Episodes

  • “The ‘Umbrella’ Effect: How Rihanna’s Breakout Hit Changed Pop Music Forever”

    “The ‘Umbrella’ Effect: How Rihanna’s Breakout Hit Changed Pop Music Forever”
    Feb 25 2025
    In 2007, a 19-year-old Barbadian pop singer released the lead single off her third album. By doing so, she didn't just give us a timeless, undeniable banger -- she changed the way pop music is made, and became the global superstar that we know Rihanna to be today. In this episode we go back in time to unearth the origins of "Umbrella," and how the song blossomed as a result of many shifting currents in the music industry, the democratization recording technology, and the persistence of Rihanna and her team to record the song instead of the artist for whom it was intended. SONGS DISCUSSED James Brown "Funky Drummer" Funkadelic "Get Off Your Ass and Jam" Soft Cell "Tainted Love" N.W.A. "100 Miles and Runnin" Mya "Case of the Ex (Whatcha Gonna Do?)" Britney Spears featuring Madonna "Me Against the Music" Nine Inch Nails "The Hand That Feeds" Rihanna "Pon de Replay" Rihanna "S.O.S." Shakira "Hips Don't Lie" Rihanna "Umbrella" Justice "Stress" Usher "Love in This Club" Childish Gambino "Bonfire" A$AP Rocky featuring Skepta "Praise the Lord (Da Shine)" Asher Monroe "Synergy" Justin Bieber & Lil Dicky "Running Over" Sabrina Carpenter "Espresso" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    37 mins
  • Learning to love: Tate McRae

    Learning to love: Tate McRae
    Feb 18 2025
    Tate McRae's billions of streams and perfectly crafted hits can feel almost algorithmic, like an AI trained on 20 years of pop music. In anticipation of McRae’s third album So Close to What, out this Friday, we dissect McRae’s "SimplePop" formula, from her strategic, indescript vocal delivery to expert "vibe snatching" of Y2K sounds. Through singles like "exes” and “sports car,” Charlie and Reanna trace her sonic lineage and discover why pop music needs artists who refine sounds as much as those who revolutionize them, seeing if there’s room to love her music in the process. This dancer-turned-singer might not be the next Britney Spears, but she could be this generation's Paula Abdul. More Watch Adam Neely's "Scotch Snaps in Hip Hop" Songs Discussed Tate McRae - "sports car" Tate McRae - "greedy" Tate McRae - "you broke me first" Tate McRae - "One Day" Tate McRae - "exes" Lisa - "Money" Halsey - "100 Letters" Cardi B - "I Like It" Beyoncé - "Drunk in Love" Ariana Grande - "7 Rings" Ariana Grande - "thank u, next" Tate McRae - "it's okay im okay" Ying Yang Twins - "Wait (The Whisper Song)" The Lonely Island - "Bing Bong Brothers" The Pussycat Dolls - "Buttons" Missy Elliott - "Get Your Freak On" Missy Elliott feat. Ludacris - "Gossip Folks" Britney Spears - "Toxic" Britney Spears - "Gimme More" Cassie - "Me & U" Paula Abdul - "Straight Up" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    46 mins
  • Does It Trance? The Weeknd & FKA Twigs

    Does It Trance? The Weeknd & FKA Twigs
    Feb 11 2025
    In last month's episode predicting the coming year in pop, one of the team's predictions was that trance music – the ethereal, dreamy subgenre of electronic music popular around the turn of the century – would make a comeback on the charts in 2025. And even though we're less than two months into the year, we're already seeing the tides of nostalgia bring this club-oriented music come back into fashion. This episode of Switched On Pop, Nate, Charlie, and Reanna take a look at trance music: where it came from, what it sounds like, and if we can hear it in two of the year's most anticipated records: The Weeknd's Hurry Up Tomorrow and FKA Twigs's EUSEXUA. Does it trance? More Subscribe to our newsletter to receive your own bingo card! Songs Discussed KLF "What Time is Love? (Pure Trance Mix)" Sven Väth "L'Esperanza" Robert Miles "Children" Paul van Dyk "For an Angel" Ian Van Dahl "Castles in the Sky" Tiësto "Adagio for Strings" Darude "Sandstorm" Charlotte De Witte "Universal Consciousness" FKA twigs "Two Weeks" FKA twigs "Cellophane" FKA twigs "Tears in the Club" feat. The Weeknd FKA twigs "EUSEXUA" FKA twigs "Drums of Death" FKA twigs "Perfect Stranger" FKA twigs "Room of Fools" FKA twigs "Childlike Things" The Weeknd "Wake Me Up" feat. Justice The Weeknd "Open Hearts" The Weeknd "The Abyss" feat. Lana Del Rey The Weeknd "Timeless" feat. Playboi Carti The Weeknd "Give Me Mercy" The Weeknd "Red Terror" The Weeknd "Sao Paulo" feat. Anitta The Weeknd "Reflections" feat. Travis Scott & Florence + The Machine The Weeknd "Enjoy the Show" The Weeknd "I Can't Wait to Get There" The Weeknd "Hurry Up Tomorrow" The Weeknd "Blinding Lights" The Weeknd "Save Your Tears" The Weeknd "Until I Bleed Out" The Weeknd "Take My Breath" The Weeknd "Out of Time" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    47 mins
  • How Spotify hacked our ears (and our data)

