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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

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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59:23

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

Greatest Pop Stars ·

2025/09/04

On this week's episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Stephen Daw and Danielle Pascual to discuss the big pop stars, rising prospects and veteran greats who dominated August 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 in the months to come.If you enjoy the pod, check out out the rest of our

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119:41

Will Smith's 1998: Vintage Pop Superstardom (with...

Greatest Pop Stars ·

2025/08/28

We've seen plenty of pop stars and plenty of movie stars in our lifetime, but only one entertainer who has ever been one of the very biggest stars in both mediums at the same time. On this Vintage Pop Stardom episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by YouTube star and Song vs. Song podcast co-host Todd in the Shadows to talk about 1998 Will Smith — the year of "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It," "Just the Two of Us," "Miami," 'Enemy of the State' and a period of

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54:56

Taylor Swift's 'Life of a Showgirl' Era: Pop Star...

Greatest Pop Stars ·

2025/08/21

Taylor Swift had every excuse to take 2025 off — but as of last week's 'New Heights' podcast, she is once again back in full effect. On this extended Pop Star Preview episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard executive director of music Jason Lipshutz to look ahead to the 'Life of a Showgirl' era and beyond, discussing everything from the album's tracklist to sound to collaborators and making some forecasts about the rest of Swift's 2025 — and if she

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137:53

Mariah Carey's 2005: Vintage Pop Stardom (with Trevor...

Greatest Pop Stars ·

2025/08/14

Mariah Carey spent the '90s as the biggest pop star on the planet, but after a brutal start to the 21st century, it took an all-time comeback year to get her back to the top of the pop game. On this extended Vintage Pop Stardom episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard charts manager Trevor Anderson to talk about 2005 Mariah Carey — the year of 'The Emancipation of Mimi," "We Belong Together," "Shake It Off," and a run that reminded everyone that 15

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55:38

Chappell Roan's "The Subway": Rollout Report Card

Greatest Pop Stars ·

2025/08/07

It's been 14 months since we first heard "The Subway," as debuted by Chappell Roan as part of her set at New York's Governors Ball festival — and last week, we finally got the studio version and official music video. We mark the occasion with a Pop Star Rollout Report Card for the song and video release, as host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Stephen Daw and Hannah Dailey to evaluate everything that has gone into this Chappell mini-era so far -- from the timing of the release to

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63:33

Which Pop Stars Won July 2025? Justin Bieber, KPop...

Greatest Pop Stars ·

2025/07/31

On this week's episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Michael Saponara and Kyle Denis to discuss the big pop stars, rising prospects and veteran greats who dominated July 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 in the months to come.If you enjoy the pod, check out out the rest of our

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75:33

Justin Bieber's 'Journals': Great Moments in Pop Star...

Greatest Pop Stars ·

2025/07/24

Upon its 2013 release, Justin Bieber's 'Journals' project couldn't have flopped much harder — but 12 years later, it's grown to not only be an enduring fan favorite, but maybe the most important release of Bieber's career. 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 to recall what went wrong with 'Journals' a decade ago, and why it's ultimately proven to have been well ahead of its time

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136:51

Oasis' 1996: Vintage Pop Stardom (with Lisa Ebe)

Greatest Pop Stars ·

2025/07/17

While Oasis never stopped being pop stars in the U.K. — even during the band's 15-year hiatus before its current reunion stadium tour — in the U.S., the lads only got one year on top: 1996. On this supersized Vintage Pop Stardom episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by his real-life partner, longtime Oasis superfan Lisa Ebe, to talk about the year of "Wonderwall," "Champagne Supernova," Knebworth and MTV Unplugged, where Oasis broke out into stateside

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73 results

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