Michael: Yo, what’s going on Talon Marks, my name is Michael.

Vanesa: My name is Vanesa.

Michael: Today we’re just going to be talking about random pop culture topics so let’s get straight to it.

Olivia Rodrigo announced she is going on tour and a lot fans are pretty pissed because her ticket prices are pretty insane and Vanesa has something to say about it so go ahead.

Vanesa: Well first of all many people didn’t expect the tickets to be so overpriced, I was expecting the lowest to be at least a hundred bucks and as I tried getting some, my friend tried getting some for me like they were like $900 for two tickets.

I had a budget of like $130, he still bought them anyways but I’m not gonna get them. I just think they could’ve been a little cheaper, I mean it’s her first Forum show so, I don’t know.

Michael: Well how close, like how close did you wanna sit? That’s like the question.

Vanesa: Actually they were kinda far they were like nosebleeds, for like $900.

Michael: Ok so you said they were $900 each?

Vanesa: Yup.

Michael: Or each?

Vanesa: No no, not each but for two.

Michael: So you’re telling me $450 for a nosebleed?

Vanesa: Yeah.

Michael: Because 900 divided by two is 450.

Vanesa: Well yeah.

Michael: For a nosebleed?

Vanesa: Yeah.

Michael: That’s insane.

Vanesa: I know, my friend ended up getting them, he sat a little closer, but he said that [the] pit was like around a thousand and then he got like some seats and they were like, I think he said like $1,300 for him and his sisters so yeah, kinda expensive.

Michael: You see if I like a music artist, I mean if I go pay to see a music artist, I have to really really really enjoy the music artist. I can’t just like just say, “oh I like Olivia”, so I go see her. No, I have to really enjoy her music and I like her music but not to the point where I’ll pay over $500 to go see her.

Vanesa: Would you pay $500 for someone else?

Michael: Actually no I wouldn’t, the most I’ll spend to go see somebody is like $250-$300, it just depends.

Vanesa: Yeah that’s very reasonable.

Michael: But $450? No.

Vanesa: Fuck that no.

Michael: So anyways yesterday was a pretty annoying day for me as a sports fan because all I saw on my feed yesterday was Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. I swear to god before we got on this podcast I made sure to count how many times they posted about it, the sports media page, the total of about Taylor and [Travis] – on Instagram specifically I didn’t even check Twitter or X but they posted about it about 25 times.

And you know I was like, “oh that’s cute.”

Vanesa: “That’s cute” (chuckles)

Michael: The more I kept seeing it and seeing it, I was like “ok y’all just milking it” and I just got annoyed and I mean yeah, I don’t know.

Vanesa: I wish them the best of luck, I hope that works out. What are your thoughts, do you think it’s gonna work out?

Michael: I mean, she’s older than him. How old is Travis Kelce? I think like 30-31 and Taylor is like 34 or 35. I mean it’s kinda like a match made in heaven. I mean they’re both pretty dope people. I’m not the biggest fan of Taylor’s music.

Vanesa: I am.

Michael: Oh you are? Okay, she’s a swiftie, she’ll be buying a Kelce jersey pretty soon, but the merchandise sale for that team is gonna go crazy cus the Taylor Swift fan base is die-hard. They’ll do anything for Taylor. I don’t like an artist that much where I’ll do that but you know.

I just think the media needs to chill on it because somebody yesterday during that game was wobbling off the field because he looked like he had gotten concussed and it’s so sad that that they were talking more about that, what happened with Taylor and Travis then someone that could’ve literally been seriously hurt.

I just didn’t like that, especially that the player is a very young and promising player and everyone was like “well, what about Taylor? What about Travis?” like no bro, someone could’ve gotten hurt and y’all were talking about that. I didn’t like that and I don’t know, the whole Travis and Taylor thing is the biggest topic right now in sports.

Vanesa: Can’t wait for the next album. I think a good album is gonna come out of it.

Michael: Aye all I’m gonna say is that if Travis and Taylor don’t work out, those break-up songs are about to be crazy.

Vanesa: That’s what I’m saying.

Now let’s talk about Pete Davidson and Madelyn Cline.

Michael: I don’t know how he does it, I guess he’s funny so he has a pretty good personality but now he’s with Madelyn and before that.

Vanesa: He was with Kim.

Michael: With Kim Kardashian and then before that he was with Ariana Grande, I don’t know how he does it. This dude. I’m not the type of person to call someone ugly but like his partners compared to what he looks like is just like.

Vanesa: Way out of his league.

Michael: Yes, because Ariana is a dime. Kim is. I mean look at her and then Madelyn is like, I couldn’t believe it. I don’t know man. I don’t know how he keeps doing it. I mean good for him I guess?

