Pop Shots – Deep Connections

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 Miley Cyrus cozying back up with Mickey Mouse, to Janet Jackson being related to everyone who’s ever been famous, to Jack White making life hard on his fans, and since this is Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.

* Miley Cyrus attended the D23 Disney fan event in Anaheim, CA, and gave a speech about what her early Disney days meant to her. Somewhere, Patty Hearst must have been beaming with pride.

* Katy Perry might be in a bit of trouble. After the release of the video for her song “Lifetimes” an investigation was opened to determine whether filming caused environmental damage to the protected dunes of S’Espalmador. I bet Bono can’t wait to hop on his private jet to lecture Katy about the environment.

* Bruno Mars hit the stage on back-to-back nights for the grand opening of Intuit Dome in Inglewood, CA. If you’re anything like me, you had to read that three times before realizing the dome has nothing to do with Eskimos.

* Janet Jackson revealed that in addition to being the sister of the king of pop, she’s also related to Stevie Wonder, Tracy Chapman, and Samuel L. Jackson. Hey, just wait until you see who I’m related to once I find someone who can hack Ancestry.com.

* Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter filed a countersuit against Dream singer Melissa Schuman, asking for $2.5 million in damages after she accused him of sexual assault. The complaint denies her claims, and alleges that Schuman “publicly acknowledges her dwindling career and thirst for internet relevance.” Strong words coming from someone who’s currently one fifth of a singing poster in a Downy commercial.

* In an Instagram post, Jack White let his fans know he’s currently on tour, hitting up small clubs, back yard BBQs, and a few festivals, the only catch is the shows are being announced with almost no advance notice. Jack, if you’re reading this, your fans are middle aged, you might as well call this the “I have no idea what it’s like to try to hire a babysitter on short notice” tour.

* The lawyer for the main suspect in the alleged terror threat before Taylor Swift’s concerts in Vienna, Austria, claims everything has been exaggerated, saying his client “had neither the means nor the possibility and the explosives to carry this out,” adding, “the alleged attack plans were pure fantasies.” Ummm … shouldn’t that still be wildly disturbing? It certainly wasn’t the way we fantasized about pop stars when I was a teenager.

* Carrie Underwood brought her singing talents to the congregation at Rolling Hills Community Church, in Franklin, TN. Ah yes, who can forget the part in the Bible when Jesus dug his keys into the side of a pretty little suped up four wheel drive?

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