When Maroon 5 came up with their smash hit “Moves Like Jagger,” they knew Jagger was a name that would resonate with listeners. And in 2011, Maroon 5 definitely knew what their fans wanted to hear. But it wasn’t always that way. Have you ever heard of the ‘90s alt-rock band Kara’s Flowers? If you haven’t you’re not alone. They were one of the more forgettable bands of their time. Kara’s Flowers did catch the attention of Rob Cavallo, who you may remember as the guy who produced Green Day’s...

It isn’t easy to shed a boyband or girl group image.  Over the years, plenty of artists have tried and failed to hit the heights of superstardom that they have seen in a group setting. In many ways; the bigger the group, the more of an uphill battle it is to prove to fans that a solo career is a serious, worthwhile endeavor.   Without re-litigating the entire NSYNC-to-solo-star trajectory of Justin Timberlake, it is important to look back at what was one of the more seamless breakout...

She is both the Queen of Pop and the Queen of Reinvention. She is the most successful female solo artist of all-time with more than 300 million records sold. In one word, she is Madonna.  It is safe to say that without Madonna we wouldn’t have the likes of Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Dua Lipa, or insert the name of any up-and-coming pop star that interests you. One could argue that Madonna is the most influential icon of her generation. Emerging from New York City’s underground in...

Welcome to Season 3 of Encore! When the Landmark Las Vegas sphere opened up in September of 2023, with its $2.3 Billion dollar price tag, its 300 tons of steel, 16K resolution screens, 1,600 speakers and 4D machines capable of pumping in wind, scent and more into the venue… There was never any doubt that there was only one band in the world capable of matching the Sphere’s fantastical ambitions… and that band was the Iconic U2. Officially forming in 1976,U2 had an unbelievably successful...

There was no artist bigger than Mariah Carey in the 1990s. She was the Artist of the Decade, according to Billboard, the ​​World Music Awards’ Female Artist of the Millennium, and the owner of 15 number one singles in the ‘90s alone. And that doesn’t even include “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” arguably her biggest song ever. That song didn’t become a #1 hit until 25 years after its release. And it has continued to top the Billboard Hot 100 every year since. On the surface, Mariah was on...

You've likely heard the news by now; Canadian Pop-Punk Icons SUM 41 are embarking on their final world tour, releasing their final album, and hanging up the Vans and Studded belts forever.  That’s right, Ajax, Ontario’s finest are calling it quits. It might surprise you to hear that Sum 41 have been a staple of Rock radio in this country for the better part of 25 years, and that even through lineup changes, health scares, label moves, and  musical experimentation, Deryck Whibley and the...

Did you ever catch Bieber Fever? The first reported cases of this communicable disease began popping up in 2009, throughout Canada, or maybe it was the United States. It was hard to tell considering the fever was spread via performance videos on YouTube by an aspiring teenager named, you guessed it, Justin Bieber. Before he was captaining NHL all-star teams and selling over 150 million records, Justin Drew Bieber was just a young boy being raised by a single mother and his grandparents in...

It might be hard to think of Rihanna as anything other than the multi-hyphenate superstar that she is today.  At time of recording, fans have been waiting for more than eight years for a proper new RiRi album, with 2016’s ANTI being the last full release from the original Bad Gal - but this period of waiting hasn’t made Rihanna any less popular. Back in the year 2007, Rihanna was at a bit of a crossroads - She’d released two albums as a teenager in ‘05 and ‘06, and although her second...

It’s hard to remember a time when Drake wasn’t the biggest rapper in the world. He is Canada’s most successful AND influential artist of the 21st century. As both a rapper and a singer he has pretty much single-handedly put our country on the map for hip-hop and R&B.  He is a five-time Grammy winner, has 85 million monthly listeners on Streaming Services- more than any other rapper - and holds the record for most number 2 singles on the Billboard Hot 100. He also ranks fifth behind the...

Usher was born to entertain. It might be hard to believe, but this year marks the 30th Anniversary of his debut album! Usher was discovered at the age of 13 on television by famed record exec, L.A. Reid, who wasted no time signing him to his LaFace label. Usher’s ascent truly began three years later with the release of his second album, the game-changing My Way, which catapulted him from baby-faced R&B up-and-comer to bona fide casanova. By the age of 20, he was winning Billboard and...

When it comes to the origin cities of hip hop stars over the last 20 plus years - it's safe to say St. Louis, Missouri is not the first to come to mind. But St. Louis, Missouri is the home of at least one rap superstar that had the world of music following his every move for the better part of the 2000s; Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. Better known to you and I as Nelly. Nelly released his first single ‘Country Grammar (Hot Sh*t)’ in early 2000, with album release plans on hold until he could prove...

The United Kingdom and Ireland has a long, rich history of creating boy bands that have taken the British isles, and often the world by storm.  From the early ‘British Invasion’ and the aptly named ‘Beatlemania’ brought on by the Beatles in the 1960s, to the British glam pop influence of the Bay City Rollers in the 70s, Wham!’s iconic sound of the 1980s, to the well established 90s groups like Take That, Westlife, and Boyzone, to the modern pretenders to the throne like JLS, The Wanted, and...

Since the turn of the millennium, Nelly Furtado has been cementing her legacy as one of Canada’s most successful pop stars.  The Victoria, BC native went from unknown newcomer to overnight sensation in 2000 with the release of her debut single, “I’m Like A Bird.” That song won her a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, over heavyweights like Janet Jackson and Sade.  At a time when music was obsessed with teen pop, nu-metal and hip-hop, Nelly emerged with a genre-hopping sound...

