Pop Shots – Winners and Losers

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 Cardi B emerging from court victorious, to Gunna finding out his streaming numbers were a lie, to the worst DJ contest in history, and since this is Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.

* Cardi B was cleared by a jury in a $24 million lawsuit filed by a security guard who accused her of assault. Of course, had the security guard won they would’ve had to add “cannot protect themselves from Cardi B” to their resume, which seems like a bad thing for a security guard.

* Sabrina Carpenter’s latest album, Man’s Best Friend, racked up a lot of streams on Spotify when it was released, the most in a single day for an album by a female artist this year. It also now holds the record for the most streams ever for an animatronic sex doll.

* Speaking of streaming, Young Thug claimed in a jail phone call that he paid $50,000 for streams to help Gunna’s DS4EVER album debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 back in 2022. OK, but how much did he shell out for Sabrina Carpenter?

* Radiohead has reunited for a 20-date tour of the U.K. and Europe this fall. Each show will be closely monitored by Guinness, who expects a new world record for the largest gathering of the most annoyingly pretentious people imaginable.

* Rapper French Montana, and Dubai royal Sheikha Mahra announced they are engaged. Their wedding will either bring about an international incident of epic proportions, or world peace. There’s no in-between.

* Fifth Harmony — which became a foursome after Camila Cabello left the group in 2016 — reunited for the first time in seven years at a Jonas Brothers’ concert in Dallas. In a related story, I still cannot tell the difference between Fifth Harmony, and Little Mix.

* Your Shot, a no experience needed DJ competition created 15 years ago in Australia, will be coming to New York and Los Angeles this fall. The program will provide 200 neophyte DJs in each city with six weeks of instruction in the art of DJing, and what life is like as a DJ, followed by events where the newbies will play for listeners, and judges. A select group of winners get a slot at an upcoming festival. Could someone please tell me the name of that festival so I can avoid it at all costs?

* Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie will all return as judges for the next season of American Idol. I know you probably think I’m going to make fun of American Idol, but honestly, I’m here for anything that gets us Carrie Underwood singing Korn, and Drowning Pool.

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