This Is Pop: The Podcast

When Lil Nas X dropped “Old Town Road” at the tailend of 2018, country music was confronted with its most recent identity crisis. But a closer look at country’s entanglement with pop over the years reveals that the scrutiny around what makes a song authentically "country" has been a longstanding debate that artists like Shania Twain and Willie Nelson have all been in the crossfire of. In this episode, series producer Amanda Burt, episode director Simon Ennis, and journalist Natalie Weiner break down why country music is consistently renegotiating its relationship with authenticity, how the genre reckons with its most radical trailblazers, and what artists like Orville Peck can teach us about why the future is always informed by the past. This Is Pop is now streaming internationally on Netflix. Follow us on Instagram to stay in the loop. The theme music for this podcast was created by Ryan Hemsworth.

Since 1974 when a little-known group named ABBA won Eurovision's song contest with their track "Waterloo," Sweden has been an unrivaled global force in pop music. Whether in front of the mic and behind the scenes, artists like Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, and NSYNC all owe their success to a single Scandinavian country. In this episode, series producer Amanda Burt, episode director Jared Raab, and musician Bjorn Yttling (Peter, Bjorn, and John) discuss how Sweden became a singular pop powerhouse, the unending cross-sections between American megastars and a tight-knit  group of producers, and why Sweden refuses to believe its own hype. This Is Pop is now streaming internationally on Netflix. Follow us on Instagram to stay in the loop. The theme music for this podcast was created by Ryan Hemsworth.

For decades, music has been an effective swiss army knife to address social injustice from all angles — whether it’s being transformed into a rallying call a protest, or broadcast through the airwaves as a chart-topping single. While songs like Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land" or Kendrick Lamar's "Alright" are powerful examples of how a single song can transmit an urgent and timeless message, how does a song actually morph into a catalyst for change? In this episode series producer Amanda Burt, episode director Lisa Rideout, writer Del Cowie, and Lido Pimienta try to land on a universal definition of a protest song, dive into cross-cultural examples of music and activism, and discuss why songs like “WAP” invite us rethink what a song can truly do. This Is Pop is now streaming internationally on Netflix. Follow us on Instagram to stay in the loop. The theme music for this podcast was created by Ryan Hemsworth.

In the 1950s and 60s, what emerged from 1619 Broadway in New York City would change pop music forever. Home to an ecosystem of musicians, labels, composers, and publishers, it was both the epicenter of the American music industry where artists challenged each other to achieve greatness, and a "song-factory" that spoke directly to the raw emotion of teenaged listeners. In this episode series producer Amanda Burt, episode director Chelsea McMullan, and Neil Sedaka dive into the unsung heroes of the era, how the Brill pioneered a blueprint for the Perfect American Pop Song™, and which contemporary artists are carrying on the tradition of the building today. This Is Pop is now streaming internationally on Netflix. Follow us on Instagram to stay in the loop. The theme music for this podcast was created by Ryan Hemsworth.

Is there a rite of passage quite like attending your first music festival? From Glastonbury and Monterey Pop, to Woodstock 99 and Bonnaroo, the evolution of the music festival has always served as one of our most accurate cultural mirrors. In this episode series producer Amanda Burt, episode director Dylan Reibling, and narrator Jasmyn Burke talk about the undeniable allure of live performances, how mega cultural events inform (or distort) our perception of an era, and which elements of community the pandemic made us crave the most. This Is Pop is now streaming internationally on Netflix. Follow us on Instagram to stay in the loop. The theme music for this podcast was created by Ryan Hemsworth.

Before Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, and 98 Degrees, a "boy band" from Philly called Boyz II Men ruled the charts. But despite ushering in a new template for crossover R&B success, the group is often overlooked as a seminal part of 90s boy band explosion. In this episode series producer Amanda Burt, episode director Chelsea McMullan, and journalists Del Cowie and Kelley L. Carter break down the legacy of legendary group from Philly, what Boyz II Men reveal about the cost of cultural appropriation, and what it means to age and evolve with your fans. This Is Pop is now streaming internationally on Netflix. Follow us on Instagram to stay in the loop. The theme music for this podcast was created by Ryan Hemsworth.

The mid-90s was a pivotal period in British rock and pop music that became to be known. While America was hooked on grunge, the Brits retaliated with a return to impossibly wry and catchy pop that spoke to their cultural roots and caught fire around the world. In this episode, series producer Amanda Burt, episode director Reg Harkema, former Creation Records A&R Marc Brown, and journalist Simon Price dive into the conditions that created a cultural phenomenon, why long-simmering class divides came to define the music, and the infamous Battle of Britpop between Blur and Oasis. This Is Pop is now streaming internationally on Netflix. Follow us on Instagram to stay in the loop. The theme music for this podcast was created by Ryan Hemsworth.

Love it or hate it, Auto-Tune has changed pop music as we know it.  From Cher's "Believe" to Kanye West's "Love Lockdown,” the sound has penetrated the globe and revolutionized music. In this episode we speak to series producer Amanda Burt, episode director Jared Raab and Shakari "TRAKGIRL" Linder talk about the unexpected viral success of T-Pain's soul-bearing interview, how Auto-Tune opened the door to a new expression of vulnerability, and why it's here to stay. This Is Pop is now streaming internationally on Netflix. Follow us on Instagram to stay in the loop. The theme music for this podcast was created by Ryan Hemsworth.