Greatest Pop Stars

Latest episodes

• 1997 Prodigy: Vintage Almost-Pop Stardom (with Tom Breihan)

  October 22, 2026 · 2 hr 0 min

  In 1997, stateside alt-rock was in an unsure enough place that very briefly, a group of ex-ravers from the U.K. were considered the future — with explosive singles, controversial videos, incendiary statements and a truly unprecedented…

• 1995 Hole: Vintage Almost-Pop Stardom (with Lina Morgan)

  October 15, 2026 · 2 hr 22 min

  In 1995, other alt-rock bands had bigger albums and bigger hits than Hole, but none dominated media and pop culture in quite the same way — mostly due to the increasingly high profile of explosive frontwoman Courtney Love, who became a…

• 2006 Arctic Monkeys: Vintage Almost-Pop Stardom (with Thomas Smith)

  October 8, 2026 · 1 hr 28 min

  In 2006, Arctic Monkeys served as the culmination of a half-decade worth of much-hyped U.K. buzz bands, and finally experienced the biggest breakthrough any group had in its home country since Oasis a decade before — although it took them…

• 2006 Lily Allen: Vintage Almost-Pop Stardom (with Sophie Williams)

  October 8, 2026 · 1 hr 14 min

  In 2006, Lily Allen was a much-needed breath of fresh air during a period in pop music that had gotten a little static and stale — although we didn't really get it in the U.S. until the next year, and then never to the same level as in her…

• Which Pop Stars Won September 2026? Adéla, Ella Langley & Tinashe

  October 1, 2026 · 1 hr 18 min

  On this Who Won the Month episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Trevor Anderson and Kyle Denis to discuss the big pop stars, rising prospects and veteran greats who were heard…

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