Pop
Here you'll find album stories, birthdays, and anniversaries from pop artists across the decades, along with news of vinyl reissues as titles return to print. Pop built much of its early history on the 7-inch single, the format that carried hit songs into homes and jukeboxes long before albums became the main event, and that legacy still shows up in picture sleeves, colored pressings, and singles boxes collectors look for today. The stories here follow how specific songs and albums came together, the writers and producers behind them, and why a particular reissue or pressing still catches a collector's eye.
379 STORIES
Safura Alizadeh: How a saxophone dream led to Eurovision
Safura Alizadeh, born in Baku in 1992, turned a childhood saxophone dream into a fifth-place finish at Eurovision 2010 with 'Drip Drop'.
· 4 min read
Why Demi Lovato's Unbroken still feels like a reset 15 years on
Demi Lovato's third album Unbroken, released September 20, 2011, marked a deliberate break from her pop-rock past. It pushed toward R&B and dance-pop after a year of personal upheaval.
· 3 min read
Why Did Mia Martini Sing Like She Knew the End?
Mia Martini, born Domenica Rita Adriana Berté in 1947, turned Italian pop into confession. She won Festivalbar twice and left a catalog that still haunts listeners.
· 5 min read
Elton John: Why a Death Date Never Silenced the Catalog
Elton John, born Reginald Dwight in 1947, built a catalog that outlived the alarms of 1997. His 'Candle In The Wind 97' became the best-selling single in recorded history.
· 5 min read
David Hemmingway: Why the Housemartins bassist never stopped
David Hemmingway, born on 20 September 1960, built a four-decade career on melodic bass lines. From The Housemartins through The Beautiful South to ongoing solo work.
· 4 min read
John Lennon's Double Fantasy: Why the Final Album Divided Critics
John Lennon's final album, Double Fantasy, was inspired by a Bermuda flower and divided critics on release, only to top charts after his death in 1980.
· 4 min read
Björk's Homogenic and the 29-Year-Old Iceland She Built
Björk's 1997 album Homogenic, recorded after a stalker's attack forced her to leave London. It fused electronic beats with strings and defined Iceland in musical terms.
· 3 min read
Namie Amuro Was 14 When She Stopped Being an Idol
The stage lights at a small Okinawa venue caught a fourteen-year-old girl mid-spin, her sneakers squeaking against the floor as five other dancers moved in sync…
· 5 min read
Why did Loredana Bertè start as a go-go dancer?
Loredana Bertè, born in 1950 in Bagnara Calabra, spent the early 1970s as a go-go dancer on Italian television. She later became a solo artist who worked with Ennio Morricone and Pino Daniele.
· 4 min read
Diana Ross: How 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough' Hit No. 1
Diana Ross reached her first solo number one on September 19, 1970. The single was 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough,' a dramatic rearrangement of an Ashford & Simpson song.
· 5 min read
Why Did Doll Domination End The Pussycat Dolls?
The Pussycat Dolls' second album Doll Domination sold five million copies yet ended the group's studio career. Carmit Bachar left before release, and Nicole Scherzinger carried the vocals.
· 4 min read
Kylie Minogue: The Album That Broke Her Pop Machine
Kylie Minogue's fifth album broke from Stock, Aitken and Waterman. Released on September 19, 1994, it marked her deliberate reinvention with a new label and collaborators.
· 4 min read
Trisha Yearwood: How a Georgia Banker's Daughter Conquered Country
Trisha Yearwood, born in Monticello, Georgia, in 1964, turned a Nashville internship into a double-platinum debut. Her first record rewrote what labels believed a female country artist could achieve.
· 4 min read
Martin Beedle: Why Cutting Crew's Drummer Mattered Beyond the Hit
Martin Beedle, drummer for Cutting Crew, shaped the precision behind '(I Just) Died in Your Arms'. That discipline carried through session work and reunions.
· 4 min read
Why Did Tori Amos Turn 12 Male Songs into Women?
Tori Amos released Strange Little Girls in September 2001. The album dismantled twelve male-written songs and rebuilt them from a female point of view.
· 3 min read
Skeeter Davis: The End of the World and a Haunted Hit
Glencoe, Kentucky, a farming town, and a toddler with so much frantic energy her grandfather reached for the only word that fit: Skeeter, after the mosquito. Th…
· 4 min read
Why Did Brian Epstein Bet Everything on The Beatles?
He was expelled from school repeatedly, failed his entrance exams at thirteen, and struggled to make friends — yet that same boy would later persuade four leath…
· 4 min read
Candy Dulfer: How a Teenage Sax Prodigy Defined Funk Jazz
Candy Dulfer, born in 1969, turned a childhood saxophone start into Grammy nominations and Prince collaborations. Her career defined funk jazz across nearly six decades.
· 4 min read
Why did millions of girls starve for Twiggy's look?
Twiggy, born Lesley Lawson in 1949, became the face of the 1960s. Her ultra-thin image also sparked a medical term for eating disorders among young women.
· 4 min read
Why did Madonna's Celebration split fans over one track?
Madonna's 2009 compilation Celebration sparked debate over its tracklist. A Twitter poll and a fan club vinyl left some listeners questioning what was left out.
· 4 min read
Why Did Frankie Avalon Have Two Birth Years?
Frankie Avalon's origin story splits between two birth years, 1939 and 1940, even as his career from trumpet prodigy to beach party idol stays consistent.
· 4 min read
The Butler, the DJ's Son, and Jarvis Cocker at 63
Jarvis Cocker, born in Sheffield on 19 September 1963, turns 63 in 2026, having spent decades as Pulp's frontman, a solo artist, and a BBC radio host.
· 4 min read
Lana Del Rey's Honeymoon and the Art of Disappearing
Lana Del Rey's fourth album Honeymoon, released in September 2015, marked a deliberate retreat into baroque pop. It captured her embrace of disappearing into a mood.
· 4 min read
Spice: The Album That Made the World Want More
The Spice Girls' debut album Spice reached Japanese shelves before the UK. By the end of 1997 it was the world's best-selling album, moving 19 million copies in twelve months.
· 3 min read