Beyoncé's B'Day at 20: Track-by-Track (Originally Published on Patreon on May 11, 2026)
Pop PantheonShow Notes
Pop Pantheon is off until September. In the meantime, we're dropping some gems from our Patreon for free! This week, we're sharing our episode from May of this year where Russ and Louie went track-by-track on Beyoncé's second album, B'Day, to commemorate it's upcoming 20th anniversary.
If you like what you hear and want more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier to receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app.
Buy tickets to Gorgeous Gorgeous NYC on 9/11 Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and More
Shop Merch in Pop Pantheon's Store
Follow Pop Pantheon on Instagram
Follow DJ Louie XIV on Instagram
Follow Russ on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Pop Pantheon
Lauren Michele Jackson returns to Pop Pantheon for part two of our five part Rihanna series. Lauren and Louie dig into Rih’s blockbuster third album, 2007's Good Girl Gone Bad, which turned her from a tentative aspirant into a full-fledged diva via signature hits like the house-laced “Don’t Stop the Music” and “Umbrella." They then turn to her relationship with fellow budding pop star, Chris Brown, the domestic violence incident between them that forever changed Rihanna’s career and image, and the album that followed, 2009’s Rated R.
In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Xtra Magazine's KC Hoard joins Russ to tackle Canadian pop queen Carly Rae Jepsen's recent double album Day and Night. KC and Russ debate the creative merit of Carly's prolific release strategy, then dig into the evolution of her artistry on Day and Night, which features some of her best work in years.
NPR Music’s Sheldon Pearce joins Pop Pantheon for the first in our new five-part series on BadGalRiri herself, Rihanna. Sheldon and Louie dig into Rih’s early life in Barbados and how she was discovered then signed by Jay-Z and L.A. Reid. Then they discuss her breakout with “Pon De Replay” and the Caribbean sounds that defined 2005’s Music of the Sun before tackling her quick return with 2006’s A Girl Like Me, a more genre expansive record that spawned enduring hits like “SOS” and "Unfaithful" and set the stage for her global chart takeover.
In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Louie and Russ gather to break down Troye Sivan's 4th studio album, She's the Best, which sensually explores the middle ground between queer lust and longing.
Mailbag time! Louie and Russ tackle questions from the Mailbag, including one about Taylor Swift invoking her "haters" on record and a question about Rihanna's legacy. Plus we finally find out out: what is Russ' whole deal, anyways? Join Pop Pantheon: All Access, Our Patreon Channel, for Exclusive Content and More