In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Justin Timberlake put out his sixth studio album, Everything I Thought It Was , last Friday. But is it possible to hear this music— or appreciate Justin's talents— outside of the narrative nosedive his career has taken in the last decade? Vox's Kyndall Cunningham joins Louie and Russ to discuss. To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more,...
Mar 19, 2024•10 min
Host and culture writer for Dazed , Vogue and more, Kemi Olivia Alemoru, and writer on race, culture and politics and author of the upcoming book Black Genius, Tre Johnson, join the show to discuss how we as critics and the public interface with the work of famous pop stars who have done awful things. Kemi, Tre and Louie dig into the complex legacies of Kanye West and Michal Jackson in particular, parsing apart how darker revelations about each of their characters have impacted how they think ab...
Mar 14, 2024•1 hr 26 min
In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode and as a capstone to our latest series on Ariana Grande, Bustle' s Nolan Feeney joins DJ Louie to discuss Ari's seventh studio album, Eternal Sunshine , which dropped on Friday. Louie and Nolan dig into all the record's themes, aesthetics, how it toys with her public narrative, the impact of collaborator Max Martin, absence of long-time songwriting aces Victoria Monet and Tayla Parx and so much more. To hear the rest of the this episod...
Mar 11, 2024•11 min
For part two of our Ariana Grande series, Pitchfork senior editor Anna Gaca is here to discuss the aesthetic pivot of 2018’s Sweetener, the superstar's first album following the horrific bombing of her Manchester concert and which found her reaching for light amidst unthinkable darkness. From there, Louie and Anna tackle the tabloid frenzy of Ari's relationship with comedian Pete Davidson and how their break-up, along with the death of her ex-boyfriend Mac Miller, turned 2019’s thank u, next int...
Mar 07, 2024•1 hr 55 min
Pop music critic at the LA Times , Mikael Wood, joins Pop Pantheon for our first ever full re-examination of the first ever artist we ever ranked in the official Pop Pantheon: Ariana Grande. In Part 1, Louie and Mikael trace Ariana’s roots as a performer, from her start on Broadway as a teenager to her Nickelodeon years and her bubblegum debut single through to her first studio album, 2013’s Babyface-assisted Yours Truly . Then they tackle 2014’s My Everything , which ensconced Ariana as pop’s n...
Feb 29, 2024•1 hr 46 min
When was the last time a single pop star dominated culture like Taylor Swift? From her blockbuster re-recordings, which brought a new generation of fans into the Swiftie fold, to her world-conquering Eras Tour, record-breaking 4th Album of the Year Grammy for 2022’s Midnights and the endless fascination with her personal life and new relationship with Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift has become the biggest music superstar of the millennium. In the wake of her eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets ...
Feb 26, 2024•2 min
Jennifer Lopez might not have stopped the world when she released her new self-financed visual album, This is Me... Now: A Love Story , last week. But she certainly drummed up a lot of conversation, much of which most certainly would not have been happening had she simply dropped a new record. After watching the film, DJ Louie got together with writer Sydney Urbanek, who is currently developing a series for her newsletter Mononym Mythology on the history of the visual album, to talk This is Me.....
Feb 22, 2024•1 hr 6 min
In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, as we gear up for Justin Timberlake's sixth studio album Everything I Thought I Was , due in March, DJ Louie and writer Rachel Brodsky gather to reflect on his debut, 2002's Justified. The two parse out how Justin's public profile nosedive has impacted the public's experience of this music, whether it's possible to enjoy this album in vacuum, and If perhaps there's been an overcorrection on Timberlake in recent years that ignores some...
Feb 19, 2024•13 min
Writer Natalie Weiner joins Pop Pantheon to unpack Sheryl Crow’s “winding road” to pop superstardom. Natalie and Louie trace back Sheryl’s early days in the music business, from her gig singing backup on Michael Jackson's blockbuster Bad T our to writing songs for Celine Dion and Tina Turner, then discuss the roots rock infused pop of 1993's Tuesday Night Music Club that made Sheryl a star and won her Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards. From there, they break down her signature 1996 self-title...
Feb 15, 2024•1 hr 38 min
In anticipation of Usher's Super Bowl Halftime performance on Sunday, we're re-sharing our episode on him from September 2022. Music writer and Assistant Professor at Syracuse University, Rawiya Kameir, is back on the show to discuss the career and confessions of the great Usher. DJ Louie and Rawiya break down Usher’s musical origins singing in the church, the failed boy band he fronted in the early ‘90s, Nu Beginnings, and how his deal with the storied LaFace Records and subsequent “flavor camp...
