Episodes
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By 1995, Madonna was no longer the center-of-everything top 40 force she was a decade earlier, but she still a massive star about to enter one of the most fascinating phases of her career. On this Vintage Pop Stardom episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Keith Caulfield of the Billboard charts department (and the Pop Shop Podcast) to discuss the Queen of Pop's 1995. We cover her 'Bedtime Stories' and 'Something to Remember' eras and how it all led up to 'Evita,' as she scored huge pop hits and pivoted to a more adult cross-platform stardom, but maintained the envelope-pushing edge that made her so enduringly vital.
1995 Madonna YouTube Playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwFs58D1XAMZcTkwyaUHB8zRjUxqCc3QK&si=-XpD-FfzHrZis7Zr
If you enjoy the pod, please consider donating to the following causes:
Transgender Law Center
https://transgenderlawcenter.org/
Trans Lifeline
https://translifeline.org/
Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe
https://www.gofundme.com/c/gender-confirmation-surgery-fundraising
Also, please consider subscribing to the trans legislation journalism of Erin Reed and
giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on 5Calls.org.
https://www.erininthemorning.com/
https://5calls.org/
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We're spending the first Greatest Pop Stars episode since the long-awaited Friday (March 7) release of Lady Gaga's 'Mayhem' talking about the entire album era, with a new series we're calling the Pop Star Rollout Report Card. Host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Stephen Daw and Eric Frankenberg to evaluate everything that has gone into this Gaga era so far -- the old songs and the new songs of course, but also all her many interviews and performances, and what it all adds up to for each of us at the end of this extended rollout.
Lady Gaga's 'Mayhem' Rollout YouTube Playlist
If you enjoy the pod, please consider donating to the following causes:
Transgender Law Center.
Trans Lifeline
Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe
Also, please consider subscribing to the trans legislation journalism of Erin Reed and
giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on 5Calls.org.
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Missing episodes?
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On this week's episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Meghan Mahar and Mike Sapoanra to discuss the pop stars who dominated an impressively packed February 2025 in pop stardom. We each choose our top fives for the month that was, then we talk some disappointing recent performances, and look ahead to who we're most anticipating hearing more from as winter turns to spring.
If you enjoy the pod, please consider donating to the following causes:
Transgender Law Center.
Trans Lifeline
Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe
And subscribe to the trans legislation journalism of Erin Reed.
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As unremarkable as it would probably seem in 2025, when Solange brought her sister Beyoncé and Bey's husband Jay-Z to go check out a Brooklyn show by the indie band Grizzly Bear back in 2009, it ended up being major headline news -- and shaping and reflecting the careers of all four artists. Host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Stereogum writer Chris DeVille -- whose book Such Great Heights: The Complete Cultural History of the Indie Rock Explosion covers the complete context behind this moment -- to unpack this iconic point on the pop-meets-indie timeline, what made it so notable at the time, and what it would might look like if something equivalent happened today.
Listen here, pre-order Such Great Heights here, and if you enjoy the pod, please consider donating to the following causes:
Transgender Law Center.
Trans Lifeline
Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe
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Following the Grammys and the Super Bowl, it was yet another packed February weekend for pop stardom. Host Andrew Unterberger and regular GPS guest Kyle Denis hop around the cultural landscape to talk about big pop star moments from NBA All-Star Weekend and the 'SNL' 50th anniversary celebration, as well as big moments for Sabrina Carpenter, Selena Gomez and Kendrick Lamar. And of course, we cap it all with an extended look at Drake's comeback, and a strictly defined Pop Star Performance Improvement Plan that we're putting him on to help get him back on track for the rest of the decade.
Listen here, and if you enjoy the pod, please consider donating to the following causes:
Transgender Law Center:
Trans Lifeline
Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe
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No one could've seen him coming, but by 1985, Phil Collins was one of the biggest, hardest working and most sheerly unavoidable pop stars on the planet -- and also one of the greatest. On this Vintage Pop Stardom episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by pop and chart history expert Chris Molanphy to remember all things '85 Phil -- including "Easy Lover," 'No Jacket Required' and its many hits, 'Miami Vice,' and both coasts of Live Aid -- and answer the improbable question: Was Phil Collins the Greatest Pop Star of 1985?
If you enjoy the pod, please consider donating to the following causes:
Transgender Law Center:
Trans Lifeline
The Trevor Project
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It's our Greatest Pop Star of 2024's biggest moment yet! After many months of buzz and controversy, Kendrick Lamar took the stage at Super Bowl LIX to cap his last year of triumph, delivering one of the most-anticipated halftime show sets of our lifetime. Host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Eric Frankenberg and Meghan Mahar to discuss how Kendrick did in his career-culminating gig, what it means for his pop stardom moving forward, what parts of it feel like instantly iconic moments and what parts feel more like missed opportunities.
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On this week's episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Stephen Daw and Kyle Denis to discuss the pop stars who are leading the Greatest Pop Stars race for 2025 after one month (plus Grammy weekend in February). We each choose our top fives, then we talk some disappointing starts to the season, and make some predictions about who we're going to be talking about at the end of February.
If you enjoy the pod, please consider donating to the following causes:
Transgender Law Center: https://transgenderlawcenter.org/
Trans Lifeline: https://translifeline.org/
Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/c/gender-confirmation-surgery-fundraising
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Beyoncé's first big AOTY loss! Sam Smith's career night! #WhoIsBeck?! Kanye doing stuff! It's the 2015 Grammys, a pivotal awards night with nearly all the biggest pop stars of the mid-2010s in attendance. On this episode of Greatest Pop Stars, we debut our Great Moments in Pop Star History series, with host Andrew Unterberger joined by Pop Shop Podcast co-host Katie Atkinson to recall the unforgettable night, which set a lot of the narratives into motion that hang over the Grammys to this day -- and may very well resurface at the awards again this Sunday.
