On this week’s (Oct. 11) episode of the Biggest Pop Stars of the twenty first Century podcast, we end off the underside 15 of our checklist with a pop icon so legendary you may establish him by one letter — after which a fast look again at these Nos. 25-11 artists, with assist from a particular visitor.
First, we recap the rise, fall, and rise once more of Usher — who started the twenty first century as one of many world’s largest pop stars and spent the subsequent 5 years getting even greater, with a 2004 that rivals almost another single-year peak this century. Host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard employees author Kyle Denis and R&B/Hip-Hop charts supervisor Trevor Anderson to recall the highs of Usher’s run, the gradual decline that adopted, and the comeback of current years that’s validated his legacy and allowed everybody to recollect what a large a part of pop music and tradition he’s been for over a quarter-century now.
Then, we welcome our first outdoors visitor to the Biggest Pop Stars podcast in AJ Marks, moderator of the esteemed r/Popheads discussion board (and host of the stellar Primary Pod Lady podcast). AJ shares how the Popheads neighborhood has reacted to the checklist up to now, (politely) airs a few of his personal grievances about artists he feels had been unfairly ranked or relegated to the Honorable Mentions checklist, and helps us sit up for the checklist’s prime 10 with a few of his personal hopes and predictions. (He additionally helps get justice for a pair of artists left off even the Honorable Mentions via our end-of-pod classes.)
Hearken to our newest under, atone for our previous episodes right here, and remember to subscribe to Billboard‘s Biggest Pop Stars of the twenty first Century collection wherever you get your podcasts! (New episodes can be revealed each Friday, following the publishing of our new Biggest Pop Star rankings for that week.)