By early 2004, Britney Spears had FIRMLY established herself at the pinnacle of pop Music.  Britney had already claimed the title of being the best selling teenage artist of all time thanks to the successes of her albums Baby One More Time and …Oops I Did it Again, and she had just become the youngest artist to be inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame at age 21.  Britney had also already gone a whopping 26x times platinum for her first three mega hit records released in 1999, 2000, and...

Hey Everyone, this week on Encore: The Stories Behind the Songs You Love we've got a special episode from our sister podcast Behind The Christmas Hits all about Taylor Swift's Holiday Hit 'Christmas Tree Farm'! You can check out all four seasons of Behind The Christmas Hits with Drew Savage here, or wherever you get your podcasts! Myles will return with NEW Episodes of Encore on January 11, 2024!

Katy Perry is one of the biggest names in pop music today.  Her albums have sold in the millions and she’s had numerous number one singles, including five consecutive songs that topped the Billboard Hot 100 from her 2010 album, Teenage Dream, alone. But things didn’t come easy for Katy, and her early career looked much different to that of the megastar we know today. Katheryn Hudson was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California. Her parents were both Pentecostal ministers, and...

As the ‘90s came to an end, rock music was in a very aggressive state. Bands like Deftones, Korn and Limp Bizkit were reaching the Billboard charts with their loud, angry and often rapped vocals, leading the way for a new breed of heavy music that was referred to as nu-metal.  But there was one overwhelming observation with this type of music: it was all just a bit too… bro-y.  With the exception of Canada’s own Kittie, the nu-metal scene was dominated by men in backwards baseball caps,...

Formed back in 1996 in California as rap-rock band XERO, Linkin Park went through massive changes to become the band we know today. Original singer Mark Wakefield left the band in 1999 when record labels began noticing the group - but felt he wasn’t a strong enough vocalist to truly push the band forward.  Mark was soon replaced with Chester Bennington, a singer from Arizona who had just left his band Grey Daze.The Chemistry between Xero and Chester was much better; the Hybrid of sounds...

For such a fun and chaotic band, No Doubt was always a safe space for Gwen Stefani. The flexibility in the band’s style and sound paired with Stefani’s undeniable star power as front woman of the group meant that you could be forgiven for thinking that Gwen Stefani the artist, and No Doubt the band were interchangeable.  In an alternate timeline - No Doubt could have carried on through the 2000s and beyond with hit after hit - but artists rarely play it safe; it’s part of the reason we love...

By the time the new millennium arrived, Green Day were thriving as one of the world’s biggest rock bands. The ‘90s had been good to the band. After years of building a following as an independent act, in 1994 the trio of Billie Joe Armstrong, Tre Cool and Mike Dirnt signed to a major label and released their third album, Dookie.  To just about everyone’s surprise, Dookie became a cultural phenomenon, bringing punk rock back to life in the mainstream, winning the band’s first Grammy Award,...

By the time 2008 arrived, Coldplay were arguably the biggest rock band in the world. With their uplifting, emotionally charged soft rock, Coldplay quickly established themselves as heirs to U2. From the release of their debut album, Parachutes, in 2000, the band caught lightning in a bottle. The album’s wistful second single, “Yellow,” was an international hit. Their second album, 2002’s A Rush of Blood to the Head, elevated them to the next level, selling more than 17 million copies and...

In 2003, It is fair to say that rap duo Outkast were at a bit of a creative crossroads. Their 2000 album Stankonia had people rethinking what hip hop music could be - with songs such as B.O.B., Ms. Jackson, and So Fresh, So Clean winning them Grammy Awards for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Album. “Ms. Jackson”; their Billboard hot 100 hit from Stankonia was a sultry, tongue in cheek affair that gave the duo of Andre 3000 and Big Boi a rare trifecta of accolades in pop culture: Hip Hop...

Originally signed by major label Columbia Records in 1999 with a planned release of an album called “Power of the Dollar”. A young 50 Cent intended on tapping into underground hype with a lead single called ‘How to Rob’ in August 1999. Within a year of How To Rob’s release, 50 Cent was dropped from the label, and the album was canceled after he was shot nine times in Queens, New York in May 2000. After this blacklisting, 50 Cent had to look for alternative locations to record new music, as...

In 2003, the world couldn’t have been more ready for a Beyoncé Knowles breakout.Beyoncé’s group Destiny’s Child was one of the most successful groups of the late 90s and early 2000s, and she’d made her film debut the year prior, in the Austin Powers Sequel “Goldmember”, as well as contributing to its soundtrack. By late 2002, it was clear that Beyoncé’s solo star was ready to shine with a feature on her at-the-time-rumored boyfriend Jay-Z’s hit “‘03 Bonnie & Clyde”. - it added some edge...

By 2005, Nickelback could already lay claim to being one of the most ubiquitous bands in the world.  Having already achieved unbelievable success with Hits like “How You Remind Me” “Too Bad” and “Someday”, Nickelback had long crossed over from being a little band from Hanna, Alberta into bonafide global Rock Stars.  Armed with earnest lyrics, catchy melodies, and of course the aforementioned heartstring-tugging video - it’s no surprise that Photograph was a smash success.  Photograph...