Pop Shots – Shifting Focus

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 Carly Rae Jepsen teaming with someone regrettable for something no one asked for, to the Fyre Festival attempting to ignite a new project, to what Olivia Rodrigo isn’t currently working on, and since this is Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.

* In what can only be described as an unfortunate series of events, Carly Rae Jepsen is teaming up with Lena Dunham to write a Broadway musical based on the movie 10 Things I Hate About You, which was based on The Taming of the Shrew. When asked for comment, Shakespeare could be heard rolling over in his grave.

* Ozzy Osbourne, having gone through various surgeries and health issues over the years, says he’s doing endurance training in preparation for the final Black Sabbath show. If his training goes well, here’s hoping his next act will be as a contestant on American Ninja Warrior.

* After the extremely easy to predict failure of Fyre Festival 2, there’s now an attempt to turn the “festival” into a streaming service. I think we all know how much premium is going to cost!

* Lorde fans converged on Washington Square Park after receiving a message to meet the singer there for a performance of her new song. Lorde, however, didn’t have the permits to have an event, or perform at the park, and the cops made people disperse before she arrived. Once she made her way there, the fans that were left were able to listen to her new song, she just couldn’t give a performance of it. So for the record: things you can’t do in Washington Square Park – perform a song without a permit. Things you can do in Washington Square Park – score a shit ton of drugs.

* Olivia Rodrigo recently posted on Instagram that she’s everywhere BUT the studio. Those most disappointed in this news are the bands that were looking forward to getting her royalties after discovering she sampled them without permission.

* Deadmau5 apologized for being drunk during his set at Coachella. In response, concertgoers said, “Just drunk?” then immediately downed a handful of unknown pills, and did a line of coke off a stranger’s ass.

* The Chainsmokers had just begun playing an outdoor frat party in Arizona when law enforcement showed up, warning the crowd that anyone under the age of 21 had to leave. The cops also issued a fine to The Chainsmokers. Paying the fine bought the musical duo 15 minutes of performance time, but if you’re attending a Chainsmokers party in 2025, you’re the one who should be forced to pay a fine.

* Phish won the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame fan vote, receiving over 329,000 votes. Bad Company came in second with 280,725 votes, with Billy Idol (260K votes), Cyndi Lauper (nearly 237K), and Joe Cocker (233K) rounding out the top five. I guess this is proof that potheads can be motivated to do something!

* Wiz Khalifa was a guest on The Joe Budden Podcast, where he revealed he’s leaning towards believing the earth is flat. Call me crazy, but I’m beginning to think we shouldn’t get our science information from has-been rappers, especially when we can look to ‘80s pop artists instead.

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