Matt Hansen joins Live From Mars for an emotional deep dive into his debut album Orchid, the songwriting experiences that shaped it, and the realities of building a music career completely independently.

Matt opens up about going from posting covers in parking garages during COVID to becoming one of the internet’s fastest-rising independent artists with over a billion streams worldwide. Alex and Matt discuss emotional songwriting, social media burnout, creative freedom, therapy, heartbreak, healing, and why Orchid feels like the first project that truly tells his story.

They also break down the pressure of virality, transitioning fans from covers to original music, the cinematic influence of Coldplay and Hans Zimmer, and the meaning behind songs like “Let Em Go,” “Yellowstone,” and the album’s title track.

Topics covered:

• The story behind Matt Hansen’s debut album Orchid

• How TikTok changed his life and music career

• Building an audience independently without a label

• The emotional process behind songwriting and healing

• Why “Let Em Go” changed everything for him

• Coldplay’s influence on his music and production style

• Learning to separate artistry from analytics and virality

• The importance of emotional maturity in songwriting

• Why happiness felt scary after years of sad songs

• What Matt hopes to learn from the Orchid era

Follow Matt Hansen:

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Instagram/TikTok: @matthansenmusic

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The Grammys are officially wrapped, and we’re breaking down everything that happened the night after music’s biggest show. In this episode of Live From Mars, Alex is joined by returning guest and fan-favorite Amanda Leopizzi to recap the biggest wins, surprise losses, standout performances, and the moments everyone is still talking about.

We dive into Bad Bunny’s historic Album of the Year win, Olivia Dean taking Best New Artist, Billie Eilish’s controversial Song of the Year victory for “Wildflower,” and why Sabrina Carpenter walked away empty-handed. We also talk through Lady Gaga’s pop vocal win, Kendrick Lamar’s continued dominance, and the evolving relevance of award shows in today’s music landscape.

Beyond the trophies, we get into the cultural and political moments from the night, social media reactions across platforms, and how fan discourse is shaping the narrative around artists in real time. To close things out, we look ahead to the 2027 Grammys and start calling early contenders across pop, country, and alternative.

In this episode:

• Biggest winners and snubs of the 2026 Grammys

• Best New Artist performances and medley highlights

• The Billie Eilish eligibility debate

• Lady Gaga vs. Bad Bunny Album of the Year conversation

• Social media reactions and fan culture shifts

• Early 2027 Grammy predictions

• Best and worst moments of the night

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Grammy week is here, so I’m locking my final predictions before the votes are revealed.

In the first official episode of 2026, I break down my Grammy ballot across 12 categories, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist. I also compare my picks against hundreds of listener submissions from my Grammy poll to see where the internet agrees with me and where it doesn’t.

This episode is all about how the Recording Academy actually votes, where narratives matter, and which categories are primed for upsets.

In this episode:

• Final Grammy predictions across the Big Four
• Why Album of the Year is a three-artist race
• The category I’m least confident about
• Listener poll results vs my actual picks
• Dark horses the Academy could surprise us with
• 
  

The next episode will be a full Grammy recap reacting to the winners, performances, and biggest moments of the night. Make sure you're subscribed to the podcast to be notified when the next episode drops!

01:46 Predictions for Record of the Year

03:53 Album of the Year Contenders

07:55 Song of the Year Insights

18:19 Best New Artist Predictions

19:24 The Rise of Olivia Dean and Leon Thomas

20:37 Predictions for Best Pop Solo Performance

22:37 Best Pop Duo/Group Performance Insights

24:33 Best Pop Vocal Album Showdown

27:01 Best Dance Pop Recording Predictions

28:04 Best Dance Electronic Album Insights

29:17 Best Remixed Recording Analysis

30:38 Best Traditional Pop Album Discussion

31:46 Best Music Video Predictions

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In this episode of Live From Mars, I sit down with John Stein, Head of Editorial at Spotify, to break down Spotify Wrapped 2025 and what the year in music actually sounded like.

We go behind the scenes of how Spotify Wrapped is made, how editorial teams balance streaming data with human curation, and how playlists like Discover Weekly and Fresh Finds help artists break and grow over time. John shares his 12-year journey at Spotify, how editorial has evolved, and how decisions made inside Spotify impact millions of listeners every day.