    How Spotify hacked our ears (and our data)
    Feb 4 2025
    Behind Spotify's promise of infinite music lies a carefully engineered system that shapes not just what we hear, but how music itself gets made. Journalist Liz Pelly's explosive new book "Mood Machine" rips away the curtain on streaming's biggest player, revealing how its algorithms and backroom deals dictate the soundtrack to our lives. With major labels controlling 70% of streams and Spotify commanding over 600 million users, the stakes couldn't be higher. As artists like Björk decry streaming as "the worst thing that's happened to musicians," Pelly uncovers the true cost of our perfect playlists - and what we're really sacrificing for the illusion of endless choice. MORE Subscribe to our newsletter to receive your own bingo card! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    54 mins
  • 25 Predictions for 2025: Grammys, J-pop, kazoos and more

    25 Predictions for 2025: Grammys, J-pop, kazoos and more
    Jan 28 2025
    2024 was an unpredictable year, and 2025 seems to be cut from the same cloth. So for this episode of Switched On Pop, Nate, Charlie, and Reanna look into the crystal ball of pop music to create a (playable) bingo card of predictions for the coming year – including AI songs on the Hot 100, a return of boy bands, and... kazoos? The Album of the Year race for this upcoming Grammys is similarly unpredictable, with a stacked nomination list including Grammy darlings Beyoncé and Billie as well as Gen-Z favorites like Charli and Chappell. The team takes a crack at guessing who will take home the award by debating the nominees, bracket-style. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive your own bingo card! Songs discussed: The Traveling Wilburys – Handle With Care Ghostwriter – Heart On My Sleeve (ft. AI Drake and AI The Weeknd) Songs from Silvio Berlusconi, Imelda Marcos, and Randi Zuckerberg Chino Pacas, Drake, Fuerza Regida – Modo Capone Elton John – Your Song Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee – Despacito Jack Black – Peaches Tyla – Water Rema, Selena Gomez – Calm Down Bloodhound Gang – The Bad Touch Megan thee Stallion, Yuki Chiba – Mamushi Joan Osborne – One of Us FKA Twigs – Eusexua Katy Perry – Woman's World David Bowie – Moonage Daydream Jimi Hendrix – Crosstown Traffic Jack Harlow – Lovin On Me Billie Eilish – CHIHIRO Billie Eilish – BIRDS OF A FEATHER Charli XCX – guess Charli XCX – 360 Charli XCX – i think about it all the time Charli XCX – 365 Beyoncé – TEXAS HOLD 'EM Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus – II MOST WANTED Beyoncé – YA YA Taylor Swift – I Can Do It With A Broken Heart Sabrina Carpenter – Espresso Chappell Roan – HOTTOGO Chappell Roan – Pink Pony Club Chappell Roan – Red Wine Supernova Outkast – Hey Ya! Andre 3000 – That Night In Hawaii When I Turned Into A Panther And Started Making These Low Register Purring Tones That I Couldn't Control ... Sh*t Was Wild Andre 3000 – I swear, I Really Wanted To Make A "Rap" Album But This Is Literally The Way The Wind Blew Me This Time Jacob Collier – 100,000 Voices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    58 mins
  • Bad Bunny's love letter to Puerto Rico

