We've finally arrived! After four episodes and nearly ten hours of discussion and dissection, Pop Pantheon's Britney Spears Mega Series concludes with the big question: Is Britney Spears in Tier 1 of the Pantheon?

To parse that out, Louie and Russ are joined by friend of the pod Molly Mary O'Brien to pull at this debate from every possible angle. Throughout the nearly two-hour (!!!) debate, they also hear from Dean of USC's Thornton School of Music's Jason King regarding his thoughts on Britney, her legacy, her ranking, and the Pantheon in general, along with ranking opinions from every past guest of the series including The New Yorker's Doreen St. Félix, NPR's Ann Powers, The New York Times' Caryn Ganz and Beyond the Blinds' Troy McEady.

Finally, Louie ranks Britney Spears in the official Pop Pantheon.

Check out Pop Pantheon's Britney Spears Essentials Playlist

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For the fourth episode in our five-part series on Britney Spears, Beyond The Blinds’ Troy McEady returns to Pop Pantheon to discuss late period Britney, an unnerving decade+ period where Britney's pop stardom often felt forced upon her and yet produced some of her most beloved and successful music. Troy and Louie start with her EDM reimagining on 2011’s chart-topping Femme Fatale, her first and only album to produce three top ten singles. From there, they unpack Britney’s brief, odd The X Factor tenure, 2013’s derided nadir Britney Jean, her massively lucrative but sometimes bizarre Vegas residency, Piece of Me, and Britney’s final album to date, 2016’s fan-favorite Glory. Finally, they discuss the #FreeBritney movement, the end of conservatorship, Britney’s life beyond the music business, whether this story has any semblance of a happy ending, and her enduring impact on pop. 

Join us next week for Part 5, in which we’ll rank Britney Spears in the Official Pop Pantheon.

Check out Pop Pantheon's Britney Spears Essentials Playlist

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In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, on Friday, Chappell Roan finally dropped her long-awaited country single "The Giver," first teased on SNL back in November, plus Lil Nas released his Neptunes-nodding "Hot Box," Haim shared their treatise on "Relationships," and Lizzo gave it another whirl. Louie and Russ discuss all these songs, plus take a question about their British pop canon. 

To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app.

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For the third episode in our five-part series on Britney Spears, The New York Times pop music editor Caryn Ganz makes her Pop Pantheon debut to parse through a period in which tabloids covered Britney’s every move like a national news story. Caryn and Louie discuss how a turbulent time in Britney’s personal life led to what’s now considered a pop classic and one of the most prescient and influential albums of the period, 2007’s Blackout. From there, they tackle the start of Britney’s conservatorship and the album that brought her back to number one under perhaps dubious behind-the-scenes circumstances, 2008’s Circus.

Join us next week for Part 4, in which we’ll discuss Femme Fatale (2011), Britney Jean (2013), Glory (2016), #FreeBritney, the end of the conservatorship, The Woman in Me, as well as Britney's enduring legacy in pop.

Check out Pop Pantheon's Britney Spears Essentials Playlist

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In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Lady Gaga just dropped her hotly anticipated 7th studio album, Mayhem, this past Friday. Monster braintrust Louie, Russ and Who? Weekly's Bobby Finger and Lindsey Weber got together to queen on the new record, which indexes past Gaga styles through a decidedly distilled, adult framework and is perhaps her best solo album in over a decade.

To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app.

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For the second in our five-part series on Britney Spears, NPR’s Ann Powers joins Pop Pantheon to discuss Britney’s first attempts to transition from teen queen to grown-up pop star. Ann and Louie tackle Britney's iconic “I’m a Slave 4 U” VMA performance, work with The Neptunes and play at maturity on 2001’s Britney, relationship and breakup with Justin Timberlake, and her one and only starring film role in the teen road comedy Crossroads. Finally, they dive into Britney and Madonna’s VMA kiss, the duo's generational pop baton passing on the single “Me Against The Music” and Britney’s most adventurous record up to that point, 2003’s In the Zone.

Join us next week for Part 3, in which we’ll discuss and Britney's infamous mid-aughts along with 2007's Blackout and 2008's Circus

Check out Pop Pantheon's Britney Spears Essentials Playlist

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For the first in our five-part series on Britney Spears, The New Yorker’s Doreen St. Felix returns to Pop Pantheon to chart the birth of a pop princess. Doreen and Louie dig into Britney’s origin story, from Star Search and The New Mickey Mouse Club to her Jive deal and development in Sweden with Max Martin. Then, they tackle her legendary breakout smash and music video, “...Baby One More Time," and her 1999 album of the same name, which shot her to the front of the teen pop pack. Next, they parse 2000’s hit-packed Oops!... I Did It Again, which solidified Britney’s spot as the most important pop star of the new Millennium.

Join us next week for Part 2, in which we’ll discuss 2001’s Britney and 2003’s In The Zone.

Check out Pop Pantheon's Britney Spears Essentials Playlist

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In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, is pop music stuck in a nostalgia loop? Pop starlet Tate McRae's new album is highly referential to the last twenty years of pop from Britney to the Pussycat Dolls to Halsey and beyond. But on her new album So Close to What, which dropped last week, does she form her own identity? Or do she and her murderer's row of collaborators just do good karaoke? Louie, Russ, and Variety's Steven J. Horowitz discuss.

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Lady Gaga's seventh studio album Mayhem drops on March 7 and in anticipation of the big day, Carey O'Donnell, Kristen S. Hé, and Naomi Zeichner join DJ Louie to break down their thoughts, hope and dreams on the upcoming record before each sharing their ranking of Gaga's albums to this point.

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In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Katy Perry's second studio album Teenage Dream  is deemed a classic "pop bible" by many pop fans. The album produced five number one singles and spun off a deluxe version with another couple top tens. But what about the other seven tracks from the TD era? If you listen to this record without its classic hits, does it hold together as a complete body of work? Louie and Russ dive into every one of Teenage Dream's non-singles to get answers and decide if the album is a bonafide classic, or just a great collection of smashes paired with some less great filler. 

To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app.