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PODCAST

Greatest Pop Stars

Billboard"s weekly deep dive into the past, present and future of pop stardom. New episodes every Thursday.

music music history

All Episodes

50:55

Which Pop Stars Won December 2025? Mariah Carey,...

Greatest Pop Stars ·

2026/01/08

On this Who Won the Month episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Jason Lipshutz and Danielle Pascual to discuss the big pop stars, rising prospects and veteran greats who were heard from loudest in December 2025 — which, was largely defined by Mariah Carey making chart history and Taylor Swift marking the 'End of an Era.' We each choose our top fives for the month that was, then we talk some disappointing recent performances, and look

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60:58

Pop Star New Year's Resolutions for 2026: Beyoncé,...

Greatest Pop Stars ·

2026/01/01

We've finally turned the calendar to 2026, and while we're not done looking back at 2025 yet by any means, we're taking a New Year's Day pause to look forward a little. For this first Greatest Pop Stars episode of the year, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard charts senior analyst/writer Eric Frankenberg to offer some New Year's resolutions for pop stars like Beyoncé, Sabrina Carpenter and Doechii that we'd like to see them commit to in 2026. Then, we also offer some resolution ideas for

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36:03

Ariana Grande's 2015 EP 'Christmas & Chill': Great...

Greatest Pop Stars ·

2025/12/25

In late 2015, Ariana Grande's smooth sailing towards pop superstardom had finally had some slightly rocky waters, so she dropped a surprise release that gave both her sound and her career a little bit of a reset: the six-song EP Christmas & Chill. On this week's Great Moments in Pop Star History episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard's Kyle Denis — one of our staff's most devout Arianators — to talk about a secretly critical release in Grande's

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117:14

1995 Mariah Carey: Vintage Pop Stardom (with Chris Hine)

Greatest Pop Stars ·

2025/12/18

Mariah Carey's 1995 was bookended by two different songs that would come to hold the record for the longest-reigning No. 1 in Billboard Hot 100 history — and in between, she released one of her biggest albums, scored her greatest uptempo pop hit and changed the game with its remix. On this Vintage Pop Stardom episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Minnesota Star Tribune writer and longtime Lambily member Chris Hine to celebrate Mariah Carey during the week of

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72:27

Year-End in Review: How'd the Greatest Pop Stars Fare...

Greatest Pop Stars ·

2025/12/11

It's year-end season on Billboard.com! After debuting our year-end charts on Tuesday, our editorial staff unveiled its 50 favorite albums and 100 favorite songs of 2025 on Wednesday and Thursday. Host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard executive director of music Jason Lipshutz this week to review the top 10s of both lists, and to discuss how some of our greatest pop stars — Bad Bunny, Taylor Swift and the KPop Demon Hunters cast among them — fared, and what implications it might have for the

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62:27

Which Pop Stars Won November 2025? Olivia Dean,...

Greatest Pop Stars ·

2025/12/04

On this Who Won the Month episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Trevor Anderson and Michael Saponara to discuss the big pop stars, rising prospects and veteran greats who were heard from loudest in November 2025 — which, for the second month in a row was largely defined by Taylor Swift and Olivia Dean. 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

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63:18

Giving Thanks for New Art-Pop Releases From Rosalía,...

Greatest Pop Stars ·

2025/11/27

Though none are precisely taking over the charts this month, what's most exciting to pop fans this November is a rapid-fire run of new releases from some of the genre's greatest underground-ish luminaries. On this Thanksgiving episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard charts staffer and art-pop fanatic Eric Frankenberg to talk about eight days of exciting new drops from Rosalía, Charli xcx, Robyn and fka Twigs, and what their collective presence means

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118:57

1978 Bee Gees: Vintage Pop Stardom (with Chris Dalla...

Greatest Pop Stars ·

2025/11/20

In the late-'70s, disco lorded over everything, and no artist ruled the clubs like the Bee Gees: The Gibb brother trio reinvented its sound and swarmed the charts, both with their own smashes and hits they helmed for other artists, including their younger brother. On this Vintage Pop Stardom episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by 'Uncharted Territory' author Chris Dalla Riva to talk about the Bee Gees' absurd 1978 peak — the year 'Saturday Night Fever' and

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71:08

2012 Coachella — Dre, Snoop & The 2Pac Hologram:...

Greatest Pop Stars ·

2025/11/13

The 2012 edition of Coachella was an enormously important one — shifting the festival's musical balances, premiering vital new rising stars and earning its first truly viral pop culture moment with the 2Pac hologram featured in headliners Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg's star-studded set. On this week's Great Moments in Pop Star History episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard's Katie Bain — who just wrote the 'Desert Dreams' book about Coachella — to recall

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64:08

Which Pop Stars Won October 2025? Taylor Swift,...

