Nora and Nathan talk about Beyoncé's Christmas halftime show, dubbed the "Beyoncé Bowl," and whether the first live performance of 'Cowboy Carter' will be enough to secure it Album of the Year at the Grammys (1:00). Then they catch up on some other pop news from the past week, including a scaled-back Grammys ceremony after the L.A. wildfires (24:59) and Heidi Montag's album 'Superficial' going no. 1 on iTunes after she lost her home in the Palisades fire (39:03). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Natha...
Jan 16, 2025•52 min
Nathan talks about why attending the Billie Eilish concert made him believe that she will win Album of the Year at the Grammys (1:00). Then, Nora and Nathan each draft a team of five artists that they think will have a big 2025. They talk about artists like Renee Rapp (31:27), JADE (45:52), The Marías (1:10:22), and more. Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
Dec 19, 2024•1 hr 32 min
After almost two years, 149 shows, and 51 cities, Taylor Swift's Eras Tour has officially come to a close. Nora and Nathan talk about the cultural impact of this tour and what it did for Swift's star status (1:00), discuss what may come next for the singer now that she has some more free time on her hands (17:27), and award some superlatives, including best celebrity guest (43:45) and favorite surprise songs (51:10). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more ab...
Dec 13, 2024•1 hr 14 min
Nora and Nathan count down their five favorite albums from this year in pop music. Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 05, 2024•1 hr 5 min
Nora and Nathan talk about a mix of pop music news from the week, including the end of the U.S. leg of Sabrina Carpenter's Short n' Sweet tour (1:00), the news that Beyoncé will perform at the halftime show during a Christmas Day NFL game and whether this is the start of her Grammy campaign (25:44), and Gracie Abrams's first top 10 song on the Billboard Hot 100, "That's So True," and why fans seem to be connecting with this song (50:07). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya M...
Nov 22, 2024•1 hr 8 min
Nora and Nathan discuss the news that Chappell Roan is parting ways with her management and what might be coming next for the artist after a very busy summer (1:00); the muted reaction to Lady Gaga's newest single, "Disease" (23:52); and what we can learn about Taylor Swift from the way she dresses (40:17). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
Nov 15, 2024•1 hr 8 min
Nora and Nathan discuss the nominations for the 2025 Grammys that were announced today. They talk about whether this is the year that Beyoncé will finally win Album of the Year for 'Cowboy Carter' (1:00), make predictions for the rest of the big four awards—Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best New Artist (14:54)—and discuss some of the notable snubs this year, including Charli XCX for Song of the Year and Jack Antonoff for Producer of the Year (32:43). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan...
Nov 08, 2024•48 min
Nora and Nathan break down Halsey's intensely personal album 'The Great Impersonator.' They discuss the rollout for this and whether or not it needed to be a concept album (1:00), how Halsey's health struggles inspired many of the songs on this record (22:42), and what comes next for the artist after she thought that this could be the last album she would ever make (49:16). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producers: Kaya McMullen and Isaiah Blakely Learn more about your ad choices. Vis...
Nov 01, 2024•1 hr 6 min
Nathan talks about his experience watching Joni Mitchell perform at the Joni Jam (1:00). Then he and Nora discuss all the news that came out of Taylor Swift’s three Miami shows, including her giving Dave Portnoy a letter and debuting a new Reputation bodysuit (12:37). Finally, they take a moment to remember Liam Payne, the One Direction member who passed away last week (40:22). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoice...
Oct 24, 2024•1 hr 8 min
Nora and Nathan break down Charli XCX's 'Brat' remix album and how it's "brat and it's completely different but also still brat." They talk about the collaborators that Charli chose to work with on this, like ‘The 1975’ and Ariana Grande (1:00), why this album offers an interesting glance into the future of music (19:38), and how this record caps off one of the best album rollouts of the year (32:54). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choi...