Vanesa: Madelyn is fine, Like I said, I’m also not someone to call someone ugly but like yeah like I wouldn’t expect that to be a match.

Michael: I mean, but honestly when it was announced he was dating her I was just like, “are we even surprised?” He got with Kim. He got with Ariana. I mean if you could get with those two girls, well I don’t know about Ariana because she’s like “let anybody come to me” but with Kim, she just had gotten through a divorce with Kanye after marrying him and having kids with him. All these years and then she got with Pete. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for her to just move on.

Vanesa: I mean I. think it was just kinda like, I’m not tryna sound rude but to me it was more of a rebound cause it’s like how you say it a long-term relationship, they had kids and like all of a sudden she’s with Pete so you know?

Michael: So you think it was like kind of a way of coping I guess?

Vanesa: Yeah, didn’t they get engaged? Or no?

Michael: No that was with Ariana and Pete. Ariana and Pete got engaged and they didn’t even last long.

Vanesa: Talking about that…

Michael: Speaking of Ariana, she officially filed for a divorce with her husband. I don’t what his name is but I need to find out. I don’t even know how many relationships Ariana has been in. It’s not even about that it’s about what led up.

Vanesa: It was with.

Michael: Who is it?

Vanesa: With Dalton Gomez.

Michael: So she officially filed for a divorce with Dalton Gomez and it’s not even about [that] they got a divorce, like ok. Ariana has been going everywhere with dudes recently.

Vanesa: Wasn’t she recently in some controversy with some actor?

Michael: Yeah that’s how this happened because she ended up getting a divorce because she was supposedly, allegedly. I’m not gonna say it’s true but she was hooking up with this one guy who was a co-star for the movie Wicked or series Wicked.

Vanesa: And he was married.

Michael: And he was married, he had kids, so that’s wrong from Ariana’s standpoint if it’s true.

Vanesa: I just think it’s crazy that most of her relationships like had a background of being in a relationship like she dated these people who had like these relationships. How do I explain it, like she was with them while they were still in a relationship you know? So I think that’s kinda wrong of Ariana but…

Michael: If it’s true, I’m not gonna say it’s true, it’s alleged that this is what happened. I like Ariana, I like her music. I really do. I’m a big fan of her music so I’m like separate the art from the artist. She does what she does outside of her music career but I just thought it was pretty messed up that if that’s true that’s what happened because the wife of the person she just hooked up with spoke out about it.

Because the other guy, the co-star from Wicked that is now with Ariana apparently his wife spoke out and said the divorce came out of nowhere and it’s so crazy that they got a divorce at the same time.

Vanesa: What a coincidence.

Michael: It’s just like Ariana, you gotta think. It’s just so sad because she was hanging out with him, with his wife and their kid. You know how messed up you gotta be to be doing that.

Vanesa: I don’t know her personally but it’s maybe she just like’s this attention which sucks still.

Michael: She took the ‘break up with your boyfriend, I’m bored’ song to the next level because she really went that far.

Vanesa: She’s like “I’m famous I could do whatever I want.”

Michael: Pretty much that’s what she did.

Vanesa: No yeah. (chuckles)

Michael: We’re gonna turn to another topic this ones kinda crazy. I don’t know if you guys been hearing about Blueface but he’s been in recent controversy with his baby momma Chrisean Rock cause he wasn’t there for the birth of his I think son? It’s just kinda been crazy. The media has been really like hard on Blueface rightfully so because the way he’s going about being a father right now isn’t…

Vanesa: The best.

Michael: Ideal, you know way to be a father and recently he posted a picture of his sons penis

Vanesa: Which he said wasn’t him, that it was leaked.

Michael: No no what he said was, so he posted that and he was talking about Chrisean Rock “worrying about me” and this and that he was like, the tweet literally said ‘Chrisean Rock is worried about like our son and this and that but his penis looks like this like what’s wrong? like what? You need to get something.’ I was just like what the…

Vanesa: About his son’s penis?

Michael: Yes it’s what he said and his son is just born, like what? What he did is illegal. He could end up like…

Vanesa: That’s like child pornography.

Michael: Yes, yes. That’s what I’m saying he could end up going to jail for something like this. It’s very serious so I’m pretty sure his PR team told him like, “hey you can’t be doing that.” I think like a couple hours later, maybe a day later, he backtracked what he did. He was like, “oh no I just got hacked. My Twitter got hacked I got my phone back,” this and that and by the time he said that, it’s just like bro? It’s too late. I don’t know what you were thinking, when you did that, that’s like…

Vanesa: No one’s gonna believe him.

Michael: No, no one’s gonna believe him, I mean cause he could get into serious trouble for doing that, very like serious serious trouble.

Vanesa: He might lose custody of his son.

Michael: Honestly cause like he can go to jail for that because that’s like very serious.

