Pop Shop Podcast – New Every Tuesday

Rihanna fans have been waiting not so patiently the last three years for new music, and it finally arrived Friday in the form of the Smurfs soundtrack song “Friend of Mine.”

The vibey new song is the perfect backdrop for a Smurf dance-off, as evidenced by the mostly animated music video, but the three-minute-plus track is pretty production-forward and only includes limited doses of Rihanna’s dreamy vocals, mostly looping the same repeated title line. On the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith are chatting about whether this is the musical return Rihanna’s fans were hoping for, or how the song could be maximized with a new remix version or once we see it in the full context of the Smurfs movie, in which Rih voices Smurfette.

Listen to our full conversation below:

Also on the show, we’ve got chart news on how English rock band Sleep Token debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 — not only getting their first No. 1, but also scoring the largest streaming week ever for a hard rock album. Plus, Doechii’s “Anxiety” hits No. 1 on both the Pop Airplay and all-format Radio Songs chart, while Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “Luther” spends a lucky 13th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard‘s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard’s managing director, charts and data operations, Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)

Lady Gaga reportedly played to 2.5 million fans during her concert at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Saturday night. It’s a hard-to-fathom crowd size, considering we’ve never seen anything like it for a concert in the United States.

When it comes to free U.S. shows, some estimates put Garth Brooks’ 1997 concert in New York’s Central Park — nicknamed “Garthstock” — around 900,000 or even 1 million fans. (For non-concert crowds, the Chicago Cubs’ 2016 World Series celebration reportedly drew 5 million fans for a parade and rally — but that’s not a single-stage event.)

On the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith are talking about the positively massive show and whether it could ever be replicated here in the U.S. — like, are Los Angeles beaches even big enough for such a thing? And where would people park?!?

Also on the show, we’ve got chart news on how Ghost scores its first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart — and brings hard rock back to No. 1 for the first time in four years. Plus, how Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” hits a new high on the Billboard Hot 100, climbing all the way to No. 2.

The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard‘s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard’s managing director, charts and data operations, Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)

With the release of Cowboy Carter last year, a lot of noise was made about whether Beyoncé was “country enough” to put out a country album. More than one year (and her first album of the year Grammy) later, the answer is: of course she was. And she’s further proving her genre prowess on the just-launched Cowboy Carter Tour.

Katie & Keith were both inside for night 1 of the 32-date tour, which kicked off Monday night at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, and on the latest episode of the Billboard Pop Shop Podcast we’re discussing Bey’s message with the new tour. The superstar refuses to be put in a box throughout the nearly three-hour show, proving she can perform country side-by-side with dance music, be an ever-present mom and remain a top-of-her-game pop star, and be a proud American while still questioning our country’s past, present and future.

Listen to our full discussion about the kick-off of the Cowboy Carter Tour in the podcast below.

Also on the show, we have chart news on SZA’s SOS returning to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart for a 13th nonconsecutive week, how Billboard’s 2025 Woman of the Year Doechii hits the top 10 on the same chart for the first time with her Grammy-winning Alligator Bites Never Heal, and how Jack Black sets a new — short — record on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart.

The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard‘s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard’s managing director, charts and data operations, Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)

The minute news broke about an upcoming remake of 1992’s The Bodyguard, the first question became: Who could possibly replace late pop superstar Whitney Houston and leading man Kevin Costner as the duo at the center of the romantic thriller?

On the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith are discussing some of the clear front-runners for the gig — including stars with a history in music and movies like Ariana Grande, Zendaya, Lady Gaga and Beyoncé (she even has a Cowboy Carter song called “Bodyguard”!) — as well as some less obvious suggestions for the sure-to-be coveted roles. Listen to our full conversation below:

Also on the show, we’ve got chart news on how rapper Ken Carson gets his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 with his latest effort, with his best week ever by units earned but the lowest for any No. 1 album in nearly three years. Plus, as Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s co-headlining Grand National Tour kicked off over the weekend in Minneapolis, their collab track “Luther” reigns at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for an eighth week, while Teddy Swims sets a new longevity record for the Hot 100 top 10.

And we’re also revisiting the Charli XCX and Green Day Coachella headliner news, after some new developments in weekend 2 of the Indio, California, festival.

