On this Who Won the Month episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Kyle Denis and Emily Fuentes to discuss the big pop stars, rising prospects and veteran greats who were heard from loudest in July 2026 — who got the second half of the year underway already in high gear. We each choose our top fives for the month that was, then we talk some disappointing recent performances, and look ahead to who we're most anticipating hearing more from by the end of the summer of 2026.
(Content warning: We talk about Ariana Grande from about 2:40-16:40, including some talk of what's been going on with her physically and the discussion around that. And if you are struggling with disordered eating, please contact the National Alliance for Eating Disorders at (866) 662-1235.)
If you enjoy the pod, check out out our Who Won the Month recaps for the first two months of 2026 and all 2025 here:
https://www.billboard.com/t/who-won-the-month/
And please consider donating to the following causes:
Transgender Law Center
https://transgenderlawcenter.org/
Trans Lifeline
https://translifeline.org/
Destination Tomorrow
https://secure.givelively.org/donate/destination-tomorrow-inc
Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe
https://www.gofundme.com/c/gender-confirmation-surgery-fundraising
Human Rights Campaign – In Your Area
https://www.hrc.org/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.
https://5calls.org/
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