How Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love' Changed Pop Music Forever
When Donna Summer was recording her album I Remember Yesterday, she wanted each song to evoke a different decade. "I Feel Love" was meant to represent the future of music, and as time has gone on, tha...
28 Aug 202428min
Nicki Minaj’s Seminal Pivot to Pop with “Super Bass”
It took two years for Nicki Minaj to take over the world. Following her 2009 mixtape Beam Me Up Scotty, she caught the attention of Lil Wayne who signed her. Minaj quickly became ubiquitous, taking ov...
21 Aug 202431min
How OutKast Took the World By Surprise with “Ms. Jackson”
When OutKast dropped “Ms. Jackson” in the fall of 2000, the world was stunned. Nobody had ever heard a hip-hop song that sounded anything like this. But there’s never been anybody like OutKast before....
14 Aug 202430min
How Cher's 'Believe' Has Ruled Dance Floors For Nearly Three Decades
One thing Cher's career has never been is predictable.This week, hosts Rob Sheffield and Brittany Spanos celebrate Cher's incredible legacy with her 1998 hit and best-selling song "Believe" as the foc...
7 Aug 202432min
Where Did “Killing Me Softly with His Song” Come From?
Only a few rare songs ever turn into pop classics. But this one turned into a classic twice. “Killing Me Softly” not only made Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time with the 1973 ...
31 Jul 202430min
How BTS Became an International Pop Phenomenon
BTS were already massive in their native South Korea in 2017 when they scored one of their defining hits, the emotional ballad “Spring Day.” It was a poignant tale of grief and loss. Three years later...
24 Jul 202432min
Bun B Can't Believe 'Int'l Players Anthem' Has Become a Wedding Staple
Coming in at #91 on Rolling Stone’s Greatest Songs of All Time list, this week hosts Rob Sheffield and Brittany Spanos discuss "Int'l Players Anthem" with special guest Bun B. The surviving member of ...
17 Jul 202433min
Why Carole King Is The Songwriter All Other Songwriters Want To Be
There are all other songwriters, and then there is Carole King. Nobody’s ever had an epic career quite like the Brooklyn girl who spent the Sixties writing classic hits for other artists—then spent th...
10 Jul 202436min
