Unknown histories take center stage as the hitmakers themselves - from ABBA to T-Pain - explore dimensions of pop music you never knew existed.
Love it or hate it, Auto-Tune has changed pop music. From Cher's "Believe" to Kanye West's "Love Lockdown," the sound has penetrated the globe and revolutionized music since its invention in 1997. Some say the pitch-correction technology has ruined music, while others have found fame by using the tool creatively. Tracing Auto-Tune's roots to predecessors like the synthesizer, the good, the bad, and the ugly of this game-changing technology is revealed, grounded in a personal account of Auto-Tune's most famous user, T-Pain.
Britpop. The word can elicit an eye roll, an itch to get on the dance floor, or a sudden urge to cry and sing "Wonderwall." In the early ‘90s, when America was hooked on grunge, The Brits retaliated with a return to catchy, witty, and downright fun pop, speaking to their own stories and cultural roots. This musical zeitgeist known as "Britpop" went far behind the headlines of "Oasis vs. Blur" – bands like Elastica, Echobelly, Pulp, Lush, and Suede became international exports with a unique sound.
Since 1974, when a little-known group named ABBA won Eurovision's song contest with their track "Waterloo," Sweden has been a global force in exporting pop music. Cassette players and bedroom walls have been filled with the likes of Roxette, Ace of Base, and Robyn, and ‘90s playlists featuring Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, and *NSYNC would be obsolete without the work of Swedes Denniz Pop and Max Martin.
Before Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, and 98 Degrees, there was a "boy band" from Philadelphia called Boyz II Men that ruled the charts. With their incredible vocal harmonies and preppy-cool style, Boyz II Men became the "soundtrack to our lives" with hits like "End of The Road", "I'll Make Love To You", "Motown Philly," and "One Sweet Day" – heard at weddings, proms, karaoke bars, and funerals alike. Going back to the band's humble beginnings in Philadelphia, this episode pays homage to the influential R&B group who set the template for ‘90s boy bands.
It's a tale as old as time – a country song goes "pop" and country music fans protest. From Dolly Parton to Shania Twain to Lil Nas X, the scrutiny around what makes a song "country" has been a raging debate that shows no signs of slowing down.
New York City's Brill Building and pop music go together like bread and butter, or in this case, like King n' Goffin, Leiber n' Stoller, or Barry n' Kim. In the 1950s and 60s, songwriters, record producers, and wannabe pop stars flocked to 1619 Broadway in New York with dreams of churning out the next big hit. Full of small rooms with upright pianos, The Brill Building was labelled a "song-factory", but its true spirit grew out of a community that collaborated and challenged each other to achieve greatness.
For decades, musicians have been using music as their weapon of choice against social injustice, discrimination and marginalization. From Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land" to Kendrick Lamar's "Alright," a song is one of the most powerful ways to transmit a message to a large audience.
There is no rite of passage quite like the music festival. Millions of people attend them each year and now more than ever they infiltrate our culture from “festival wear” clothing lines to playlists. Taking a journey from ‘60s counterculture to modern-day "selfie" culture, the evolution of the music festival is explored to examine deeper ideas about the importance of collective experiences, and they act as a cultural mirror that reflect interests and ideals.
The legendary feud between Wyatt Earp and Ike Clanton unfolds through vivid reenactments in this gritty docudrama about the gunfight that defined an era.
Sibling rivalry never sounded so epic. Candice Carty-Williams's electrifying drama of family and fame, with an original soundtrack from the biggest names in black British music.
A basketball prodigy must navigate a maze of pressure if he's going to overcome the odds against him and learn what it truly means to have swagger.
The early adventures of young Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, who must solve a series of deadly puzzles to save his kidnapped mentor and thwart a chilling global conspiracy.
Inspired by the adventures of Arsène Lupin, gentleman thief Assane Diop sets out to avenge his father for an injustice inflicted by a wealthy family.
A single-camera ensemble comedy following the lives of an eclectic group of detectives in a New York precinct, including one slacker who is forced to shape up when he gets a new boss.
When a young boy vanishes, a small town uncovers a mystery involving secret experiments, terrifying supernatural forces, and one strange little girl.
Walter White, a New Mexico chemistry teacher, is diagnosed with Stage III cancer and given a prognosis of only two years left to live. He becomes filled with a sense of fearlessness and an unrelenting desire to secure his family's financial future at any cost as he enters the dangerous world of drugs and crime.
Hundreds of cash-strapped players accept a strange invitation to compete in children's games. Inside, a tempting prize awaits — with deadly high stakes.
Wanda Maximoff and Vision—two super-powered beings living idealized suburban lives—begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems.
Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects—and he’s bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But will Light succeed in his noble goal, or will the Death Note turn him into the very thing he fights against?
During the reign of the Galactic Empire, former Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, embarks on a crucial mission to confront allies turned enemies and face the wrath of the Empire.
To carry out the biggest heist in history, a mysterious man called The Professor recruits a band of eight robbers who have a single characteristic: none of them has anything to lose. Five months of seclusion - memorizing every step, every detail, every probability - culminate in eleven days locked up in the National Coinage and Stamp Factory of Spain, surrounded by police forces and with dozens of hostages in their power, to find out whether their suicide wager will lead to everything or nothing.
The Doctor is a Time Lord: a 900 year old alien with 2 hearts, part of a gifted civilization who mastered time travel. The Doctor saves planets for a living—more of a hobby actually, and the Doctor's very, very good at it.
Shaun Murphy, a young surgeon with autism and savant syndrome, relocates from a quiet country life to join a prestigious hospital's surgical unit. Unable to personally connect with those around him, Shaun uses his extraordinary medical gifts to save lives and challenge the skepticism of his colleagues.
A hedonistic jingle writer's free-wheeling life comes to an abrupt halt when his brother and 10-year-old nephew move into his beach-front house.
A high school becomes ground zero for a zombie virus outbreak. Trapped students must fight their way out — or turn into one of the rabid infected.
Seven noble families fight for control of the mythical land of Westeros. Friction between the houses leads to full-scale war. All while a very ancient evil awakens in the farthest north. Amidst the war, a neglected military order of misfits, the Night's Watch, is all that stands between the realms of men and icy horrors beyond.
Smart, sarcastic and a little dead inside, Wednesday Addams investigates twisted mysteries while making new friends — and foes — at Nevermore Academy.
In 1960, seven outcast kids known as "The Losers' Club" fight an evil demon who poses as a child-killing clown. Thirty years later, they reunite to stop the demon once and for all when it returns to their hometown.
