We love a pop princess, but what about the pop peasants? These are the pop music artists who might have some mainstream success and fame, but they're not exactly household names. Fans on the internet have created a metaphorical space for these pop almost-stars...the Khia Asylum. But how can artists break out of this pop star purgatory?  And what does a fictional mental institution say about the way fans and artists are thinking about the music industry? Brittany is joined by <a href="https://www.npr.org/people/766798576/isabella-gomez-sarmiento"target="_blank" >Isabella Gomez Sarmiento</a>, NPR music reporter, and Billboard staff writer <a href="https://www.billboard.com/author/kyle-denis/"target="_blank" >Kyle Denis</a>. Want more episodes about how we perceive pop stars? Check out these episodes:<a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/02/09/nx-s1-5706505/bad-bunny-redefined-what-america-means"target="_blank" >Bad Bunny redefined what "America" means</a><a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/11/07/nx-s1-5601052/rosalia-the-evolving-definition-of-latinidad"target="_blank" >Rosalía & the evolving definition of Latinidad</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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