This Year in Pop Music (and Some Bold Predictions for 2026)

It’s been a long time coming. Nora and Nathan break down the first two episodes of the Eras Tour docuseries, ‘The End of an Era.’ They talk about how the series opened with her cancelling the Vienna shows due to terrorist threats (15:25), the biggest revelations about Taylor Swift and her tour in these first two episodes (46:22), and what they think is on deck for the rest of the series (1:04:35). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nora and Nathan give their five biggest takeaways from this year in pop music, including why it's harder than ever to break through as an artist (1:00) and how 2025 may have been a comeback year for a few pop stars (44:24). Then they make some bold predictions for what the music landscape will look like in 2026 (57:42). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan HubbardProducer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last week it was announced that Taylor Swift has been nominated for the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Nora and Nathan talk about the nomination and the five songs she selected to represent herself as a songwriter (9:11). Then, they each pick their own five Taylor Swift songs that they would submit to the Songwriters Hall of Fame (37:08). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan HubbardProducer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nora and Nathan talk about the groundbreaking new album 'Lux' from Rosalía (1:00) and why the obvious effort that went into this album is what makes it cool and interesting (20:16). Then they hit a few other new releases from Katy Perry (42:10), Charli XCX (55:23), and Hillary Duff (1:02:13). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan HubbardProducer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nora and Nathan react to the 2026 Grammy nominations, which were announced today. They talk about the very interesting Best New Artist category, which features artists like Olivia Dean, Addison Rae, and Alex Warren (1:00). Then run through a few other categories, like Song of the Year (13:24), Album of the Year (23:18), and Best Pop Vocal Album (30:23), before talking about the surprising people who were shut out this year (41:53). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan HubbardProducer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nora and Nathan talk about the revelatory new album from Lily Allen, 'West End Girl' (1:00), and where it fits within the canon of divorce albums (18:30). Then they make some predictions for the Grammy nominations, which will be announced next week—including who might be nominated for Best New Artist and Song of the Year (35:47). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan HubbardProducer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nora and Nathan talk about Sabrina Carpenter pulling double-duty as the host of 'SNL' last week (1:00) and on the other side of the coast, Charli XCX popping up at Lorde's show to perform "Girl, so confusing" (11:28). Then, they talk about the sophomore album from British pop star Olivia Dean, 'The Art of Loving.' They discuss how Dean is similar to Adele, both in origin and sound (20:57), her brand of easy-loving music (38:46), and where they envision Dean's career going from here (51:19). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan HubbardProducer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our clowning has finally been proved right: We're getting an Eras Tour docuseries. Nora and Nathan talk about the announcement that Taylor Swift will be releasing a six-episode docuseries about her record-breaking tour (1:00), do a very close reading of the trailer that was dropped along with the announcement (9:49), and make some predictions about what this series could cover (25:53). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan HubbardProducer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's been a week since the release of 'The Life of a Showgirl,' and it's time for a debrief. First, Nora and Nathan talk about Taylor Swift breaking Adele's record for first-week album sales (1:00), then they open up the mailbag to answer questions about favorite discoveries made since the album dropped (18:43), whether or not they think this album will get any Grammy nominations (38:21), and what they think the strongest lyrics on this album are (46:33). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lights, camera, showtime! It's time to talk about Taylor Swift's newest album: 'The Life of a Showgirl.' Nora and Nathan talk about their initial reactions to the record and why this is an album you should just have fun with (1:00), how Swift's reunion with Max Martin and Shellback worked out (31:33), how Swift continues to be powered by conflict on songs like "Father Figure" and "Actually Romantic" (1:07:41), and much, much more. Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices