Greatest Pop Stars

Billboard's weekly deep dive into the past, present and future of pop stardom. New episodes every Thursday.

Music Music Commentary Music History

Update frequency: every 5 days
Average duration: 90 minutes
Episodes: 62
Years Active: 2024 - 2025

Which Pop Stars Won April 2025? Kendrick & SZA, Gaga, Lorde & More

On this week's episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Stephen Daw and Eric Frankenberg to discuss the pop stars who dominated a live-heavy …

01:11:59 | Thu 01 May 2025

Kendrick Lamar & SZA's Stadium Tour Kickoff: Pop Star Performance Review

On this Pop Star Performance Review of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard deputy editor Joe Lynch -- a Minnesota native who was in attendance for the show …

00:44:09 | Thu 24 Apr 2025

Vintage Pop Stardom: 2005 50 Cent (with Carl Lamarre & Michael Saponara)

After became the hottest rapper in the game in 2003, 50 Cent returned in 2005 arguably bigger and more omnipresent than ever -- but after two years where it felt like he couldn't miss, 50's strike ra…

01:16:12 | Thu 17 Apr 2025

Vintage Pop Stardom: 2005 Ciara (with Natalie Weiner)

After breaking through in late 2004, with her Goodies album and its seven-week Billboard Hot 100-topping title track, Ciara stayed winning all throughout 2005 -- with a run of top five hits that made…

01:09:33 | Mon 14 Apr 2025

Vintage Pop Stardom: 2005 Green Day (with Eric Renner Brown)

Green Day entered 2005 at the center of popular music for the second time in its career -- but the first time in a decade. On this Vintage Pop Stardom episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host …

01:30:43 | Thu 10 Apr 2025

Which Pop Stars Won March 2025?

On this week's episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Kyle Denis and Danielle Pascual to discuss the pop stars who dominated a comeback-hea…

00:56:59 | Thu 03 Apr 2025

Great Moments in Pop Star History: Selena Gomez's "Bad Liar"

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 Jason Lipshutz, to talk about one of the most fascinating …

01:02:13 | Thu 27 Mar 2025

Vintage Pop Stardom: 1995 Madonna (with Keith Caulfield)

By 1995, Madonna was no longer the center-of-everything top 40 force she was a decade earlier, but she still a massive star about to enter one of the most fascinating phases of her career. On this Vi…

01:43:03 | Thu 20 Mar 2025

Rollout Report Card: Lady Gaga's 'Mayhem'

We're spending the first Greatest Pop Stars episode since the long-awaited Friday (March 7) release of Lady Gaga's 'Mayhem' talking about the entire album era, with a new series we're calling the Pop…

01:12:45 | Thu 13 Mar 2025

Which Pop Stars Won February 2025?

On this week's episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Meghan Mahar and Mike Sapoanra to discuss the pop stars who dominated an impressively…

01:00:48 | Thu 06 Mar 2025

Great Moments in Pop Star History: Jay-Z, Beyoncé & Solange See Grizzly Bear in Brooklyn (2009)

As unremarkable as it would probably seem in 2025, when Solange brought her sister Beyoncé and Bey's husband Jay-Z to go check out a Brooklyn show by the indie band Grizzly Bear back in 2009, it ende…

01:26:29 | Thu 27 Feb 2025

A Pop Star Performance Improvement Plan for Drake; Plus Kendrick, Sabrina, SNL 50 & More From a Busy Pop Weekend

Following the Grammys and the Super Bowl, it was yet another packed February weekend for pop stardom. Host Andrew Unterberger and regular GPS guest Kyle Denis hop around the cultural landscape to tal…

01:03:37 | Thu 20 Feb 2025

Vintage Pop Stardom: 1985 Phil Collins (with Chris Molanphy)

No one could've seen him coming, but by 1985, Phil Collins was one of the biggest, hardest working and most sheerly unavoidable pop stars on the planet -- and also one of the greatest. On this Vintag…

01:30:32 | Thu 13 Feb 2025

Greatest Pop Star Instant Reaction: How'd Kendrick Lamar Do at the Super Bowl?

It's our Greatest Pop Star of 2024's biggest moment yet! After many months of buzz and controversy, Kendrick Lamar took the stage at Super Bowl LIX to cap his last year of triumph, delivering one of …

00:59:31 | Tue 11 Feb 2025

Which Pop Stars Won January 2025?

On this week's episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Stephen Daw and Kyle Denis to discuss the pop stars who are leading the Greatest Pop …

01:04:44 | Thu 06 Feb 2025

Great Moments in Pop Star History: 2015 Grammys

Beyoncé's first big AOTY loss! Sam Smith's career night! #WhoIsBeck?! Kanye doing stuff! It's the 2015 Grammys, a pivotal awards night with nearly all the biggest pop stars of the mid-2010s in attend…

01:20:44 | Thu 30 Jan 2025

Vintage Pop Stardom: 2005 Kelly Clarkson (with Todd in the Shadows)

On this week's episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, we're debuting our Vintage Pop Stardom series format -- looking at one pop star at one of their peak years, and going deep into everything th…

01:29:54 | Thu 23 Jan 2025

Who Will Be the Greatest Pop Stars of 2025? A Fantasy Draft

Welcome back to the Greatest Pop Stars podcast! Today, we kick off 2025 with some predictions for the year to come -- in the form of a fantasy pop star draft. Billboard's Andrew Unterberger is joined…

00:57:40 | Thu 16 Jan 2025