The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard‘s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard’s managing director, charts and data operations, Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)

When Post Malone released F-1 Trillion last year, he conquered yet another genre with the country collab album. And it looks like he’s going back to that well on his next project.

On the new Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith are joined by Billboard deputy editor Lyndsey Havens to discuss Post’s Sunday headlining set at Coachella as well as Havens’ interview with the superstar in the desert about what’s next. Post told Lyndsey that he’s already made two trips to Nashville and that he and his collaborators “just have fun. We just sit and f—ing talk and make songs. And so I’m pretty excited for the new record already.”

Listen to our full conversation with Lyndsey below:

Also on the show, we’ve chart news on how Elton John and Brandi Carlile team up for a top 10 debut on the Billboard 200 with Who Believes In Angels?, how the vinyl release of a Ethel Cain’s 2022 album Preacher’s Daughter brings the set onto the Billboard 200 for the first time (and straight into the top 10), and how the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart gets shaken up by a couple of new arrivals to the region.

Plus, we continue our Coachella chat with a discussion around whether Green Day or Charli xcx should have headlined day 2, after Charli sported a “Miss Should Be Headliner” sash at an afterparty.

The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard‘s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard’s managing director, charts and data operations, Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)

In just over one year, Ariana Grande released her seventh studio album Eternal Sunshine on March 8, 2024, then starred in the Oscar-winning movie musical Wicked that hit theaters in November, and has now returned with the Brighter Days Ahead deluxe reissue of that album on March 28.

On the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith are chatting all about the return of Ari the Pop Star after an active awards season for Ari the Movie Star, discussing why it made sense for the six new tracks on Brighter Days Ahead to live in the Eternal Sunshine world rather than as a new project. Listen to the full episode below.

Also on the show, we’ve chart news on how eternal sunshine is back at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart after its reissue, and how Drake’s “Nokia” hits a new peak on the Billbaord Hot 100, rising 7-3, while his rap nemesis Kendrick Lamar holds atop the list with the SZA collab “Luther.” Plus, Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club” gallops to No. 1 on the Pop Airplay chart, while Bon Jovi nabs its highest-charting song on the Pop Airplay chart in 24 years.

The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard‘s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard’s managing director, charts and data operations, Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)

Over her nearly two-decade career, Miley Cyrus has prepared her fans to expect the unexpected. And with her ninth studio album Something Beautiful — a self-described “one-of-a-kind pop opera” — Cyrus might be taking her most ambitious swing yet.

The May 30 release is a visual album, and Cyrus unleashed the first two songs and videos on Monday: “Prelude” and the title track. She also announced that the project’s first single, “End of the World,” will arrive on Thursday, along with a glimmering video teaser. On the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith are chatting all about the first two tastes of the project and what we can expect ahead of its arrival in two months.

Also on the show, we’ve got chart news on how Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco team up for a No. 2 debut on the Billboard 200 with their first collaborative album and how Morgan Wallen has two debuts on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, including one in the top five. Plus, Wallen’s new “Just in Case” debuts at No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart, replacing Chappell Roan’s “The Giver” atop the list, and we’re also chatting about Wallen’s latest appearance on Saturday Night Live over the weekend, along with his unceremonious exit.

The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard‘s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard’s managing director, charts and data operations, Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)

Before we celebrate our Billboard Women in Music honorees this Saturday night — including 2025 Woman of the Year Doechii — the Billboard charts team put together the Top 100 Women Artists of the 21st Century chart (encompassing women soloists, all-women groups and groups with prominent women’s vocals).

On the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith are taking a closer look at the powerhouse top 10 (you can find the full 100-item chart here) and getting a breakdown of the methodology for the 25-years-in-the-making chart.

Join us at Billboard Women in Music 2025 – get your tickets now! Get Tickets → HERE

Also on the show, we’ve got chart news on how Chappell Roan’s new single “The Giver” makes a big debut, how Doechii scores her first top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Anxiety,” how Sabrina Carpenter lands an impressive fourth No. 1 song from the same album on the Pop Airplay chart, and how Playboi Carti debuts atop the Billboard 200 albums chart with his new album MUSIC.

The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard‘s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard’s managing director, charts and data operations, Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)