Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" set the blueprint for the term "Pop Bible", six smash singles, five number ones, and cultural moments that defined a generation. But which 2020s pop album comes closest to claiming that throne?

In Part 1 of Vinyl Drop's first Pop Bible, Keith Montena is joined by AJ Marks, host of Main Pod Girl and lead moderator at Reddit's Popheads, to break down what made Teenage Dream so defining, before diving deep into Dua Lipa's Future Nostalgia. Released March 27th, 2020, just as the world shut down due to Covid-19, Future Nostalgia became one of the defining pop rollout of the pandemic era.

We discuss the rollout, the music, the history, and whether this album holds a candle to Teenage Dream, before going head to head with Sabrina Carpenter's Short N Sweet later on.

Which album wins? You'll have to listen to find out.

Part II of my year-end review of pop music across 2025 tackles Selena Gomez & Benny Blanco's 'I Said I Love You First,' Miley Cyrus with 'Something Beautiful,' and Demi Lovato's 'It's Not That Deep.' All three acts shared similar experiences in the earlier halves of their music careers, and this episode discusses the parallels shared between these artists in 2025. For Selena Gomez, I'll be diving into the couples branding behind her work with Benny Blanco, and how both the singles and campaign may be a mismatch for the album's core. On 'It's Not That Deep,' I'll be going through the recent album and how the singles may have prevented the album from reaching its full potential, and how Demi's dance effort is her most ambitious to date. Plus, how does Miley's new album stack up next to 'Can't Be Tamed,' 'She Is Coming,' 'Endless Summer Vacation,' or 'Plastic Hearts?' Let me know your thoughts as well.

Kicking off my chronological review of pop music across 2025 with Tate McRae's 'So Close To What' & Lady Gaga's 'MAYHEM.' Both artists kicked off in Q1 with some of the years most defining albums, and in this episode I'm breaking down the strengths and weaknesses of both projects in reference to the specific artists catalog, and the grand scheme of pop music at large. Plus, I'll be diving into the campaigns surrounding each album and how they tie to both longevity, public narrative, and their own Grammy chances. Did these albums hold up after months? Did the campaigns promoting the album help the artists reach their potential? I'll also be giving a special shoutout to another great Q1 project, which is 'SALVATION' by Rebecca Black.