Pop Shots - Little High, Little Low

Welcome to your weekly dose of pop world musings. Covering all things pop culture, this week Pop Shots is hitting you with thoughts on everything from Beyonce leading the VMA pack, to Lady Gaga possibly reaching a new low, to Weird Al continuing to be on top of everything, and since it’s Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.

* Because nothing says "important award show" like utilizing a form of technology most often used to send dick pics, MTV announced the nominees for this year's VMAs via Snapchat. Beyonce led all artists with eight nominations, closely followed by Iggy Azalea, and Eminem, who had seven apiece. The nominations were met on Snapchat by an overwhelming response of, "Boobs or GTFO."

* In chart news, MAGIC!'s "Rude" has ended the aforementioned Iggy Azalea’s reign at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Incidentally, you know the summer is strange when you go from an Australian rapper, to a Canadian reggae band. What's next, Norwegian soul-pop? Yes, I'm looking at YOU Nico & Vinz!


* Drake hasn't started recording his next album yet, but that didn’t stop him from announcing the name of the project, which will be Views From the 6. The 6 train responded to this by saying, "It's bad enough J.Lo name dropped me, don't get me involved in this sh*t, too."

* In addition to his album announcement, Drake hosted the ESPY awards on ESPN, and used the opportunity to take a shot at Macklemore, having the Seattle emcee's image on the screen while rapping, "Real talent doesn't always win championships / like real music doesn't always win Grammys." It was an odd moment for Drake, who normally decides to be a huge fan of anyone who wins anything.


* Remember when one of Lady Gaga's assistants sued her for overtime back pay? That same assistant, Jennifer O'Neill, has signed a deal with Atria Books to write a tell-all about the musician. If the lawsuit is any indicator of the content of the book it should be a pretty interesting read, as O'Neill has already said that part of her job as an assistant required her to share a bed with the singer, and being woken up to change DVDs because Gaga didn't feel like doing it herself. In a related story, I could really use an assistant. Preferably a hot one, that sleeps in the nude.

* Because there are apparently still things we don't know about The Beatles, Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard will helm a new authorized documentary on the band. The film reportedly has the full cooperation of Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr, as well as John Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, and George Harrison’s widow, Olivia. Most importantly, however, a new Beatles documentary means we might get to see a rebirth of The Rutles.


* Reading contracts is hard. That's the basis for a new initiative 700 indie labels have joined forces to support. The goal is to make digital revenue and accounting more transparent. Admittedly, digital revenue can be tough to navigate. It can require an artist to read through a lot of legal material, and ask quite a few questions. In other artist hardship news...

* South Korea had to introduce a law to guarantee underage performers the right to sleep (yes, you read that correctly), and make it illegal to "coerce minors into wearing revealing stage costumes or dancing sexually suggestive choreography routines." This means no more overnight shows, no more being forced to rehearse and perform without sleep, and no more sexualized portrayals. I have no idea if there was anything in there about clarifying digital revenue.

* Finally, in much happier news, Weird Al came up with a brilliant campaign to promote his latest album, Mandatory Fun, releasing a new video a day, for eight days. All of the videos have been great, but as a writer my favorite is this clip that turns Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" into a song about proper grammar.


And with that, my time is up for the week, but I'll be back next week with more shots on all things pop.