Pop Pantheon

Mic The Snare returns to Pop Pantheon to unpack the career of one of the most successful bands of the century, Maroon 5. Louie and Nick dig into the M5's beginnings as a high school band called Kara’s Flowers, their pivot to funky pop rock on their 2002 blockbuster debut Songs About Jane, and the softer reception to their second and third records— as well as the start of lead singer Adam Levine’s tenure on NBC's The Voice— that lead to a commercial rebirth for the ages with the pop banger “Moves Like Jagger." Finally, Louie and Nick break down Maroon 5’s descent into the dregs of the pop machine that produced some truly unfortunate music but kept them, sometimes bafflingly, at the top of the charts through most of the 2010s and finally, rank the group in The Official Pop Pantheon.Check out our Maroon 5 Essentials Playlist

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Louie and Russ talk about their experiences seeing Zara Larsson's Midnight Sun Tour before breaking down new albums from Charlie Puth and RobynTo 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.Note for iOS users: Subscribe using your desktop or mobile browser, not the iOS Patreon app, for cheaper rates on Pop Pantheon: All Access.

Louie is joined by Shaad D'Souza and Reanna Cruz to count down their favorite pop albums of the century so far.

Journalist and editor Crystal Bell joins Russ from Seoul, South Korea to break down BTS' big comeback. Last week, the K-pop boy band released their first studio album in six years, Arirang, following each member of the group completing South Korea's mandatory military service. Crystal and Russ break down the album, BTS' live performance comeback and their new Netflix documentary BTS: The Return. Then they discuss BLACKPINK's recent EP, Deadline, and discuss how K-Pop has changed since both groups rose to prominence and helped to popularize K-Pop around the world. Read Crystal's cover story profile of Jung Kook in Rolling StoneRead Crystal's review of BTS: The Return in MashableFollow Crystal on InstagramSign up for updates about Louie's book, Queen! Icon! Legend!

Friend of the Pod Sam Murphy recently posted a TikTok positing an interesting question about whether Hot 100 #1s have the same salience as they used to have. To parse this question out further, Louie is joined by Sam and Chris to talk about the state of the #1 single, the Billboard charts, and what it all says about the music listen functions in 2026.

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Happy Oscars! To celebrate the big day and our fav prolific Oscars also-ran, we're dropping All Access early and drafting the 20 best Diane Warren songs of all time with our pals Bobby Finger and Lindsey Weber of Who? Weekly. Tell us your Diane favs in the comments and enjoy this wild ride through one of the best songwriting discographies in pop history. 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.Note for iOS users: Subscribe using your desktop or mobile browser, not the iOS Patreon app, for cheaper rates on Pop Pantheon: All Access.

For the conclusion of our Whitney Houston Series, Louie and Russ play clips from all three guests— Emily Lordi, Jason King, & Gerrick Kennedy— plus take listener calls to finally determine if Whitney Houston is in Tier 1 of the Pop Pantheon.Whitney Houston Essentials PlaylistBuy tickets to Gorgeous Gorgeous NYC on 3/20

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Two of the biggest male pop stars of the day, Harry Styles and Bruno Mars, just returned with new albums after relatively long absences. What's new with these two and what do they have to say after years out of the spotlight? On this episode, Louie and Russ unpack Bruno Mars' The Romantic and Harry Styles' Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally. 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.Note for iOS users: Subscribe using your desktop or mobile browser, not the iOS Patreon app, for cheaper rates on Pop Pantheon: All Access.

Gerrick Kennedy, author of Didn't We Almost Have It All: In Defense of Whitney Houston, joins Pop Pantheon for the third in our four-part series on the pop supernova Whitney Houston. Louie and Gerrick discuss Whitney’s most consistent and idiosyncratic album, 1998’s My Love Is Your Love, and its follow-up, the defensive flop, 2002’s Just Whitney, her only without Clive Davis at the helm. They unpack Whitney’s devolving public image through the late '90s and aughts, her appearances in the 2005 reality series Being Bobby Brown, unpack her final album, 2009's I Look to You, her final days and untimely death in 2012, and her enduring legacy. Join us next week, in which we’ll rank Whitney Houston in The Official Pop Pantheon.Whitney Houston Essentials PlaylistBuy tickets to Gorgeous Gorgeous NYC on 3/20