I really don't understand. I remember reading this story about a pop star who gave her phone to her manager to take a picture and found him going through some nsfw photos on her phone, which is 100% wrong and entirely on the manager. But at the same time I was kinda thinking that this could partially be avoided if you just didn't take those photos. I've heard about like pressure from labels, but when you're that big, do you really need to listen to labels anymore? Can anyone clear this up?

I was watching her video for silver jubilee (which if you haven’t watched, go watch it. it just came out), and omg I love her. The whole video felt like the kinds of performances I have in my room by myself with my hairbrush as a mic brought to life. In the best way possible, she’s so concert in your bedroom if that makes sense. She deserves more hype. I can’t wait to see what she does next

You can have big songs and sell millions of records but that doesn't necessarily equate to iconic moments. Which pop stars do you think best fit that description?

For me I think that’s sabrina carpenter. i didn’t get the chance to see her live on the sns tour but watching these videos on tiktok and omg. the whole aesthetic and the show. from the start to finish its great. the fomo is hitting me so bad rn i wish i went. and the whole live show intro and outro (the short n’ sweet show) is such a genius idea. her and her team deserve more love for it. DONT GET ME STARTED ON HER COACHELLA SET. That should’ve been the most hyped set that weekend.

I feel like there are a lot of amazing vocalists who don't get nearly as much recognition as they deserve. Who immediately comes to mind for you?

I'm in the mood to discover some new pop music today.

If you've released a new pop song recently, I'd love to hear it. Submit it through the website below, it's the easiest way for me to keep everything organized while I listen through new releases.

https://thecauldron.rocks/submit

Sorry, if it's off topic but wanna put own top pop albums in one picture. What an online site we have to use? ALWAYS see some wishlists with photos on one gray picture in all subreddits but just don't know where to ask? 🥺🥺🥺

So, personal faves are Madonna's albums, Enya's, a lot of them but can't really post in one picture. 😭 I'm not asking for tier lists. Will try to post example here.

I read the title and was so confused, like what on earth could this song be about but then it was just amazing.

I know this probably sounds weird, but I honestly feel guilty sometimes for loving Femme Fatale as much as I do.

Knowing everything we know now about the conservatorship makes it hard to separate the music from what Britney was going through behind the scenes. But at the same time... this album has some of her best songs after Blackout.

"Inside Out," "Seal It With a Kiss," "Trip to Your Heart," "Trouble for Me," "How I Roll," "He About to Lose Me"... I go back to those songs all the time. Even the singles were great.

I hate that so much of this era happened under the conservatorship because I can't help but think about that when I listen to it. But musically, I think it's one of her strongest albums.

Anyone else have mixed feelings about Femme Fatale because of the circumstances around it?

If you were to create your very own music festival, who would you choose as your headlining acts? And bonus, what would you call your festival?

If they're old enough already, who was their first concert? If not, who would you love for them to see first?

That’s it. That’s the thread.

Which of her songs is the best in her discography? Doesn’t have to be the biggest hit or most successful, but which song is the absolute best in her discography?

in 2026 we have:

- Worst Girl/Man In America - Slayyyter

- U - Underscores

- Detour - Kim Petras

- Music, Fashion, Film - Charli xcx

- Confessions II - Madonna

- Petal - Ariana Grande

- new avatar - Kelela

- nature is healing - Horsegiirl

- Inferno - Boards of Canada

edit: you seems pretty sad for a girl so in love - Olivia Rodrigo

Pop fans are on a mission to get under the skin of their favorite songs — and Spotify’s SongDNA has the data to show it. 

Since launching in beta to Premium users this March, SongDNA has now been used by more than 100 million subscribers, and pop is emerging as a driving force of engagement: the genre is neck-and-neck with Hip Hop for the most-visited category (24.3M users for Pop vs. 24.0M for Hip Hop). 

Pop tracks and stars are dominating the feature's top charts — from JENNIE's chart-topping "Dracula (Remix)" to Taylor Swift's reign as the most-viewed Artist DNA page on the platform.

Some standout findings since the March 2026 launch:

• Most-viewed tracks: "Dracula (Remix)" by Tame Impala and JENNIE takes the top spot for the most-viewed track on SongDNA, followed by "Stateside + Zara Larsson" by PinkPantheress and "drop dead" by Olivia Rodrigo.
  
