What Exactly is a "Flop"? (with Brittany Spanos & Chris Stedman)

In anticipation of Beyoncé's much anticipated return to the stage at tomorrow's halftime show for some football game, we're republishing an episode from our Beyoncé series which originally aired back in August of 2022 in the ramp up to that year's Renaissance. This episode features Yale University's Dr. Daphne Brooks, discusses Queen B's work from her 2013 self-titled visual album through just before Renny dropped and is one of the most moving in PP's history. If you haven't listened to the whole series, check out Parts One, Two and Four. If you have, we hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane. Happy Beyoncmas! Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous Presents: Y2GAY! The New Year's Eve Party in BrooklynJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreGIFT a Pop Pantheon: All Access subscription to your friends and fam!!!Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreFollow DJ Louie XIV on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on TwitterFollow Pop Pantheon on Instagram

Clover Hope, journalist and author of The Motherlode: 100+ Women Who Made Hip-Hop, joins Pop Pantheon All Access to discuss the state of the female rap game in 2024. Clover and Russ revisit Meg Thee Stallion and Nicki Minaj’s beef, discuss Doechii’s recent string of breakthrough performances, and dig into Alligator Bites Never Heal, Megan, GloRilla’s Glorious and more.

For our final main episode of 2024, Louie and Russ look back at all the artists ranked in the Pop Pantheon this year— from Demi Lovato to Frank Ocean to Adele, Tina Turner, Pink and so many more— and, with the help of calls from our dedicated and very passionate listeners, assess whether any tier adjustments need to be made. Did Brat Summer make us overzealous on Charli XCX? Was it cruel to put Hillary Duff in Tier 5? With the blockbuster success of Wicked, has Ari finally made it to Tier 2? All that and more! We'll be publishing a couple little treats on 12/24 and 1/2 and will be back to our regularly scheduled programming on 1/9 with new weekly episodes! Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous Presents: Y2GAY! The New Year's Eve Party in BrooklynJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreGIFT a Pop Pantheon: All Access subscription to your friends and fam!!!Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreFollow 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, Russ saw over 20 (!!!) live concerts in 2024. Louie saw a few too. Today, they're getting together to rank them all— from Charli & Troye to Missy Elliott to Tate McRae to Usher to Madonna— from worst to best. 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.

Last week, Louie, Nora Princiotti, Jason P. Frank & Julianne Escobedo Shepherd counted down their favorite pop songs of 2024 before duking it out to settle on Pop Pantheon's definitive pop songs of the year. This week, Louie is joined by Nora once again along with Rolling Stone's Larisha Paul and Sam Murphy to discuss their favorite albums of the last twelve months and land on Pop Pantheon's Top 5 Albums of 2024. Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous Presents: Y2GAY! The New Year's Eve Party in BrooklynJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreGIFT a Pop Pantheon: All Access subscription to your friends and fam!!! Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreFollow 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, over on the main feed, we're rolling out our best songs and albums of 2024 by some of the premier pop acts in the world. But what about some of the pop girlies who got.... less attention from mainstream audiences and critics? For our 2nd Annual Top of the Flops, Friend of the Pod Omri Rolan is back to count down the biggest and best flops of 2024 with Russ and Louie.  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.

Live from Parkside Lounge in New York City, DJ Louie is joined by Hearing Things' Julianne Escobedo Shepherd, Vulture's Jason P. Frank and The Ringer's Nora Princiotti to countdown each of their favorite top ten pop songs of the year, before hashing out the definitive Pop Pantheon Top Ten Pop Songs of 2024. Check out a Spotify Playlist of Louie, Julianne, Jason & Nora's Favorite Pop Songs of 2024Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous Presents: Y2GAY! The New Year's Eve Party in BrooklynCome to Gorgeous Gorgeous LA on Dec. 7 at Los GlobosCheck out Pop Pantheon's Adele Essentials Playlist on SpotifyJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreShop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreFollow 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, Tom Breihan is here to talk about Kendrick Lamar's surprise 6th album, GNX, which surprise dropped last week in the wake of his triumph over Drake in their highly publicized battle from this summer. But Tom and Louie also get caught in the broader GNX Nexus, going off on tangents about Drake's future, Taylor and Jack Antonoff's creative collaboration and more. 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: Best Pop Of 2024 LIVE IN NYC on Dec. 2 AND Dec. 3

Happy Thanksgiving! We're off this week but we wanted to highlight an older episode, a personal fav of Louie's that many of you might have missed. This is our Robyn episode from way back in May 2021— the sixth of Pop Pantheon ever— with the brilliant Jia Tolentino. Not only is it wonderful conversation about one of the greatest pop artists of the modern era. It's where the Niche Legend Pantheon tier was created. A seminal moment in the podcast's history! Enjoy. Buy tickets to Pop Pantheon: Best Pop Of 2024 LIVE IN NYC on Dec. 2 AND Dec. 3Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous Presents: Y2GAY! The New Year's Eve Party in BrooklynCome to Gorgeous Gorgeous LA on Dec. 7 at Los GlobosJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreShop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreFollow 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 film adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked is a smash hit, raking in $114 million dollars during its first weekend and earning rave reviews from critics and fans alike. One of its two leads, pop diva Ariana Grande, is also earning plaudits in her first headlining film role, even including some serious Oscar buzz. But while many pop stars have attempted a Hollywood crossover, very few— even those with a successful film or two under their belts— have been able to turn that into a long-term successful film career. Why is that? And will things be different for Ariana? Chief Film Critic at Vanity Fair and host of the podcast Little Gold Men Richard Lawson joins Louie and Russ to break down Ariana's performance in Wicked and what it portends for her future on the silver screen. 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.