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 Jordin Sparks to Attack of the Show to JoJo. All seasoned with a little bit of attitude.
* When I first heard my local radio DJ announce they were going to play Jordin Sparks' latest single, "Battlefield," I held my breath praying it wasn't going to be a remake of the Pat Benatar classic "Love is a Battlefield." Thankfully, it wasn't. What Sparks did instead was put together a single that might finally launch her into the second tier of pop stars (which is the tier right under the Lady Gagas and Katy Perrys of the world). Even though American Idol voters are wrong the vast majority of the time (seriously folks, how can you claim to love a singer and then not even buy their album once you've made them the winner), Sparks may have just needed a little time to grow into the pop star role. Heck, if more young artists were given that opportunity to grow who knows what the pop scene would look like right now.
* Many people in the music world like to blame technology for the historic collapse of album sales, and while they may be on the right path to discover what ails the industry, I think they're blaming the wrong technological advances. The labels believe the internet and downloading have killed the industry. What they're not seeing, however, is that their own use of other technologies is what's really hurting them. Auto-Tune anyone? Sure, it's worked for a few artists, but because of it, and programs like it, record labels have had no qualms about signing artists who can't really sing. For as much as people liked to rip on the boy bands, no one could ever accuse them of not being able to sing, and they were at their peak when Napster was in its prime. Everyone knows Paris Hilton can't sing, but she was given an album deal. Everyone knows it took a lot to make Brooke Hogan sound good. I think when you take an honest look at it everything in music really boils down to one simple question – does this person or group have talent? So yes, technology is killing the music industry, but the music industry is blaming the wrong technologies.
* I have to give a big shout out to everyone over at Attack of the Show. The G4 tech/pop culture program will be celebrating its 1,000 episode on Thursday, July 9th. 1,000 episodes is a tremendous accomplishment and with AOTS being a LIVE program it makes it doubly impressive. As someone who's been in the studio for the taping of an episode I can tell you the process it takes to make an hour of fast paced live television happen is extraordinary and everyone there deserves a standing ovation for their efforts. I'm looking forward to the next 1,000 episodes.
* Anybody remember teen pop singer and occasional film actress JoJo? I do - she's the only pop artist I know of that's related to WWE superstar HHH - and I'm on the verge of calling some milk carton companies to see if we can get her on the side of a few. I was skeptical about JoJo when I was originally told about her by her publicist in 2004. A thirteen year old singer? Spare me, I've heard this story before. But I was assured I'd dig her. (Bear in mind this was before "Leave (Get Out)" even hit the airwaves.) I gave the album a spin, heard that she covered the SWV classic "Weak," and was extremely impressed. Her second album, which was released in 2006, showed a great amount of maturation as an artist, but ever since then she's been noticeably absent from the scene. We're halfway through 2009 now. Where is JoJo?
* One of the best television shows in the history of all humankind, Entourage, returns this Sunday, July 12th. The plotlines on Entourage are always top notch, but for me the best part of the show is the very real interactions between Vince and his friends, which remind me of exactly how I act with my own friends. It's also been a while since I've learned a new curse word, so I'm looking forward to hearing the gems Ari Gold comes up with this season.
And with that, my time is up for the week, but I'll be back next week with more shots on all things pop. In the meantime, enjoy this picture of Olivia Munn.
* When I first heard my local radio DJ announce they were going to play Jordin Sparks' latest single, "Battlefield," I held my breath praying it wasn't going to be a remake of the Pat Benatar classic "Love is a Battlefield." Thankfully, it wasn't. What Sparks did instead was put together a single that might finally launch her into the second tier of pop stars (which is the tier right under the Lady Gagas and Katy Perrys of the world). Even though American Idol voters are wrong the vast majority of the time (seriously folks, how can you claim to love a singer and then not even buy their album once you've made them the winner), Sparks may have just needed a little time to grow into the pop star role. Heck, if more young artists were given that opportunity to grow who knows what the pop scene would look like right now.* Many people in the music world like to blame technology for the historic collapse of album sales, and while they may be on the right path to discover what ails the industry, I think they're blaming the wrong technological advances. The labels believe the internet and downloading have killed the industry. What they're not seeing, however, is that their own use of other technologies is what's really hurting them. Auto-Tune anyone? Sure, it's worked for a few artists, but because of it, and programs like it, record labels have had no qualms about signing artists who can't really sing. For as much as people liked to rip on the boy bands, no one could ever accuse them of not being able to sing, and they were at their peak when Napster was in its prime. Everyone knows Paris Hilton can't sing, but she was given an album deal. Everyone knows it took a lot to make Brooke Hogan sound good. I think when you take an honest look at it everything in music really boils down to one simple question – does this person or group have talent? So yes, technology is killing the music industry, but the music industry is blaming the wrong technologies.
* I have to give a big shout out to everyone over at Attack of the Show. The G4 tech/pop culture program will be celebrating its 1,000 episode on Thursday, July 9th. 1,000 episodes is a tremendous accomplishment and with AOTS being a LIVE program it makes it doubly impressive. As someone who's been in the studio for the taping of an episode I can tell you the process it takes to make an hour of fast paced live television happen is extraordinary and everyone there deserves a standing ovation for their efforts. I'm looking forward to the next 1,000 episodes.* Anybody remember teen pop singer and occasional film actress JoJo? I do - she's the only pop artist I know of that's related to WWE superstar HHH - and I'm on the verge of calling some milk carton companies to see if we can get her on the side of a few. I was skeptical about JoJo when I was originally told about her by her publicist in 2004. A thirteen year old singer? Spare me, I've heard this story before. But I was assured I'd dig her. (Bear in mind this was before "Leave (Get Out)" even hit the airwaves.) I gave the album a spin, heard that she covered the SWV classic "Weak," and was extremely impressed. Her second album, which was released in 2006, showed a great amount of maturation as an artist, but ever since then she's been noticeably absent from the scene. We're halfway through 2009 now. Where is JoJo?
* One of the best television shows in the history of all humankind, Entourage, returns this Sunday, July 12th. The plotlines on Entourage are always top notch, but for me the best part of the show is the very real interactions between Vince and his friends, which remind me of exactly how I act with my own friends. It's also been a while since I've learned a new curse word, so I'm looking forward to hearing the gems Ari Gold comes up with this season.
And with that, my time is up for the week, but I'll be back next week with more shots on all things pop. In the meantime, enjoy this picture of Olivia Munn.
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Adam BernardWelcome 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 Read More ...
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