Name 3 Songs

Why do labels sign artists but not allow them to release an album for years? Why do labels control an artists’ image or ghost them when they’re ready to drop music? These are just some of the stories artists like Megan thee Stallion, Raye, JoJo and Sky Ferreira have been through. So how did we get here in the first place? We’re digging into how record labels work, why they have so much power, and what they can do to treat their artists better. Enjoy this episode? Join our Patreon community or leave us a tip on PayPal! Want to talk more? Find us: @name3songs | @sara_feigin | @jenna_millionCheck out all the sources for this episode at name3song.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What’s all this talk about fans “gaming” the Billboard Charts? In recent months, music critics have argued that BTS’ “Butter” is not the biggest song in America, despite sitting at No 1 on the Hot 100 for 9 weeks, pointing fingers at BTS’ ARMY fanbase for manipulating their position by buying and streaming the song. If it sounds hypocritical, it is. Since the creation of the Billboard Charts in 1958, record labels and industry insiders have been using tactics to inflate artists’ numbers and in turn, boost their position on the charts. In this episode, we’re joined by music journalist Bryan Rolli to take a look at the history of the charts, inflation tactics, and examine the case studies of Lil Nas X’s unprecedented 19-week No 1 streak with “Old Town Road” and the manipulation accusations surrounding BTS’s “Butter.” You can read Bryan’s work on Forbes and follow him on Twitter for more. Enjoy this episode? Join our Patreon community or leave us a tip on PayPal! Want to talk more? Find us: @name3songs | @sara_feigin | @jenna_millionCheck out all the sources for this episode at name3song.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can women ever truly own their sexuality? How do we empower ourselves in the face of objectification? What does empowerment even look like?For our one-year anniversary episode, we are diving into the psychology of sexualization in an attempt to find answers to these questions.From Megan the Stallion and Cardi B to Lizzo and Billie Eilish, we take a closer look at how these women have empowered themselves, and the positive and negative discourse that has surrounded their choices.Enjoy this episode? Join our Patreon community or leave us a tip on PayPal! Want to talk more? Find us: @name3songs | @sara_feigin | @jenna_millionCheck out all the sources for this episode at name3song.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why are kpop fans considered crazed consumers? Why are kpop idols undermined for “not writing their music”? Why does the American music industry only recognize BTS when they release songs in English?In this episode, we break down some of the myths around kpop and turn the narrative on ourselves as Americans to ask – what makes us believe these myths in the first place?Let’s put on our critical thinking caps to explore the way we view the American and Korean music industries. And we couldn’t do it without the help of Stephanie Parker, kpop fan since ‘04 and co-host of The Kpopcast!Check out The Kpopcast on all podcast platforms + follow on Twitter for weekly live chats!Enjoy this episode? Join our Patreon community or leave us a tip on PayPal! Want to talk more? Find us: @name3songs | @sara_feigin | @jenna_millionCheck out all the sources for this episode at name3song.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Paris Hilton is now a well-respected DJ, but in the early 2000s, she was treated as a blonde bimbo from reality show The Simple Life with a sex tape. So naturally when made her debut as a singer with “Stars are Blind” in 2006, the world said “no thank you” before they even gave it a chance. This week we’re talking about Paris, Lindsay Lohan, Heidi Montag and Kim Kardashian – maligned women from the 00s whose music careers flopped and whether or not the media narrative surrounding them had something to do with it.Enjoy this episode? Join our Patreon community or leave us a tip on PayPal! Want to talk more? Find us: @name3songs | @sara_feigin | @jenna_millionCheck out all the sources for this episode at name3song.