It’s really quite the honour to be thought of as the KINGS or QUEENS of a Genre - Think of the likes of The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Madonna, Beyoncé, or Taylor Swift  - Artists that have completely become synonymous with the style of music in which they perform, whether it's through their contributions to innovation of the sound, or - quite frankly - through their track record of being the most popular artist or group to have ever done it. With that in mind, if I were to present the genre of...

What does it mean to you when I say the word “brat”? What even is brat at this point? Are you brat? Am I brat? In 2024 we learned what brat was and wasn’t, thanks to Charli XCX - who had a major breakthrough in 2024, but it wasn’t exactly her first rodeo. She has been flirting with stardom since she was a teenager. As early as 2007, Charli took out a loan from her VERY UNDERSTANDING parents in order to make her first album, called 14. While promotional copies of 14 were shared with friends...

Content Warning: This episode of Encore discusses struggles with addiction and mental health issues. Believe it or not, Red Hot Chili Peppers were formed all the way back in 1982 as ‘Tony Flow and The Majestic Masters of Mayhem’ - no idea why that name didn’t ever catch on. But, with all due respect to original members - the late great guitarist Hilel Slovak, and drummer Jack Irons; the current lineup that we all know and love formed some six years later in the final months of 1988. ...

After no less than 5 name changes, and a revolving door of band members, by the year 2000, budding R&B group Destiny's Child were finally in their most recognizable form as a three-piece. By the time the album cycle for their third record 'The Writing's on The Wall' Destiny’s Child had two #1 singles in “Bills Bills Bills” and “Say My Name,” while “Jumpin’ Jumpin’” would reach #3, and “Bug-A-Boo” would be recognized for its boundary-pushing production. The Writing’s On The Wall would go...

Consider this your public service announcement - this episode is about the kings of nu-metal, the royalty of rap-rock, and the band responsible for the most red New York Yankee hats sold this side of the millennium - Limp Bizkit. If you’ve seen any of the footage from either of the Woodstock ‘99 Docs that came out a couple of years ago, or if you are of a certain age to have lived through it - you’ll know that Limp Bizkit - for better or for worse - were a BIG deal… like really big. You can...

Welcome to Season 5 of Encore! We'll have new episodes until the end of the year to keep you going with even MORE stories from the songs you love! Perhaps more than any artist so far on Encore, Ed Sheeran has been the most difficult one to determine just which song to feature. The guy is just such a consistent and reliable hitmaker. He’s also a bit of an outlier. Although he established himself as an acoustic troubadour, over the span of his two-decade career, he has evolved and adapted as...

Welcome to the Season Finale Of Encore! What would you say is the catchiest song of all time? You know that one earworm that you hear once and then for the rest of the day it plays over and over in your head? Well, according to researchers at St. Andrews University in Scotland a song needs to have five things to make it an earworm: surprise, predictability, rhythmic repetition, melodic potency and, most importantly, the listener must be receptive to the creation on a basic level. In their...

There aren’t too many global superstars out there who got their start impersonating Elvis at the age of 2, but that’s exactly how Bruno Mars began his career in music. Yes, you heard me right, Bruno Mars began entertaining while he was still in diapers - and I’m gonna assume it all happened pre-potty training! That is apparently what it takes to become one of the biggest musicians in the world: gyrating your hips and dancing to the jailhouse rock in your nappy. But all of that hard work so...

It’s probably safe to say that by late 2002, Eminem was the most popular rapper in the world.  With three full-length solo albums under his belt, Slim Shady had come quite a long way in the four years since taking the world by storm with The groundbreaking Slim Shady LP in 1999 - introducing the world to his devil-may-care madcap rhymes that ranged from insightful, to absurd, to downright offensive; sometimes all at once. There was no denying Marshall Mathers’ talent on the mic - combining...

When your name means “The highest, most exalted one, the best” you know you’re destined for great things. And Aaliyah definitely achieved great things in her life. An icon of ‘90s R&B, Aaliyah immediately became one of the genre's biggest artists at the young age of 14, eventually redefining the role of what an artist in that genre could be, breaking through into the hip-hop and pop charts. Since her untimely death in 2001, the proclaimed “Princess of R&B” has left behind a legacy in...

In many ways, the mid-to-late 1990s were the golden age of so-called ‘bubblegum pop’.  As technology began to evolve, so did the world’s pop stars, with what seemed like an endless supply of perfectly groomed, perfectly styled, young, boy and girl-next-door type pop stars that smoothed off all of the edges found in contemporary Rock, Hip Hop, and R&B, leaving fans with a slew of safe pop idols to worship. There would always be innuendo in pop music - with a sparkle in the eye of a singer...

Disclaimer: This Episode contains discussions of physical and sexual abuse. To skip past these discussions skip to (4:54) There is no shortage of innovators in Hip-Hop, though for the most part the genre has been a world dominated by male artists. But from her mind-bending, award-winning music videos to her experimental approach to producing, Missy Elliott has changed the game. She has been one of the most forward-thinking minds in hip-hop since she first made her debut in 1997 - regardless...

