Switched on Pop

Three artists quietly reshaped pop music in 2024, though you might not know it from your Spotify Wrapped. As listeners question the accuracy of their year-end streaming stats, we explore the innovative sounds bubbling up just below the algorithmic radar. Tampa's "Swamp Princess" Doechii brings narrative depth back to hip-hop through her chameleonic vocal approach. Bedroom producer Mk.gee discovers entirely new possibilities for the electric guitar by deliberately recording "wrong." And BLACKPINK's ROSÉ challenges K-pop industry constraints while building bridges to Western pop on her revolutionary solo album. These artists point toward an exciting future where pop continues to evolve in unexpected ways, even as streaming platforms try to predict and package our musical tastes. Plus: Our producer Reanna Cruz presents evidence that their Spotify Wrapped might be fibbing, and Nate reveals his most-played track of 2024 was... Jeremy Irons singing "Be Prepared" from The Lion King? The algorithm works in mysterious ways.

Songs Discussed

Doechii: "Girls," "Yucky Blucky Fruitcake," "NISSAN ALTIMA," "Denial Is A River," "Boom Bap"

Mk.gee: "I Know How You Got," "Big Mics," "Are You Looking Up," "Alesis"

BLACKPINK"Boombayah," "Kill This Love," "How You Like That," "Pink Venom,"

ROSÉ: "On The Ground," "APT." (featuring Bruno Mars), "Toxic Till The End"

Taylor Swift: "Shake It Off"

Avril Lavigne: "Girlfriend"

Toni Basil: "Mickey"

Tom Petty: "American Girl"

Bo Diddley: "Bo Diddley Beat"


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It's an annual tradition: Every December, artists release their bids to join the hallowed halls of holiday music history. The gold standard remains Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You," which reportedly earns the pop star $2.5 million annually in royalties. This year's crop of seasonal offerings spans from ambitious originals to reimagined classics, with artists trying everything from AI-generated lyrics to funk renditions of Hanukah hymns. To evaluate this year's entries, we're introducing our definitive sleigh bell ranking system: five sleigh bells marks a future holiday classic destined to join Mariah in the pantheon, while one sleigh bell promises pop obscurity.

Songs Discussed:
•Kelly Clarkson - You For Christmas
•Orville Peck - Happy Trails
•Conan Gray - Holidays
•Dan and Shay - Take Me Home for Christmas
•Amy Grant - Tennessee Christmas
•Kesha - Holiday Road
•Ben Folds - Xmas Aye Eye
•Jennifer Hudson - Santa for Someone
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In 2024, Kendrick Lamar pulled off what seemed impossible: winning hip-hop's biggest rap battle in recent history, securing the Super Bowl halftime show, and dropping GNX, a surprise album that might be the year's defining pop record. But this triumphant return wasn't guaranteed. Two decades into his career — well past the average life expectancy of a rap career — Kendrick faced a critical challenge: how to balance his legendary artistic complexity with mainstream accessibility.

Songs discussed:

Kendrick Lamar – squabble up

Kendrick Lamar – luther (feat. SZA)

Kendrick Lamar – tv off (feat. Lefty Gunplay)


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The year's hottest movie is, against all odds, a musical. Wicked, starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, just hit theaters, and tells the tale of how a green-skinned girl named Elphaba became the Wicked Witch of the West. And with any musical, the songs are just as important as the narrative. On this episode of Switched On Pop, Charlie, Nate, and Reanna hop on their broomsticks to break down the music powering this cultural phenomenon.

Songs Discussed

The Wizard And I - Cynthia Erivo, Michelle Yeoh

The Wizard And I - Carole Shelley, Idina Menzel

Popular - Ariana Grande

Popular Song - MIKA, Ariana Grande

Defying Gravity - Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande

What Is This Feeling? - Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo

Defying Gravity - Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel

You'll Be Back - Jonathan Groff, Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton


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TIME Magazine once said, “there are few figures more closely associated with religion in pop culture than Madonna.” And looking at her catalog, it’s hard to disagree. From cheeky double entendres on “Like A Prayer,” to explorations of alternative philosophies on Ray of Light, spiritual practice has always been a core aspect of Madonna’s work. And as she dips her toes in different ideologies, she eventually comes to mold her own special religion in the process.
On our final episode of our week-long Listening 2 Madonna series, we take a look at the third essential part of Madonna’s holy trinity: spirituality.
Songs discussed:

