Summer Music Roundup: Justin Bieber, Kesha, and Reneé Rapp

Nora and Nathan briefly recap their favorite moments from the VMAs (1:00) before getting into the debut album from Audrey Hobert, 'Who's the Clown?' (12:22). They talk about Hobert's other job—writing songs with Gracie Abrams (17:47)—the ways in which this album is similar to and different from Abrams's 'The Secret of Us' (23:33), and the complex lyrics over simple chords that make this album one of the best debuts since Olivia Rodrigo's (44:01). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan HubbardProducer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A year after ‘Short n' Sweet’, Nora and Nathan are back to break down Sabrina Carpenter’s seventh studio album, ‘Man’s Best Friend’! They decide whether "Manchild" was the song of the summer and share their thoughts on the band-like production team behind the album (00:42). They talk about Sabrina’s second single from the album, “Tears,” accompanied by a music video featuring Colman Domingo, and break down the proceeding songs on the album (33:46). They share their favorite lyrics, Easter eggs, innuendos, and breaking of the fourth wall, and try to understand the musical inspirations behind the instrumentation. Finally, they grade the album and predict where Sabrina could go from here (67:35). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producers: Olivia Crerie and Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nora and Nathan discuss how Taylor Swift shut down the internet with her engagement to Travis Kelce. They talk about the logistics of making it a surprise and keeping it a secret from the public, their Instagram caption, and how this could affect her music (01:00). They make their wedding predictions, including where it could be and who will be in the bridal party (30:19). Hosts: Nathan Hubbard and Nora Princiotti Producers: Kaya McMullen and Olivia Crerie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nora and Nathan are not quite done talking about Taylor Swift's forthcoming album, 'The Life of a Showgirl,' so they opened up the mailbag to answer some listener questions. They talk about what some of the songs could be about based on their names (1:00), whether Taylor will release a single off of this album (14:53), and how having Max Martin and Shellback as the exclusive producers for this record will affect the sound (27:46). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nora and Nathan are breaking down a big week of Taylor Swift news. They talk about the lead-up to the announcement of her new album, her appearance on the New Heights podcast, and everything we learned from it, and speculate as to what ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ could sound like. Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nora and Nathan break down the second studio album from Reneé Rapp, aptly titled 'Bite Me.' They talk about her Broadway origins and how that manifests in her music (1:00), whether or not "Leave Me Alone" was the correct choice for the first single (27:59), and the mid-2000s pop influences that are present throughout this record (36:15). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan HubbardProducer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nora and Nathan talk about the most fun and impactful summer concert moments that have happened so far this season, including: equipment mishaps at Beyoncé and Katy Perry's shows (11:39), Charli XCX's set at Glastonbury (25:31), Beyoncé reuniting Destiny's Child at the final "Cowboy Carter" show (46:51), and Taylor Swift randomly popping up at the "Tight End & Friends" concert (and of course all of the rumors swirling about "TS12") (57:16). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan HubbardProducer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nora and Nathan talk about some releases they missed while they were out, including Justin Bieber's surprise album, 'Swag' (1:00), Kesha's 'Period,' her first album since she left her record label (30:13), and a couple more singles off of Reneé Rapp's forthcoming album, 'Bite Me' (42:25). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan HubbardProducer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a four-year break, Lorde is back, and so are the synths. Nora and Nathan talk about her newest album, 'Virgin'; the ways it's a departure from her previous album, 'Solar Power' (1:00); the themes of gender identity and body image that she's exploring throughout the lyrics (22:43); and the songs on this record that worked less well for them (31:45). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan HubbardProducer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nora and Nathan are declaring that Haim should be a bigger artist. They talk about 'I Quit,' the latest album from the sister band; whether or not this record has a runaway hit like "The Wire" (1:00); how the first seven tracks lean into a Sheryl Crow sound (25:48); and favorites from this album, including "All Over Me," "The Farm," and "Relationships" (37:01). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan HubbardProducer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices