Can't Stop The Pop

In this episode, Matty and Craig bring yesterday back around to discuss the Sugabab-babes' (seriously, what was with the typography for this campaign?) biggest hit: 'About You Now'. 

Despite unanimous praise for the song and a consensus that the music video was slightly underwhelming, there are wildly different opinions on what 'About You Now' meant for where the group were at this point, a...

For this episode, we've ventured (just) outside the '90s and '00s to discuss Joe McElderry's 2010 single, 'Ambitions'. And we've bent the rules with good reason because the man himself joins us to look back at his first post-X Factor release.

Joe gives us all the background on the song's origins as a chart-topping hit for the Norwegian band Donkeyboy and how it helped shape the sound of his...

In this kingsize episode, Matty and Craig look back at 'Let's Dance', which earned Five their third #1 hit while simultaneously becoming the backdrop to the group's sudden implosion as they split before the single had even left the top 40. 

This week, Matty and Craig look back at a seminal moment for pop music, when Will Young released Leave Right Now and proved there was life after TV talent shows with a critically and commercially acclaimed second album. 

We examine the origins of the track and how Eg White began by trying to write a Christmas song for Gareth Gates. We also discuss the single-shot music video and share some ...

In this episode, Matty and Craig hit the Ibiza dancefloor to look back at Melanie C's I Turn To You. The fourth single from the Northern Star album received a remix by Hex Hector, which helped propel it to the top of the charts.

We discuss misheard lyrics in the song, an unintentional Jurassic Park reference in the music video, and those all-important stats, which saw Melanie C become the f...

In this episode, we're looking back at H & Claire's third (and final) single, All Out Of Love. It's a song that, in many ways, marked a full-circle moment for the duo, reuniting them with a familiar team of Steps songwriters as they prepared to release their debut album.

There's so much to discuss, not least a Jumanji-inspired dance break from the music video. Plus, Matty questions whether ...

In this episode, we're joined by Louise Fudge - one third of Supersister - to talk about the group's iconic '00s hit, Coffee. Find out what inspired the lyrics, what the song's got in common with It's Raining Men, and which act were chosen to perform on Top Of The Pops instead of Supersister. 

We also discuss their recently released Lip Service album, the group's triumphant live comeback at Mighty Hoopla 2025 ...

Welcome to the fourth and final episode of a special series of Can't Stop The Pop X CCTV: The Nonstop Pop Show, where we pit Steps against S Club in an almighty pop-off.  

Here's how it works:

The singles from both acts were paired chronologically from their debut onwards, and we picked our favourite for each round. By this point, we're deep into the S Club Juniors/8-era of the S Club brand, as we compare and discuss:

Welcome to the second episode in a special four-part series of Can't Stop The Pop X CCTV: The Nonstop Pop Show, where we pit Steps against S Club in an almighty pop-off.  

Here's how it works:

The singles from both acts were paired chronologically from their debut onwards, and we picked our favourite for each round. In this episode, we compare and discuss:

Better Best Forgotten vs Natural
Love's Got A Hold...

It's time...

For our Christmas episode, we're celebrating 30 years of All I Want For Christmas Is You and discussing how Mariah Carey's 1994 festive hit has become a perennial chart staple.

Among the talking points are the song's origins (and an embarrassing attempt by Craig to pronounce Walter Afanasieff's name), its initial chart success and what's happened in the str...

Welcome to the third episode in a special four-part series of Can't Stop The Pop X CCTV: The Nonstop Pop Show, where we pit Steps against S Club in an almighty pop-off.  

Here's how it works:

The singles from both acts were paired chronologically from their debut onwards, and we picked our favourite for each round. In this episode, S Club pass the baton to S Club Juniors as we compare and discuss:

Deeper ...

Welcome to the first episode in a special four-part series of Can't Stop The Pop X CCTV: The Nonstop Pop Show, where we pit Steps against S Club in an almighty pop-off.  

Here's how it works:

The singles from both acts were paired chronologically from their debut onwards, and we picked our favourite for each round. In this episode, we compare and discuss:

5, 6, 7, 8 vs Bring It All Back
Last Thing On My Mi...

Easy V doesn't come for free! For our second season finale, we're discussing an artist and a song so seismic that they allegedly brought down an entire record label. It's Victoria Beckham with her dance-pop track, Let Your Head Go.

We delve into a complicated situation that resulted in two different albums being recorded (neither of which was officially released), Victoria Beckham's promine...

It's confessions on a podcast this week as we discuss Madonna's ABBA-sampling smash hit, Hung Up. To help us dissect this behemoth pop song we're joined by a special guest: James Rodriguez, host of The Original Doll. 

With James' expert knowledge, we delve into the circumstances surrounding the single and why Madonna's tenth studio album - Confessions On A Dancefloor - was such a significan...

Dude, you wanna crash the mall? Grab your air guitars because, in this episode, Craig and Matty are coming back down to earth to talk about Avril Lavigne's Sk8er Boi. 

We discuss what it was like to be a teenager when pop-rock took over the charts (think baggy jeans, hoodies and those chains that hung from everyone's pockets) and how Sk8er Boi managed to condense pretty much everything that...

This week, Craig and Matty are discussing Your Disco Needs You, the Kylie Minogue song that was allegedly deemed "too gay" to release in the UK.

Can Matty talk about one of his favourite artists of all time without going off on a tangent? Almost. We managed to stay focused for long enough to cover the song, the remixes, the incredible vocals and the music video for this intentionally camp K...

This week on the podcast, Craig and Matty are stuck on Stacie Orrico, a Christian Contemporary artist who was signed by Virgin Records and launched as a mainstream pop star in the '00s. 

(There's Gotta Be) More To Life was her second single, and it's flipping brilliant. We discuss the track and the music video (with its many looks, both good and bad). Matty gives an informed, technical anal...

Who's that Pokémon? This week, Craig introduces Matty to Don't Say You Love Me by M2M, which is, of course, taken from the official soundtrack to the cinematic masterpiece Pokémon: The First Movie. 

We discuss the song, the brilliantly '90s/'00s music video (with unnecessary dance breaks aplenty) and what M2M did after Don't Say You Love Me. Plus, find out which were our first ever starter ...

Take those lies and let them go (woah, woah) because this week, Matty and Craig are talking about Scooch's top-five hit, More Than I Needed To Know. 

We discuss how the group was formed and why this was such an important second single for them. Matty is particularly enthused by the music video, while Craig longs to own a promotional Scooch lunchbox. One thing's Read more