Greatest Pop Stars ·

2025/11/06

On this Who Won the Month episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Kyle Denis and Stephen Daw to discuss the big pop stars, rising prospects and veteran greats who were heard from loudest in October 2025 — which, spoiler art, was absolutely dominated by Taylor Swift. 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 in the

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121:01

2000 D'Angelo: Vintage Almost-Pop Stardom (with Craig...

Greatest Pop Stars ·

2025/10/30

In 2000, D'Angelo was leveling up from R&B phenomenon to full-fledged crossover superstar, with a chart-topping album and a MTV-dominating video — but nearing pop stardom might quickly proved not the best thing for his art or for his spirit. In this third episode of our Vintage Almost-Pop Stardom mini-series — a spin on our usual Vintage Pop Stardom, with four episodes this month looking at close-but-not-quite pop stars during their biggest years — Vulture's Craig Jenkins helps us look back at the

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86:23

2011 Bon Iver: Vintage Almost-Pop Stardom (with...

Greatest Pop Stars ·

2025/10/23

In 2011, the worlds of indie and pop were starting to overlap in new and interesting ways — and one of the biggest beneficiaries of the merging universes was Justin Vernon, otherwise known as alt-folk cult phenomenon Bon Iver. In this third episode of our Vintage Almost-Pop Stardom mini-series — a spin on our usual Vintage Pop Stardom, with four episodes this month looking at close-but-not-quite pop stars during their biggest years — Billboard's Kristin Robinson (of the excellent new Billboard on

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124:12

2005 Paul Wall: Vintage Almost-Pop Stardom (with...

Greatest Pop Stars ·

2025/10/16

The long-bubbling Houston rap scene finally took over the mainstream in 2005, getting the entire country invested in tippin’ on four-fours and sittin’ sideways — and the guy who ended up serving as the connective tissue for pretty much the whole moment was The People’s Champ, Paul Wall. In this second episode of our Vintage Almost-Pop Stardom mini-series — a spin on our usual Vintage Pop Stardom, with four episodes this month looking at close-but-not-quite pop stars during their biggest years —

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115:40

1995 Björk: Vintage Almost-Pop Stardom (with Lina...

Greatest Pop Stars ·

2025/10/09

In 1995, Björk was a phenomenon without a genre, a critically acclaimed singer-songwriter who mixed dance beats with rock attitude and pop flair and became a near-household name without scoring any major hits. In this first episode of our Vintage Almost-Pop Stardom series — a spin on our usual Vintage Pop Stardom, with four episodes this month looking at close-but-not-quite pop stars during their biggest years — Lina Morgan of the Song vs. Song podcast helps us look back at Iceland's greatest

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68:41

Taylor Swift's 'The Life of a Showgirl': Rollout...

Greatest Pop Stars ·

2025/10/07

After a brief break at the beginning of 2025, Taylor Swift is back with what after just a few days of release is already proving to (somehow) be her biggest album yet. For this Rollout Report Card, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers and Swifties Meghan Mahar and Danielle Pascual as we look at everything surrounding the breathlessly anticipated release of 'The Life of a Showgirl' — including the accompanying movie and new music video, the many alternate album covers, the deluge

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70:09

Which Pop Stars Won September 2025? Bad Bunny,...

Greatest Pop Stars ·

2025/10/02

On this week's episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Eric Renner Brown and Eric Frankenberg to discuss the big pop stars, rising prospects and veteran greats who got their last big pop star moments in for September 2025 — before Taylor Swift inevitably takes over shortly into October. 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

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48:15

Cardi B's 'Am I the Drama?' Rollout Report Card

Greatest Pop Stars ·

2025/09/25

It's been seven years since Cardi B aced her debut album rollout with 2018's rapturously received 'Invasion of Privacy' — and at long last, she's finally back with album two, 'Am I the Drama?' For this Rollout Report Card, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Kyle Denis and Emily Fuentes as we look at everything surrounding the wait-and-hurry-up promotion of Cardi's long, long-anticipated second album, grading everything from the music videos and live performances to the album's

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103:21

1995 TLC: Vintage Pop Stardom (with Naima Cochrane)

Greatest Pop Stars ·

2025/09/18

In the mid-'90s, TLC were on top of the world, with a game-changing year of hit singles, unavoidable videos and culture-shifting moments — though behind the scenes, everything that could be going wrong for the trio was. On this Vintage Pop Stardom episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by NYU professor and social media legend Naima Cochrane to talk about 1995 TLC — the year of "Creep," "Waterfalls," "Red Light Special," and one of the greatest nights ever at the

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57:51

Sabrina Carpenter's 'Man's Best Friend': Rollout...

Greatest Pop Stars ·

2025/09/11

It's been a fascinating few months for Sabrina Carpenter, who had barely started to wind down her blockbuster 'Short n' Sweet' album era before announcing an entirely new album in 'Man's Best Friend,' which dropped on Aug. 29. For this Rollout Report Card, we look at everything surrounding the lead-up and post-release promotion of Carpenter's second album as a pop superstar, grading everything from the music videos and live performances to the album's new songs and overall "albuminess." Learn more

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69:53

Oasis' Live '25 Tour: Pop Star Performance Review

Greatest Pop Stars ·

2025/09/05

We weren't positive they'd make it, but Oasis has arrived on U.S. shores as conquering heroes on its universally acclaimed Live '25 tour. On this bonus Pop Star Performance Review episode of Greatest Pop Stars, host Andrew Unterberger is rejoined by his longtime partner Lisa Ebe to talk about the two shows on this tour they saw together — one overseas, one stateside — as well as the differences between them, and their overall conclusions about what has made this tour such a special experience (and a

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81 results

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