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This week on Switched On Pop, we’re looking at all things feral pop, the microgenre that takes pop music to its most wild extremes. And no feral pop artist is more tapped into that ethos than underscores. Her music synthesizes dubstep, trance, and Timbaland with ease, and her latest album ‘U’ is filled with boundless energy. She’s already opened up for 100 gecs, PinkPantheress, and Porter Robinson; this fall, she’ll open up for Charli XCX on her upcoming Music, Fashion, Film tour. She said it best on her debut album, Fishmonger: “it’s the new wave of the future!” Links: ⁠Newsletter⁠,…

Switched on Pop

by Vulture · English · Music

Listen closer to pop music, and hear how it moves us. Hosted by musicologist Nate Sloan & songwriter Charlie Harding. From Vulture and the Vox Media Podcast Network.

More from Switched on Pop

  1. 30 Jun 2026 · 38 min

    Music only the World Cup could make

    The quadrennial soccer (or fútbol, depending who you talk to) competition is upon us again: it's the FIFA World Cup! And while the World Cup is a sporting event, it's still relevant to the folks at Switched On Pop, because every four years a new crop of songs gets commissioned to drum up excitement for the games. This year, the official song is by Shakira and Burna Boy, but offerings from IShowSpeed and a madcap collaboration between Andrea Bocelli, David Guetta, EJAE, and Megan Thee Stallion also play the field. On this episode, Charlie and Nate explore them all – including the Shakira and…

  2. 23 Jun 2026 · 44 min

    Why we can't resist Swedish pop (ft. Zara Larsson) ICYMI

    In case you missed it: How does a country of 10 million people dominate the global pop charts? From ABBA's Eurovision breakthrough to Max Martin's methodical hit-making, Sweden has quietly engineered a kind of musical Stockholm Syndrome: we've all become captives to their sound without realizing it. Listen to the crystalline vocal production and deceptively simple chord progressions in tracks by Lisa, Childish Gambino, and Addison Rae, and you're hearing Sweden's sonic fingerprint so embedded in pop's DNA that it now defines the genre itself. We sit down with pop star Zara Larsson to explore…

  3. 18 Jun 2026 · 32 min

    2hollis is the underground’s genre-hopping vampire

    In the last episode of our feral pop miniseries, we take a look at the 22 year old rapper primed to take over the world: 2hollis. Splitting the difference between hardstyle and hip-hop while emanating an aura best described as “vampiric,” he’s been one of the most hyped musicians coming out of the underground. His music is distorted, chaotic, and over the top – literally – but he reflects a larger sentiment from younger audiences: the more sonic chaos the better. Links: ⁠Newsletter⁠, ⁠YouTube Songs discussed: Ninajirachi – Fuck My Computer underscores – Music 2hollis – poster boy…

  4. 16 Jun 2026 · 32 min

    The new wave of pop is here, and it’s feral

    What would it sound like if pop music was reverted to its most wild state of being? It would sound hyper-digital, influenced by the electronic vanguard of the 2010s, and speak to a post-genre audience. And while the charts have been stagnant, Gen-Z has been crafting this exact sound: one that is exciting, unpredictable, and above all else, feral. After bubbling underground for the past few years, the subgenre we’ve coined “feral pop” is finally poised to have a breakout, best exemplified by the popularity of the computer-loving Ninajirachi, pop star underscores, and rave-rapper 2hollis. This…

  5. 15 Jun 2026 · 43 min

    Olivia Rodrigo has The Cure for sadness

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  6. 9 Jun 2026 · 42 min

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  7. 6 Oct 2026 · 48 min

    Has Taylor Swift jumped the shark?

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  8. 29 Sep 2026 · 49 min

    Carly Rae Jepsen’s pop pedagogy

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  9. 22 Sep 2026 · 38 min

    Tove Lo wants her music to sound out of control (ft. Tove Lo)

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  10. 18 Sep 2026 · 58 min

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