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
Why Julio Iglesias sold 300 million records
A 1963 car crash ended a young goalkeeper's career at Real Madrid. The hospital guitar it brought him launched Julio Iglesias toward selling more than 300 million records.
· 3 min read
The Rolling Stones: The 1966 Moment That Changed Everything
The Rolling Stones' 1966 album Aftermath, the band's first entirely self-written record, capped a four-year rise. The journey began with a Dartford railway platform reunion in 1961.
· 4 min read
Shawn Mendes' Illuminate: 145,000 Copies, Near-Billion Views
Released in 2016, Shawn Mendes' Illuminate debuted atop the Billboard 200. It sold 145,000 first-week US copies, and its lead single approached two billion YouTube views.
· 3 min read
Buddy Holly: How 'That'll Be the Day' Took Over the Charts
On September 23, 1957, The Crickets' 'That'll Be the Day' hit number one on the American charts, launching Buddy Holly to stardom.
· 4 min read
Why Did Tina Turner's Break Every Rule Sound So Split?
The first side belonged to two men who had already handed Tina Turner a career-defining hit; the second was a patchwork of five different producers, among them …
· 5 min read
Jermaine Dupri: Why So So Def Defined the 90s
An Atlanta teenager with a mixing board and a phone line became the engine behind some of the most recognizable hooks of the 90s. Jermaine Dupri was born on Sep…
· 4 min read
Why Demi Lovato's Don't Forget Still Sounds Like 18
Demi Lovato's debut album, recorded in ten and a half days while filming Camp Rock, arrived on September 23, 2008. It turned the Disney star into a Billboard 200 contender.
· 4 min read
Björk Homogenic: Why Volcanoes and Strings Collided
Björk's third studio album Homogenic fused electronic rupture with volcanic stillness. Released September 22, 1997, it was born from a year of stalker terror and personal collapse.
· 4 min read
King Crimson: How Discipline Became the 45-Year-Old Rebirth
In 1981, King Crimson returned after seven years of silence with Discipline. The album fused new wave, post-punk, and gamelan rhythms into a sound that redefined the band.
· 4 min read
Strangeways, Here We Come: The Smiths' Last Record
The Smiths' fourth and final album, Strangeways, Here We Come, arrived on Rough Trade Records in September 1987. It came months after Johnny Marr had already left the band.
· 4 min read
Kylie Minogue: How Tension Became Her Most Playful Reboot
Kylie Minogue's Tension, released on 22 September 2023 via BMG and Darenote, became her most playful reboot. It abandoned its initial 1980s concept entirely.
· 3 min read
Why Ramones bet radio on Road to Ruin and lost
The Ramones' fourth album, Road to Ruin, arrived on September 22, 1978 via Sire Records. It aimed for radio airwaves but landed below expectations on the Billboard 200.
· 4 min read
Billie Piper: From Pop Prodigy to Doctor Who's Rose
Billie Piper, born in Swindon in 1982, topped the UK Singles Chart at fifteen. She left music in 2003 to become an Olivier-winning actor and Rose Tyler on Doctor Who.
· 3 min read
Eddie Fisher: The Teen Idol Who Married Too Famously
Eddie Fisher rose from a Philadelphia amateur contest to become a chart-topping tenor idol of the early 1950s. He is now remembered more for his high-profile marriages than for his music.
· 4 min read
Toni Basil Was 38 When Mickey Hit Number One
Toni Basil was 38 when her cheerleader-themed cover "Mickey" hit number one in 1982, making her an unlikely pop phenomenon with a career rooted in dance.
· 3 min read
Sam Rivers: The Bassist Who Held Limp Bizkit Together
Sam Rivers, born September 21, 1977, co-founded Limp Bizkit and played bass on every studio album. He anchored the band's nu-metal sound from 'Three Dollar Bill, Y'all$' to 'Still Sucks'.
· 4 min read
Faith Hill: How a Mississippi Rodeo Singer Ruled 90s Country
Faith Hill, born Audrey Faith Perry in Mississippi in 1967, rose from church and rodeo stages to rule 1990s country radio. Her string of number-one hits and crossover pop career followed.
· 5 min read
Pink's Just Like A Pill: Why the UK Went First
In September 2002, Pink's 'Just Like A Pill' became her first British number one, while the US chart stalled at number eight.
· 3 min read
Fugees Ready Or Not: Why the 1996 UK No. 1 Still Echoes
In 1996, Fugees followed up 'Killing Me Softly' with 'Ready Or Not', a UK No. 1 that borrowed from Enya without permission and sparked a lawsuit that ended in settlement.
· 5 min read
Barry White: How a Prison Radio Changed Soul Forever
Barry White's path from juvenile detention to orchestral soul began with a jailhouse radio playing Elvis Presley. That moment led to a career that defined the genre.
· 5 min read
Why Did Janet Jackson's Debut Album Sink Without a Trace?
Janet Jackson's self-titled 1982 debut sold 300 thousand copies but sank without a trace. The teenager behind it didn't want to be on television, let alone in a studio.
· 4 min read
Why Did ABBA Gold Outsell Every ABBA Album Before It?
ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits, released by PolyGram in September 1992, outsold every studio album the band made, becoming a 30-million-copy phenomenon.
· 4 min read
Why Chen's April, and a Flower Still Sounds Like a Risk
In 2019, EXO's Chen released a debut solo album on April 1, a quiet ballad collection. It reached number two on the Gaon chart and became an unexpected power move.
· 4 min read
Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell: Why It Defied Punk
In 1977, Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell, produced by Todd Rundgren with songs by Jim Steinman, defied punk's minimalism. It became one of the best-selling albums in history.
· 5 min read