Greatest Pop Stars

As America was reeling from the unthinkable horrors of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, the No. 1 album in the country was a chaotic, incredulous and absolutely incendiary alt-metal LP — System of a Down didn't write or record 'Toxicity' with 9/11 or any of the events that followed in mind, but it became one of the defining soundtracks for the moment. In this final episode of our annual Vintage Almost-...

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 amount of pop star power for a dance act. In this third week of our 2026 kickoff to our annual Vintage Almost-Pop Stardom mini-series — looking at close-bu...

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 celebrity thanks to her marriage to late rock icon Kurt Cobain, and spent '95 proving herself an equally iconic and brilliant artist in her own right. In this...

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 nearly a decade to make anywhere near the same impact stateside. In this second half of our 2026 kickoff to our annual Vintage Almost-Pop Stardom mini-serie...

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 home country. In this first half of our 2026 kickoff to our annual Vintage Almost-Pop Stardom mini-series, looking at close-but-not-quite pop stars during...

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 from loudest in September 2026 — who closed out the summer season in pop stardom in style. We each choose our top fives for the month that was, then we talk some d...

In 2012, boy bands hadn't been a major part of the American pop marketplace in a decade — but by the end of the year, not only had X Factor alums One Direction (Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne and Niall Horan) crashed onto U.S. shores, they had absolutely taken the country over, releasing two Billboard 200-topping albums full of pop-rock bangers, swarming all of pop cult...

The MTV Video Music Awards of 2016 represented the culmination of an era of pop music and culture, with career-apex-type performances from Beyoncé and Rihanna and huge moments for Drake and Kanye West, among plenty of other on-stage appearances from some of the biggest names of the period. On this Great Moments in Pop Star History episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger...

On this Who Won the Month episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Danielle Pascual and Eric Frankenberg to discuss the big pop stars, rising prospects and veteran greats who were heard from loudest in July 2026 — who closed out the summer season in pop stardom in style. We each choose our top fives for the month that was, then we talk some...

The Daisy Chain Fields festival debuted at Great Park in Irvine, Calif. on Saturday (Aug. 29), with an 11-hour lineup of all female artists and female-led groups, capped by a headlining set from the festival's founder and curator: Olivia Rodrigo. On this Pop Star Performance Review episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard deputy editor Lyn...

Nobody was waiting for the big Nelly Furtado comeback in 2006, but with some help from superproducer Timbaland, Furtado pivoted to a big new pop sound that very briefly made her one of the biggest — and 20 years later, most fondly remembered — pop hitmakers of her era. This episode of Vintage Pop Stardom sees host Andrew Unterberger joined by Song vs. Song podcast co-host and YouTube star Tod...

The Greatest Pop Stars podcast was choosin' Texas last weekend, as two of the biggest artists in country were playing back-to-back sold-out shows in the northern parts of the Lone Star State: Megan Moroney headlining the American Airlines Arena in Dallas on Friday night (Aug. 14), and Ella Langley topping the bill at Dickies Arena in Texas on Saturday (Aug. 15). Host Andrew Unterberger was th...

This week, we're paying tribute to all the greatest and weirdest runner-up finishers in Billboard Hot 100 history, first and foremost with our staff's list of our 100 favorite No. 2 hits of all time. This week on the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by regular guest Eric Frankenberg to discuss our list — and whether the right pop star topped it (or finished second...

On this Who Won the Month episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Kyle Denis and Emily Fuentes to discuss the big pop stars, rising prospects and veteran greats who were heard from loudest in July 2026 — who got the second half of the year underway already in high gear. We each choose our top fives for the month that was, then we talk some...

It's been two years since 'Brat' Summer took over the culture and brought Charli xcx to a new level of celebrity and ubiquity — but as of last weekend, Charli is officially onto a new era with her latest LP 'Music, Fashion, Film.' For this Rollout Report Card, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Christine Werthman and Eric Renner Brown as we look at everything surrounding...

For the past month and a half, the entire world was tuned into the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with the exciting tournament action soundtracked by some of our most massive global pop stars — particularly at Sunday's final, with the star-studded Cup halftime show. On this week's Pop Star Performance Review episode, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard UK's Thomas Smith to recap six weeks of big...

When The Fugees broke out with sophomore album 'The Score' in 1996, it marked a transition moment in '90s hip-hop, while crossing over from rap radio to top 40 and MTV and making solo stars out of each of its three members — though they never reconvened for a proper follow-up. This episode of Vintage Pop Stardom sees host Andrew Unterberger joined by Billboard Hip-Hop writer and New Jersey na...

It's been 21 years since the original 'Confessions on a Dancefloor' — and seven years since her last album of any kind — but as of last weekend, Madonna is officially back with her long-awaited sequel set, 'Confessions II.' For this Rollout Report Card, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Joe Lynch and Eric Frankenberg as we look at everything surrounding the much-ant...

On this Who Won the Month episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Xander Zellner and Emily Fuentes to discuss the big pop stars, rising prospects and veteran greats who were heard from loudest in June 2026 — which, like most of the first half of the calendar year, was dominated by some very big releases by some very big names. We each choo...

No full episode of Greatest Pop Stars this week: It's host Andrew Unterberger's 40th birthday, so he's taking it a little easy. Instead, he's just taking a minute today to express his gratitude to still be able to do Greatest Pop Stars — and to still be as invested in and connected to pop music as he's ever felt — and to pay quick tribute to the late Clive Davis, someone who remained an industry m...

Three years after releasing her sophomore album 'Guts,' pop superstar Olivia Rodrigo has officially returned with her new wave-influenced, chronicling new album, 'You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love.' For this Rollout Report Card, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Hannah Dailey and Eric Frankenberg as we look at everything surrounding the much-anticipated release of 'Pr...

When the Spice Girls hit U.S. shores in 1997, they detonated on impact, with best-selling albums, chart-topping singles and even a box office-topping movie — a movement that was too phenomenal to last, but one that still transformed the entire decade's pop music and pop culture. This episode of Vintage Pop Stardom sees host Andrew Unterberger joined by singer-songwriter, actor and unlikely Spice B...

On this Who Won the Month episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Kyle Denis and Rebecca Milzoff to discuss the big pop stars, rising prospects and veteran greats who were heard from loudest in May 2026 — which was largely defined by one guy with his triple album drop, but also included a couple big country stars and pop legends getting fa...

It's late May, which means that the race for Song of the Summer is about to be officially underway! With many of the likely frontrunners already established — and some big artists about to cast their lot with much-anticipated new releases — Greatest Pop Stars host Andrew Unterberger is joined by AJ Marks of r/Popheads and the Main Pod Girl podcast to preview the battle to come. We talk about the h...

The entire music-listening and social-media-habitating world was stormed this past weekend by the man who calls himself Tsunami Papi, with Drake dropping three new albums at once: 'Iceman,' 'Maid of Honour' and 'Habibti.' On this week's Pop Star Performance Review episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is enjoyed by Billboard Hip-Hop's own Big Three — Carl Lamarre, Mich...