Zach Sang Show

Hall & Oates are the biggest selling American duo in music history. Let that just marinate for a second. The iconic pair made waves through the 70s and 80s with songs like ‘She’s Gone,’ ‘Rich Girl,’ ‘Private Eyes,’ ‘Maneater,’ and ‘I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do),’ to name a scant few, and while they continued to release albums well into their fourth decade, by 2023 they were locked in an acrimonious lawsuit with regards to Oates wanting to sell his stake in their business partnership. As of August 2025 the charttopping duo have resolved the issue, but this is of course a topic we touched upon when the legendary guitarist and songwriter stopped by the studio for the first time. Where his last solo album was an exploration of his folk/blues/Americana roots, for his newly released seventh record, Oates, he pulls from his more groove-based back catalog, teaming up with and being inspired by young artists like Lawrence and Devon Gilfillian. As well as discussing all this, he also shares once in a lifetime encounters with Madonna, Andy Warhol, and Michael Jackson, the power music and visuals (in particular pertaining to 500 Days of Summer), his time as an Anteater on The Masked Singer (no, really), the stories behind songs like ‘Rich Girl,’ and their second LP Abandoned Luncheonette, plus so much more. Stream "Oates" ►►https://tinyurl.com/mrxsbrnu SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 2 September 2025

John Fogerty will go down as an artist who’s written some of the most enduring songs in modern music: ‘Proud Mary,’ ‘Fortunate Son,’ ‘Have You Ever Seen The Rain?,’ ‘Centerfield,’ the list goes on and on. Equally, as the leader of Creedence Clearwater Revival, he’s part of a quartet who will go down in history as having signed one of the most exploitative record contracts ever inked (Fantasy Records, headed up by record exec Saul Zaentz. Much of Fogerty’s life, while ablaze with creativity and music, has also been colored by the fact that his catalog was no longer his. Legal wranglings, depressions, bitterness, and many years feeling divorced from the lionshare of his own music ensued. Now at the age of 80, he is for the most part, back in control of his creations (thanks in large part to his wife Julie). This year he headed back into the studio to lay down Legacy: The Creedence Clearwater Revival Years, rerecordings of his greatest Creedence hits produced and performed with the help of his two youngest sons, Tyler and Shane. We discuss all this: the circumstances that led up to the life-altering (in many ways) record deal, the complicated band dynamics that fractured the CCR, and the stories behind some of his aforementioned biggest hits and the cultural and personal shifts that inspired them. Plus he opens up about his wife of 30-years and the impact her manifestation and chutzpah has had on his life and career, his firsthand experiences getting drafted for Vietnam and San Francisco’s legendary Summer of Love in 1967, his collab with Eric Church for NASCAR 2025, and so much more. SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 27 August 2025

Don’t worry — no spoilers here — but the final season of Amazon Prime’s Upload is upon us. The surreally, funny, tech-prophetic series left us all on a cliffhanger at the close of season 3 with Robbie’s character cloned and one of them bites the dust: BUT WHICH ONE!? And who is Robbie Amell? The Canadian actor is commercially successful, prolific, and widely swooned over. He’s been part of big shows that are a part of fabric of people’s childhoods, True Jackson, VP, Scooby Doo, Life with Derek, but he’s also highly motivated and indie-minded: the runaway success of the crowd-funded film Code 8 — which he made with his pals and cousin Stephen Amell — alongside its Netflix-funded sequel is proof enough. Inspiring stuff. Next up, his film Racewalkers. We talk about all this, but also meeting his wife and best pals on the set of American Pie: Beta House, The Duff, and of course we go deep on Upload, the project he’s had the longest history with. What it was like working with the screenwriting legend that is Greg Daniels (SNL alum, The Office, co-creator of Parks and Rec, and King of the Hill), plus talk character arcs, special effects, AI, and so much more. SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 25 August 2025

Self-described as the funniest dude in his high school, Kyle Gordon hit the viral jackpot back in 2023 with his Euro dance spoof song ‘Planet of the Bass,’ inhabiting the character DJ Crazy Times. He’s collabed with Ed Sheeran, shooting a video with him at Courtney Cox’s house (we talk about this), parlaying his clicks into 2024 comedy album Kyle Gordon Is Great. He returns this year — both to the studio and with a new album, the wildly iterative record Kyle Gordon Is Wonderful. On it he parodies everything from nu metal to UK Garage. In this conversation he shows up for half of it as flaccid-beanie boy Kody Redwing (think Mumford and Sons produced by fun.-era Jack Antonoff), before segueing into plain ol’ Kyle to discuss fellow TikTok hit-boy Brendan Abernathy, the genius of Flight of the Concords, and South Park’s Trey Parker, and his early years in the cult of improv. Trigger warning: nude feet are featured herein. Stream "Kyle Gordon is Wonderful" ►►https://kylegordon.lnk.to/KyleGordonisWonderful SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 22 August 2025

