks stuffed in the trap house
Off the’ 42, I’m blowin’ her back out (blowin’ her back out)
I’m back on my bullsh–, swing back with a full clip
They say I’m movin’ ruthless
And my shooters, they shootin’
I won’t take her to Ruth Chris (and my shooters they shootin’)
(Shooters they shootin’, ayy)
Lyrics licensed & provided by LyricFind
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Mithoon, Charalambos Antoniou, Christopher Daniel Soriano
Lauren Jauregui has had enough of Tomi Lahren.
The conservative political commentator took to Twitter on Wednesday (Jan. 6) to give her two cents on the massive crowd of rioters supporting President Donald Trump, who violently stormed the U.S. Capitol and sent the building into lockdown.
“Funny to see liberals suddenly so against protesting. Weird,” she sarcastically tweeted, in reference to the powerful Black Lives Matter protests over the summer, which were met with harsh condemnation by Trump.
Jauregui, however, was not about to let Lahren compare the Black community’s fight for justice to Wednesday’s attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“Tammy shut the actual f— up,” the singer simply replied, intentionally spelling her name wrong. Lahren has yet to react to Jauregui’s comment. See below.