Oct 17, 2024•57 min
Nora and Nathan cover some of the news floating around the pop music world this week, including Tate McRae's most recent single release and what she needs to do to break through in popularity (1:00), Lady Gaga's 'Harlequin' album that she released in companion with 'Joker: Folie à Deux' and what might be coming on her next album (26:32), and Charli XCX's upcoming 'Brat' remix album (46:34). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ...
Oct 09, 2024•1 hr 2 min
Nora and Nathan talk about Chappell Roan's last minute decision to drop out of the All Things Go festival, as well as some of the other standout performances from the concert series (1:00). Plus, they discuss Sabrina Carpenter kicking off her Short n' Sweet tour (32:37) and speculate as to where Taylor Swift might be after not being seen out in public for the past few weeks (44:00). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastc...
Oct 04, 2024•1 hr 8 min
Katy Perry's latest album, '143,' is looking like the late-career comeback that wasn't. Nora and Nathan talk about why this album has failed so badly (1:00), the rote production and lyrics on songs like 'GIMME GIMME' and 'ARTIFICIAL' (20:27), and where Perry goes from here (28:05). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
Sep 27, 2024•46 min
With ‘Teenage Dream,’ Katy Perry became the first artist since Michael Jackson to have an album with five no. 1 singles. Nora and Nathan talk about the massive highs on this album, including “Last Friday Night,” “California Gurls,” and “Firework” (1:00); the massive lows such as “Peacock” and “Hummingbird Heartbeat” (41:04); and where Katy Perry’s career went after the huge success of this record (59:48). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad ...
Sep 20, 2024•1 hr 26 min
Nora and Nathan talk about Taylor Swift endorsing Kamala Harris this week and speculate as to why she chose this timing to do it (1:00). Then they discuss the 2024 VMA's, including the event basically revolving around Swift (27:56) and the performances from Katy Perry, Chappell Roan, and Sabrina Carpenter (37:30). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
Sep 13, 2024•1 hr 13 min
As a capstone to Pop Girl Summer, Sabrina Carpenter's new album, 'Short n' Sweet,' is here. Nora and Nathan talk about the wit and playfulness that runs throughout this album (1:00); how Carpenter is trying out a variety of sounds on this album, from R&B to yacht rock (26:21); and some of their favorite lyrics off an album with an array to choose from (41:53). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoice...
Aug 29, 2024•1 hr 26 min
Nora and Nathan talk about the news and surprises that came out of Taylor Swift's final slate of European shows in London (1:00). Then they turn to Post Malone's first foray into country music: F-1 Trillion. They discuss how the rapper came to the genre (15:29), how seemingly every big name in country has a feature on this album (36:32), and their favorite and least favorite tracks on the record (55:26). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad c...
Aug 23, 2024•1 hr 26 min
Nora and Nathan cover a range of pop music news from the last few weeks, including Charli XCX's star-studded birthday party (1:00), who made it onto Barack Obama's annual summer playlist (17:16), why Katy Perry got in trouble with Spain because of the music video for her second single "Lifetimes" (23:45), and the Eras Tour shows that got canceled in Vienna (35:11). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoic...
Aug 16, 2024•56 min
After having the two songs of the summer in "Espresso" and "Please Please Please," Sabrina Carpenter is gearing up to release 'Short n' Sweet.' So first, Nora and Nathan go back to her album 'Emails I Can't Send.' They talk about her transition from a "lowercase pop girl" to an "uppercase pop girl" (1:00), her drama with Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett that led to songs like "Skin" and "Because I Liked a Boy" (29:54), and what they anticipate from her with this next album (41:53). Hosts: Nora ...
Aug 09, 2024•1 hr 4 min
In a spring and summer that has been dominated by female artists, Nora and Nathan talk about some of the male artists that have managed to break through on the charts: Post Malone, Zach Bryan, and Eminem. They discuss Post Malone's forthcoming country album and what it tells us about the evolution of Nashville's music scene (1:00), Zach Bryan's 'The Great American Bar Scene' and his rebellion against the music industry (27:16), and Eminem's 'The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)' and whether t...
