Pop Pantheon

For the first in our new three-part series on Charli XCX, i-D’s Owen Myers returns to Pop Pantheon to chart the start of Charli’s iconoclastic and unlikely trail through pop. Owen and Louie trace Charli’s roots in England, starting when she was a teenage songwriter posting demos to MySpace and performing at raves in London. Then they discuss her charmingly DIY unreleased debut album, 14, her first brush with success with the surprise hit “I Love It,” her 2012 mixtapes, Heartbreaks and Earthquakes and Super Ultra, and her 2013 major label debut True Romance. Next they unpack “Fancy,” her first solo success with “Boom Clap” and the snappy pop punk 2014’s Sucker.Join us next week for Part 2, in which w'ell be talking about Charli’s reinvention as an avant pop futurist beginning with 2016’s Vroom Vroom EP and through her self-titled 2019 record, Charli. Check out Pop Pantheon's Charli XCX Essentials Spotify PlaylistJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreShop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreBuy Tickets to Pop Pantheon Presents Main Pop Girls Dance Party on 10/4 at Parkside Lounge in NYCCome to Gorgeous Gorgeous Halloween in both Los Angeles (10/25) and NYC (11/1)Follow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on TwitterFollow Pop Pantheon on Instagram

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, last night live in Los Angeles, DJ Louie gathered with HeidiWorld's Molly Lambert, And Introducing's Molly Mary O'Brien, The Los Angeles Times' Mikael Wood & writer Jaelani Tuner-Williams to break down Katy Perry's new record 143, Lady Gaga's new record Harlequin and just how these two superlative millennial divas are navigating the awkward period of their careers between trend-setter and legacy act.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 Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app. 

Buy Tickets to Pop Pantheon Live! Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and the Millennial Diva Conundrum on 9/30 at Dynasty Typewriter in LABuy Tickets to Pop Pantheon Presents Main Pop Girls Dance Party on 10/4 at Parkside Lounge in NYCBillboard is currently rolling out their list of the 25 Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century and we couldn't resist participating in the fun! Rich Juzwiak and Sam Murphy join DJ Louie to share each of their respective top tens before the three duke it out to settle on their collective final list of the the Top Ten Pop Stars of the 21st Century. Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreShop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreCome to Gorgeous Gorgeous: Los Angeles at Los Globos on 9/27Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous Halloween in both Los Angeles (10/25) and NYC (11/1)Follow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on TwitterFollow Pop Pantheon on Instagram

Don't forget to grab tickets to our live show, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and The Millennial Diva Conundrum this Monday 9/30 at Dynasty Typewriter in LA! We'll be talking 143, Harlequin, and so much more! In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Louie and Russ each had the true pleasure of seeing Charli XCX and Troye Sivan's Sweat Tour in New York City and Toronto respectively and they got together to break down the entire surreal and joyous experience.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 Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app. 

Buy Tickets to Pop Pantheon Live! Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and the Millennial Diva Conundrum on 9/30 at Dynasty Typewriter in LA (DISCOUNT BEGINS AT 12AM on 9/20!) Buy Tickets to Pop Pantheon Presents Main Pop Girls Dance Party on 10/4 at Parkside Lounge in NYCIn a SUPERSIZED episode of Pop Pantheon, critic, writer and NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast host Aisha Harris returns to unpack the astonishing symmetry of two of the biggest boy bands in history, Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC. Aisha and Louie track their strikingly similar origins, their first brushes with success in Europe and their explosions stateside, which helped solidify the teen pop boom of the turn of the century. They then dig into their self-titled debuts, from Backstreet’s blockbuster 1996 effort to *NSYNC’s launch the next year, their short-lived runs as commercial supernovas with Millennium (1999) and No Strings Attached (2000), their diverging sounds and ambitions, final hits, intertwined legacies and finally, Aisha and Louie rank Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC in the Official Pop Pantheon. Listen Pop Pantheon's Backstreet Boys VS. *NSYNC Essentials PlaylistJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreShop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreCome to Gorgeous Gorgeous: Los Angeles at Los Globos on 9/27Follow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on TwitterFollow Pop Pantheon on Instagram

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, The 40th Annual MTV Video Music Awards were held last night and featured marquee performances from It Girls like Sabrina Carpenter, GloRilla, Lisa & Chappell Roan while presenting their prestigious Video Vanguard award to Katy Perry. But with MTV flailing, music videos in their flop era and most old guard superstars MIA, did the VMAs justify their continued existence or live up to their storied history? Louie and Russ ponder these questions, recap all the major performances and awards, and generally talk their sh*t about last night's show. 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 Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app. 

