The Pop Pod

Lana Del Rey is one of the best, if not the best lyricist, in pop music. Over her career she has been able to pair delusions of grandeur with fragile admissions of vulnerability to paint a picture of a flawed but endearing subject. We went through all of her lyrics to pick out the ones we felt were best from the takedown of 'Norman F Rockwell' to the aching nostalgia of 'White Dress'.

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JADE’s year took an unexpected turn. She was working on the follow-up to her debut album 'That’s Showbiz Baby!' when her debut single, 'Angel Of My Dreams', soundtracked Kylie Jenner’s walk in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. It catapulted the song to a new audience and, as of this morning, it has debuted on the Billboard Hot 100.Pegged by many as one of the best pop songs of the decade so far, 'Angel Of My Dreams' always deserved a second moment, but you can never quite prepare for one.

I caught up with JADE for an emergency episode of The Pop Pod to discuss her reaction to its sudden resurgence, reflect on the first two years of her solo career and find out how album number two is coming along.She also, of course, gave us her take on the perfect song.

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Voting has officially closed for the 2027 Grammy Awards, and now we await the nominations. Olivia Rodrigo and Olivia Dean are shaping up to be two of the biggest contenders, but who will make the final cut?On this episode of The Pop Pod, we're predicting the nominations across the Big Four general field categories and all the pop categories. From the obvious frontrunners to the potential surprises and shocking snubs, we're breaking down who we think will make the list.

Rebecca Black knows the Pop industry in and out. She’s not only been an active participant in it for well over a decade, she’s also a fan. It feels like, she’s always learning, honing her craft and showing more and more people what she’s capable of.

Her latest album Age Of The Exhibitionist is one of the strongest pop projects of the year so far and I had to have her on the pod to discuss it. As expected. She explains her work with laser focus and an understanding of how it interacts with the culture at large. 

It was a fascinating discussion and I’m excited for you to hear it!

Rachel Chinouriri joins the podcast off the back of the release of her second album 'I Think I Spoke Too Soon...' The album comes off the back of a huge period of change for Rachel, including sobriety and touring with pop titans like Sabrina Carpenter.Those experiences are reflected in the album which strikes a balance between vulnerability and confidence. It's a glossy pop record with an intimate storyteller at the centre. This interview goes behind the album but also gets into how she studied campaigns like 'Brat', consciously broke out of moulds she'd made for herself and pop classics like Rihanna's 'Anti'.

MNEK has helped shape the sound of modern pop, writing and producing hits for Dua Lipa, Beyoncé, Little Mix, FLO and Zara Larsson. Now, he's stepping back into the spotlight with his second solo album, Bulldozer.

Fresh off executive producing Zara Larsson's Midnight Sun, MNEK joins The Pop Pod to talk about making two very different records, finding his own voice as an artist and why there's no longer a rulebook for pop success.

We get into the creative process behind Midnight Sun, reuniting with Zara a decade after 'Never Forget You', his five years working with FLO, and the stories behind some of his biggest pop hits. Plus, he opens up about the pressures of the music industry, embracing his identity and making the loud, unapologetic dance record he's always wanted to make.

We’re uplifting Tinashe today and always. Over the past near 15 years, I’ve watched Tinashe shape pop stardom in her own vision from huge chart hits to cult favourites. In this moment, it feels like both sides of her have synthesised. Her 8th studio album ‘Popstar’ features some of her most unexpected, mind-bending moments but it’s also landed her in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 for the first time in her career. Everything has led Tinashe towards this very deserved moment.We sat down a couple of weeks ago, before the album found itself as one of the best-reviewed albums of the year, to discuss what pop stardom means to Tinashe. We talked about Britney Spears, SZA, Janet Jackson and how she’s managed hits and virality throughout her career.

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Lizzy McAlpine is on The Pop Pod! A huge period of change informed Lizzie’s fourth album ‘Angel’. The adventurous, warm and experimental folk-pop record doesn’t come long after her last album ‘Older’ but plenty happened in between. She starred in Broadway musical ‘Floyd Collins’, found new love after a breakup and found an appreciation for the music of Joni Mitchell. Speaking to her, it feels like she’s found a new sense of freedom and that’s been poured into the music.

We spoke not only about the album and this period of change but the pop music that has shaped her along the way from Ariana Grande to Joni Mitchell to Britney Spears.

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Lizzie McAlpine is on The Pop Pod! A huge period of change informed Lizzie’s fourth album ‘Angel’. The adventurous, warm and experimental folk-pop record doesn’t come long after her last album ‘Older’ but plenty happened in between. She starred in Broadway musical ‘Floyd Collins’, found new love after a breakup and found an appreciation for the music of Joni Mitchell. Speaking to her, it feels like she’s found a new sense of freedom and that’s been poured into the music.

We spoke not only about the album and this period of change but the pop music that has shaped her along the way from Ariana Grande to Joni Mitchell to Britney Spears.

Tove Lo has had a very interesting career. Her first album 'Queen Of The Clouds' landed her in the mainstream quickly but ever since then she's taken left turns. Rather than attempting to repeat previous success, she's followed her artistic instinct which pulls through stronger than ever on 'Estrus'.

I sat down with Tove on the day the album was released to talk about how she got there after 'Dirt Femme'. This is a career-spanning conversation touching on everything from 'Talking Body' to how she found her freedom as an independent artist. Of course, we also had to talk about fellow Swedish pop icon Robyn.

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