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 a quarterback's ex making it to the Super Bowl, to someone associated with New Zealand's biggest band working with the Muppets, to the Jersey Shore cast going far, far away from the boardwalk, and since it's Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.
* Former American Idol and current country superstar Carrie Underwood will be singing the national anthem at the Super Bowl this Sunday. Underwood is a fantastic choice for the job, but I wonder how the Cowboys feel about the fact that people their quarterback used to date are getting to the Super Bowl before he is. Ah, well, at least it's not Jessica Simpson, right Tony?
* The Grammys happened this weekend and I didn't watch. I am not a fan of award shows, much less award shows that are run by people who don't seem to know very much about music. Eminem and Jay-Z taking home multiple Grammys proves how little their voters know about good hip-hop, but the biggest insult was to the Black Eyed Peas, whose two Grammy wins - for best pop duo or group with vocals, and best pop vocal album - weren't even televised (I may not watch, but I have friends who do). I guess the Grammys felt changing the landscape of pop music wasn't all that important. #GrammyFail
* Taylor Swift and Ke$ha apparently both received the memo that records are meant to be broken. Swift's latest single, "Today was a Fairytale," moved 325,000 units digitally this past week, which was the highest first week digital sales total ever for a female artist. Ke$ha, meanwhile, established a new radio airplay record 11,224 spins of "TiK ToK." Neither record was exactly a longstanding one. Britney Spears held the previous first week download record and Lady Gaga held the previous weekly spins record. Come to think of it, with records are being broken at a record pace we might need to check these girls for steroids!
* Ozzy Osbourne has an autobiography that just hit bookstores and there's one aspect of it that I just can't get over - he didn't write it, it was dictated to someone. From a writer's standpoint it doesn't bother me that a superstar dictated his life story. Not in the least. What I can't get over is the fact that someone could actually transcribe over 400 pages worth of Osbourne's incoherent ramblings and mold it into a readable story. If there's an award for transcription it should be named after that man.
* Here are some cold hard facts. The Muppets are awesome. Flight of the Conchords are awesome. What happens when you put them together? We're about to find out as Flight of the Conchords co-creator James Bobin has signed on to direct the next Muppets movie. This only adds to what I'm already anticipating will be one of the best Muppet movies ever as the film was co-written by How I Met Your Mother's Jason Segel. I'm definitely going to be shelling out the ten bucks to see this one in the theater.
* Have you noticed how nearly every Pop Shots over the past month or so has had something about Jersey Shore in it? Maybe you thought now that the season is over they'd no longer make appearances here. Well, think again, because MTV has come to an agreement with the cast to have a season two! Since the Jersey Shore is frozen over at this point MTV plans on taking the show to warm weather spot so they can begin filming as soon as possible and have the next season ready to go for the summer rather than waiting until the summer to film. Of course, this means they'll have a show called Jersey Shore that will feature only one actual New Jersey resident and will be set nowhere near New Jersey. That's MTV logic, folks. Gotta love it.
* Finally, a rest in peace to OMC's Pauly Fuemana, who passed away at the age of 40 this past weekend. Pop Shots will now take a few minutes to get bizarre in his memory.
And with that, my time is up for the week, but I'll be back next week with more shots on all things pop.
* Former American Idol and current country superstar Carrie Underwood will be singing the national anthem at the Super Bowl this Sunday. Underwood is a fantastic choice for the job, but I wonder how the Cowboys feel about the fact that people their quarterback used to date are getting to the Super Bowl before he is. Ah, well, at least it's not Jessica Simpson, right Tony?* The Grammys happened this weekend and I didn't watch. I am not a fan of award shows, much less award shows that are run by people who don't seem to know very much about music. Eminem and Jay-Z taking home multiple Grammys proves how little their voters know about good hip-hop, but the biggest insult was to the Black Eyed Peas, whose two Grammy wins - for best pop duo or group with vocals, and best pop vocal album - weren't even televised (I may not watch, but I have friends who do). I guess the Grammys felt changing the landscape of pop music wasn't all that important. #GrammyFail
* Taylor Swift and Ke$ha apparently both received the memo that records are meant to be broken. Swift's latest single, "Today was a Fairytale," moved 325,000 units digitally this past week, which was the highest first week digital sales total ever for a female artist. Ke$ha, meanwhile, established a new radio airplay record 11,224 spins of "TiK ToK." Neither record was exactly a longstanding one. Britney Spears held the previous first week download record and Lady Gaga held the previous weekly spins record. Come to think of it, with records are being broken at a record pace we might need to check these girls for steroids!
* Ozzy Osbourne has an autobiography that just hit bookstores and there's one aspect of it that I just can't get over - he didn't write it, it was dictated to someone. From a writer's standpoint it doesn't bother me that a superstar dictated his life story. Not in the least. What I can't get over is the fact that someone could actually transcribe over 400 pages worth of Osbourne's incoherent ramblings and mold it into a readable story. If there's an award for transcription it should be named after that man.
* Here are some cold hard facts. The Muppets are awesome. Flight of the Conchords are awesome. What happens when you put them together? We're about to find out as Flight of the Conchords co-creator James Bobin has signed on to direct the next Muppets movie. This only adds to what I'm already anticipating will be one of the best Muppet movies ever as the film was co-written by How I Met Your Mother's Jason Segel. I'm definitely going to be shelling out the ten bucks to see this one in the theater.* Have you noticed how nearly every Pop Shots over the past month or so has had something about Jersey Shore in it? Maybe you thought now that the season is over they'd no longer make appearances here. Well, think again, because MTV has come to an agreement with the cast to have a season two! Since the Jersey Shore is frozen over at this point MTV plans on taking the show to warm weather spot so they can begin filming as soon as possible and have the next season ready to go for the summer rather than waiting until the summer to film. Of course, this means they'll have a show called Jersey Shore that will feature only one actual New Jersey resident and will be set nowhere near New Jersey. That's MTV logic, folks. Gotta love it.
* Finally, a rest in peace to OMC's Pauly Fuemana, who passed away at the age of 40 this past weekend. Pop Shots will now take a few minutes to get bizarre in his memory.
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] POP
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