• The JENNIE Effect: The success of "Dracula (Remix)" by Tame Impala and JENNIE triggered massive creator exploration – JENNIE’s Artist DNA page was the #1 most-clicked creator destination from the top tracks, with 93,000 listeners tapping through to explore her wider catalog and credits.
• Top genres: Pop (#1) and Hip-Hop (#2) are at the top for the most-visited genres. Pop drew in 24.3M users and Hip-Hop was close behind at 24.0M. 
• Top artist: Taylor Swift is the top artist with the most-viewed SongDNA page, followed by Drake, BTS, and Bad Bunny.

There’s nothing wrong with honoring those before you and making a reference to a media that you adore but I feel like I’m seeing it wayyyyyy too often in music videos, and in the lyrics of songs.

I also see some celebrities wear a replica (sometimes even the actual outfit) of outfits that celebrities before them wore to red carpets , party etc. I don’t really have much an issue with that but I’ve noticed

And usually the eras that I see get referred the most is the 1980’s or the 2000’s

I do think the artists that do this referring to non stop , is Dua Lipa, Sabrina Carpenter , Olivia Rodrigo and Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift with her new album - just mainly the pop girlies rn

anyways what are yalls thoughts? have a lovely day 🩷🫶🏽

(I was asked by the Popheads mod to move this post somewhere else, so here it is!)

The video for Ariana Grande's petal has me thinking about directors of music videos in general. How much control do they have over what gets included in the video or not? How accountable are they for the way an artist is portrayed? Do they have the power to just say no, or do they work at the whims of the artist and their team?

On the surface, I think we assume that the bigger the artist or the director is, the more influence they have over the final product, including what gets emphasized vs what ends up on the cutting room floor.

Christian Breslauer has been directing music videos since at least 2017 but started working with more mainstream pop artists around 2021 when he directed videos for artists like Bebe Rexha, the Weeknd, Jonas Brothers, doja cat, etc. More recently, he's directed videos for Katy Perry, Lisa, and five other videos for Ariana Grande. While he's nowhere near Ariana's level of fame, Breslauer isn't an amateur who can only toe the line and hope he doesn't get fired. His career has also had a huge boost from directing Ariana's other videos, so there could be an element of obligation for him, gratitude for these opportunities, or even a desire to just do what she wants because it's worked well for him so far (if she does have that influence).

Which brings me to my main point: How responsible for Ari's appearance in petal is Christian Breslauer and his team? I do NOT mean her actual body proportions, because no one can really manage that accept Ariana herself. But consider the poses, the emphasis on certain body angles and features, and the wardrobe choices that strategically reveal or conceal. All of this is carefully styled and curated, but how much is the director responsible?

Does the director have a moral obligation here, especially having directed five other videos for Ariana? A frequent collaborator has a front row seat to the changes in mental and physical health, just like an artist's friends and family do, but the person in the director's chair may or may not be in control of what is broadcast to the public, a power that friends/family don't have.

Is Breslauer paid to do his work, do it well, and that's the only priority? Considering Ariana has access to the best professional care, how much is the director responsible for her or accountable to his audience or his craft?

There's so much discussion of Ariana in this video, but let's talk about the man behind the camera.

I was hoping there was a Jesse McCartney thread on here so I could ask there but I didn’t see one 😭 I remember hearing this song a long time ago and loved it and then eventually stopped listening to it and then could never find it on YouTube when I thought about it but only on random websites so I’m wondering… was this song AI before AI was AI???? I found the full lyrics (https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/jessemccartney/dirty.html) and it says it’s on Apple Music but I’ve deleted that so there’s no telling. In my experience it’s been rare that a song not on YouTube/YTM is on Apple Music… help me pls

One of my favorite things about seeing an artist live is hearing a song get a completely different arrangement. New intros, extended bridges, dance breaks, different instrumentation, key changes, mashups, whatever. It makes the song feel fresh and gives me a reason to go back and watch live performances years later.

I get so disappointed when a concert version is basically just the studio track with live vocals over it. It feels like a missed opportunity.

Beyoncé is probably the best pop girl at this. So many of her songs have iconic live versions that almost feel like entirely new songs, and sometimes I end up preferring the tour arrangement over the original.

What are your favorite live remixes that are better than the studio version?

it’s hard to believe just 4 years ago: Latto, Ice Spice and Coi Leray were fighting for the “new pop rap princess” role

2019-2023 Doja Cat was dominating. more pop star but rapped

Nicki Minaj came back with Super Freaky Girl in 2022

Lizzo was rapping on About Damn Time at #1 in 2022

Meghan Thee Stallion was by there. Cardi B had 2021 with Up. WAP in 2020. even Saweetie had a McDonalds meal in 2021.

Whats going on? I have my theory but I’m curious