When Pop Up Video debuted on VH1 in 1996, the show was brain candy for music nerds. Those little bubbles of rock ‘n’ roll factoids layered over music videos were truly addictive.
When the hit show went off the air six years later, it was real tough to break the addiction. In the years since, we've seen the smart-ass language that was the show’s trademark became the kind of lingo of the Twitter and Facebook masses. So it's a perfect time to revamp the show!
Now Pop Up Video is back! Starting this week, VH1 will be airing 60 new Pop Up episodes, each one oozing with juicy, and for the most part, unknown facts.
Some may ask: How will the show stay fresh? The answer is simple: loads of bright writers and tireless researchers. The show employs a staff of pop culture junkies and fact-finders to give Pop Up Video the kind of juice that fueled the original show a decade ago. It's an artform that the creators have down to a science!
Also, “Pop Up” this time around is taking some advantage of the internet and social media era! On its website you can inscribe your own captions on videos and hopefully they will come out on air!
“Let’s be honest, no one wants to read television, and we’re asking you to read a music video by a band you’ve never heard of - that’s a lot of work,”
Pop Up executive producer Woody Thompson, 44, said.
“So we’re trying as best we can to make connections between ‘pops’ to tell a story on top of a story.”
To make those connections, the show relies on a crew of 25 researchers and writers to bring all those videos — 300 clips will get the bubble treatment in the upcoming season — to life.
Pop Up Video came back out of the blue. VH1 was set on being a current channel and Pop Up and Behind the Music were part of their past. They have been a reality channel for about 10 years, and now they want to go back to their roots and back into music.
“I didn’t pitch to VH1 for a decade,” Thompson said. “And I didn’t hear from them either.”
Then, a year ago, Thompson met with Shelly Tatro, VH1’s senior vice president for production and programming, who was with the @ the company during the “Pop Up” days 10 years ago.
The show that resulted from that meeting quickly fizzled, but “in our last conversation I said to Shelly in a jokey way, ‘Call me when you want to bring back ‘Pop Up’” Thompson said and sure enough, Three months later she called.
And just like that, the new generations will be now be able to enjoy music videos, with all the fun and curious fun facts that Pop Up Video is signature of!
Are you excited that Pop Up Video is back?