Madonna – "Like A Prayer"

Madonna – "American Life"

Sister Cristina – "Like A Virgin"

Ray Charles – "What I'd Say"

Madonna – "Live to Tell"

Madonna – "Oh Father"

Madonna – "X-Static Process"

Madonna – "Bedtime Story"

Björk – "Hyperballad"

Madonna – "Ray of Light"

Madonna – "Nothing Really Matters"

Madonna – "The Power of Good-bye"

Madonna – "Sky Fits Heaven"

Madonna – "Shanti / Ashtangi"

Addison Rae – "Aquamarine"

Madonna – "Vogue"

Madonna – "Music"

Madonna – "Isaac"

Madonna – "Like It Or Not"

Madonna – "Get Together"


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Throughout her forty-year career, Madonna has managed to travel the globe, both literally and musically. Despite being a white woman from the midwest (Michigan, to be exact), her discography has been influenced by countless different cultures and sounds.
Even from her very first single, Madonna has frequently paid homage to those she has encountered, reflecting (and sometimes appropriating) the cultures that surrounded her. But because she's the world's biggest pop star, this globalist approach created space in the mainstream for artists from different cultures to follow in her footsteps. This episode of Switched On Pop, we're Listening 2 Madonna and exploring the second aspect of her Holy Trinity: multiculturalism.

Songs discussed:

Madonna – "Everybody"

La India – "Dancing on the Fire"

Miami Sound Machine – "Dr. Beat"

Madonna – "Holiday"

Shannon – "Let the Music Play"

Madonna – "Music"

Madonna – "Vogue"

Madonna – "La Isla Bonita"

Madonna – "Spanish Eyes"

Madonna – "Who's That Girl?"

Ricky Martin – "Livin' La Vida Loca"

Los Lobos – "La Bamba"

Lady Gaga – "Alejandro"

Malcolm McLaren – "Deep In Vogue – Introducing Lourdes & Willie Ninja"

Madonna – "Deeper and Deeper"

Derrick May – "Strings of Life"

Ariana Grande – "yes and?"

Beyoncé – "Break My Soul – The Queens Remix"

Madonna – "Faz Gostoso"

Blaya – "Faz Gostoso"

Anitta – "Funk Rave"

Madonna – "Batuka"

Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B – "Bongos"


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Madonna is the world's biggest female pop star. She's influenced everyone from Beyoncé to Britney Spears; is the most successful solo artist in Hot 100 chart history; and is the best-selling female recording artist of all time. Her career – which has spanned over forty years – has seen her continually reinventing herself and her sound over fourteen studio albums, from her early years in the New York City underground dance scene, to collaborating with artists like Maluma, Sam Smith, and the Weeknd.
Throughout all this, though, she has also managed to remain an enigma. Much has been said about Madonna, but through her work, a holy trinity of themes has emerged. And through these themes – gender exploration, multiculturalism, and spirituality – we can unpack one of the most iconic catalogs in pop music.
This week on Switched On Pop, we're Listening 2 Madonna, and releasing three special episodes focused on the Material Girl, going Deeper and Deeper to understand the Queen of Pop. On this episode, we take a look at how Madonna conveys gender in her work, from "Like A Virgin" to "What It Feels Like For A Girl."

Songs discussed:

Madonna – "Vogue"

Madonna – "Borderline"

Madonna – "Like A Virgin"

Madonna – "Material Girl"

Deniece Williams – "Let's Hear It For The Boy"

Madonna – "True Blue"

Madonna – "Live to Tell"

Madonna – "Papa Don't Preach"

Madonna – "Express Yourself"

Madonna – "Justify My Love"

Madonna – "Deeper and Deeper"

Madonna – "Waiting"

Madonna – "Bad Girl"

Madonna – "What It Feels Like For A Girl"


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In 1973, before their ascent to rock superstardom with Fleetwood Mac, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks were just two young lovers making music in Los Angeles. Their debut album, Buckingham Nicks, though commercially unsuccessful at the time, would prove to be the catalyst that changed their lives. When Mick Fleetwood happened to walk into Sound City Studios and overheard Buckingham's masterful guitar work, he knew he'd found what his band desperately needed given the departure of their guitarist Peter Green. Fleetwood invited Buckingham to join the group, and Buckingham agreed on one condition: his musical and romantic partner, Stevie Nicks, would come too. This fateful meeting would birth the legendary lineup that created Fleetwood Mac and Rumours, albums that would define a generation.

