On this week's episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Meghan Mahar and Mike Sapoanra to discuss the pop stars who dominated an impressively packed February 2025 in pop stardom. We each choose our top fives for the month that was, then we talk some disappointing recent performances, and look ahead to who we're most anticipating hearing more from as winter turns to spring.
If you enjoy the pod, please consider donating to the following causes:
Transgender Law Center.
Trans Lifeline
Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe
And subscribe to the trans legislation journalism of Erin Reed.
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1:00:48
Great Moments in Pop History: Jay-Z, Beyoncé & Solange See Grizzly Bear in Brooklyn (2009)
As unremarkable as it would probably seem in 2025, when Solange brought her sister Beyoncé and Bey's husband Jay-Z to go check out a Brooklyn show by the indie band Grizzly Bear back in 2009, it ended up being major headline news -- and shaping and reflecting the careers of all four artists. Host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Stereogum writer Chris DeVille -- whose book Such Great Heights: The Complete Cultural History of the Indie Rock Explosion covers the complete context behind this moment -- to unpack this iconic point on the pop-meets-indie timeline, what made it so notable at the time, and what it would might look like if something equivalent happened today.
Listen here, pre-order Such Great Heights 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
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1:26:29
A Pop Star Performance Improvement Plan for Drake; Plus Kendrick, Sabrina, SNL 50 & More From a Busy Pop Weekend
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
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1:03:37
Vintage Pop Stardom: 1985 Phil Collins (with Chris Molanphy)
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
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1:30:32
Greatest Pop Star Instant Reaction: How'd Kendrick Lamar Do at the Super Bowl?
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.
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