The Pop Pod

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 i...

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, ...

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 c...

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 tr...

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 ow...

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 g...

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’...

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 turnin...

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'...

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 spok...

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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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 abo...

Sekou is my favourite new male popstar. He's got the tunes, he's got the look and he's got a superstar mindset. He's just released his debut mixtape 'In A World We Don't Belong' which features 'Catching Bodies' his breakout single. In the past year, he's also featured on Justin Bieber's 'Swag' finding a musical kingship with Biebs.

I had the best chat with him touching on the Bieber of it all but also generally what it takes to make...