Yet all this time, the band's origin story, captured in Buckingham Nicks, has remained locked away in aging vinyl archives – until now. Grammy-winning guitarist Madison Cunningham and virtuoso multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird have breathed new life into this historic recording with their interpretation, Cunningham Bird. Cunningham, celebrated for her sophisticated fingerpicking and intricate compositions, joins forces with Bird, whose distinctive violin work and plaintive vocals have earned him critical acclaim.

Their reimagining of this pivotal album offers fresh insight into both Fleetwood Mac's enduring influence and the rocky romance that sparked their success. I sat down with the duo to discuss their approach to this legendary material and what drew them to resurrect these long-lost songs. Switched On Pop spoke with Madison Cunningham and Andrew Bird about how they adapted Buckingham Nicks into Cunningham Bird
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A musical "freak," to us here at Switched On Pop, is an artist who is unique, non-conforming, and always manages to surprise. We're living in some freaky times right now, so there's no better way to honor that than to listen to pop's freakiest artists. The past few weeks have seen new releases from Lady Gaga, Tyler, the Creator, and The Cure – the latter releasing their first new album in sixteen years. This episode of Switched On Pop, we unpack these songs and get to the bottom of their freakiness.

Songs discussed:

Lady Gaga – Disease

Tyler, The Creator – Noid

The Cure – Alone


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Over the summer, the culture was shaken by the biggest rap beef this decade, between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. From “First Person Shooter” to “Not Like Us,” hip-hop listeners hung on each rapper’s every word and rebuttal, and for the first time in years, the genre felt exciting.
Months after the beef had “ended,” Lamar released a track on Instagram dubbed “Watch the Party Die,” in which he lamented that hip-hop, in its current state, has lost its way and – as the title suggests – needs to die. It’s interesting, coming from Lamar, the supposed winner of the beef, and begs the question: is hip-hop dead? 
On this episode of Switched On Pop, engineer Brandon McFarland takes us on a journey over the course of history, to answer the question: can hip-hop ever truly die? And if this form of it is not sustainable, what’s next? 

Tracklist:
Drake - First Person Shooter ft. J. Cole
Future, Metro Boomin, Kendrick Lamar - Like That
Drake - Push Ups
Kendrick Lamar - Euphoria
Drake - Family Matters
Kendrick Lamar - meet the grahams
Kendrick Lamar - Not Like Us
Kendrick Lamar - Watch The Party Die
Glass Animals - Heat Waves
Desiigner - Panda
Migos - Versace
Public Enemy - Bring The Noise
THE CARTERS - APESHIT
Ariana Grande - 34+35
Kendrick Lamar - Alright
Jay-Z - D.O.A.
Cher - Believe
T-Pain - I'm Sprung
Lil Wayne - Lollipop ft. Static
Kanye West - Heartless
Drake - Over
Travis Scott - Mamacita ft. Rich Homie Quan, Young Thug
Lil Yachty - Poland
DRAM feat. Lil Yachty - Broccoli
Charlie XCX - 360
Too $hort - Oakland California
Geto Boys - Damn It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta
Geto Boys - Mind Playing Tricks On Me
Blondie - Rapture
Playboi Carti - Magnolia
Playboi Carti - Rockstar Made
Lil Uzi Vert - New Patek
Lil Uzi Vert - Suicide Doors
Lil Uzi Vert - XO Tour Llif3
Juice WRLD - Lucid Dreams (Forget Me)
Future - Fuck Up Some Commas
Tyler, The Creator – Sticky
tisakorean - LET ME HEAR YOU SCREAM
Travis Porter ft. Tyga - Ayy Ladies
AgusFortnite2008, Stiffy & DJ Smokey – COF COF
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