We also unpack the biggest music trends of 2025, including introspective pop, album-first listening habits, country rock crossovers, masked metal artists, and why songs released in previous years continued to dominate the charts. We talk about slow-burn artists, touring as a growth engine, and how older catalog songs keep finding new life on streaming.

Plus, we look ahead to 2026 music predictions, the rise of more organic sounding music in response to AI, and which albums and artists might still be talked about a decade from now.

If you’ve ever wondered how Spotify decides what you hear, why Wrapped became such a massive cultural moment, or how music discovery actually works in 2025, this conversation pulls back the curtain.

📲 Follow Alex Mars

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#SpotifyWrapped #SpotifyWrapped2025 #YearInMusic #MusicTrends2025 #SpotifyPodcast #MusicPodcast #LiveFromMars #MusicDiscovery #DiscoverWeekly #FreshFinds #StreamingMusic #PopMusic #MusicIndustry #AlbumListening #MusicTrends #MusicYouTube #PodcastInterview

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Subscribe to my Substack for more pop music deep dives and unfiltered reactions: https://vinylbymars.substack.com

This week on Live From Mars, I’m joined by my good friend (and resident guy-who-screams-songs-in-the-car) Nick Palmai to finally give Miley Cyrus’ Something Beautiful the deep dive it deserved. We’re talking about why this album became my favorite of 2025, why it got such a mixed reception, and how a messy rollout and delayed visual release may have kept people from fully getting what Miley built here.

What we cover in this episode

• Why Something Beautiful is one of the most underrated pop albums of 2025
• Our IRL story: meeting at the Something Beautiful premiere and watching the film before the album dropped
• The rollout choices that helped and hurt the album (and why “End of the World” deserved way more)
• Why the project feels so cinematic, loud, and experimental compared to Endless Summer Vacation
• Best Worst Fave: our picks for the best song, weakest track, and personal favorites (yes, “Golden Burning Sun” stans rise)

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure you’re following the show on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and if you feel like being nice today, drop a 5-star review.

Follow me:

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We’re continuing my Top 3 Albums of 2025 series with the record that kicked off the year’s biggest pop era: Lady Gaga’s Mayhem. I’m joined by two of my first internet friends, Seth and Amanda, for a full deep dive into the rollout, the tracklist chaos, Best / Worst / Fave picks, and why this album stayed in our rotation all year.

If you’re looking for a Lady Gaga Mayhem review, an "Abracadabra" breakdown, Mayhem Ball reactions, or Grammys Album of the Year predictions, this episode covers all of it.

Topics covered

• Why Mayhem is a Grammy Album of the Year contender
• "Disease" vs "Abracadabra" and how the Grammys premiere reset the era
• Tracklist debate, production shifts, and whether "Die With a Smile" belongs on the album
• Best / Worst / Fave picks including "Perfect Celebrity", "Vanish Into You", and "How Bad Do U Want Me"
• Most underrated songs on Mayhem
• Tour thoughts, Mayhem Ball performances, and what Gaga should do next
• Grammys 2026 predictions, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, and Best Dance Pop Recording

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro and Top Albums of 2025 series setup

02:37 - Seth and Amanda join the conversation

05:11 - Rollout talk: "Disease" to "Abracadabra"

06:09 - "Abracadabra" Grammys premiere reaction

11:37 - Does "Die With a Smile" belong on Mayhem?

13:30 - Tracklist debate and the two-halves album conversation

16:12 - Best, Worst, and Fave picks

20:30 - Why "Vanish Into You" hits and why Amanda disagrees

27:30 - Most underrated songs on the album

29:15 - What’s next for Gaga after Mayhem

35:21 - Grammys 2026 predictions across major categories

37:57 - Plugs and wrap-up

Follow & support the show:

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vinylbymars

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Subscribe to my Substack for weekly reviews, charts talk, and deep dives: https://vinylbymars.substack.com

This special end-of-year episode of Live From Mars breaks down my official list of the Top Ten Pop Albums of 2025. With every major outlet releasing their Best Albums of 2025 and Year-End Music Lists, this episode adds the perspective you will not get anywhere else. If you are searching for the real standout albums across pop, R&B, experimental pop, and Latin music, this countdown brings you the records that truly shaped the year.

