2005 Paul Wall: Vintage Almost-Pop Stardom (with Jonny Auping)
The long-bubbling Houston rap scene finally took over the mainstream in 2005, getting the entire country invested in tippin’ on four-fours and sittin’ sideways — and the guy who ended up serving as the connective tissue for pretty much the whole moment was The People’s Champ, Paul Wall. In this second episode of our Vintage Almost-Pop Stardom mini-series — a spin on our usual Vintage Pop Stardom, with four episodes this month looking at close-but-not-quite pop stars during their biggest years — Jonny Auping of the My Time Back newsletter helps us look back at the undisputed king of the parking lot during the year of “Still Tippin’,” “Drive Slow” and “Grillz,” as the white rapper-jeweler with the disco ball inside his mouth became one of the most unavoidable figures in popular music.
2005 Paul Wall YouTube Playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwFs58D1XAMb63lDlLTnzzXuUCvCQwoJD&si=T73JmQ11k_b-n-Yr
Subscribe to Jonny's My Time Back newsletter:
https://mytimeback.beehiiv.com/
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In 1995, Björk was a phenomenon without a genre, a critically acclaimed singer-songwriter who mixed dance beats with rock attitude and pop flair and became a near-household name without scoring any major hits. In this first episode of our Vintage Almost-Pop Stardom series — a spin on our usual Vintage Pop Stardom, with four episodes this month looking at close-but-not-quite pop stars during their biggest years — Lina Morgan of the Song vs. Song podcast helps us look back at Iceland's greatest musical export during her crossover peak, including her classic 'Post' album, unforgettable videos for "Army of Me" and "It's Oh So Quiet" and even a freelance gig writing for Madonna.
1995 Björk YouTube Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwFs58D1XAMZyxKrrsXZ6643UOa2BnB1b
Follow Lina on Bluesky:
https://bsky.app/profile/alinaisyou.bsky.social
And if you enjoy the pod, please consider donating to the following causes:
Transgender Law Center
https://transgenderlawcenter.org/
Trans Lifeline
https://translifeline.org/
Destination Tomorrow
https://secure.givelively.org/donate/destination-tomorrow-inc
Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe
https://www.gofundme.com/c/gender-confirmation-surgery-fundraising
Also, please consider giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on 5Calls.org.
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1:55:40
Taylor Swift's 'The Life of a Showgirl': Rollout Report Card
After a brief break at the beginning of 2025, Taylor Swift is back with what after just a few days of release is already proving to (somehow) be her biggest album yet. For this Rollout Report Card, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers and Swifties Meghan Mahar and Danielle Pascual as we look at everything surrounding the breathlessly anticipated release of 'The Life of a Showgirl' — including the accompanying movie and new music video, the many alternate album covers, the deluge of press and critics' takes and of course, the 12 new songs on the actual album.
Find our Taylor Swift 'The Life of a Showgirl Rollout YouTube playlist here:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwFs58D1XAMad1_FNKvdy1hWrvBko_QnQ&si=Ei4ersT-aEi_seya
See all our other Rollout Report Card episodes here:
https://www.billboard.com/t/rollout-report-card/
And please consider donating to the following causes:
Transgender Law Center
https://transgenderlawcenter.org/
Trans Lifeline
https://translifeline.org/
Destination Tomorrow
https://secure.givelively.org/donate/destination-tomorrow-inc
Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe
https://www.gofundme.com/c/gender-confirmation-surgery-fundraising
Also, please consider giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on 5Calls.org.
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1:08:41
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1:08:41
Which Pop Stars Won September 2025? Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter, Tate McRae & More
On this week's episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Eric Renner Brown and Eric Frankenberg to discuss the big pop stars, rising prospects and veteran greats who got their last big pop star moments in for September 2025 — before Taylor Swift inevitably takes over shortly into October. 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 in the months to come.
If you enjoy the pod, check out out the rest of our 2025 Who Won the Month recaps here:
https://www.billboard.com/t/who-won-the-month/
And please consider donating to the following causes:
Transgender Law Center
https://transgenderlawcenter.org/
Trans Lifeline
https://translifeline.org/
Destination Tomorrow
https://secure.givelively.org/donate/destination-tomorrow-inc
Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe
https://www.gofundme.com/c/gender-confirmation-surgery-fundraising
Also, please consider giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on 5Calls.org.
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1:10:09
Cardi B's 'Am I the Drama?' Rollout Report Card
It's been seven years since Cardi B aced her debut album rollout with 2018's rapturously received 'Invasion of Privacy' — and at long last, she's finally back with album two, 'Am I the Drama?' For this Rollout Report Card, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Kyle Denis and Emily Fuentes as we look at everything surrounding the wait-and-hurry-up promotion of Cardi's long, long-anticipated second album, grading everything from the music videos and live performances to the album's new songs and overall "albuminess."
Find our Cardi B 'Am I the Drama?' Rollout YouTube playlist here:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwFs58D1XAMZIe88ZSgVzfM9jQhnFGoGT&si=HUwKfTxIwdgt6T-l
See all our other Rollout Report Card episodes here:
https://www.billboard.com/t/rollout-report-card/
And please consider donating to the following causes:
Transgender Law Center
https://transgenderlawcenter.org/
Trans Lifeline
https://translifeline.org/
Destination Tomorrow
https://secure.givelively.org/donate/destination-tomorrow-inc
Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe
https://www.gofundme.com/c/gender-confirmation-surgery-fundraising
Also, please consider giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on 5Calls.org.
https://5calls.org/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Ireland