When They Popped - A Y2K Pop Culture Podcast

Send Mary and Kelsey a Message! In this episode Mary and Kelsey recap O-Town’s Lines & Circles 10th anniversary concert and VIP experience which included a special acoustic set. They also discuss how they tried (and failed) to keep their cool when Trevor wore a WTP shirt during the show and revisit their favorite tracks from the criminally underrated Lines & Circles album. Support the show...

Send Mary and Kelsey a Message! For this very special 100th episode of WTP (!!!) Mary and Kelsey recap a recent Pop2000 Tour show featuring O-Town, Ryan Cabrera, Chris Krikpatrick and LFO. The ladies dish on their O-Town VIP experience (spoiler alert: it is the best VIP experience they’ve ever had), how they unexpectedly ended up dancing on stage, and met Chris of *NSYNC!  Support the show Instagr...

Send Mary and Kelsey a Message! In this episode, Mary and Kelsey welcome David Perez from boyband C Note to the pod! David shares his stories from coming up in the late 90s alongside Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, Britney Spears, Brandy, and more, and rehashes the group’s history with Lou Pearlman. He also dishes on working with Boyband Stacy, C Notes latest single, Sunshine, and what’s next for the gro...

Send Mary and Kelsey a Message! In this episode, Mary and Kelsey are joined by entrepreneurs Leigh Dorough - wife of Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough - and Charlotte Wienckoski to discuss all things y2k fashion and their sustainable, vegan (and gorgeous!) handbag company, ESLLA. Charlotte and Leigh share their inspiring advice for women who want to start a new venture, and Leigh indulges us in some be...

Send Mary and Kelsey a Message!  In this episode Mary and Kelsey compile the only bachelorette playlist you’ll ever need filled with gems from the 90s and early 2000s like LMNT, Play, No Secrets, Willa Ford, LFO, and more.  Support the show Instagram: @whentheypoppedpod TikTok: @whentheypoppedpod Email: whentheypoppedy2k@gmail.com Website: linktree.com/whentheypopped Subscribe to our Patreon: http...

Send Mary and Kelsey a Message! In this episode, Kelsey and Mary go track-by-track of former O-Town member Ashley Parker Angel’s first and only solo album, Soundtrack To Your Life. You’ll be bopping along with them to bangers like Let U Go, I’m Better, Soundtrack To Your Life, and more. Plus, they discuss Ashley’s one-season-wonder reality show on MTV, There & Back, which chronicled Ashley’s s...

Send Mary and Kelsey a Message!  In this episode, Mary and Kelsey deconstruct "Over The Influence: A Memoir" by Joanna “Jojo” Levesque. Many of us know Jojo as a tween sensation who made it big at age 13 with her hit singles, Leave (Get Out), Baby It's You, and Too Little, Too Late. After reaching the kind of success most artists strive their entire lives for at such a young age, Jo...

Send Mary and Kelsey a Message! In this episode, Mary and Kelsey take you back to school shopping in the y2k era browsing racks of brightly-hued, bedazzled clothing and rummaging through bins of jeweled accessories in this deep dive of Limited Too. They discuss their favorite items from the beloved tween brand including beaded door dividers, bedroom doorbells, password-protected diaries, pants tha...

Send Mary and Kelsey a Message! In this episode, Mary and Kelsey offer a track by track analysis of The Fame, Lady Gaga’s debut album. They retell the story of Gaga’s Lower East Side club beginnings, getting dropped from her record label just three months after signing on, to when she popped with her debut single Just Dance. They discuss the big hits like Poker Face, Paparazzi and their favorite c...

Send Mary and Kelsey a Message! In this episode, Mary and Kelsey are joined by boyband fandom *legend* and the original boyband influencer, Boyband Stacy! Stacy recalls the TRL special that had her camping out as a teenager to buy Millennium tickets, and how she channels her enthusiasm for boybands in her current role as tour manager for C Note! Stacy shares stories from backstage with O-Town, *NS...

Send Mary and Kelsey a Message! The Olympics may be over, but Mary and Kelsey aren’t done talking about sports. In this episode, the girls award gold, silver, and bronze medals to podium-worthy athletes of Y2K both real (remember Ryan Sheckler?!) and imagined from their favorite Disney Channel Original movies like Brink, Gotta Kick It Up, Johnny Tsunami, and Luck Of The Irish. Tell us if you agree...

Send Mary and Kelsey a Message! In this episode, Mary and Kelsey seek justice for the hits of their generation that never made it to the coveted top spot on the Billboard charts. They round up their favorite y2k era bops that may be number two on the charts, but not in their hearts from Backstreet Boys, Taio Cruz, One Republic, and LeAnn Rimes. Redemption is sweet!  Support the show Instagram: @wh...

