Pop Shots – Rare Appearances

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 Shakira shaking it all the way to the ER, to the Jonas Brothers heading to a mall, to Right Said Fred having to book a new tour, and since this is Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.

* Shakira was hospitalized in Lima, Peru, with an undisclosed abdominal condition, forcing her to postpone a date of her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran tour. Apparently your hips not lying has some consequences for your abs. Who knew?

* Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” has broken the record for the most weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart with a 22nd non-consecutive week at the top. Drake stands no chance at topping this, as his interest in things tends to wane once they’ve reached 18.

* Lil Baby announced his 2025 WHAM World Tour will feature BigXThaPlug, and NLE Choppa. I don’t want to sound old here, but I have no idea what any of this has to do with George Michael, or when rappers’ names started to resemble eye charts.

* Lady Gaga’s next album will be titled Mayhem, and is due out March 7th. Mayhem was actually the second choice for the album’s title, as it was originally going to be named I Really Hope The Kids Still Think I’m Weird Enough After Seeing Chappel Roan.

* Speaking of Chappel Roan, the oft-perturbed pop star had a country song titled “The Giver” available for preorder on 7-inch aquamarine vinyl, the key word being “had,” because they’re already sold out. Fans can request to be notified if/when there’s a restock, with the vinyl not being shipped until mid-August. It’s going to be hilarious to see how many people ordered this in February only to no longer be fans of Chappel Roan six months later.

* The Jonas Brothers will be celebrating their 20th anniversary by hosting JONASCON on March 23rd at the American Dream mall in New Jersey. This is the same mall that’s hosted GCW events, so if someone double books we could end up with a Jonas brother being on the receiving end of a piledriver.

* Brian Setzer has revealed that an autoimmune disease has left him unable to play the guitar. He wrote in a Facebook post, “There is no pain, but it feels like I am wearing a pair of gloves when I try to play.” An autoimmune disease that affects the ability to use ones hands? The entire music industry wonders – why couldn’t this have happened to Diddy???

* Paul Simon has un-retired, and announced a 2025 spring/summer tour. Titled the Quiet Celebration Tour, all the dates will take place in intimate venues, taking his hearing loss into consideration. In a related story, Art Garfunkel is working on booking his Hey, I’m Still F*cking Alive, Too! tour.

* In unfortunate news, the Totally Tubular Festival had to cancel their summer tour, and it was going to be a great one, with the nostalgia filled lineup having Men Without Hats, and Right Said Fred as co-headliners. There is no truth to the rumor that the cancellation happened due to the latter being too sexy for this tour.

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