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On this week's episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, we're debuting our Vintage Pop Stardom series format -- looking at one pop star at one of their peak years, and going deep into everything that made their year so great and so fun and so impactful. Host Andrew Unterberger is joined by YouTube's Todd in the Shadows to talk about all things 2005 Kelly Clarkson, the year of "Since U Been Gone," "AHHHHH KELLY CLARKSON" and Kelly's official breakaway from 'American Idol' as she rose to unquestioned pop-rock superstardom.
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Welcome back to the Greatest Pop Stars podcast! Today, we kick off 2025 with some predictions for the year to come -- in the form of a fantasy pop star draft. Billboard's Andrew Unterberger is joined by fellow staffers Jason Lipshutz, Meghan Mahar and Kyle Denis to draft rosters of 2025 pop stars who we believe are going to define and dominate the year to come -- as well as some potential sleeper picks, comeback hopefuls, and even a few "pop stars" from outside the world of music.
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We finish our Greatest Pop Stars of 2024 top 10 countdown this episode with a look back at our Nos. 2 and 1 artists, unveiled this Monday on Billboard.com. Host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard's Mike Saponara and Meghan Mahar to talk about the years in Sabrina Carpenter and Kendrick Lamar (26:30). We remember all the essential moments from their respective incredible years, debating the case for No. 1 between the two of them -- and explaining why we ultimately made the call we made -- and then saving some of their year's best moments for our 2024 Time Capsule, and making predictions about their respective 2025s.
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We continue our Greatest Pop Stars of 2024 top 10 countdown this episode with a look back at our Nos. 6 through 3 artists, unveiled this week on Billboard.com. Host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard's Stephen Daw and Hannah Dailey to dive deep into the Greatest Pop Star cases for Ariana Grande, Charli XCX (25:30), Chappell Roan (1:05:30) and Taylor Swift (1:42:30) -- explaining why each of them made the list (and debating whether they could or should have finished even higher), saving some of their year's best moments for our 2024 Time Capsule and making predictions about their respective 2025s.
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We kick off our Greatest Pop Stars of 2024 top 10 countdown this episode with a look back at our Nos. 10 through 7 artists, unveiled this week on Billboard.com. Host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard's Jason Lipshutz and Eric Frankenberg to do some quick 2024-in-review recapping, then to run down the cases for Jelly Roll (3:00), Billie Eilish (21:30), Post Malone (38:00) and Beyoncé (59:30) -- explaining why each of them made the list (and in some cases, making the argument for why they could have finished even higher), saving some of their year's best moments for our 2024 Time Capsule and making predictions about their respective 2025s.
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Our Greatest Pop Stars of 2024 series gets underway with a look at our 10 Honorable Mention artists -- the stars who were great enough this year to get into the discussion but not quite onto our top 10. Host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Kyle Denis and Eric Renner Brown as we go over their cases -- and whether we disagree with any of them not making the proper list -- and then also discuss our Rookie (Shaboozey) and Comeback (Hozier) of the Year artists, and give shouts to some pop stars who couldn't quite make the cut this year but still deserve mention.
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Today on the Greatest Pop Stars Podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by AJ Marks, moderator of Reddit's r/Popheads forum and host of the stellar Main Pod Girl podcast, to help look back at our list's top 10, and the entire Greatest Pop Stars project. We talk about whether our rankings (and the criteria used for them) made sense to AJ, let him air out some of his own list-related grievances, and run through the categories one more time with AJ choosing from all 25 artists. Then, Andrew closes with some final thanks to the people who helped make the project possible.
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Today on the Greatest Pop Stars Podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Beyoncé lifers Trevor Anderson and Kyle Denis to pay homage to the Queen, our No. 1 Greatest Pop Star of the 21st century. We break down the case for Bey as the greatest of the past 25 years, then remember her entire career -- from Destiny's Child fromwoman to solo pop superstar to industry-shifting albums artist to bar-setting veteran -- before playing a little "A or Bey" and breaking down some personal favorite songs, moments, performances and oddities from her peerless body of work.
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Today on the Greatest Pop Stars Podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by renowned Swiftie (and GPS essay writer) Hannah Dailey and former Woman of the Decade cover story author Jason Lipshutz to remember the one-and-only career of our No. 2 Greatest Pop Star of the 21st Century, Taylor Swift. We remember all the twists and turns that have brought Swift to her status now as the unquestioned biggest pop star on the planet, and discuss the reasons behind our incredibly difficult decision to place her at No. 2 on our list.
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Today on the Greatest Pop Stars Podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staff writer Kyle Denis and senior branded content producer/writer Walaa Elsiddig to remember the iconic career of our No. 3 Greatest Pop Star of the 21st Century, Rihanna. We remember everything there is to remember about Rihanna's incredible 13-year run at the center of pop music (and fashion and social media and everything else), and how even after the eight-year wait since her most-recent album -- with no end to that in sight -- she remains a towering figure in pop culture.
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Today on the Greatest Pop Stars Podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop team's Carl Lamarre and Michael Saponara to remember the brilliant career of our No. 4 Greatest Pop Star of the 21st Century, Drake. We try to explain why even though Drake doesn't fit the most classic pop star profile, he was still able to achieve the numbers, the impact and the overall greatness to make him one of the century's most important mainstream artists -- and we recount what made his recent L so shocking, and how he might still bounce back from it.
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