I walk through the projects that defined 2025, including Justin Bieber’s SWAG, PinkPantheress’ Fancy That, Sabrina Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend, Lorde’s Virgin, Miley Cyrus’ Something Beautiful, Addison Rae’s Addison, Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving, Lady Gaga’s Mayhem, Bad Bunny’s DTMF, and Rosalía’s Lux, my pick for the best album of 2025. These albums pushed pop forward with bold production, unforgettable songwriting, genre-blending experimentation, and some of the strongest artistic visions of the decade.

If you love year-end recaps, pop music deep dives, album reviews, or “albums of the year” content, this episode gives you everything you need in one place. These are the albums that stayed in my rotation long after release week, the ones that built full worlds and delivered the biggest musical statements of 2025.

And if you want even more insight into this year’s top albums, listen to my full deep dive into Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving with HTHAZE on the podcast. It is the perfect companion to this countdown.

Follow the show:

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Substack: Get weekly music breakdowns, reviews, and unedited reaction content: https://vinylbymars.substack.com

The Top Albums of the Year series is back. After last year's run highlighted releases from Taylor Swift to Sabrina Carpenter to Charli xcx and beyond, I’m returning with a three-episode run to highlight the three albums that defined my 2025 listening experience. We’re starting with Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving, a project that continues to build her momentum and shape conversations around Album of the Year considerations.

I’m joined by special guest HTHAZE, one of the most recognizable music reaction creators online and the number one music creator on Patreon, to get into why The Art of Loving stands out in this moment. We talk about how listeners first connected with Olivia, the impact of her live performances, how she has become part of the current UK-to-US artist wave, and what we hope to hear next as she heads into a new chapter.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why The Art of Loving kicks off the Top Albums of 2025 series
• How we each first discovered Olivia Dean
• Why the live performances at Rough Trade, Brooklyn Paramount, and MSG matter
• Best song, worst song, and personal faves
• Pitchfork’s score and how we would rate the album
• Adele comparisons and Olivia’s place in this era of music
• What we hope to see from album three

Follow and support the show:

• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vinylbymars
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vinylbymars
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@vinylbymars
• Substack: https://vinylbymars.substack.com
• Link in bio: https://linktr.ee/vinylbymars

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Watch my full unedited 2026 Grammy Awards nominations reaction exclusively on Substack when it goes live this Friday: https://vinylbymars.substack.com

We’re just two days away from the 2026 Grammy Awards nominations, and I’m putting my full predictions on the line. In this episode of Live From Mars, I break down who I think will get nominated across the Big Four categories — Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist — plus all the major pop fields.

We cover everything:

• Full predictions for Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist
• Pop Solo Performance, Pop Duo/Group Performance, Pop Vocal Album, and Dance Pop Recording predictions
• Why Lady Gaga and Kendrick Lamar could lead the 2026 nominations
• Which K-pop acts could break through this year
• The biggest snubs, surprises, and dark horses to watch
• How Grammy eligibility actually works and what songs qualify this year

Follow Alex:

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vinylbymars

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vinylbymars

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Subscribe to my Substack for exclusive full album reactions, reviews, and bonus content: https://vinylbymars.substack.com

Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl has officially made history, selling over 4 million copies in the U.S. and 5.5 million worldwide. But did it actually live up to the hype?

In this week’s episode of Live From Mars, Alex is joined by fellow Swiftie and friend of the pod, Steven Sullivan (@stevensully1), to unpack your burning questions and hot takes about Taylor’s record-breaking twelfth studio album. Together, they revisit their original predictions, debate if the “showgirl” concept worked, and discuss where Taylor goes next.

We cover everything:

• First impressions and how opinions have evolved
• Whether Showgirl delivered on its concept
• The highs and lows of the tracklist
• The “Canceled” and “Eldest Daughter” discourse
• If “Wood” deserves a single and Sabrina Carpenter remix
• Grammy predictions and what’s next for Taylor

Chapters:

00:00 - Intro

03:48 - Steven returns

04:18 - Did we actually like Showgirl?

10:20 - Album highs and lows

17:50 - The “Showgirl” concept debate

25:30 - Writing and production discussion

36:10 - Did it come too soon or too late?

47:20 - “Wood” and Sabrina Carpenter

50:20 - Grammy predictions

53:59 - Final thoughts

Follow Alex:

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