Who Was the Greatest U.K. Pop Star of 2006, Arctic Monkeys or Lily Allen? Greatest Pop Stars Podcast
This two-part kickoff to Vintage Almost-Pop Stardom month on the Greatest Pop Stars podcast looks at two of the biggest years in mid-'00s U.K. pop — neither of which the U.S. got the same way.
In the mid-2000s, the U.K. saw a need for fresh blood in pop music. Two artists emerged to shake up the status quo: Arctic Monkeys and Lily Allen. These two musicians crashed the U.K. charts and culture with their biggest year ever, capturing the attention of audiences in both the U.S. and the U.K. Despite their success, they never quite reached the same level of impact in the U.S. until much later.
To celebrate these artists, the Greatest Pop Stars podcast hosted a mini-series titled "Vintage Almost-Pop Stardom" in October. The podcast featured episodes co-starring Sophie Williams and Thomas Smith, both from Billboard UK, discussing the experiences of Lily Allen and Arctic Monkeys in 2006. The episodes explored various questions about the artists, including why British pop music needed fresh talent, whether their discussions hinted at future industry conversations, and how they both initially struggled to break into the U.S. market before ultimately earning validation on both sides of the Atlantic.
The podcast also examined the debut singles and albums of both artists, their struggles to gain a foothold in the U.S., and ultimately, which of the two could be considered the Greatest British Pop Star of 2006. Fans can listen to the full episodes on Apple Music, Spotify, or other podcast platforms, as well as view a collection of YouTube playlists featuring the most notable moments from both artists' 2006 releases.
Written by urgent.news from Billboard's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
