The Pop Pod

JADE’s year took an unexpected turn. She was working on the follow-up to her debut album 'That’s Showbiz Baby!' when her debut single, 'Angel Of My Dreams', soundtracked Kylie Jenner’s walk in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. It catapulted the song to a new audience and, as of this morning, it has debuted on the Billboard Hot 100.Pegged by many as one of the best pop songs of the decade so far, 'Angel Of My Dreams' always deserved a second moment, but you can never quite prepare for one.

I caught up with JADE for an emergency episode of The Pop Pod to discuss her reaction to its sudden resurgence, reflect on the first two years of her solo career and find out how album number two is coming along.She also, of course, gave us her take on the perfect song.

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Voting has officially closed for the 2027 Grammy Awards, and now we await the nominations. Olivia Rodrigo and Olivia Dean are shaping up to be two of the biggest contenders, but who will make the final cut?On this episode of The Pop Pod, we're predicting the nominations across the Big Four general field categories and all the pop categories. From the obvious frontrunners to the potential surprises and shocking snubs, we're breaking down who we think will make the list.

Rebecca Black knows the Pop industry in and out. She’s not only been an active participant in it for well over a decade, she’s also a fan. It feels like, she’s always learning, honing her craft and showing more and more people what she’s capable of.

Her latest album Age Of The Exhibitionist is one of the strongest pop projects of the year so far and I had to have her on the pod to discuss it. As expected. She explains her work with laser focus and an understanding of how it interacts with the culture at large.

It was a fascinating discussion and I’m excited for you to hear it!

Rachel Chinouriri joins the podcast off the back of the release of her second album 'I Think I Spoke Too Soon...' The album comes off the back of a huge period of change for Rachel, including sobriety and touring with pop titans like Sabrina Carpenter.Those experiences are reflected in the album which strikes a balance between vulnerability and confidence. It's a glossy pop record with an intimate storyteller at the centre. This interview goes behind the album but also gets into how she studied campaigns like 'Brat', consciously broke out of moulds she'd made for herself and pop classics like Rihanna's 'Anti'.

MNEK has helped shape the sound of modern pop, writing and producing hits for Dua Lipa, Beyoncé, Little Mix, FLO and Zara Larsson. Now, he's stepping back into the spotlight with his second solo album, Bulldozer.

Fresh off executive producing Zara Larsson's Midnight Sun, MNEK joins The Pop Pod to talk about making two very different records, finding his own voice as an artist and why there's no longer a rulebook for pop success.

We get into the creative process behind Midnight Sun, reuniting with Zara a decade after 'Never Forget You', his five years working with FLO, and the stories behind some of his biggest pop hits. Plus, he opens up about the pressures of the music industry, embracing his identity and making the loud, unapologetic dance record he's always wanted to make.

We’re uplifting Tinashe today and always. Over the past near 15 years, I’ve watched Tinashe shape pop stardom in her own vision from huge chart hits to cult favourites. In this moment, it feels like both sides of her have synthesised. Her 8th studio album ‘Popstar’ features some of her most unexpected, mind-bending moments but it’s also landed her in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 for the first time in her career. Everything has led Tinashe towards this very deserved moment.We sat down a couple of weeks ago, before the album found itself as one of the best-reviewed albums of the year, to discuss what pop stardom means to Tinashe. We talked about Britney Spears, SZA, Janet Jackson and how she’s managed hits and virality throughout her career.

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Lizzy McAlpine is on The Pop Pod! A huge period of change informed Lizzie’s fourth album ‘Angel’. The adventurous, warm and experimental folk-pop record doesn’t come long after her last album ‘Older’ but plenty happened in between. She starred in Broadway musical ‘Floyd Collins’, found new love after a breakup and found an appreciation for the music of Joni Mitchell. Speaking to her, it feels like she’s found a new sense of freedom and that’s been poured into the music.

We spoke not only about the album and this period of change but the pop music that has shaped her along the way from Ariana Grande to Joni Mitchell to Britney Spears.

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Tove Lo has had a very interesting career. Her first album 'Queen Of The Clouds' landed her in the mainstream quickly but ever since then she's taken left turns. Rather than attempting to repeat previous success, she's followed her artistic instinct which pulls through stronger than ever on 'Estrus'.

I sat down with Tove on the day the album was released to talk about how she got there after 'Dirt Femme'. This is a career-spanning conversation touching on everything from 'Talking Body' to how she found her freedom as an independent artist. Of course, we also had to talk about fellow Swedish pop icon Robyn.

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Carly Rae Jepsen loves pop music but on her own terms. She burst into the spotlight with one of the very early viral moment 'Call Me Maybe' but since then has operated in her own realm, driven by whatever feels good to her.

