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 at Minneapolis' U.S. Bank Stadium on Saturday (Apr. 19) -- to go full "30 for 30" on the kickoff of Kendrick Lamar & SZA's Grand National tour, the year's most anticipated pop trek. Joe answers all our questions about the experience, from the crowd to the staging to the pacing to the energy to the "A minorrrrrrrrr.....," and concludes whether or not this felt like a proper stadium tour from two of the greatest pop stars of the 2020s.
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44:09
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 rate was finally starting to slip a little. On this Vintage Pop Stardom episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard Hip-Hop's Carl Lamarre and Michael Saponara to continue celebrating our 2005 Week -- with 2005-themed content all this week (Apr. 14-18) on Billboard.com -- with a look at the year when 50 Cent still ruled all of hip-hop and pop, but where his fall from superstardom was now on the horizon.
Find all of Billboard's 2005 Week stuff here:
https://www.billboard.com/t/2005-week/
And if you enjoy the pod, please consider donating to the following causes:
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https://transgenderlawcenter.org/
Trans Lifeline
https://translifeline.org/
Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe
https://www.gofundme.com/c/gender-confirmation-surgery-fundraising
Also, please consider subscribing to the trans legislation journalism of Erin Reed and
giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on 5Calls.org.
https://www.erininthemorning.com/
https://5calls.org/
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1:16:12
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 her one of the biggest top 40 hitmakers, but which she had trouble equaling later in her career. On this Vintage Pop Stardom episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by former Billboard writer Natalie Weiner to kick of our 2005 Week -- with 2005-themed content coming all next week (Apr. 14-18) on Billboard.com -- with a look at the year when Ciara defined mid-'00s pop music with a peerless run of still-beloved smashes.
If you enjoy the pod, please consider donating to the following causes:
Transgender Law Center
https://transgenderlawcenter.org/
Trans Lifeline
https://translifeline.org/
Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe
https://www.gofundme.com/c/gender-confirmation-surgery-fundraising
Also, please consider subscribing to the trans legislation journalism of Erin Reed and
giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on 5Calls.org.
https://www.erininthemorning.com/
https://5calls.org/
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1:09:33
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 Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard's Eric Renner Brown to preview our upcoming 2005 Week -- with 2005-themed content coming all next week (Apr. 14-18) on Billboard.com -- with a look at the year when Green Day springboarded from its comeback album (and single) 'American Idiot' to the biggest pop hits, videos and live shows of its career -- ending the year as the biggest rock band (and one of the biggest pop acts) in the world.
If you enjoy the pod, please consider donating to the following causes:
Transgender Law Center
https://transgenderlawcenter.org/
Trans Lifeline
https://translifeline.org/
Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe
https://www.gofundme.com/c/gender-confirmation-surgery-fundraising
Also, please consider subscribing to the trans legislation journalism of Erin Reed and
giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on 5Calls.org.
https://www.erininthemorning.com/
https://5calls.org/
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1:30:43
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-heavy March 2025 in pop stardom. We each choose our top fives for the month that was, then we talk some disappointing recent performances, and look ahead to who we're most anticipating hearing more from as winter turns to spring.
If you enjoy the pod, check out our first two 2025 recaps:
Greatest Pop Stars of January 2025:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4VmxZrL0P2Yv7JEt9IXdhF?si=196670ad2a744b0b
Greatest Pop Stars of February 2025:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6SMNh13HnopRm8n6YmqRkm?si=7e8b592f58a34820
And please consider donating to the following causes (and check out our Trans Day of Visibility discussion with eight trans and non-binary artists):
https://www.billboard.com/lists/trans-day-visibility/
Transgender Law Center
https://transgenderlawcenter.org/
Trans Lifeline
https://translifeline.org/
Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe
https://www.gofundme.com/c/gender-confirmation-surgery-fundraising
Also, please consider subscribing to the trans legislation journalism of Erin Reed and
giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on 5Calls.org.
https://www.erininthemorning.com/
https://5calls.org/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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