Pop Shots – It’s Better to Give

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 Doja Cat giving fans a quickie (musically speaking), to Lil Wayne giving his Young Money roster a makeover, to Beyoncé giving the Sphere the boot, and since this is Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.

* Doja Cat released a song titled “Crack” as a free download via her website, but the catch was it was only available for 24 hours. I dunno, personally I feel a Doja Cat song only being available for 24 hours is less of a catch, and more of a feature.

* Police in Brazil arrested two people who were allegedly plotting to detonate explosives at a free Lady Gaga concert in Rio de Janeiro. Back in the day that would’ve just been Keith Moon’s drum kit.

* Mase said he wants fans to vote on whether or not he should attend Diddy’s trial. Hey man, as long as he didn’t attend the parties, that’s what really matters.

* Pharrell hosted a post-Met Gala UNO Tournament at Crane Club in West Chelsea. I’m not saying after hours nightlife has gone downhill over the years, but if you’d tried to invite Frank Sinatra to an UNO tournament he’d have killed you with his bare hands, had Dean Martin throw your body in the Hudson, and then the two of them would’ve met up with Sammy Davis Jr. to laugh about it over drinks.

* Lil Wayne revealed he’s launching a new era of Young Money Entertainment, adding a handful of fresh voices to the roster. This makes Lil Wayne the only A&R in all of hip-hop that’s actually doing their job.

* Halsey released a song with Amy Lee of Evanescence titled “Hand That Feeds” that’s from the upcoming film Ballerina. Somewhere, the guy from 12 Stones is probably thinking, “Oh, so now Amy is the one providing guest vocals.”

* Beyoncé moved her tour date that was supposed to take place at the Las Vegas Sphere to the city’s Allegiant Stadium after receiving a cease-and-desist order to stop using the image of the Sphere that appears in a video that plays during her set. Being that the Sphere is owned by James Dolan, Bey probably just killed any chance she had at scoring Knicks playoff tickets.

* Speaking of the Sphere, the Backstreet Boys added three more dates to their summer residency at the venue, with their final shows of 2025 now taking place August 22nd through the 24th. With Beyoncé’s cancellation, more BSB dates seemed like destiny, child.

* Ghost’s latest album, Skeletá debuted at the top of the Billboard 200, making it the first hard rock album to reach #1 in over four years. The latest single from it is the most 1983 sounding thing anyone has heard since 1983 (and that’s not a bad thing!).

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