Pop Shots – Lost and Found

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 Adam Levine losing his Voice, to The Lonely Island finding a new target, to “Runaway Train” possibly saving even more missing children, and since this is Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.

* Adam Levine announced he’s leaving The Voice after 16 seasons. He’ll now have to go back to fronting one of the most popular bands in the world, and sleeping with his supermodel wife. Truly tragic stuff.

* Iggy Azalea is threatening legal action against whoever leaked topless photos of her that were outtakes from a GQ cover shoot from 2016. In other words, there’s going to be a lot of hand-wringing going on because of those photos. Yes, we’re going with “hand-wringing.”

* Who among us hasn’t desperately wanted a rock musical featuring the hits of ZZ Top? Thankfully, for all of us who aren’t afraid to dream big, that exact musical, titled Sharp Dressed Man, will be opening in Las Vegas next year. There’s no word on if there will be reduced admission for those who have legs, and know how to use them.


* After hearing that SZA had store security called on her at a Sephora in Calabasas, CA, to “make sure she wasn't stealing,” Rihanna sent the singer a Fenty Beauty gift card. Now the next time security is called on SZA she can be like, “If you leave me alone, I’ll give you this Fenty Beauty gift card.”

* Lil’ Cease finally made peace with Lil' Kim at the first B.I.G. Family Dinner, putting an end to their longstanding beef. There’s no word on if Kim’s people were able to adjust her face into a smile.

* Who among us hasn’t desperately wanted a rap mockumentary based on the famed steroidal Oakland A’s duo The Bash Brothers (Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire)? Thankfully, for all of us who aren’t afraid to dream big, The Lonely Island has given us just that with The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience. I can’t imagine why it wasn’t authorized …


* Miley Cyrus released a new EP titled She is Coming this past Friday. The porn parody just writes itself, doesn’t it?

* Everyone who was alive in the ‘90s remembers Soul Asylum’s video for “Runaway Train.” The clip, for which the band partnered with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, featured missing children from around the country – eventually leading to 21 of those children being found. In celebration of the 25th anniversary of “Runaway Train,” the NCMEC has released a new version of the song featuring Jamie N Commons, Skylar Grey, and Gallant, and a video that utilizes geo-targeting in a really incredible way. When viewed on the Runaway Train 25 website, the geo-targeting technology changes the footage so that viewers receive information about children from their area who have gone missing (61% of recovered children reported to NCMEC are found in the state in which they were missing). This is an amazing example of technology being used for good.

* Who among us hasn’t desperately wanted to see Richard Ashcroft of The Verve get his writing credit back for “Bittersweet Symphony”? Thankfully, for all of us who aren’t afraid to dream big, The Rolling Stones have finally given the man the royalties and rights from the 1997 mega-hit, and had their own writing credit removed from the song. The only reason the Stones were credited on it in the first place was because the song sampled a four-second segment of Andrew Loog Oldham’s orchestral recording from the Stones’ “The Last Time,” and while permission was gained for use of the recording, permission for the use of the song was overlooked, and the only way Ashcroft could keep The Verve’s album on shelves was to sign away his rights and royalties to the track. The only question I have is – how are The Rolling Stones going to put food on their table now???


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