Which Pop Stars Won 2025's First Half? Kendrick Lamar, Beyoncé, Benson Boone & More
It's midyear season at Billboard, so it's time for us to look back at the year in pop stardom so far -- by revisiting our Greatest Pop Stars fantasy draft from January. Host Andrew Unterberger is joined once again by Billboard staffers Kyle Denis, Meghan Mahar and Jason Lipshutz to go over how each of our pop star fantasy teams has done so far, while also sizing up the Greatest Pop Star of 2025 race in general, and predicting some of the artists who aren't in the discussion yet but still might be by year's end.
Greatest Pop Stars Fantasy Draft Episode:
https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/greatest-pop-stars-2025-fantasy-draft-podcast-1235877072/
Billboard's 50 Best Albums of 2025 So Far:
https://www.billboard.com/lists/best-albums-2025-so-far
Billboard's 50 Best Songs of 2025 So Far:
https://www.billboard.com/lists/best-songs-2025-so-far
And 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
Also, please consider giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on 5Calls.org.
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1:18:21
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1:18:21
Sly & the Family Stone's 1969: Vintage Pop Stardom
In 1969, Sly Stone and his Family Stone band reached superstardom and just kept climbing, with timeless singles, a classic album, and several of the year's most legendary live performances. On this Vintage Pop Stardom episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard's Joe Lynch to pay tribute to the late Sly Stone with a look at his band's greatest year, one that saw him reach a level of all-consuming pop stardom that few have ever matched in the decades since.
And 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
Also, please consider giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on 5Calls.org.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1:12:31
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1:12:31
The Beach Boys' 1966: Vintage Pop Stardom
In 1966, Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys realized all their greatest artistic and commercial ambitions -- though not always at the same time -- with their 'Pet Sounds' album and "Good Vibrations" single, making for one of the greatest years in U.S. pop history. On this Vintage Pop Stardom episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard's Katie Atkinson to pay tribute to the late Brian Wilson with a look at his greatest year, one whose music and lore continues to reverberate in pop music and culture multiple generations later.
And 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
Also, please consider giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on 5Calls.org.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1:46:58
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1:46:58
"Weird Al" Yankovic's "Eat It": Great Moments in Pop Star History
On this week's Great Moments in Pop Star History episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard's Rebecca Milzoff to talk about her recent cover story subject, 'Weird Al' Yankovic, and his 1984 breakout hit "Eat It." We dive into the context that allowed "Weird Al" to crash the charts and MTV over 40 years ago and has allowed him to remain pretty much consistently popular for every decade since, and also dive into Yankovic's history with Michael Jackson and with junk food, and break down the feud between "Eat It" guitarist/producer Rick Derringer and Eddie Van Halen.
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1:16:15
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1:16:15
Which Pop Stars Won May 2025? Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen & More
On this week's episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard charts staffers Trevor Anderson and Eric Frankenberg to discuss the big pop stars and rising prospects who dominated May 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 in the months to come.
If you enjoy the pod, check out our first three 2025 recaps:
Greatest Pop Stars of January 2025:
https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/greatest-pop-stars-podcast-who-wan-january-2025-1235894372/
Greatest Pop Stars of February 2025:
https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/greatest-pop-stars-podcast-who-won-february-2025-1235916447/
Greatest Pop Stars of March 2025:
https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/greatest-pop-stars-podcast-march-2025-who-won-the-month-1235938460/
Greatest Pop Stars of April 2025:
https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/greatest-pop-stars-podcast-who-won-april-2025-1235959818/
And 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
Also, please consider giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on 5Calls.org.
https://5calls.org/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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