Send Mary and Kelsey a Message! This is not a drill, Mary and Kelsey actually talked to Ryan Cabrera and got you all the tea on the 20th anniversary of On The Way Down and his most iconic moments since he burst onto the scene in The Ashlee Simpson Show. Ryan dished on what it was like to perform on TRL, his tenure on The Hills, and he finally dropped his iconic hair routine. He also shared behind-...

Send Mary and Kelsey a Message! In this episode, Mary and Kelsey celebrate 23 years of The Princess Diaries by sharing some of their favorite moments coupled with a listening party of the iconic soundtrack including gems from Backstreet Boys, Myra, Krystal Harris, Mandy Moore, Nobody’s Angel, Hanson, Steps, B*Witched, and more.  Support the show Instagram: @whentheypoppedpod TikTok: @whentheypoppe...

Send Mary and Kelsey a Message! In this episode, Mary and Kelsey recap the new Netflix documentary series, Dirty Pop: The Boyband Scam, which details how Lou Pearlman - creator of the Backstreet Boys, their biggest competitor, *NSYNC and other boy bands including O-Town and LFO - defrauded investors out of more than $300 million. TW: This episode contains references to sexual assault and suicide. ...

Send Mary and Kelsey a Message! In celebration of its 20th anniversary, Ashlee Simpson has released an EXPANDED EDITION on her critically and Mary-and-Kelsey-acclaimed album, Autobiography. In this episode, Mary and Kelsey listen to the three new tracks for the very first time and share their real-time first impressions of each song - Harder Every Day, Sorry, and Endless Summer.  Support the show...

Send Mary and Kelsey a Message! BBMak’s debut album, Sooner or Later, celebrates its 25th anniversary of its original release this year. In this episode, Mary and Kelsey dissect the album track by track including BBMak’s biggest hit, Back Here, and other bops like Still On Your Side, Ghost Of You and Me, and other criminally underrated bops. This episode is a ride down memory lane laden with guita...

Send Mary and Kelsey a Message! In this episode Mary and Kelsey share their top 3 favorite Celine Dion songs and the surprising stories behind them, like Meat Loaf’s beef with Celine over It’s All Coming Back To Me Now, how she hit that F5 in All By Myself, and more. Plus, the gals share their reactions to Celine’s powerful new documentary, I Am: Celine Dion, which provides a gut wrenching look at...

Send Mary and Kelsey a Message! This week, Mary and Kelsey are joined by THE multitalented, inspiring, humble, and hilarious Trevor Penick of O-Town for a special conversation. (We can’t believe we just typed that!) Trevor dishes on O-Town’s current Pop2000 tour with BBMak and friends, what it was like pioneering reality tv on ‘Making The Band’ as a teen, and his O-Town memories. He also shares an...

Send Mary and Kelsey a Message! It’s officially summer so Mary and Kelsey are throwing it back to their favorite *songs of summer* from the 90s and 00s. This episode will bring your right back to rollerblading with your Walkman with tracks from Hanson, Lifehouse, Nelly, New Kids On The Block, Yellowcard, Avril Lavigne, Britney Spears, Janet Jackson, and more.  Support the show Instagram: @whenthey...

Send Mary and Kelsey a Message! This episode will bring you right back to a middle school dance as Mary and Kelsey recap O-Town’s self-titled debut album. They discuss when O-Town popped, its high-profile formation documented by reality show Making the Band, which was helmed by notorious boy band fraudster Lou Pearlman, and discuss the album track by track including top hits All or Nothing (iconic...

Send Mary and Kelsey a Message! Gwen Stefani’s debut solo album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby, was b-a-n-a-n-a-s. In this episode, Mary and Kelsey celebrate the album’s 20th anniversary by breaking it down track by track, including Gwen’s biggest hits Hollaback Girl, Rich Girl, and gems like Luxurious, Cool, and What You Waiting For. They also discuss the controversy surrounding Gwen’s visuals for the...

Send Mary and Kelsey a Message! In this episode, Mary and Kelsey dissertate on three boy band albums turning a milestone 25 years old this year, including Westlife’s self-titled debut album, Five (aka 5ive)’s sophomore album, Invincible, and of course, Backstreet Boys’ Millennium, which was the best-selling album of 1999. Plus, the gals provide a fangirl’s perspective on the new(ish) Amazon origin...

Send Mary and Kelsey a Message! Ashanti and Nelly’s newly rekindled romance 20 years after it first started has us all reminiscing about the early aughts. So we obvi *need* to talk about Ashanti and how Ashanti was (and continues to be) the R&B industry’s muse. In this episode, we’ll discuss how Ashtanti beat the odds and broke through barriers to reach the top of the charts. When industry exe...

Send Mary and Kelsey a Message! In this episode, Mary and Kelsey continue their conversation with Jade Driver, co-founder of digital agency, Crowd Surf. Jade shares behind-the-scenes details from watching the Backstreet Boys rehearse for their legendary 30 for 30 anniversary concert in Cancun, her thoughts on the setlist, the most memorable celebrity run-ins from her career, and what you can expec...