Pop Shots – The Fans Are Too Hyped

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 an overanxious fan rushing the stage at a Beyonce and Jay-Z show, to a Rae Sremmurd fan with an impressive arm, to BTS fans helping to set a record for the boy band, and since this is Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.

* Police are pursuing charges against a man who rushed onstage during a Beyonce and Jay-Z concert in Atlanta. The man, 26 year old Anthony Charles Thomas Maxwell, ran on stage, approached Jay-Z, and made contact with him, as the concert was ending. Maxwell was reportedly apprehended by a combination of security people and backup dancers. If you were taken down by backup dancers, isn’t the world knowing that punishment enough? Dude, you were captured by Left Shark.

* Shakira’s video for “Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)” has surpassed two billion views on YouTube. I really hope Fozzie Bear is getting royalties from this.


* According to Nielsen Music, the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards resulted in a 41% one week sales gain for the songs performed on the show (excluding recently released tracks). 41% may sound impressive, but in reality the number of singles sold only went from 79,000 to 112,000, for a jump of just 33,000 for all of the songs COMBINED. Maybe, just maybe, MTV is no longer the music tastemaker it once was, and the network should stick to what it now does best – teen moms, and forcing reality show personalities to play potentially life-threatening games.

* The Rockabye Baby! series – which turns modern popular music into children’s lullabies – will be releasing an album of Lady Gaga songs reworked into lullabies on September 21st. My only question is why re-work the songs? Ross and Rachel already taught us that popular music is the way to a baby’s heart.


* Imagine Dragons replaced themselves atop Billboard’s Hot Rock Songs chart yet again, this time with their song “Natural” taking the top spot from “Thunder.” The band has led the chart for all but five weeks since the March 25, 2017-dated list, with humanity’s only respite being when Portugal. The Man’s “Feel It Still” was in the top spot. This kind of chart dominance may seem like a good thing for the band right now, but, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – this is the exact way a band becomes Nickelback.

* Arizona-based Ned Flanders-inspired metal band Okilly Dokilly will be hitting the road later this year for their first-ever UK tour. Wait, did I just write “Ned Flanders-inspired metal band”? HOLY SH*T, THIS IS A REAL THING!


* Fans who apparently have money to burn have taken to throwing their phones onstage during concerts in hopes of an artist taking a selfie with it. This seemed to be the plan one woman had at a recent Rae Sremmurd show in Dallas, TX, but her aim was a bit too accurate, nailing rapper Swae Lee in the face, and busting his lip open. I now must question if this woman was a fan, or a frat girl still tryna get even.

* The video for South Korean boy band BTS’ latest single, “Idol,” broke the record for the biggest music video debut in YouTube history, racking up more than 45 million views in its first 24 hours. I legit do not understand the whole BTS phenomenon. I see the clips of them performing live, and all the girls screaming for this boy band that sings partially in a language the audience doesn’t understand, and I’m like …


* Last, but certainly not least, one of my favorite acts in all of music, Larkin Poe, have announced they’ll have a new album out this fall, the lead single off of which is the fantastic “Bleach Blonde Bottle Blues.” Crank it up, and enjoy!


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