Scott and James from Finger Eleven sit down with Encore's Myles Galloway for an exclusive retrospective on the band's biggest international hit 'Paralyzer'!  

Rainbow Butt Monkeys. No, you didn’t catch me doing my vocal warmups, and our editor forgot to cut this part out - and no, I haven’t been partaking in some pre-podcast psychedelics… Rainbow Butt Monkeys happens to be the name of one of Canada’s preeminent rock bands of the 2000s. OK I’m bending the truth JUST A BIT  - it’s only the FORMER name of one of Canada’s preeminent rock bands of the 2000s.  You may be more familiar with them by their multiplatinum name; Finger Eleven.  Yes, the...

Choosing a song that truly defines the Foo Fighters in the 2000s is somewhat of a Herculean task: Dave Grohl and his Merry Band of Rock Stars have been putting out such consistently solid Rock N Roll since the mid 90s, one might be forgiven for having a hard time choosing just one. After all, in the 2000s alone there’s the last hurrah of the 90s with the anthemic and sentimental ‘Learn to Fly’.  In 2002/2003 there a dose of heavy and the heartfelt with the back to back smash hits ‘All My...

How many pop songs can you name that are universally adored? There aren’t many, are there?  I think I can name one though: “Dancing On My Own” by Robyn. In case you’re unfamiliar with it, the 2010 banger was widely acclaimed by critics but not so much by the public. In fact, the only country it reached #1 in was Sweden - Robyn’s homeland. But man, oh man, if you can name a song from this millennium that has encapsulated pop music better than “Dancing On My Own,” well, I wouldn’t believe you....

Welcome to Season FOUR of Encore! By 2007, Avril Lavigne was Canada’s Undisputed Pop-Punk Queen. The 22- Year old Avril was two wildly successful albums deep into a career that seemingly knew no bounds. Her Debut, the influential ‘Let Go’ had introduced her to the world at the young age of 17 - and would go a resounding SIX times platinum in America in less than a year.  Songs like ‘Complicated’ and ‘Sk8er Boi’ blew up charts worldwide, winning her Juno Awards, MMVAs and MTV VMAS, and...

Lady Gaga is more than your average pop star. From the early modest days of sewing her own costumes and singing about disco sticks, she has continually reinvented herself along the way to become one of the planet’s biggest stars of both music and film. She’s won Grammys, an Oscar and every award in between. She’s sold over 170 million records and generated hundreds of millions of dollars with her groundbreaking tours. She’s stolen the screen next to leading men such as Bradley Cooper in A...

Quickly - don’t think too hard - but is there a more immediately recognizable Rock riff of the last 25 years than The White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army?  Not so much a song owned by a band anymore, and more of a tour-de-force piece of performance art for passionate sporting event-goers worldwide to make their own; Seven Nation Army has become a part of the public consciousness in ways that very few songs since the turn of the century have managed to. Seven little notes, no real chorus, and a...

Like Madonna, Bono, Prince and Beyoncé before her, Adele is one of the great mononymous superstars of our time. Adele Adkins was born on May 5, 1988 in Tottenham, a working class town in northern London known best for its football club, Tottenham Hotspur. Her mom Penny Adkins, was only 18 when she was born and when she was only two, Adele’s father upped and left for Wales; he would never be in the picture as Adele grew up. From the age of 4, Adele began to sing at every opportunity she...

As I’m sure you’re mostly aware of already - the lyrical content of Amy Winehouse's breakthrough single ‘Rehab’ is very much a true story.  Working with up-and-coming producer Mark Ronson in New York city, Amy inspired the entire production of the song simply walking down the street, telling Ronson her true ‘rehab’ story. Ronson initially thought of it as a funny little anecdote - and one worth turning into a song. Unfortunately, the tale of Rehab was far from a funny one - and Winehouse's...

Did you hear the one about the three sons of a preacher who one day decided to start a rock band with their cousin and somehow sell millions of albums, win some Grammys and have one of the biggest crossover rock songs in recent memory? No? Well, great! Because I’m here to tell you all about how Kings Of Leon did just that. Nathan, Caleb and Jared Followill were three good old southern boys from a small suburb about 17 miles east of Nashville, Tennessee. Their parents were Ivan, a...

There’s quite simply nothing more fascinating in pop music than the ‘sleeper hit’. I can only imagine how a band or artist feels when they introduce themselves to the world to little to no fanfare… then have to swallow their pride, keep on plugging away - and then suddenly blow up almost retroactively.  The rollercoaster ride of ups and downs that surrounded the release of their breakthrough hit 'Mr Brightside' is an example of Rock Music's greatest sleeper hits in 2003… or is it 2004? 2005?...

Amy Lee and LZZY Hale sit down with our team for Encore to discuss the impact of Evanescence's 'Bring Me To Life' 20+ Years later, what it did for Rock Music, and why the 'rap' part of the song has become a blessing in disguise! Listen to the Season 1 Episode of Encore - 'Wake Me Up Inside'