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The rise of the internet in the early 2000s ushered in a new era of pop stars – one where teen girls like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera were suddenly available for mass consumption and subject to the omnipresent male gaze. This gave way to pressures for female stars to walk the fine line between virgin and whore. And all the while, the world was watching, waiting for the day they turned from girls to women and stepped into their sexuality. By 19, Britney fully embraced her sexual identity in “I’m a Slave 4 U '' and subsequent album Britney; meanwhile, Christina, 21, did the same with “Dirrty” and Stripped. After the album cycles, they both stepped back from the overtly sexual images, leaving us to wonder if it all had to do with the pressure to become the sexual being that society was waiting for them to be.In this episode, we explore the narratives given to Britney and Xtina, and look at how others like Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, Dua Lipa and Billie Eilish dealt with the pressure to be sexual pop stars. Enjoy this episode? Join our Patreon community or leave us a tip on PayPal! Want to talk more? Find us: @name3songs | @sara_feigin | @jenna_millionCheck out all the sources for this episode at name3song.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why does the music industry insist on relegating female musicians into this mythical “women in rock” genre? Instead of continuing to ask women the tired question “what’s it like to be a woman in music?” why don’t we start asking men “what’s it like to benefit from male privilege in music?”.In this episode, we’re joined by She Will Rock You podcast to look back at the women who have defined rock music and how they’ve been treated – from Heart being called incestual lovers to Phoebe Bridgers being criticized for smashing her guitar on SNL. For more rock music stories like these, check out She Will Rock You on all podcast platforms.Enjoy this episode? Join our Patreon community or leave us a tip on PayPal! Want to talk more? Find us: @name3songs | @sara_feigin | @jenna_millionCheck out all the sources for this episode at name3song.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As much as everyone loves Dolly Parton’s honey-sweet vocals and big hair, country music has a diversity problem – and not just the lack of women, but the even greater lack of people of color and queer folks. This week we’re breaking it all down to understand how country music has come to represent such a deep divide of American diversity. From The Chicks and Marren Morris to Kacey Musgraves and Mickey Guyton, we’re taking a closer look at the women who are knocking down doors to create a more diverse space.And we couldn’t do it without a true expert – Madeleine Molly, gender studies scholar at the London School of Economics and country music host at W!ZARD Radio.You can join Madeleine Molly every Sunday at 4pm GMT on W!ZARD Radio for more conversations like this one. And you can support black women in country music at the funds here and here!Enjoy this episode? Join our Patreon community or leave us a tip on PayPal! Want to talk more? Find us: @name3songs | @sara_feigin | @jenna_millionCheck out all the sources for this episode at name3song.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the music industry tries to put you in a box, what do you do? For Fefe Dobson, “Brandy Spears'' was the box industry executives tried to force her into. Referring to a black girl like Brandy with a pop voice like Britney, Dobson knew she would never be successful playing a role that wasn’t true to herself. Instead, she made her mark in music history with her 2003 rock-infused debut album at the age of 18.In this week’s episode of Name 3 Songs, we sit down with Dobson herself to hear about the challenges she faced over the years in an industry that didn’t know how to handle her. Despite the ups and downs, Dobson remains clear in her passion for creating authentic music. In our exclusive interview, she tells us about the importance of empowering women in music and lets us in on some of the many “blessings” she received over the years like seeing Miley Cyrus perform her song “Start All Over.” Enjoy this episode? Join our Patreon community or leave us a tip on PayPal! Want to talk more? Find us: @name3songs | @sara_feigin | @jenna_millionLearn more about the sources referenced in this episode at name3songs.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There comes a time when every teen boy bander or male popstar turns from innocent heartthrob to promiscuous adult — and they make a whole album to let you know about it. This phenomenon all started when Justin Timberlake traded the N*SYNC’s teen pop bangers for the sensual R&B tunes on his debut solo record Justified (2002) – ultimately distancing himself from the fangirl stigma to be taken seriously by an older, male demographic. After Timberlake, this phenomenon was repeated by others like Jesse McCartney, Nick Jonas, Justin Bieber, Zayn Malik, and Liam Payne. We’re ranking each of their transitions from the cringiest of bad boy rebrandings to the suavest. Enjoy this episode? Join our Patreon community or leave us a tip on PayPal! Want to talk more? Find us: @name3songs | @sara_feigin | @jenna_millionLearn more about the sources referenced in this episode at name3songs.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices