What gives a pop star staying power? In our frenetic music landscape, it's clear that a lot of pop stars that defined the millennial "hopecore" sound -- think Lizzo and Katy Perry -- are no longer resonating with audiences.  So who are listeners gravitating to these days, and how does that reflect the times we're living in?  Brittany talks to music writer and critic Brittany Spanos on whether we're seeing a generational shift in music taste, and how legacy acts can stay relevant too. Want more pop music analysis? Check out this episode: <a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/05/29/nx-s1-5838108/the-d-list-pop-star-purgatory"target="_blank" >The D-List pop star purgatory</a> Support Public Media.<a href="https://plus.npr.org/"target="_blank" > Join NPR Plus.</a> Follow Brittany on Instagram:<a href="https://www.instagram.com/bmluse/?hl=en"target="_blank" > @bmluse</a> For handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at<a href="http://npr.org/podclub"target="_blank" > npr.org/podclub</a>. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>

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