Pop Shots – Where’d It Go?

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 Bruno Mars and the gambling debt that may not exist, to Olivia Rodrigo’s disappearing pills, to Kelly Clarkson looking to get back some more of her hard earned money, and since this is Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.

* MGM Resorts International has denied reports that Bruno Mars is $50 million in debt to the company. Apparently he just really likes washing dishes there.

* Representatives from local abortion funds were asked to stop handing out morning-after pills, condoms, and lubricants at Olivia Rodrigo concerts. The request reportedly came from Rodrigo’s team after quite a bit of backlash when people found out teenage concert goers were being handed Plan B pills. If fans still want pills, they can probably find a creepy dude in the back who will be happy to supply them with MDMA.

* Cardi B recently announced a collaboration with Shakira. In a related story, it’s being advised that people strengthen the foundation of their homes in preparation for an amount of booty shakin’ that is sure to measure on the Richter scale.

* Lady Gaga will be back in Las Vegas at the Dolby Live theater at Park MGM for eight more Jazz & Piano shows this summer. Bruno Mars hopes he’ll be assigned to wait tables at the venue so he can see her perform.

* BLACKPINK’s “How You Like That” has reached one billion streams on Spotify, making it the first time a K-pop girl group has achieved the milestone. Hmm … I wonder what Tom Brady’s Spotify Wrapped is gonna look like at the end of the year?

* Dr. Dre revealed he had three strokes after suffering a brain aneurysm in 2021. That couldn’t have been fun for his ghost writers, who traditionally do everything for him.

* If Kelly Clarkson’s legal battle with her ex-husband Brandon Blackstock was an album, the deluxe expanded edition just dropped. Having already won a $2.6 million ruling against him last fall, she just filed a new case claiming Blackstock, and his father’s management firm, had been violating state labor rules, and she’s demanding the return of “any and all commissions, fees, profits, advances, producing fees, or other monies” she paid to Blackstock’s father’s company dating back to 2007. Additionally, it’s a safe bet that Blackstock, and his father will never qualify for free shipping at Wayfair again.

* Ariana Grande’s Eternal Sunshine became her sixth #1 album, with 227,000 album equivalent units earned in its first week. I really want to make a 227 joke here, but I’m not sure there’s a big overlap in the audiences of Ariana Grande, and Jackée Harry.

* In more Ariana Grande news, her grandmother, Nonna, became the oldest person to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 thanks to Grande’s “Ordinary Things,” which features the 98 year old, debuting at #55 on the chart. This achievement will eventually be eclipsed by Keith Richards, who is going to live, and perform, forever.

That’s all for this edition of Pop Shots, but come back next Monday for more shots on all things pop.