Greatest Pop Stars

Following the Grammys and the Super Bowl, it was yet another packed February weekend for pop stardom. Host Andrew Unterberger and regular GPS guest Kyle Denis hop around the cultural landscape to talk about big pop star moments from NBA All-Star Weekend and the 'SNL' 50th anniversary celebration, as well as big moments for Sabrina Carpenter, Selena Gomez and Kendrick Lamar. And of course, we cap it all with an extended look at Drake's comeback, and a strictly defined Pop Star Performance Improvement Plan that we're putting him on to help get him back on track for the rest of the decade. Listen here, and if you enjoy the pod, please consider donating to the following causes: Transgender Law Center: Trans Lifeline Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No one could've seen him coming, but by 1985, Phil Collins was one of the biggest, hardest working and most sheerly unavoidable pop stars on the planet -- and also one of the greatest. On this Vintage Pop Stardom episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by pop and chart history expert Chris Molanphy to remember all things '85 Phil -- including "Easy Lover," 'No Jacket Required' and its many hits, 'Miami Vice,' and both coasts of Live Aid -- and answer the improbable question: Was Phil Collins the Greatest Pop Star of 1985? If you enjoy the pod, please consider donating to the following causes: Transgender Law Center: Trans Lifeline The Trevor Project Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's our Greatest Pop Star of 2024's biggest moment yet! After many months of buzz and controversy, Kendrick Lamar took the stage at Super Bowl LIX to cap his last year of triumph, delivering one of the most-anticipated halftime show sets of our lifetime. Host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Eric Frankenberg and Meghan Mahar to discuss how Kendrick did in his career-culminating gig, what it means for his pop stardom moving forward, what parts of it feel like instantly iconic moments and what parts feel more like missed opportunities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Stephen Daw and Kyle Denis to discuss the pop stars who are leading the Greatest Pop Stars race for 2025 after one month (plus Grammy weekend in February). We each choose our top fives, then we talk some disappointing starts to the season, and make some predictions about who we're going to be talking about at the end of February. 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beyoncé's first big AOTY loss! Sam Smith's career night! #WhoIsBeck?! Kanye doing stuff! It's the 2015 Grammys, a pivotal awards night with nearly all the biggest pop stars of the mid-2010s in attendance. On this episode of Greatest Pop Stars, we debut our Great Moments in Pop Star History series, with host Andrew Unterberger joined by Pop Shop Podcast co-host Katie Atkinson to recall the unforgettable night, which set a lot of the narratives into motion that hang over the Grammys to this day -- and may very well resurface at the awards again this Sunday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, we're debuting our Vintage Pop Stardom series format -- looking at one pop star at one of their peak years, and going deep into everything that made their year so great and so fun and so impactful. Host Andrew Unterberger is joined by YouTube's Todd in the Shadows to talk about all things 2005 Kelly Clarkson, the year of "Since U Been Gone," "AHHHHH KELLY CLARKSON" and Kelly's official breakaway from 'American Idol' as she rose to unquestioned pop-rock superstardom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to the Greatest Pop Stars podcast! Today, we kick off 2025 with some predictions for the year to come -- in the form of a fantasy pop star draft. Billboard's Andrew Unterberger is joined by fellow staffers Jason Lipshutz, Meghan Mahar and Kyle Denis to draft rosters of 2025 pop stars who we believe are going to define and dominate the year to come -- as well as some potential sleeper picks, comeback hopefuls, and even a few "pop stars" from outside the world of music. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We finish our Greatest Pop Stars of 2024 top 10 countdown this episode with a look back at our Nos. 2 and 1 artists, unveiled this Monday on Billboard.com. Host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard's Mike Saponara and Meghan Mahar to talk about the years in Sabrina Carpenter and Kendrick Lamar (26:30). We remember all the essential moments from their respective incredible years, debating the case for No. 1 between the two of them -- and explaining why we ultimately made the call we made -- and then saving some of their year's best moments for our 2024 Time Capsule, and making predictions about their respective 2025s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We continue our Greatest Pop Stars of 2024 top 10 countdown this episode with a look back at our Nos. 6 through 3 artists, unveiled this week on Billboard.com. Host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard's Stephen Daw and Hannah Dailey to dive deep into the Greatest Pop Star cases for Ariana Grande, Charli XCX (25:30), Chappell Roan (1:05:30) and Taylor Swift (1:42:30) -- explaining why each of them made the list (and debating whether they could or should have finished even higher), saving some of their year's best moments for our 2024 Time Capsule and making predictions about their respective 2025s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We kick off our Greatest Pop Stars of 2024 top 10 countdown this episode with a look back at our Nos. 10 through 7 artists, unveiled this week on Billboard.com. Host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard's Jason Lipshutz and Eric Frankenberg to do some quick 2024-in-review recapping, then to run down the cases for Jelly Roll (3:00), Billie Eilish (21:30), Post Malone (38:00) and Beyoncé (59:30) -- explaining why each of them made the list (and in some cases, making the argument for why they could have finished even higher), saving some of their year's best moments for our 2024 Time Capsule and making predictions about their respective 2025s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our Greatest Pop Stars of 2024 series gets underway with a look at our 10 Honorable Mention artists -- the stars who were great enough this year to get into the discussion but not quite onto our top 10. Host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Kyle Denis and Eric Renner Brown as we go over their cases -- and whether we disagree with any of them not making the proper list -- and then also discuss our Rookie (Shaboozey) and Comeback (Hozier) of the Year artists, and give shouts to some pop stars who couldn't quite make the cut this year but still deserve mention. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on the Greatest Pop Stars Podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by AJ Marks, moderator of Reddit's r/Popheads forum and host of the stellar Main Pod Girl podcast, to help look back at our list's top 10, and the entire Greatest Pop Stars project. We talk about whether our rankings (and the criteria used for them) made sense to AJ, let him air out some of his own list-related grievances, and run through the categories one more time with AJ choosing from all 25 artists. Then, Andrew closes with some final thanks to the people who helped make the project possible. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on the Greatest Pop Stars Podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Beyoncé lifers Trevor Anderson and Kyle Denis to pay homage to the Queen, our No. 1 Greatest Pop Star of the 21st century. We break down the case for Bey as the greatest of the past 25 years, then remember her entire career -- from Destiny's Child fromwoman to solo pop superstar to industry-shifting albums artist to bar-setting veteran -- before playing a little "A or Bey" and breaking down some personal favorite songs, moments, performances and oddities from her peerless body of work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on the Greatest Pop Stars Podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by renowned Swiftie (and GPS essay writer) Hannah Dailey and former Woman of the Decade cover story author Jason Lipshutz to remember the one-and-only career of our No. 2 Greatest Pop Star of the 21st Century, Taylor Swift. We remember all the twists and turns that have brought Swift to her status now as the unquestioned biggest pop star on the planet, and discuss the reasons behind our incredibly difficult decision to place her at No. 2 on our list. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on the Greatest Pop Stars Podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staff writer Kyle Denis and senior branded content producer/writer Walaa Elsiddig to remember the iconic career of our No. 3 Greatest Pop Star of the 21st Century, Rihanna. We remember everything there is to remember about Rihanna's incredible 13-year run at the center of pop music (and fashion and social media and everything else), and how even after the eight-year wait since her most-recent album -- with no end to that in sight -- she remains a towering figure in pop culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on the Greatest Pop Stars Podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop team's Carl Lamarre and Michael Saponara to remember the brilliant career of our No. 4 Greatest Pop Star of the 21st Century, Drake. We try to explain why even though Drake doesn't fit the most classic pop star profile, he was still able to achieve the numbers, the impact and the overall greatness to make him one of the century's most important mainstream artists -- and we recount what made his recent L so shocking, and how he might still bounce back from it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on the Greatest Pop Stars Podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard Pride editor Stephen Daw and executive digital director Katie Atkinson to remember the brilliant career of our No. 5 Greatest Pop Star of the 21st Century, Lady Gaga. We try to capture what made Gaga's turn-of-the-'10s peak so shocking, so singular and so important, and remember the winding and occasionally rocky road Mother Monster took from there to where she is today, as one of the still-vital hitmakers and marquee touring artists of all 21st-century pop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on the Greatest Pop Stars Podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard executive digital director Joe Lynch and senior charts/data analyst Eric Frankenberg to talk about our No. 6 Greatest Pop Star of the 21st century, Britney Spears. We talk about Britney's incomparably iconic 2000s run and the classic albums, singles, videos, performances and cultural moments that cemented her legacy -- as well as the triumphs and tragedies of her last 20 years in the limelight, and the few timing factors largely holding her back from making the list's top five. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on the Greatest Pop Stars Podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard Hip-Hop/R&B's Angel Diaz and Michael Saponara to talk about our No. 7 Greatest Pop Star of the 21st Century, Kanye West. We talk about how Kanye became both one of the greatest artists of his generation and one of the most all-consuming stars and celebrities -- and then, how over the past decade, he both retreated from pop stardom and did serious damage to his own legacy with some of his comments and actions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on the Greatest Pop Stars Podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard's Josh Glicksman and Kristen Wisneski to talk about our No. 8 Greatest Pop Star of the 21st Century, Justin Bieber. We talk about what makes The Bieb the highest-ranked traditional male pop artist on our list, and why his rise to ubiquity was still very representative of (and impactful on) the 21st century -- while also sharing some personal memories of peak Bieber Fever and attempting to defend some of his less successful periods. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on the Greatest Pop Stars Podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staff writers Kyle Denis and Hannah Dailey to talk about our No. 9 Greatest Pop Star of the 21st Century, Ariana Grande. We make the case -- not obvious to or agreed upon by all -- that she is one of the 10 greatest pop stars of the century so far, despite being a relatively newer artist, and how everything from her deep cuts to her romantic drama to her evolving album rollout strategy to her sometimes-contentious relationship with her fans has helped make her an era-defining icon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on the Greatest Pop Stars Podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by returning guests Joe Lynch and Jason Lipshutz to talk about our No. 10 Greatest Pop Star of the 21st Century, Adele. We debate what should weigh more on Adele's ranking on this list -- the fact that she only has four total albums to her name, or that two of them were among the biggest albums in pop music history -- while also trying to explain what made Adele such an unusual (and successful) phenomenon among 2010s pop music, and giving our hopes and predictions as to where her career may take her from here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Greatest Pop Stars Podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by returning guests Kyle Denis and Trevor Anderson to talk all things Usher Raymond, about how incredible his '00s peak was, and how his recent '20s run was able to confirm his overall legacy. Then (at around 1:26:00), r/Popheads moderator AJ Marks joins the podcast to talk about the first 15 artists on the list so far, which rankings and snubs he disagrees with and his predictions for the top 10. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we've got a pair of "Roman's Revenge" collaborators in Nicki Minaj and Eminem. Host Andrew Unterberger is joined by honorary Barbz Meghan Mahar and Michael Saponara to talk about the Queen of Rap's trailblazing career in pop and hip-hop. Then (at 48:58), it's a Billboard Unfiltered crossover, as Carl Lamarre and Damien Scott join to discuss the peaks and valleys of Eminem's unparalleled run of crossover superstardom, and talk about why his first three years of the century compare with any other pop star of our lifetime. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we've got a pair of Tennessee natives in Miley Cyrus and Justin Timberlake. Host Andrew Unterberger is joined by a pair of Smilers in Billboard Social's Danielle Pascual and Billboard Pride's Stephen Daw to talk about how they've grown up with Miley over the past 18 years. Then (at 59:03), Jason Lipshutz and Trevor Anderson return to Greatest Pop Stars to track the highs and lows of Justin Timberlake, and explain why you had to be there to understand just how great he was at his '00s peak. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we've got two artists who go back even further than the beginning of the 21st century: Shakira & Jay-Z. Host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Isabela Raygoza and Sigal Ratner-Arias of Billboard Español to talk about Shak's emergence as a global superstar and how she's maintained that status for 20-plus years, and then (38:38) Billboard Hip-Hop's Angel Diaz and Michael Saponara tap in to discuss Hov's reign as the closest thing to a consensus greatest rapper of all time, and how he also intersected and helped shape the pop world at his peak. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, it's a 2020 flashback as Billboard takes on perhaps the two biggest pop acts of the first year of this decade: BTS and The Weeknd. Host Andrew Unterberger is joined first by Jason Lipshutz and Billboard K-pop correspondent Jeff Benjamin to go deep on the Bangtan Boys and their global impact as hitmakers and generational spokesmen, then Kyle Denis and Senior R&B/Hip-Hop/Afrobeats Writer Heran Mamo stop by to talk Abel Tesfaye (1:08:05), and how a guy who emerged in the shadows eventually scored the biggest Billboard Hot 100 hit of all time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Greatest Pop Stars, we're talking about the men in the "Mirror": Lil Wayne (No. 21) and Bruno Mars (No. 20). First, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Kyle Denis and Carl Lamarre to talk about the pop star qualifications of the self-proclaimed best rapper alive -- the peerlessly prolific Lil Wayne -- and then Andrew and Kyle return with Trevor Anderson to discuss the immaculately curated catalog of Bruno Mars (45:40), the rare pop star without a single true flop on his resume. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Billboard goes international, with Puerto Rico's Bad Bunny (No. 23) and England's One Direction (No. 22)! Host Andrew Unterberger is joined first by BB's preeminent Conejos, Isabela Raygoza and Emily Fuentes, to talk about Bad Bunny's historic rise to superstardom, and then staff Directioners Danielle Pascual and Rylee Johnston check in to discuss how 1D changed pop stardom (and pop standom) in the 2010s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our countdown is officially underway with our first two Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century: Katy Perry (No. 25) and Ed Sheeran (No. 24)! Billboard's Andrew Unterberger and Jason Lipshutz are joined by longtime KatyKat Joe Lynch to remember the dizzying highs of Perry's early-2010s run, then Sheeran superfan (don't call her a Sheerio!) Walaa Elsiddiq comes on to discuss Ed's unlikely rise from coffeehouses to stadiums. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the 25 Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century! Before we start counting down our top 25 over the next four months, Billboard's deputy editor Andrew Unterberger, executive director of music Jason Lipshutz and staff writer Kyle Denis quickly run through the best of the rest -- the pop stars from Nelly to Billie Eilish who were the absolute toughest cuts from our list. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices