This Must Be Pop

Just in time for Hanson Day 2024! Ana is joined by Lia from The Ashlee and Jessicast to discuss Hanson. We discuss if Hanson is considered a boyband, as well as get into Lia's fan origin story and dive a bit into most of their discography. We also discuss how awesome the Hanson fandom is!

Ana is joined by Eryn Cooper (radio personality, music journalist, and self-proclaimed professional fangirl) where they break down the AMAZING multi-generational boyband collab to rule them all: Liam Payne's new song "Teardrops. They discuss how Liam's career, both in 1D and as a solo artist, has been very similar to another boybander: *NSYNC's JC Chasez, who coincidentally worked with Liam on "Teardrops" as a co-writer and 'background' vocalist.

Follow Eryn on all the socials @onairwitheryn

This week marks the one year anniversary of Aaron Carter’s passing. Aaron’s legacy within music and pop culture is often overlooked, but it certainly deserves recognition and is insanely important. In this special episode honoring Aaron, we discuss him and his music and legacy, complex and layered as it was, with two friends of the pod Ali and Cali.

Ali's portion was recorded a year ago only days after Aaron’s passing, so at the time it was obviously fresh on our minds. That portion of our conversation was never released until now.

A majority of this episode was done recently on the anniversary of his passing with another friend-of-the-pod: Cali, who had a personal relationship with Aaron.

We hope you enjoy this honest and insightful episode, honoring the life of Aaron Carter: the musician and human being. A special thank you to both Ali and Cali for their time, honesty, and respect of the topic of Aaron. May he rest in peace. 

Please be aware that there are some sensitive topics touched upon in this episode regarding mental health, addiction and trauma. 

It’s also important to note that this episode will NOT nor EVER be monetized. Too many people tried to, and are still trying to, profit off of his name and we absolutely are against doing anything like that.

Ana and Lizzie are joined by very special guest and fellow podcaster Kelli Williams (@laguna_biotch) to discuss her music journey with artists such as the Backstreet Boys, Taylor Swift, Aaron Carter and LFO and how bands like BSB are such a huge part of her relationship with her mother.

We also get into a more serious discussion surrounding "the dark side of boybands" aka bad managers taking advantage of boyband members, and how we as a society still have trouble with taking allegations seriously from young men (poor working conditions, financial mismanagement, and sexual assault, etc.)

Friend-of-the-pod Sasha is back! Ana and Sasha discuss the experience going to the Pop2000 show on July 15, 2023 in Webster, MA. Before the Pop2k discussion, we recap all things JC-related in the past year and answer your lingering questions from the JC series.

Timestamps:

- Intro and Listener Q&A: 00:00

- JC Updates: 7:50

-Pop2000 Recap: 19:19

Ana, Lizzie and Hallie continue their (postponed many times) discussion on Harry Styles' discography of his self-titled debut album (aka HS1), Fine Line, and finally, Harry's House. They break down some lyrics, melody, and overall feel of each album.

Ana continues her conversation with her cousins and discusses the discography of the Jonas Brothers. From their first album "It's About Time" to "Lines Vines and Trying Times".

**Part 3 of our Jonas Brothers will be released in May after the release of "The Album".

Referenced Links:

- Desmond Child Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6zX7A4EFodzbuTWBLKc5rq?si=38ab337b1134444c

- Nicholas Jonas "When You Look Me In the Eyes" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWFUazmTNGQ

Ana is joined by her two cousins: Jackie and Jocie, arguably the biggest Jonas Brothers fans in the world. In the first part of a three-part series, they discuss their origin stories of becoming Jonas Brothers fans, concerts they've attended and experiences they've had. Because the Jonas Brothers pride themselves as a family-oriented band, we discuss our own family's music journey, coming from a 'fangirl family' and our own fangirl-isms.

This episode is dedicated to the dads of fangirls, including our own.

Discussed Videos:

- Jonas Brothers LIVE from TD Garden in Boston broadcasting to the 2019 American Music Awards: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9EFruyShvI

- Jonas Brothers perform ‘Year 3000’ with Busted Live at Capital’s Summertime Ball 2019: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEERYu22tb8

- Nick Jonas performs "Jealous" gospel version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMb_cBv3iks

PART 2 - Ana, Ceci and Lizzie discuss Backstreet Boys' albums and music from Millennium (1999) until the most recent album DNA (2022). We discuss the songwriters and producers who worked with them on songs on these albums as well as our own memories, stories and perspectives with the music.

References:

1.) Lisa Miskofsky - "Another Shape Of My Heart" 

• Lisa was one of the songwriters on "Shape Of My Heart" and recorded and released her own version
• Spotify Link: https://open.spotify.com/track/5DZ1SHJo5mFfjtV3g0iN6s

2.) Backstreet Boys - "Treat Me Right"

• JC Chasez (*NSYNC) wrote this song with AJ McLean. It is also speculated JC is singing backing vocals on this song. "You're just no good for me / I know you're not good for me"
• https://open.spotify.com/track/5SrSCFXjjn76bK13engFQr?si=77e4f02b28104dfd

OH MY GOD WE'RE BACK AGAIN! Ana, Ceci & Liz are BACK with Season 2 featuring a discussion on the Backstreet Boys. We get into our own personal experiences with the band, including our recent podcast field trip to BSB's DNA World Tour. We discuss all of the members, their relationship with Cheiron Studios in Sweden, and end with a deep dive into their debut album.

Links & References:

1. Show Em What You're Made Of - BSB's 2015 Documentary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ6ppWv0sxA

2. This Is Pop - 2021 Docuseries, Netflix

Episode 3 - Stockholm Syndrome 

Ana & Lizzie sit down with James Rodriguez (host, "The Original Doll" podcast) and discuss the music and cultural importance of pop music and boybands. We also get into JC Chasez's career as a solo artist, and the parallels of JC's story compared to Britney Spears' treatment by Jive records, specifically, the story about her never released "Original Doll" album.

Ana & Lizzie discuss Lizzie's all-time favorite boyband: One Direction. In the first part of the episode, Lizzie talks about her study abroad experience as an American in London during the beginning of One Direction's rise to success. We also analyze the influence (both positive and negative) that social media had on One Direction's career. We also discuss the specific vocal arrangement, style and abilities of each member, and then do a deep dive into their debut album Up All Night.  Also, check out Lizzie's Essential One Direction Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/13q5MfPxa3QNAxQcK4jxvM?si=a0186391a4d84812