Aug 02, 2024•1 hr 19 min
Nora and Nathan open up the mailbag to answer a few questions about our year in pop music so far. They make some predictions about who will win the Big Four Grammy Awards (Best New Artist, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Record of the Year) (1:00), discuss Kamala Harris's campaign's adoption of "brat summer" (26:47), and debate whether Taylor Swift will rerelease 'Taylor Swift' and 'Reputation' before the end of the Eras Tour (59:22). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: ...
Jul 25, 2024•1 hr 16 min
Nora and Nathan talk about the new Katy Perry single 'Woman's World' within the context of her career (1:00) and why this new song feels so oblivious to the current moment (19:24). Then they discuss Camilla Cabello's new album 'C, XOXO,' which has not one but two Drake features (36:43) and ultimately falls flat (46:57). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
Jul 19, 2024•1 hr 5 min
Nora and Nathan each draft and discuss their 10 favorite songs from all of the pop albums that they've talked about this spring and summer, including 'The Tortured Poets Department,' 'Brat,' 'Cowboy Carter,' 'The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess,' and 'Hit Me Hard and Soft.' Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
Jul 11, 2024•1 hr 8 min
Nora and Nathan discuss the second studio album from Gracie Abrams: 'The Secret of Us.' They then talk about Taylor Swift's influence on and close relationship with Abrams, as well as whether that's helping or hurting Abrams's music (1:00). Later, they get into how her songs feel the strongest when her lyrics are plain-spoken (39:37), and how, with this album, it seems like Abrams is still trying to find her distinct musical sound (47:46). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya...
Jun 27, 2024•1 hr 10 min
Nora and Nathan kick off their "brat summer" by talking about Charli XCX's sixth studio album. They talk about how this album differs from her past, more mainstream pop albums (1:00), the inner monologue that is running through many of the songs on this record (31:49), and the narrow palette of sounds she pulled from for these songs (56:46). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
Jun 20, 2024•1 hr 28 min
Nora talks about her experience at the Eras Tour in Edinburgh, Scotland (1:00). Then, Nora and Nathan talk about the meteoric rise of Chappell Roan and her 2023 album 'The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.' They discuss how her career took off this summer after opening for Olivia Rodrigo and performing on NPR's 'Tiny Desk Concert' (16:05), what happens when an artist with a really passionate fan base breaks into the mainstream (30:59), and how the specificity of her songs turns them into hits...
Jun 14, 2024•1 hr 30 min
Nora and Nathan cover a grab bag of pop music news, including Sabrina Carpenter's announcement that her next album, 'Short n' Sweet,' is coming in August (1:00), whether or not Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish are feuding over releasing vinyl variants (15:21), and what surprise songs Taylor has been playing at Eras shows recently (38:31). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
Jun 05, 2024•1 hr 2 min
At long last, Nora and Nathan cover Ariana Grande's 'Eternal Sunshine,' her seventh studio album. They talk about how this album seems to be lacking the viral hits that 'Sweetener' and 'Thank U, Next' had (1:00), whether this is a divorce album or if it's actually about Grande's relationship with the press (22:38), and the classic Max Martin production that can be found throughout the record (1:07:36). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad cho...
May 30, 2024•1 hr 37 min
Nora and Nathan talk about the third studio album from Billie Eilish: 'Hit Me Hard and Soft.' They discuss how Eilish is displaying new vocal ranges in songs like 'The Greatest' and 'Birds of a Feather' (17:32), her continued collaboration with her brother Finneas and whether or not she might branch out in the future (45:14), and how many songs on this album are about her discomfort with celebrity as a young artist (56:03). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn ...
May 23, 2024•1 hr 23 min
Nora and Nathan check in on the newly revamped Eras Tour setlist. They talk about the new 'Tortured Poets Department' section of the show, and which songs Taylor Swift chose to include (1:00), which songs she decided to cut in order to make room (36:12), and why she might have decided to change up the show even though tickets have already been sold out (48:39). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
May 15, 2024•1 hr 13 min
