Greatest Pop Stars

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 can still end up the year's No. 1 Greatest Pop Star.

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

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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 years into her career, there was still no one who did it like MC.

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

Transgender Law Center

https://transgenderlawcenter.org/

Trans Lifeline

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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.

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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 the finer points of the music video to whether the "Subway" studio version ultimately proved worth the wait.

And 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

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Destination Tomorrow

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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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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 2025 Who Won the Month recaps here:

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

And please consider donating to the following causes:

Transgender Law Center

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Trans Lifeline

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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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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.

'Journals'-era Justin Bieber YouTube playlist:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwFs58D1XAMYngPN2CrvqKQrpftTuZReQ&si=oV7F6_NWZ_fGVcwh

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

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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 superstardom, before falling apart just as quickly and spectacularly.

And 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

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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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If you've been paying any attention to the Billboard charts the past couple weeks, you've seen the chart onslaught of two brand-new groups: HUNTR/X and Saja Boys, inventions of the hit animated Netflix musical 'KPop Demon Hunters'. On this first-ever Fictional Pop Star Review on the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard Assistant Social Editor and K-pop superfan Abby Webster to talk about all things HUNTR/X and Saja Boys, the entire 'KPop Demon Hunters' phenomenon and how these fake groups have now managed bigger hits than most real-life K-pop superstars.

Abby's Intro to K-pop playlist:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0NkFWmlj6CtlRfHTHnUmKM?si=096bef8c50d94f26

Abby's KPop Demon Hunters-to-K-Pop Pipeline playlist:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7tFSU0IdRDNfdjI5Z4G78t?si=25d62fb5c593496a

And 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 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 2010, Kesha (then Ke$ha) kicked off the decade in pop with an ass-kicking run of pop smashes that set the tone and tempo for 2010 to become an all-time year in pop music. On this Vintage Pop Stardom episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by AJ Marks of r/Popheads and Main Pod Girl to relive the signature year for everyone's favorite sleaze-pop superstar — with "Tik Tok," "Your Love Is My Drug," and both 'Animal' and 'Cannibal' — and to remember how much has changed for her (and all of us) in the years since.

And 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 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 midyear season at Billboard, so it's time for us to look back at the year in pop stardom so far -- by revisiting our Greatest Pop Stars fantasy draft from January. Host Andrew Unterberger is joined once again by Billboard staffers Kyle Denis, Meghan Mahar and Jason Lipshutz to go over how each of our pop star fantasy teams has done so far, while also sizing up the Greatest Pop Star of 2025 race in general, and predicting some of the artists who aren't in the discussion yet but still might be by year's end.

Greatest Pop Stars Fantasy Draft Episode:

https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/greatest-pop-stars-2025-fantasy-draft-podcast-1235877072/

Billboard's 50 Best Albums of 2025 So Far:

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

Billboard's 50 Best Songs of 2025 So Far:

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

And 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 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 1969, Sly Stone and his Family Stone band reached superstardom and just kept climbing, with timeless singles, a classic album, and several of the year's most legendary live performances. On this Vintage Pop Stardom episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard's Joe Lynch to pay tribute to the late Sly Stone with a look at his band's greatest year, one that saw him reach a level of all-consuming pop stardom that few have ever matched in the decades since.

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

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