    Bad Bunny's love letter to Puerto Rico
    Jan 21 2025
    The first great release of 2025 is already here: Bad Bunny's newest album, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS. Over the course of its 17 tracks, the Puerto Rican reggaetonero crafts an intertextual, anti-colonial tome of a record, incorporating sounds from across his island and the boricua diaspora. From his use of salsa classics on "NUEVAYoL," to his pointed interpolations on "VOY A LLeVARTE PA PR," and his detour into folk melodies and songwriting on tracks like the somber "LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii," the record features some of Bad Bunny's most creative, intense, and direct work yet. On this episode of Switched On Pop, producer Reanna Cruz takes Charlie and Nate on a journey through Bad Bunny's love letter to Puerto Rico, with additional insight from journalist and translator Carina del Valle Schorske. Read Carina's NPR Music review of the record: Bad Bunny's politics of presence. Songs Discussed: Bad Bunny, "DtMF" Bad Bunny, "NUEVAYoL" Bad Bunny, "BOKeTE" Bad Bunny, "EL CLúB" El Gran Combo De Puerto Rico, "Un verano en Nueva York" Bad Bunny, "PIToRRO DE COCO" Bad Bunny, "BAILE INoLVIDABLE" Rauw Alejandro, "Tú Con Él" Bad Bunny, "VOY A LLeVARTE PA PR" Wisin & Yandel, Héctor "El Father," "La Barría" Alexis y Fido, "Me Quiere Besar" Angel y Khriz, "Cazando Voy" Bad Bunny, "El Apagón" Bad Bunny, Kendo Kaponi, Arcángel, "P FKN R" Bad Bunny, "LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii" Bad Bunny, "CAFé CON RON" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    47 mins
  • The biggest theme song fail

    The biggest theme song fail
    Jan 14 2025
    What happens when your podcast’s theme song—cobbled together from GarageBand loops—gets called “game show music” and likened to a cereal commercial? You rewrite it. In this episode, we take you behind the scenes of Switched on Pop’s sonic makeover, from scathing critiques by music industry heavyweights to the creation of a lush, layered soundscape inspired by Wendy Carlos and PBS science shows. With expert advice from sonic branding maestro Dallas Taylor (Twenty Thousand Hertz) and the composers Zach Tenorio and Jocie Adams (Arc Iris), we dissect every step of transforming our theme into a timeless sonic identity. Tune in for the full story and hear how we turned a jingle crisis into a musical triumph. More Musicares.org is supporting LA based musicians in need of assistance from the destruction of the fire Billboard has compiled more forms of support and assistance Recommendations Read Cat Zhang at The Cut Read Lauren Michelle Jackson’s White Negros and columns at The New Yorker Listen to Ian Fitchuk’s work Listen to Song Exploder hosted by Hrishikesh Hirway Listen to NYTimes Popcast hosted by Jon Caramanica Listen to Twenty Thousand Hertz hosted by Dallas Taylor Songs Discussed The Monkees: "Theme Song (Hey, Hey, We're The Monkees)" Radiohead: "Kid A" No Name: "Yesterday" Mort Garson: "Ode to an African Violet" Wendy Carlos Switched On Bach Whitney Houston: "The Star-Spangled Banner" (1991 Super Bowl performance) Jimi Hendrix: "The Star-Spangled Banner" (Woodstock performance) Friends theme Song "I'll Be There for You" by The Rembrandts Reading Rainbow theme song “Butterfly in the Sky” by Steve Horelick, Dennis Neil Kleinman, and Janet Weir Bill Nye the Science Guy theme Song composed by Mike Greene 3-2-1 Contact theme Song composed by Tom Anthony Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    42 mins
  • Have Disney musicals lost their edge?

    Have Disney musicals lost their edge?
    Jan 7 2025
    Critics are not feeling the love tonight when it comes to Disney's latest sequels, Mufasa and Moana 2. They've called the animated films "lifeless and bland." But save some sympathy for the composers behind these blatant IP grabs. Lin Manuel Miranda and the duo Barlow and Bear had to match the original, iconic numbers from the Lion King and Moana, songs written by Elton John and Miranda himself. Are critics of the sequels' soundtracks being too harsh? We compare the new songs to their iconic predecessors, like "Circle of Life" and "How Far I'll Go," and ask whether Disney new composers face an impossible task in trying to extend franchises through song. Songs Discussed Elton John, Tim Rice, Lebo M. - “Circle of Life” Elton John, Tim Rice - “Circle of Life” (Radio Version) Elton John, Tim Rice - “Hakuna Matata” Lin-Manuel Miranda - “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” Lin-Manuel Miranda - “Melele” Lin-Manuel Miranda - “I Always Wanted a Brother” Lin-Manuel Miranda - “How Far I’ll Go” ft. Auli’i Cravalho Ariana Grande - “Imperfect For You” Barlow & Bear - “Beyond” feat. Auli’i Cravalho Barlow & Bear - “Can I Get a Chee Hoo” feat. Dwayne Johnson More Brett Boles’s wonderful analysis of “How Far I’ll Go,” referenced in the episode Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    42 mins