As a result, she's formed a dedicated fanbase that will follow her in whichever direction she chooses. The latest pivot is one of her most ambitious yet. 'Day And Night', a double album, sees her take her time traversing new territory as she revels in the euphoria of love. Since 'The Lonliest Time', she's been married and had a baby. It's given her a new perspective by which to approach this new album.

We go into it in depth here and, of course, discuss the classics too.

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Asha Banks is the latest guest on The Pop Pod. Banks is one of the most talented slashies around. She's known for her roles on the screen like 'My Fault' and 'Your Fault' but she's also amassing a following for her own music.She's gearing up to release a new EP 'Bottled Up' on 1 October.

We talk about what got her to this moment from writing music for her own movies to collaborating with Holly Humberstone. We also talk about her own favourites including Bon Iver, Ryan Beatty, The 1975 and so much more.

I asked for controversial pop opinions and you really did deliver. On this episode, we go through some of the best (and worst) ones that we received touching on everything from Ariana Grande being the last big-voiced pop star to Miley Cyrus’ reluctance to go full pop star mode. We also talked about companion albums, imperfect debut albums and the parasocial relationships fans have with artists.

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Shygirl has announced her second album, 'Swallow!'. It's a positive, uplifting and sometimes menacing record that balances desire and contentment. She's dug into UK dance references but also blended it with her love for indie music - a sound that I think will surprise and excite fans.I sat down with Shygirl to discuss the new album at large but also dig into some of the references from The Prodigy to U2. Of course, we also had to get into the pop side of things too and chat Madonna and Britney Spears, amongst others.

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Dua Lipa is back on the charts with ‘Training Season’ getting an unexpected second life which has us thinking about all things Dua. Jono & I decided it was the perfect time to talk about what we expect from her fourth album and revisit whether ‘Radical Optimism’ was a successful era for her.

We also ranked the top 10 Dua Lipa songs, discussing everything from her euphoric breakout ‘Be The One’ to an unexpected deep cut from ‘Radical Optimism’ that has stayed with us.

What are you expecting from this forthcoming Dua era?

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Hemlocke Springs is the latest guest on The Pop Pod. When I put together a list of artists that I wanted to speak to this week, Hemlocke was top of my mind. Her debut album 'the apple tree under the sea' is one of the projects that made me truly excited this year. It's an oddball pop record, that chews up so many different inspirations and spits it out in Hemlocke's technicolor vision.

We sat down to speak about the album and turning a viral moment into something long-lasting. We also discussed plenty of pop classics from Prince, to Katseye's 'Gnarly' to Beyonce & Rihanna.

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A bonus throwback episode for you today. Jono and I went through all the US number one singles of 2010 and bop'd or flop'd them.

As it turns out, 2010 was a pretty groundbreaking year for pop. It was a the debut of Kesha, Katy Perry's golden era and a shapeshifting year for Rihanna. On top of that, it was a gloriously silly year for pop music, driven by songs like 'Like A G6'.

A maker of several pop classics joins The Pop Pod. Natasha Bedingfield is behind some of the biggest pop songs of this millennium including 'These Words' and 'Unwritten'. These songs continue to have comebacks and, acting as millennial anthems but they have also now seeped into the psyche of a Gen Z as well - now the generation that listen to her most.

On the pod, we discuss the undying success of her early classics, the 'Unwritten' follow-up that was banned by radio and her new chapter as an independent artist with 'Dot Dot Dot'.

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At the top of last year, I interviewed Ravyn Lenae briefly right as 'Love Me Not' was beginning to bubble. 1.3 billion streams later, it's a rare ubiquitous hit. Now, she joins me on The Pop Pod with another album in the bag.

'Blue Island' shows that she had no interest in trying to imitate the sound of 'Love Me Not'. It's a wild ride that showcases an artist following her creative impulses in a daring and captivating way.

She spoke to me about whether she felt the pressure on this record and what inspired it from Nelly Furtado to Gwen Stefani.

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Flo are, in my opinion, the best girl group on the planet right now. I got to sit down with them in London ahead of the release of their second album 'Therapy At The Club' to talk about taking control, music videos, hangover and pop classics.

Their second album really sees them step into their own. It's ambitious, charismatic and loud. You'll hear all about it in this chat plus lots more.

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Ariana Grande's new album 'Petal' is good because Ariana is too good to make a bad album. There are, however, some frustrations about how polite it is at times.

Jono and I have gone through the album track-by-track to make sense of one of her most divisive albums yet.

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Rose Gray is the next princess of pop. Taking inspiration from the legends like Kylie and Madonna as well as underground dance music, she’s forged a new path off the back of her debut album Louder, Please. That album helped her pick up a whole new audience and now she’s headed towards album number two with ‘Club To Your Arms’ and its experimental sister ‘Bodies’.

She joined The Pop Pod to talk about working with pop mastermind Justin Tranter on new music, update us on the progress of the next album and chat Madonna, Lily Allen, Robyn and more.

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