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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Today on the Greatest Pop Stars Podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard Pride editor Stephen Daw and executive digital director Katie Atkinson to remember the brilliant career of our No. 5 Greatest Pop Star of the 21st Century, Lady Gaga. We try to capture what made Gaga's turn-of-the-'10s peak so shocking, so singular and so important, and remember the winding and occasionally rocky road Mother Monster took from there to where she is today, as one of the still-vital hitmakers and marquee touring artists of all 21st-century pop.

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