Pop Pantheon

Somehow, we're halfway through the 2020s, which makes it the perfect time to take stock: what have been the best pop albums of this decade so far and what do they tell us about the state of both the album and music more broadly in 2025? The New York Times' Joe Coscarelli, NPR 's Aisha Harris and YouTuber Mic The Snare join DJ Louie to discuss all of that, before each sharing their top 5 albums of...

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Madonna's thirteenth studio album, 2015's Rebel Heart, was released ten years ago in a flurry of leaks and unprecedented chaos for the famously controlled diva. On impact, it became her least successful album to date, producing no hit songs in the US. A decade later, removed from the harsh glare of its' moment, how has this very long co...

Chris Molanphy returns to Pop Pantheon for the second and final part in our Cher series. Chris and Louie pick up on Cher’s career just as she scored a hit in 1979 with “Take Me Home” during the disco craze. Then they track her string of failures through the early eighties before her massively successful pivot to acting, including her Best Actress Oscar win for 1987’s Moonstruck . Next they dig int...

Chris Molanphy returns to Pop Pantheon for part one of our special two-part series on the Goddess of Pop herself, Cher. Chris and Louie dig into the origins of Cher’s mythology, her early work with Sonny Bonno and Phil Spector and Sonny and Cher’s breakout hit, “I Got You Babe.” From there, they dive into Cher’s iconic looks, her first solo hits and Sonny and Cher’s reinvention as television varie...

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, pop music stops for no man, even Santa Claus. Louie and Russ got together with Dazed contributor Conor Garel to get into it about two of the most talked about pop events that happened over this holiday season: Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter Christmas extravaganza from a football game on Netflix and the long-awaited release of the deluxe versio...

Happy New Year! Before we get back to new episodes and our regularly scheduled programming next, we're unlocking one of our favorite All Access episodes from this past year in which Russ and Louie dig into Sabrina Carpenter's surprisingly awesome 6th studio album, Short 'n Sweet , released last summer. To hear more episodes like this every single week, gain access to our Discord channel and so muc...

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, we hope everyone is having a lovely holiday! For our last All Access episode of 2024, Russ and Louie got together to react to more of your unpopular opinions about Ava Max, Katy Perry, Dua Lipa, Mariah Carey, live pop shows & more. To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access t...

In anticipation of Beyoncé's much anticipated return to the stage at tomorrow's halftime show for some football game, we're republishing an episode from our Beyoncé series which originally aired back in August of 2022 in the ramp up to that year's Renaissance . This episode features Yale University's Dr. Daphne Brooks, discusses Queen B's work from her 2013 self-titled visual album through just be...

Clover Hope, journalist and author of The Motherlode: 100+ Women Who Made Hip-Hop, joins Pop Pantheon All Access to discuss the state of the female rap game in 2024. Clover and Russ revisit Meg Thee Stallion and Nicki Minaj’s beef, discuss Doechii’s recent string of breakthrough performances, and dig into Alligator Bites Never Heal, Megan, GloRilla’s Glorious and more. Join Pop Pantheon: All Acces...

For our final main episode of 2024, Louie and Russ look back at all the artists ranked in the Pop Pantheon this year— from Demi Lovato to Frank Ocean to Adele, Tina Turner, Pink and so many more— and, with the help of calls from our dedicated and very passionate listeners, assess whether any tier adjustments need to be made. Did Brat Summer make us overzealous on Charli XCX? Was it cruel to put Hi...

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Russ saw over 20 (!!!) live concerts in 2024. Louie saw a few too. Today, they're getting together to rank them all— from Charli & Troye to Missy Elliott to Tate McRae to Usher to Madonna— from worst to best. To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel a...

Last week, Louie, Nora Princiotti, Jason P. Frank & Julianne Escobedo Shepherd counted down their favorite pop songs of 2024 before duking it out to settle on Pop Pantheon's definitive pop songs of the year. This week, Louie is joined by Nora once again along with Rolling Stone 's Larisha Paul and Sam Murphy to discuss their favorite albums of the last twelve months and land on Pop Pantheon's...

