ADÉLA, Ella Langley & Tinashe: Which Pop Stars Won September 2026? Greatest Pop Stars Podcast
Billboard ·
This Who Won the Month episode of the 'Greatest Pop Stars' podcast looks at the big names who helped us through a slower month in pop stardom.
It’s October 1, which means we’re into the home stretch for the year in pop stardom. And after a packed first half of the year and still very busy summer, 2026 finally seems to be taking a bit of a breather on the pop star front, as the volume of big releases and big moments has quieted a bit. But there’s still no shortage of big names to discuss, including some sneaky chart-toppers (as well as some now-historic ones), some late legends and some artists involved with last weekend’s MTV Video Music Awards — including, of course, the recently returned biggest pop star of them all.
This week on the Greatest Pop Stars podcast , we catch up with all the stars who defined September 2026 in pop stardom. Host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Trevor Anderson and Kyle Denis to share and debate our respective September top five lists, while also naming some honorable mentions, some disappointments, and some artists who we’re looking forward to in the final few months of the year. (If you want to listen back to our first eight 2026 recaps, or any of our 2025 episodes, you can check them all out here .)
Along the way, we answer all the most pressing questions about September in pop stardom: Is ADÉLA now leading the race for 2026’s pop star rookie of the year? How much of an icon do you have to be to have a major U.S. airport named after you? How much of an icon do you have to be to get Sabrina Carpenter and Charli xcx show up to your moment as supporting players? Were we ready for the encore to Taylor Swift’s Life of a Showgirl era? Was Ed Sheeran in a no-win situation — and did he still manage to take a bigger L than he needed to? How big a deal are these Tinashe and Carly Rae Jepsen albums gonna end up being? And perhaps most importantly: What about all this “Choosin’ Texas” discourse?
Check it out above, and subscribe to the Greatest Pop Stars podcast on Apple Music or Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts ) for weekly discussions every Thursday about all things related to pop stardom!
And as we say in every one of these GPS podcast posts — if you have the time and money to spare, please consider donating to any of these causes in the fight for trans rights:
Transgender Law Center
Trans Lifeline
Destination Tomorrow
Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe
Human Rights Campaign – In Your Area
Also, please consider giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on 5Calls.org .