Pop Shots
Makeover Madness
By: Adam Bernard
Last updated December 9th , 2009

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 the makeover the Grammy's have given themselves, to Selena Gomez and Usher helping out on Extreme Home Makeover, to Carrie Underwood's hopes of making over a TV network's lineup, and since it's Pop Shots, you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.

* Good news Grammy watchers, there should be no more heavy metal awards going to Jethro Tull. The Grammy nominations committee finally seems to have figured out what people are actually listening to, giving plenty of 2010 nominations to Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Black Eyed Peas, Kanye West, Lady Gaga and Jay-Z. The only minor surprise was that Maxwell's comeback earned him six nods, but that's a welcome surprise (some of us still utilize Urban Hang Suite on dates. Thanks Maxwell!). Ten bucks says Kanye stays in line this time when Taylor Swift takes home damn near every award. I hear they're going to serve him fish sticks... because he likes them.

* If you ever wanted to see a Disney star and the king of R&B help build a house, this past Sunday's Extreme Home Makeover was put together (pun fully intended) just for you. The Scott family in Clarksville, TN, were excited enough to find out they were getting a new home, but as an added bonus Selena Gomez and Usher were there to help with the proceedings. Usher put in some serious work with the building team, but shouldn't Gomez have been able to use her witch skills to just make a new house appear out of thin air? I'm starting to be very disillusioned, I though The Witches of Waverly Place was like a documentary or something.


* Going from an Extreme Home Makeover to an attempt at an Extreme Career Makeover, this past week Chris Brown fumbled around in an interview on ABC's 20/20 and somehow managed to call Rihanna a liar. He stated during the interview, "I played the song ("Changed Man") for her... The day I did it... a month after the situation. She called when she first heard the song." In a previous interview Rihanna said she never listened to the song. Brown continued his story, though, saying "I mean, I'm not trying to say—call her any liar or anything like that. But I played the song for her when I first wrote it. And she cried." There's an old saying that Brown may want to learn, and live by - it's better to say nothing and be thought a fool than open your mouth and remove all doubt. In other words, SHUT UP!

* Because apparently they forgot the Hard Rock Cafe has the market on restaurants that feature music memorabilia and overpriced hamburgers, Rolling Stone is planning on opening a restaurant in Los Angeles near the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It's an interesting way for the publication to try to survive the downturn of the magazine industry, but with the Hard Rock also planning on opening something up in the exact same area next year, it seems like a poorly thought out plan. Of course, Rolling Stone could be going for a different demographic of people. If they're looking to cater to the majority of their current subscribers, they'll be offering early bird specials and AARP discounts. Rock on. (PS - I still totally want to write for you.)

* Remember a handful of years ago when Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson made an awkward attempt at having a variety show? Well, now Carrie Underwood has decided to give it a shot. On Monday she hosted An All-Star Holiday Special on Fox and she thinks/hopes a variety show is the kind of thing that people could be interested in again. One thing she has going for her - nobody can afford to go out anymore, so if something is on TV, they'll give it a chance. If MTV can put on a show about idiots at the Jersey Shore, and Holly Madison can get her own half hour time slot on E!, surely an Underwood hosted variety show can get green lit by someone.


* As a huge fan of the already cancelled, ratings deprived, Dollhouse, I feel the need to let you know that if you want to catch the end of what was one of the best series in recent memory Fox is playing two hour blocks of the Joss Whedon masterpiece on Friday nights from 8pm - 10pm. I figure I have to say this because if you've watched Fox at all this year you know they haven't run a single advertisement for the show. Gee, and they wonder why its ratings were so low.

* The Pop Shots video pick of the week is something that's been burning up the internet for a couple weeks now. Perhaps you've already seen it, but even if you have it's certainly it worthy of repeat viewings. The Muppets' take on the Queen classic "Bohemian Rhapsody" is, simply put, pure genius.



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

[Tags] Column, POP