Feb 10, 2024•1 hr 46 min
The long-simmering beef between Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion recently exploded from our streaming services with the release of their respective diss tracks "Big Foot" and "Hiss" and onto social media, where Nicki vented her ire for her rival for days, then, thanks to the rapper's most ardent fans, onto some people's front doorsteps and even to the gravesite of Megan's mother. This beef is yet another moment where the ferocity of stan armies and their relentless defense of their pop star f...
Feb 08, 2024•1 hr 1 min
In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, it’s been 25 years since a Black woman won Album of the Year. If neither Beyonce or SZA can do it, who can? Louie + Russ ponder that question with Variety ’s Chris Willman as they walk through the good, the bad + the infuriating from the 2024 Grammys. To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the...
Feb 05, 2024•8 min
For part two of our Black Eyed Peas series, writer and critic Julianne Escobedo Shepherd returns to Pop Pantheon to dissect the brief but remarkable reign of the Duchess of Pop, Fergie. Louie and Julianne break down Fergie’s brushes with child stardom via Peanuts and Kids Incorporated and her failed 90s girl group, Wild Orchid. Then they explore the sonic melange of her debut solo album, 2006’s The Dutchess , which traded in everything from camp pop-rap to 80s hip house, mid-century pop-soul and...
Feb 01, 2024•1 hr 37 min
Ringer music critic and host of 60 Songs That Explain the '90s Rob Harvilla returns to Pop Pantheon to discuss one of the most derided – and successful – pop acts of the 21st Century, The Black Eyed Peas. Louie and Rob trace the group’s roots as an optimistic, politically progressive “conscious rap” crew, starting with their first two pre-Fergie records, 1998’s Behind The Front and 2000’s Bridging the Gap . Then they tackle the Peas’ reinvention as a garish, craven, operatically tacky band peddl...
Jan 25, 2024•1 hr 55 min
In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, when it came out in 2020 at the height of Covid19 lockdown, Dua Lipa's sophomore album Future Nostalgia made her a superstar. Now, nearly four years later and on the eve of a new Dua era, Senior Editor at Pitchfork Anna Gaca, who reviewed the album when it dropped, is here to talk about the record, how it's held up, how Dua's dance revival set the terms for pop and where it all positions her in the pop landscape as she verges on new m...
Jan 22, 2024•15 min
Olivia Rodrigo's Guts , Harry Styles' Harry's House , Lizzo's Special , Adele's 30 , Miley Cyrus' Endless Summer Vacation . What's one thing all of these albums have in common? They're each major releases by pop superstars in the last few years that churned out one massive hit single and then struggled to find a second to match it. They also serve as slightly counterintuitive representations of the state of the modern pop blockbuster in which, unlike past eras, putting together a string of massi...
Jan 18, 2024•56 min
Host of the And Introducing podcast Molly Mary O'Brien returns to Pop Pantheon to discuss the often harrowing and sometimes triumphant life and career of Demi Lovato. Molly and Louie unpack Demi’s squeaky clean debut on Barney at 10 and her induction into the Disney machine, from her starring role in Camp Rock to her Hollywood Records efforts, including 2008’s well-made but anodyne Don’t Forget and 2009’s Kidz-Bop-Kelly-Clarkson Here We Go Again . Then they discuss Demi’s very public personal st...
Jan 11, 2024•1 hr 59 min
Before we launch all our exciting new content for 2024, Louie and Russ look back on every single Pop Pantheon ranking from 2023 and discuss whether we got it right or wrong, take calls and emails from listeners with their ranking disputes and adjust some of our decisions. Does Shakira move from Tier 2 to Tier 1? Does Jessica Simpson really deserve to be in Tier 5?? And should the Niche Legend tier exist at all?!?! It's all on the table. Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exc...
Jan 04, 2024•1 hr 4 min
In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Louie and guest Miles Marshall Lewis look back Madonna's 11th studio album, 2008's Hard Candy , an album where the Queen of Pop uncharacteristically played catch-up with her pop star progeny, enlisting Timabland, Justin Timberlake and Pharrell to help get her music back in American radio's good graces. The gambit only minorly paid off. The album received mixed reviews and while lead single "4 Minutes (feat. Justin Timberlake" reached ...
Jan 03, 2024•8 min
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! In a rerun of an episode from Pop Pantheon: All Access published back in May, Fluxblog's Matthew Perpetua & host of the And Introducing podcast Molly Mary O'Brien join DJ Louie to look back on three years of Chromatica : How they absorbed it when it dropped in the context of May 2020, how it sounds to them now, what's happening aesthetically and thematically on the songs, where it stacks up against in Gaga's catalog and what it says about her status in t...
Dec 28, 2023•1 hr 1 min
Louie and a series guest look back on the career, work and legacies of some pop greats we lost in 2023: Sinéad O'Connor, Tony Bennett & Tina Turner. Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and More Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's Store Follow Annie Zaleski on Twitter Follow Brian Newman on Twitter Follow Melissa Vincent on Twitter Follow DJ Louie XIV on Instagram Follow DJ Louie XIV on Twitter Follow Pop Pantheon on Instagram Follow Pop Pantheon on Twitter Join...
Dec 21, 2023•59 min
In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Tate McRae has, to some, been on the rise for the past few years. To many, she became the pop starlet of the moment overnight with her viral hit "Greedy". On the occasion of her sophomore album, Think Later, released a couple weeks ago, Louie and Russ came together to talk everything Tate: How she's metamorphosed over her ascent, what's clicked with "Greedy" and how that's reflected (or not) in the rest the album, and what Tate's sudd...
Dec 18, 2023•9 min
For the conclusion of our three-part series on Mariah Carey, Pot Psychology ’s Rich Juzwiak returns to Pop Pantheon to discuss Mariah’s later period work, starting with one of the greatest comebacks in the history of pop: 2005’s The Emancipation of Mimi . Louie and Rich unpack Emancipation ’s smash hits and how it helped rewrite Mariah's legacy, then move on to its 2008’s sequel, E=MC² , and 2009's idiosyncratic Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel . Rich and Louie tackle the calcification of her camp ...
Dec 14, 2023•1 hr 51 min
In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Nicki Minaj dropped her long-awaited fifth studio album, Pink Friday 2 , last Friday. But is it a worthy follow-up to her legendary debut, 2010's Pink Friday ? Hung Up 's Hunter Harris joins DJ Louie to break it all down: what's good on this record, what's not and whether albums—this one or any other in her discography— are useful formats for Nicki's unique genius. To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive at least three episo...
Dec 12, 2023•11 min
For the second in our three-part series on Mariah Carey, NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour 's Aisha Harris joins the show to unpack some of the most fascinating, liberated and enduring music Mariah has made, as well as a professional nadir from which it once seemed she'd never recover. Louie and Aisha pick up with Mariah's self-described magnum opus, 1997’s Butterfly, then move on to her final album under her deal with Sony and Tommy Mottola, 1999’s Rainbow, before digging into the embarrassing blunder...
Dec 07, 2023•1 hr 51 min
In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, The Wall Street Journal 's John Jurgensen, who has chronicled Mariah's ascent to the Queen of Christmas over the last 30 years, joins DJ Louie to discuss just how she's come to claim that title. Louie and John are talking Merry Christmas and "All I Want For Christmas Is You", the historical relationship between pop and Christmas music and how social media, stan culture, Love Actually , and a good-old fashioned banger came together to ...
Dec 04, 2023•12 min
In the first of three new episodes on pop icon Mariah Carey, DJ Louie is joined by The New School's Dr. Brittnay L. Proctor to discuss Mariah's origin story and early career. They begin with her upbringing on Long Island as the product of a biracial marriage, her first forays into the music industry as a demo singer and background vocalist and her chance meeting with future husband Tommy Mottola which resulted in her smash self-titled debut album, home to four consecutive number one hits. They t...
Nov 30, 2023•2 hr 11 min
Music writer Shaad D'Souza joins DJ Louie to discuss pop music in 2023. They each share and discuss their three favorite albums, three favorite songs, greatest disappointments, major trends in the genre and more. Check out a Spotify Playlist of Louie and Shaad's 2023 Favs Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and More Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous LA on December 16 Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's Store Follow Shaad D'Souza on Instagram Follow DJ Louie XIV on Instagra...
Nov 22, 2023•1 hr 6 min
Bonnie McKee is the songwriter behind many of the most enduring pop hits of the last 15 years including Taio Cruz' "Dynamite", Britney Spears' "Hold it Against Me" and no fewer than 5 (!) of Katy Perry's #1s. She's also a pop star in her own right, having run the gamut from singer-songwriter-aspirant in the early 2000s through numerous major label deals and finally, her current career as an indie pop act. Bonnie joins DJ Louie to talk about it all: her love of pop music, how she writes it, her e...
Nov 16, 2023•46 min
Author of the book Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah Kathy Iandoli returns to Pop Pantheon to unpack the far too short career of one of the most exciting pop recording artists of her generation, Aaliyah. Kathy and Louie discuss Aaliyah’s upbringing in Detroit, her connection to soul legend Gladys Knight and how she came to create 1994’s Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number with R. Kelly, a convicted sexual predator who married her illegally as a teen. Then they examine one of the most forward-thinkin...
Nov 09, 2023•1 hr 50 min