Vanesa: I think it’s just wrong like the fact like, I mean obviously its a baby right?

Michael: Yes.

Vanesa: If he’s paying attention to like, down there and he’s like okay enough to like say something about it, that’s just like kinda wrong.

Michael: He knows what he’s doing. I just don’t know what made him think that would be a good idea. He obviously wasn’t thinking when he did it but then again he knew what he was doing. No one’s gonna believe him when he says he was hacked because obviously who has it?

Vanesa: You can tell when someone like when it came out of him and like if it were someone else.

Michael: And the way he tweeted about the picture. You could tell it was him cause that’s how he tweets all the time so no, I’m not believing that he was hacked.

Vanesa: I don’t think he was ready to be a father, I mean for sure.

Michael: He already is one but…

Vanesa: The way he’s acting like he definitely was not supposed to be a father yet.

Michael: Yeah and It’s just like I feel bad for the kid, specifically like what his relationship that he might have with his father. Chrisean Rock, she looks like she’s doing a good job with the baby but him I don’t know man. It’s pretty bad. He could end up getting in trouble pretty soon.

Vanesa: And then he’s exposing his kid.

Michael: Yeah, which is terrible, ’cause there’s a lot of weirdos on the internet and it’s just, you gotta think man, just please.

Vanesa: As a dad you’re supposed to protect your kid not…

Michael: Yes, when you post something on the internet bro, please think about what you’re gonna post cause what lands on the internet stays on the internet.

Vanesa: Forever.

Michael: Especially if you’re somebody like him who’s pretty popular and it’s just not a good look on him.

Vanesa: And the kid like when he grows up and sees that.

Michael: Yes cause he’s going to see it, like some people are gonna bring it up to him when he gets older you know.

Vanesa: Oh yeah definitely.

Michael: It sucks, it sucks. So and lastly there is one more thing. Yesterday Usher was announced.

Vanesa: He’s gonna be.

Michael: Performing at the Super Bowl next year and I’m a fan of this because like I feel that Super Bowl, it needs to stay in the R&B, pop, and hip-hop range in terms of performances because the last like three have, to me, they all hit. Like the Weeknd, when he performed, that was a good performance.

Vanesa: I like Coldplay, when Coldplay performed.

Michael: And then the year after that was with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick and 50 Cent, all those rappers, Eminem at SoFi. I thought that was one of the best ones ever. Then last year was with Rihanna, was a good performance too even though people were trying to say it was bad, like girl. I mean come on, she was pregnant, she do what she could do while she was pregnant and I thought it was a good show. Knowing Usher, he’s a great performer, he’s a great singer. I just think that some of his songs are very slow and melodical and like okay, how are you gonna get people to like-

Vanesa: Jam.

Michael: Yea jam to it cause like, he has a couple of party songs but like a lot of my favorite songs by him are just slow R&B songs that I really enjoy, and its like, how are you going to get people to like go crazy for a song like Burn or like My Boo like no ones really gonna be going crazy. Me personally, I know what I’m about to say is kinda crazy but I would probably prefer to have Chris Brown do it and perform because that boy can perform his ass off. He has a lot of good songs too, people who don’t want to [admit], obviously what he did with Rihanna, it’s like okay I mean I get it, I was a little boy when that happened so I mean…

Vanesa: I think the one with J.Lo and Shakira went hard too.

Michael: Oh yeah that one too, J.Lo, Shakira. All those people’s performances have hit recently and I just think they need to stay in the R&B, pop, and hip-hop rage because that’s what people are going to enjoy the most cause most people know about these artists, especially somebody like Usher who, they have known for a very long time, from like the early, not the early, the late 90’s all the way to 2000’s 2010’s. It should be a good performance, he’s a good performer, a great singer.

Vanesa: Excited to see that.

Michael: Huh?

Vanesa: I’m excited to see that.

Michael: Yes cause he’s a great performer. I mean there’s people on Instagram comment sections talking about “It’s not 2007 no more”

Vanesa: I mean like music from the past goes hard. If people have a problem with that like…

Michael: People that like say that like I just assume that they’re all young cause I was born in 2002 so when I started growing up he was probably like in the peak of his career, like 2005 maybe 2004, when he was in the peak of his career but he’s Usher. I don’t see a big problem with him performing at the Super Bowl.

Vanesa: I don’t either, I think it’s gonna be exciting. Lots of people are gonna be happy, some people are gonna be mad.

Michael: It’s gonna be in Vegas too so l mean we’ll see how it goes. but anyways that’s all we have for this podcast. Hope you guys enjoyed it. We will try to put more out pretty soon. We don’t have a title for it yet but we’re gonna work on it.

Vanesa: We’ll figure it out.

Michael: So we appreciate you guys for listening and yeah thank you.

Vanesa: Thank you.