The Best Pop Albums of 2025 LIVE! (with Ira Madison III, Doreen St. Félix, & Caryn Ganz)

Note: This full episode will be available for free on our main feed on Thursday.In a preview from Pop Pantheon: All Access, As a special treat for our paid subscribers, we're giving you next week's main feed drop, our Best Pop Songs of 2025 live show, almost a week in advance! On Tuesday, DJ Louie gathered an all star panel — Who? Weekly's Lindsey Weber, Lemme Say This' Peyton Dix, and Billboard's Jason Lipshutz— to count down their favorite pop songs of the year.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.

On Tuesday night in New York City, DJ Louie gathered an all-star panel— critic and best-selling author Ira Madison III, writer and critic Doreen St. Félix, and New York Times Pop Music Editor Caryn Ganz— live on stage to break down of their favorite pop albums of 2025. Tune in next week for The Best Pop Songs of 2025! Fill out Pop Pantheon's 2025 Listener SurveyJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreShop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on Instagram

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, From Gaga to Addison, Lorde, Beyoncé, Scissors Sisters, Mary Blige, Katy Perry, and SO many more, Louie and Russ gather to rank their favorite (and least favorite) live shows of the past year.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.

Louie and Russ take listener calls about Pop Pantheon rankings they may have gotten wrong this year and throughout the podcast's run.Fill out Pop Pantheon's 2025 Listener Survey Grab tickets to our Best Pop of 2025 Live Show LATE SHOW in NYC on 12/9Grab tickets to the final Gorgeous Gorgeous of 2025 in LA on 12/5Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreShop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on Instagram

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, with a new Olivia Rodrigo album seemingly on the horizon, Louie and Russ return to her sophomore effort, 2023's Guts, to parse their differing vibes on Olivia, reflect on the album's middling commercial performance, and... uh... gut-check on how the record's held up by going track-by-track.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.

We're off for Thanksgiving so as a little treat, we're publishing a Patreon episode from earlier this year where Russ and Louie go track by track on Katy Perry's Teenage Dream, skipping the singles to decide whether the album is a classic— or even any good— without them. This is a little taste of what you’ll get if you subscribe to our Patreon show, where we publish weekly bonus episodes. We’ve got a Black Friday discount code that’s good for ONE WEEK ONLY, so snag it before the discount is gone. Use the code “CHARLI” for 20% off an annual subscription or use the code “TINASHE” for 15% off your first month.

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Louie and Russ take listener calls on Robyn's forthcoming album, how Taylor will navigate motherhood in her music, Tate McRae's 2025 up-level 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.Note for iOS users: Subscribe using your desktop or mobile browser, not the iOS Patreon app, for cheaper rates on Pop Pantheon: All Access.

Note: This episode was updated shortly after release to correct a missing audio clip. If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts and hear a gap or missing section, please delete the episode and re-download to access the updated version.Omri Rolan joins Pop Pantheon to unpack the ups and many, many, many downs of girl grouper turned solo pop flop, Nicole Scherzinger. Louie and Omri dig into Nicole’s origins on the reality show Popstars, her first hit with Eden’s Crush, “Get Over Yourself,” and her road to The Pussycat Dolls. From there, they discuss the string of unsuccessful singles that led to her first solo album being shelved permanently, her eventual Red One-assisted 2011 album Killer Love, 2014’s tepidly received Big Fat Lie and Nicole’s unlikely comeback as a prestige stage star. Finally, they rank Nicole Scherzinger in The Official Pop Pantheon. Nicole Scherzinger Essentials Playlist on SpotifyGrab tickets to our Best Pop of 2025 Live Show LATE SHOW in NYC on 12/9Grab tickets to the final Gorgeous Gorgeous of 2025 in LA on 12/5Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreShop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on Instagram

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Louie and Russ are joined by the LA Times' Suzy Exposito to break down Rosalia's ambitious, orchestral, multilingual fourth album, Lux.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.

Troy McEady of Beyond The Blinds returns to Pop Pantheon to unpack the defining prefab American girl group of the 2000s, The Pussycat Dolls. Louie and Troy dig into PCD’s beginnings as a burlesque troupe, early dalliances with pop stars like Christina Aguilera and Gwen Stefani, and brand extension into a ready-made musical girl gang. They discuss the group’s breakthrough, “Don’t Cha,” 2005’s PCD, the near-immediate member tensions and subsequent sophomore slump, 2008’s Doll Domination. From there, they tackle the the Pussycats' breakup(s) and abandoned 2020 reunion, then rank the Pussycat Dolls into The Official Pop Pantheon.  Grab tickets to our Best Pop of 2025 Live Show LATE SHOW in NYC on 12/9The Pussycat Dolls Essentials Playlist on SpotifyJoin Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and MoreShop Merch in Pop Pantheon's StoreFollow Pop Pantheon on InstagramFollow DJ Louie XIV on Instagram