Greatest Pop Stars

Mariah Carey's 1995 was bookended by two different songs that would come to hold the record for the longest-reigning No. 1 in Billboard Hot 100 history — and in between, she released one of her biggest albums, scored her greatest uptempo pop hit and changed the game with its remix. On this Vintage Pop Stardom episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Minnesota Star Tribune writer and longtime Lambily member Chris Hine to celebrate Mariah Carey during the week of her historic 20th week at No. 1 for "All I Want for Christmas for You" by remembering her 1995: The post-"Christmas" year of "Fantasy," "One Sweet Day" and 'Daydream.' Find 'Ant,' Chris' excellent biography of Minnesota Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards, here: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/ant-chris-hine?variant=43429930696738 And if you enjoy the pod, please consider donating to the following causes: Transgender Law Center https://transgenderlawcenter.org/ Trans Lifeline https://translifeline.org/ Destination Tomorrow https://secure.givelively.org/donate/destination-tomorrow-inc 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

It's year-end season on Billboard.com! After debuting our year-end charts on Tuesday, our editorial staff unveiled its 50 favorite albums and 100 favorite songs of 2025 on Wednesday and Thursday. Host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard executive director of music Jason Lipshutz this week to review the top 10s of both lists, and to discuss how some of our greatest pop stars — Bad Bunny, Taylor Swift and the KPop Demon Hunters cast among them — fared, and what implications it might have for the 2025 Greatest Pop Stars race. If you enjoy the pod, find our 2025 year-end albums and songs lists here: https://www.billboard.com/lists/best-albums-2025/ https://www.billboard.com/lists/best-songs-2025/ And please consider donating to the following causes: Transgender Law Center https://transgenderlawcenter.org/ Trans Lifeline https://translifeline.org/ Destination Tomorrow https://secure.givelively.org/donate/destination-tomorrow-inc 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

On this Who Won the Month episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Trevor Anderson and Michael Saponara to discuss the big pop stars, rising prospects and veteran greats who were heard from loudest in November 2025 — which, for the second month in a row was largely defined by Taylor Swift and Olivia Dean. 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 final months of the year. If you enjoy the pod, check out out the rest of our 2025 Who Won the Month recaps here: https://www.billboard.com/t/who-won-the-month/ Find our YouTube playlist for our November 2025 pop stars here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwFs58D1XAMbRkkxLBF0agcFLdEVxTHTF&si=J9WgXNU4U0cqPAOr And please consider donating to the following causes: Transgender Law Center https://transgenderlawcenter.org/ Trans Lifeline https://translifeline.org/ Destination Tomorrow https://secure.givelively.org/donate/destination-tomorrow-inc 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

Though none are precisely taking over the charts this month, what's most exciting to pop fans this November is a rapid-fire run of new releases from some of the genre's greatest underground-ish luminaries. On this Thanksgiving episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard charts staffer and art-pop fanatic Eric Frankenberg to talk about eight days of exciting new drops from Rosalía, Charli xcx, Robyn and fka Twigs, and what their collective presence means for 2025 pop music — as well as the Greatest Pop Stars of 2025 race. November 2025 Art-Pop YouTube Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwFs58D1XAMYXPeIvf9xvPFl2NchSGm35&si=3v22_sK0VeQJeK8o And if you enjoy the pod, please consider donating to the following causes: Transgender Law Center https://transgenderlawcenter.org/ Trans Lifeline https://translifeline.org/ Destination Tomorrow https://secure.givelively.org/donate/destination-tomorrow-inc 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

In the late-'70s, disco lorded over everything, and no artist ruled the clubs like the Bee Gees: The Gibb brother trio reinvented its sound and swarmed the charts, both with their own smashes and hits they helmed for other artists, including their younger brother. On this Vintage Pop Stardom episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by 'Uncharted Territory' author Chris Dalla Riva to talk about the Bee Gees' absurd 1978 peak — the year 'Saturday Night Fever' and its soundtrack ruled the world, with "How Deep Is Your Love," "Stayin' Alive," "Night Fever" and numerous other Gibb-penned classics making for a historic, chart-and-culture-dominating run that not even the disastrous 'Sgt. Pepper' movie could derail. 1978 Bee Gees YouTube Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwFs58D1XAMaUinqvtIfa66hvIsAsbPjJ&si=J81589B1bKL6X7TA Buy Chris' 'Uncharted Territory: What Numbers Tell Us About the Biggest Hit Songs and Ourselves': https://bio.site/uncharted_territory?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGnVH60dsVVTqbWEOtXV2f4vUxakNUKOiRljMIXut34sQPzevywdw-NRoXOkQc_aem_vxEhkXTH-oVHgGoDlUQrOA And if you enjoy the pod, please consider donating to the following causes: Transgender Law Center https://transgenderlawcenter.org/ Trans Lifeline https://translifeline.org/ Destination Tomorrow https://secure.givelively.org/donate/destination-tomorrow-inc 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