Pop Shots – They Said It

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 what had BLACKPINK’s ROSÉ “beyond shocked,” to who MGK feels are nothing more than “conformists,” to what John Mayer called “the great honor” of his life, and since this is Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.

* BLACKPINK’s ROSÉ posted on Instagram that she was “beyond shocked” to have received eight VMA nominations. The rest of us are beyond shocked to learn the VMAs still exist.

* Keeping things BLACKPINK, the k-pop group’s video for their song “Pink Venom” has become their sixth to surpass one billion views on YouTube. It’s an impressive number, although 900 million of those views are from people BLACKPINK should probably ban from their shows.

* Chappell Roan told Vogue that people shouldn’t expect a new album from her anytime soon, saying, “The second project doesn’t exist yet.” You hear that everyone, we’re safe for now!

* In an interview with People magazine, MGK referred to his haters “conformists,” saying that hating him is “what you say to fit in.” I’d like to call him out on this, but the wanna-be rapper turned wanna-be pop-punk artist has elite levels of expertise at trying to fit in.

* Harrington Street in San Francisco now has a second name – Jerry Garcia Street – as the city continues to honor the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary. I’ve never been to San Francisco, but I have to assume it can’t be all that difficult to score drugs on Jerry Garcia Street.

* In more Grateful Dead related news, John Mayer made a lengthly post on Instagram about his time with Dead & Company, calling being in the band, “… the great honor of my life.” OK, sure, but was it sexual napalm?

* During a recent Rod Stewart concert an AI-generated video of Ozzy Osbourne was shown featuring the deceased rock legend in Heaven hanging out with a plethora of other deceased musicians. The video was rightly criticized by pretty much everyone. Personally, this kind of thing makes me long for the good ol’ days of CEOs being caught cheating on concert kiss cams.

* Soulja Boy was arrested in L.A. after police discovered a firearm in his car during a traffic stop. The police report was the most press he’s received in years.

* Lady Gaga will be releasing a new song next month titled “Dead Dance” in conjunction with her guest role on the upcoming season of the Netflix show Wednesday. Dead dance? Didn’t Michael Jackson already do that?

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