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, over on the main feed, we're rolling out our best songs and albums of 2024 by some of the premier pop acts in the world. But what about some of the pop girlies who got.... less attention from mainstream audiences and critics? For our 2nd Annual Top of the Flops, Friend of the Pod Omri Rolan is back to count down the biggest and best flo...

Live from Parkside Lounge in New York City, DJ Louie is joined by Hearing Things ' Julianne Escobedo Shepherd, Vulture 's Jason P. Frank and The Ringer 's Nora Princiotti to countdown each of their favorite top ten pop songs of the year, before hashing out the definitive Pop Pantheon Top Ten Pop Songs of 2024. Check out a Spotify Playlist of Louie, Julianne, Jason & Nora's Favorite Pop Songs o...

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Tom Breihan is here to talk about Kendrick Lamar's surprise 6th album, GNX , which surprise dropped last week in the wake of his triumph over Drake in their highly publicized battle from this summer. But Tom and Louie also get caught in the broader GNX Nexus, going off on tangents about Drake's future, Taylor and Jack Antonoff's creativ...

Happy Thanksgiving! We're off this week but we wanted to highlight an older episode, a personal fav of Louie's that many of you might have missed. This is our Robyn episode from way back in May 2021— the sixth of Pop Pantheon  ever—  with the brilliant Jia Tolentino. Not only is it wonderful conversation about one of the greatest pop artists of the modern era. It's where the Niche Legend Pantheon...

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked is a smash hit, raking in $114 million dollars during its first weekend and earning rave reviews from critics and fans alike. One of its two leads, pop diva Ariana Grande, is also earning plaudits in her first headlining film role, even including some serious Oscar buzz.  But while many...

Michael Cragg returns to Pop Pantheon for the second installment in our two-part series on the grande dame of contemporary pop, Adele. Michael and Louie discuss Adele’s sabbatical following her breakout blockbuster success with 21 , during which she crafted her comeback album, 2015’s 25 . They dissect the album, from the booming piano ballad “Hello” to Adele’s collaboration with big pop producers...

The New York Times Senior Staff Editor Leah Greenblatt joins Pop Pantheon for the first in a two-part series on the mega diva of her generation, Adele. Leah and Louie explore Adele’s origin story, from her brief MySpace era to her official debut single which she wrote at just 16, “Hometown Glory.” From there they discuss her first album, 2008’s 19 , which made her a star in the U.K., and “Rolling...

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Louie and Russ react to Friday's Grammy Nominations and score their predictions from last week's episode. Then, they play a game of "Step Up, Step Down" about post-Sweat Tour Troye Sivan, Lady Gaga's "Disease", The Weeknd's new era and more. To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain ac...

Katy Perry's latest album 143 lit the internet ablaze for all the wrong reasons when it dropped earlier this year, mostly because of how wrong it got nearly everything and how hard it underperformed as a result. 143 was a capital-F flop in the classic sense of the term. But what exactly does the moniker "flop" mean when it comes to pop music? What constitutes a true flop? How do pop fans use it? W...

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, America is making it's most critical decision this week: who will be nominated for Grammys! Louie and Russ each share their predictions for which of your favs (and less favs) will get nominated in the Big Four categories ahead of the official announcement this Friday Nov. 8. To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus...

Variety ’s Steven J. Horowitz returns to Pop Pantheon to unpack the maddeningly underrated Kelis, who spent most of her career ahead of the curve and helped to carve out a new lane for alt-pop stardom in the 2000s. Louie and Steven dig into Kelis' origin story, from meeting The Neptunes as a teenager to her debut, 1999’s futuristic pop fantasia Kaleidoscope . From there, they unpack her success ac...

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Louie and Russ are here to fight about Lady Gaga's new single, "Disease", the first offering from her forthcoming album, "LG7". They then dive into Addison Rae's new single "Aquamarine" and ponder Halsey's latest record, The Great Impersonator, which dropped last Friday. To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus epi...

We put out a call for our audience's most unpopular pop opinions: hot takes you have that no one else seems to agree with but you know in your heart to be true. And boy, did we get some!  Rolling Stone 's Larisha Paul joins Louie and Russ to field unpopular pop opinions about  I Am... Sasha Fierce , Charli XCX, Glee Cast Versions,  Speak Now , Britney's talents, Ed Sheeran and so much more. And in...