Greatest Pop Stars

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 stacked catalog, and a low-key holiday favorite that's aged exceptionally since its release a decade ago.

Check out Kyle's 2025 Year in R&B review, as well as his recent Druski cover story:

https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/rb-not-dead-mainstream-comeback-leon-thomas-kehlani-music-1236139048/

https://www.billboard.com/music/features/druski-number-ones-billboard-cover-story-interview-1236132075/

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Also, please consider giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠5Calls.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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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 her historic 20th week at No. 1 for "All I Want for Christmas for You" by remembering her 1995: The post-"Christmas" year of "Fantasy," "One Sweet Day" and 'Daydream.'

Find 'Ant,' Chris' excellent biography of Minnesota Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards, here:

https://www.harpercollins.com/products/ant-chris-hine?variant=43429930696738

And if you enjoy the pod, please consider donating to the following causes:

Transgender Law Center

https://transgenderlawcenter.org/

Trans Lifeline

https://translifeline.org/

Destination Tomorrow

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Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe

https://www.gofundme.com/c/gender-confirmation-surgery-fundraising

Also, please consider giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠5Calls.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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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 2025 Greatest Pop Stars race.

If you enjoy the pod, find our 2025 year-end albums and songs lists here:

https://www.billboard.com/lists/best-albums-2025/

https://www.billboard.com/lists/best-songs-2025/

And please consider donating to the following causes:

Transgender Law Center

https://transgenderlawcenter.org/

Trans Lifeline

https://translifeline.org/

Destination Tomorrow

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Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe

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Also, please consider giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠5Calls.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

https://5calls.org/

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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 anticipating hearing more from in the final months of the year.

If you enjoy the pod, check out out the rest of our 2025 Who Won the Month recaps here:

https://www.billboard.com/t/who-won-the-month/

Find our YouTube playlist for our November 2025 pop stars here:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwFs58D1XAMbRkkxLBF0agcFLdEVxTHTF&si=J9WgXNU4U0cqPAOr

And please consider donating to the following causes:

Transgender Law Center

https://transgenderlawcenter.org/

Trans Lifeline

https://translifeline.org/

Destination Tomorrow

https://secure.givelively.org/donate/destination-tomorrow-inc

Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe

https://www.gofundme.com/c/gender-confirmation-surgery-fundraising

Also, please consider giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠5Calls.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

https://5calls.org/

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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 for 2025 pop music — as well as the Greatest Pop Stars of 2025 race.

November 2025 Art-Pop YouTube Playlist:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwFs58D1XAMYXPeIvf9xvPFl2NchSGm35&si=3v22_sK0VeQJeK8o

And if you enjoy the pod, please consider donating to the following causes:

Transgender Law Center

https://transgenderlawcenter.org/

Trans Lifeline

https://translifeline.org/

Destination Tomorrow

https://secure.givelively.org/donate/destination-tomorrow-inc

Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe

https://www.gofundme.com/c/gender-confirmation-surgery-fundraising

Also, please consider giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠5Calls.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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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 its soundtrack ruled the world, with "How Deep Is Your Love," "Stayin' Alive," "Night Fever" and numerous other Gibb-penned classics making for a historic, chart-and-culture-dominating run that not even the disastrous 'Sgt. Pepper' movie could derail.

1978 Bee Gees YouTube Playlist:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwFs58D1XAMaUinqvtIfa66hvIsAsbPjJ&si=J81589B1bKL6X7TA

Buy Chris' 'Uncharted Territory: What Numbers Tell Us About the Biggest Hit Songs and Ourselves':

https://bio.site/uncharted_territory?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGnVH60dsVVTqbWEOtXV2f4vUxakNUKOiRljMIXut34sQPzevywdw-NRoXOkQc_aem_vxEhkXTH-oVHgGoDlUQrOA

And if you enjoy the pod, please consider donating to the following causes:

Transgender Law Center

https://transgenderlawcenter.org/

Trans Lifeline

https://translifeline.org/

Destination Tomorrow

https://secure.givelively.org/donate/destination-tomorrow-inc

Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe

https://www.gofundme.com/c/gender-confirmation-surgery-fundraising

Also, please consider giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠5Calls.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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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 our own memories of the 2012 festival, and how its climactic moment continues to reverberate over a decade later.

Buy Katie's 'Desert Dreams: The Music, Style and Allure of Coachella' here:

https://geni.us/DesertDreams

And if you enjoy the pod, please consider donating to the following causes:

Transgender Law Center

https://transgenderlawcenter.org/

Destination Tomorrow

https://secure.givelively.org/donate/destination-tomorrow-inc

Trans Lifeline

https://translifeline.org/

Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe

https://www.gofundme.com/c/gender-confirmation-surgery-fundraising

Also, please consider giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠5Calls.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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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 final months of the year ahead.

If you enjoy the pod, check out out the rest of our 2025 Who Won the Month recaps here:

https://www.billboard.com/t/who-won-the-month/

Find our YouTube playlist for our October 2025 pop stars here:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwFs58D1XAMYzWxaQlHOdO2GmvhAaKjml&si=x9oUDOn92fTy-Kkk

And please consider donating to the following causes:

Transgender Law Center

https://transgenderlawcenter.org/

Trans Lifeline

https://translifeline.org/

Destination Tomorrow

https://secure.givelively.org/donate/destination-tomorrow-inc

Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe

https://www.gofundme.com/c/gender-confirmation-surgery-fundraising

Also, please consider giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠5Calls.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

https://5calls.org/

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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 late great D'Angelo during the era of 'Voodoo' and "Untitled (How Does It Feel)," and how he helped briefly define the mainstream before pushing away from it to a degree no one could have quite anticipated.

2000 D'Angelo:

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 the Record podcast) looks back at Eau Claire's finest during the year when he brushed against pop stardom, both as one of Kanye West's go-to collaborators, and as one of the most-acclaimed, best-selling and most culturally unavoidable artists in all of indie.

2000 D'Angelo Playlist:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwFs58D1XAMaFV5ppR8JEQ8z5zPiw5X7I&si=N-RxPcxN65_r9oPD

Read Craig's D'Angelo rememberance on Vulture:

https://www.vulture.com/article/dangelo-obit.html

And if you enjoy the pod, please consider donating to the following causes:

Transgender Law Center

https://transgenderlawcenter.org/

Trans Lifeline

https://translifeline.org/

Destination Tomorrow

https://secure.givelively.org/donate/destination-tomorrow-inc

Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe

https://www.gofundme.com/c/gender-confirmation-surgery-fundraising

Also, please consider giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠5Calls.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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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 the Record podcast) looks back at Eau Claire's finest during the year when he brushed against pop stardom, both as one of Kanye West's go-to collaborators, and as one of the most-acclaimed, best-selling and most culturally unavoidable artists in all of indie.

2011 Bon Iver YouTube Playlist:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwFs58D1XAMaFV5ppR8JEQ8z5zPiw5X7I&si=N-RxPcxN65_r9oPD

Subscribe to Kristin's Billboard On the Record Podcast:

https://linktr.ee/billboardontherecord?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAac0zcDf0Bb1zs_FmhrZTvyHmNNTSlAycNfqX8CAKhhEkjgmz2PQAdSULlz9Kg_aem_h7A5x-8EankWuBCgfc6y8A

And if you enjoy the pod, please consider donating to the following causes:

Transgender Law Center

https://transgenderlawcenter.org/

Trans Lifeline

https://translifeline.org/

Destination Tomorrow

https://secure.givelively.org/donate/destination-tomorrow-inc

Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe

https://www.gofundme.com/c/gender-confirmation-surgery-fundraising

Also, please consider giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠5Calls.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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