Buy Tickets to Pop Pantheon Live! Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and the Millennial Diva Conundrum on 9/30 at Dynasty Typewriter in LABuy Tickets to Pop Pantheon Presents Main Pop Girls Dance Party on 10/4 at Parkside Lounge in NYCSure, we're all listening to a podcast called "Pop Pantheon". But what exactly is the Pop Pantheon? This is a question Louie hasn't addressed in detail since the show's earliest days. So, Russ and he got together to reintroduce the Pantheon, break down all its individual tiers and what constitutes each, and how their ideas about the Pantheon have been altered during the three and half of years of podcast's run. Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreShop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreCome to Gorgeous Gorgeous: New York at Sultan Room on 9/13Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous: Los Angeles at Los Globos on 9/27Follow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on TwitterFollow Pop Pantheon on Instagram

Buy Tickets to Pop Pantheon Live! Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and the Millennial Diva Conundrum on 9/30 at Dynasty Typewriter in LABuy Tickets to Pop Pantheon Presents Main Pop Girls Dance Party on 10/4 at Parkside Lounge in NYCWho Weekly’s Lindsey Weber and Bobby Finger return to Pop Pantheon to discuss one of pop’s most perplexing but enduring workhorses, Meghan Trainor. Louie, Lindsey and Bobby chart Meghan’s origins in Nantucket, her early self-produced teenage albums, and her breakthrough with 2014’s sleeper hit turned number one record turned peak thinkpiece fodder, the big booty anthem “All About That Bass.” From there, they discuss Meghan’s 2015 number one debut album, Title, which produced the triple platinum “Dear Future Husband”, the TRL-era R&B homage of 2016’s Thank You and Meghan’s unlikely later-era TikTok hits, including 2022's viral smash “Made You Look.” Finally, they rank Meghan Trainor in the Official Pop Pantheon.Listen to Pop Pantheon's Meghan Trainor Essentials on SpotifyJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreShop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreCome to Gorgeous Gorgeous: New York at Sultan Room on 9/13Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous: Los Angeles at Los Globos on 9/27Follow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on TwitterFollow Pop Pantheon on Instagram

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Disney-star-turned-"Drivers License"-third-wheel-turned-ascendent-pop-girlie Sabrina Carpenter has been on quite a roll lately. Her most recent two singles have been smashes and her sixth studio album, Short 'n Sweet, arrived last Friday among a swirl of expectations even she probably couldn't have imagined a few months ago. So does it meet the moment? Louis and Russ gather to break down everything about Sabrina's latest batch of songs. 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 Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app. 

Buy Tickets to Pop Pantheon Live! Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and the Millennial Diva Conundrum on 9/30 at Dynasty Typewriter in LAHappy Labor Day Weekend! Louie is still off on vacation so as a treat, we're republishing our Patreon review of Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter from back in April. If you like this episode and want to hear more like it, you can subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access for weekly bonus episodes of the show and so much more. You can also subscribe for the audio only direction in the Apple Podcasts App.  Enjoy! Episode Description: Beyoncé eighth studio album, Cowboy Carter, dropped last Friday. Once perceived as a foray into country music, this sprawling 80 (!!) minute epic turned out to be so much more than that and, as with any Bey project, begs for some serious unpacking. DJ Louie, Russ and Oxford American's Danielle Amir Jackson are here to do just that, breaking down the music, themes, references, history and breadth of the expansive second installment in Beyoncé's unfurling new trilogy.Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreShop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreCome to Gorgeous Gorgeous: Los Angeles at Los Globos on 8/17Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous: New York at Sultan Room on 9/13Follow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on TwitterFollow Pop Pantheon on Instagram

Louie and Russ gather to answer YOUR questions! We're talking all our fantasy Brat remixes and a VH1 Divas Live revival, playing out thought experiments about Beyoncé and Rihanna and Louie gets personal about his career and vocab tics. Buy Tickets to Pop Pantheon Live! Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and the Millennial Diva Conundrum on 9/30 at Dynasty Typewriter in LAJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Weekly Bonus Episodes and MoreShop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreCome to Gorgeous Gorgeous: Los Angeles at Los Globos on 8/17Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous: New York at Sultan Room on 9/13Follow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on TwitterFollow Pop Pantheon on Instagram

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, NME's Kyann-Sian Williams joins Russ to discuss Tinashe's brand new seventh studio album Quantum Baby – the second in a trilogy of albums she's rolling out. Can she capitalize on the virality of "Nasty"? Or is that even on her mind? And is Tinashe expanding her artistry or letting us in on this new record? Russ + Kyann-Sian break it all down. 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 Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app. 

Ahead of the release of Tinashe’s seventh studio album, Quantum Baby, The Cut’s Cat Zhang joins Pop Pantheon to discuss Tinashe’s rollercoaster career. Cat and DJ Louie dig into Tinashe’s upbringing in Lexington, Kentucky, her work as a child actor on Two and a Half Men and the girl group she was briefly in with fellow pop star Hayley Kiyoko, The Stunners. From there, they unpack her early mixtapes, explosion into the public consciousness with the sultry club banger “2 On,” her moody major label debut in 2014, Aquarius, and her years in label purgatory, during which she managed to release a return-to-roots mixtape, 2016’s Nightride, and 2018’s Joyride. Next they tackle Tinashe’s reinvention back into the bedroom artist she began as and how she blazed a new trail as an independent artist with 2019’s expansive and lush Songs For You and 2021’s critically-lauded 333. Finally, they rank Tinashe in the Official Pop Pantheon. Read Cat's Profile of Tinashe in the CutListen Pop Pantheon's Tinashe Essentials Playlist on SpotifyBuy Tickets to Pop Pantheon Live! Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and the Millennial Diva Conundrum on 9/30 at Dynasty Typewriter in LAJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreShop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreCome to Gorgeous Gorgeous: Los Angeles at Los Globos on 8/17Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous: New York at Sultan Room on 9/13Follow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on TwitterFollow Pop Pantheon on Instagram

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, When Paris Hilton released her debut album, 2006's Paris, the world largely saw it as a joke. Despite it's lead single "Stars Are Blind" becoming a top 20 hit, the album tanked, was savaged by critics and Paris never released another one. Now, on the eve her long-awaited sophomore effort Infinite Icon, due September 6, Troy McEady joins DJ Louie to look back on Paris. Is it as vapid and meritless and critics thought back in the aughts? Or a misunderstood classic of sorts? Louie and Troy bring fresh ears to album that, love it or hate, was prescient about the future of pop stardom. 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 Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app. 

We thought 2024 was going to be dominated by a waterfall of new releases from Old Guard Superstars like Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Ariana Grande and Dua Lipa. But while they've each had success, the main story of the last 12 months has been the auspicious establishment of a new generation of pop divas led by Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter, but also featuring Ice Spice, Gracie Abrams, Victoria Monet and more. For this week's B-Side, DJ Louie is joined by LA Times Pop Critic Mikael Wood and Vulture's Jason P. Frank to discuss how this new group of girlies has coalesced and taken ahold of the zeitgeist, before ranking ten newly-minted Queens of Pop in the ultimate New Pop Girl Power Ranking. Who's got the juice to turn this hot streak into a career and who will be forgotten by next summer? Louie, Jason and Mikael are here to answer all those questions and place their bets. Read Mikael's Piece "Sabrina, Chappell and Charli are Suddenly Stars: Why Now?" Buy Tickets to Pop Pantheon Live! Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and the Millennial Diva Conundrum on 9/30 at Dynasty Typewriter in LAJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreShop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreCome to Gorgeous Gorgeous: Los Angeles at Los Globos in Silver Lake on 8/17Follow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on TwitterFollow Pop Pantheon on Instagram

BUY YOUR TICKETS HEREThe rollout for Katy Perry’s seventh studio album, 143, has been a disaster. Sixteen years into her pop career, Katy’s facing a textbook struggle for a pop star more than a decade into her career: irrelevance. By contrast, Katy’s pop peer Lady Gaga has charted a very different second act, swerving into acting and rebranding herself as an old school all-around entertainer. On September 30, DJ Louie XIV will be joined by Los Angeles Times pop critic Mikael Wood and And Introducing podcast host Molly Mary O’Brien at Dynasty Typewriter in L.A. to discuss 143, Gaga’s reemergence with Joker: Folie à Deux and the promise of LG7 and how these two superlative millennial pop divas are navigating the awkward period of their careers between trendsetter and legacy act.

Professor of Ethnomusicology at Julliard Dr. Fredara Hadley joins Pop Pantheon for the culmination of our four-part series on the King of Pop. In the final installment, DJ Louie and Dr. Hadley tackle Michael Jackson’s music post-Thriller, starting with the signature ‘80s blockbuster Bad (1987) and 1991’s successful pivot toward New Jack Swing, Dangerous. From there, Louie and Dr. Hadley unpack Michael’s personal and public decline, including the sexual abuse allegations made against him in 1993. Next they discuss his later period work, 1995's combative HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book 1 and 2001’s underperforming Invincible, and reckon with his unbelievably complicated legacy and enduring and seismic impact on pop music and stardom. Finally, they rank Michael Jackson in the Official Pop Pantheon. Listen to Michael Jackson Pt. 1: The Jackson 5 (with Emily Lordi)Listen to Michael Jackson Pt. 2: The King of Pop Rises (With Joseph Vogel)Listen to Michael Jackson Pt. 3: Thriller (with Tom Breihan)Listen to Pop Pantheon's Episode "Do You Still Listen to Michael Jackson and Kanye West? (with Tre Johnson & Kemi Olivia Alemoru)"Listen to Pop Pantheon's Michael Jackson Essentials PlaylistJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreShop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreBuy Tickets to our Dance Party Pop Pantheon Present: Main Pop Girls of '24 in NYC on August 2!Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous: Los Angeles at Los Globos in Silver Lake on 8/17Follow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on TwitterFollow Pop Pantheon on Instagram

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Ice Spice just dropped her debut record Y2K, an under 25 minute tour through drill beats, Jersey club and Ice's signature puerile humor and nonchalant flow. How does it work as her first official album statement? Who is this music playing to? And does it sound like 2000 at all? Writer Nadirah Simmons is here to break it all down with Louie and Russ.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 Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app. 

There are albums. And then there’s Thriller. For the third installment of our four-part series on the King of Pop, Stereogum’s Tom Breihan returns for Pop Pantheon’s first ever A-Side devoted to a single album: Michael Jackson’s definitive 1982 pop blockbuster, Thriller. DJ Louie and Tom dig into every aspect of the best-selling album of all time, from iconic performances to choreography, fashion, and MJ’s radical reimagining of the then-nascent music video format. They also tackle all of the album’s genre-obliterating smash hits – seven top 10s and two number ones to be exact – and go deep on Thriller-mania, the album’s long-lasting impact on pop, its enduring legacy and how it made Michael Jackson a the biggest kind of pop legend.Join us next week for our final installment of our Michael Jackson series, in which we discuss Bad, Dangerous, Michael’s later-era work and his complicated legacy.Listen to Michael Jackson Pt. 1: The Jackson 5 (with Emily Lordi)Listen to Michael Jackson Pt. 2: The King of Pop Rises (With Joseph Vogel)Listen to Pop Pantheon's Episode "Do You Still Listen to Michael Jackson and Kanye West? (with Tre Johnson & Kemi Olivia Alemoru)"Listen to Pop Pantheon's Michael Jackson Essentials PlaylistJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreShop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreBuy Tickets to our Dance Party Pop Pantheon Present: Main Pop Girls of '24 in NYC on August 2!Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous Lincoln Center on 7/20 FOR FREE!Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous: Los Angeles at Los Globos in Silver Lake on 7/26Follow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on TwitterFollow Pop Pantheon on Instagram

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Olivia Horn reviewed Chappell Roan's debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, in Pitchfork when it dropped last September. Back then, she was a fringy pop upstart with some nice critical notices and a small cult audience. Now, she's one of the biggest new pop superstars of the year in the midst of a zeitgeisty swirl the likes of which we haven't seen for a new pop girlie in years. So how does the actual music hold up? Olivia joins DJ Louie to dig into the record as well as why Chappell's became 2024's "femininomenon". 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 Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app.