Filipino girl group BINI — made up of Aiah, Colet, Maloi, Gwen, Stacey, Mikha, Jhoanna, and Sheena — join us in the studio for the first time to talk about their early years, how they incorporate Filo culture into their music (OPM = original Filipino music), along with the country’s various dialects. Having initially broken through thanks to 2019’s competition TV show Star Hunt Academy Girls, the eight-piece have released two full lengths and are wowing P-pop fans (and beyond) on the world stage. We talk to the girls about their different roles within the group and we dispel some myths, learn Filo phrases, how Big Brother fits into their story, and so much more. Welcome to the Biniverse! SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55u See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 19 August 2025

Meet CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso, aka Catriel Guerreiro and Ulises Guerriero, an Argentinian duo who have been buds since finding themselves in the same music school as kids with the same last name. Although the pair first emerged in this iteration back in 2018, it wasn’t until Autumn 2024 when they headed into the NPR offices to reimagine their music for the Tiny Desk Concert format that C&P became a global concern. It’s a performance that forms the basis of their latest EP, PAPOTA, a performance that distills both their cheeky attitude and wry sense of humor with their eclectic musicianship and eye-catching sense of style. To date the video has 39 million views and counting. We caught up with the twosome to talk about their beginnings in Buenos Aires, how Tiny Desk changed their life, their first ever US live performances being at Coachella 2025 (casual), and how K-pop and Queen alike have influenced their music. If you haven’t listened to their latest EP PAPOTA, you must, and better yet, watch the short film that accompanies the EP. It’s a piece that really captures the essence of CA7RIEL & Paco — their absurd, surrealist, smutty humor, depicting a world populated by Chads (watch the interview to get the rundown on Chads), who are obsessed with chicken and steroids. We talk about all this plus imposter syndrome, Zoolander and Elvis, Barbra Streisand and Sharon Stone, obsessive fans, the thrill of inspiring negative reactions, plus so much more. SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 18 August 2025

You might know him from the 2016 viral sensation ‘Dat $tick,’ but Rich Brian is understandably keen to leave that infamy behind. The Indonesian rapper’s been out of the spotlight for six years so we find out what went down (it’s relationship related), his epic new record WHERE IS MY HEAD?, and the meticulous world-building that comes along with it. We also discuss his early years in Indonesia as part of a family Christian rock group, learning English (and pretty much everything) from YouTube, his collabs and run-ins with everyone from Ski Mask The Slump God to Pharrell Williams, Andre 3000 to Thundercat to Tyler, the Creator, and bbno$. He also shows us how fast he can complete a Rubik's Cube. It’s pretty impressive. Stream "WHERE IS MY HEAD?" ►►https://tinyurl.com/ymr43a3v SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 15 August 2025

If you’re of a certain age you grew up with Alyson Stoner — the dancer in the Missy Elliot video for ‘Work It,’ the little girl in Mike’s Super Short Show, Cheaper by the Dozen, Camp Rock, Step Up, and so many more. For a time they were a Disney darling… until they weren’t. Behind the scenes Stoner was struggling to grow up and find their place in an industry that they didn’t even have ambitions for in the first place. Now retrained in mental health and working hard to improve child labor laws, particularly around the unregulated industry of child influencers and kids on movie and TV sets today, Stoner’s memoir, Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything, is a searing, heartbreaking glimpse into their journey through Hollywood over the past two plus decades. Stoner discusses with candor their disordered eating, coming to terms with identity and sexuality, turning to and then from religion, what it was like working with Demi Lovato and the Jonas Brothers as they turned from child stars to stratospheric brands. From plastic surgery to rehab, family struggles, and the misuse of their earnings by the family member they trusted the most, Stoner has been through the ringer and they talk about it all. Oh and we finally get the truth about the Stoner / Hanna Montana rumor. Order "Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything" ►► https://tinyurl.com/4tkry67t SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 13 August 2025

Mark Tuan didn’t grow up with dreams of being a singer or K-pop idol — which makes the success he achieved with GOT7 and now as a solo star even more bananas. He joins us in the studio for the first time as a solo artist to talk about everything from his beginnings getting scouted at school in LA to the reality of being a K-pop trainee, juggling school work, vocal and choreo lessons, and learning a new language in a foreign land. The self-described homebody and fan-described Quiet Savage tells us the story behind his 2022 solo album The Other Side and how it lifts the lid on his time being in the idol system, the inexplicable Instagram fame of his father, the future of GOT7, his tattoos, and more. SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 12 August 2025

Manhattan-born Chilean singer Paloma Rocío Castillo Astorga joins us in the studio for the first time to discuss her second album CODiGOS DE MUÑEKA, meaning Girl Codes. Just as her 2021 album, Sueños de Dalí, explores the many facets of Paloma Mami, so this follow-up digs deeper, but finds her in a looser, freer, more confident state of creativity. This time round she opened her up R&B-reggaeton-urbano grooves to collabs with everyone from Puerto Rican superstar Rauw Alejandro to Chilean innovators like Pailita and El Jordan 23 and Ithanny, to Brazil’s Marcianeke, to name a few. We find out how all this came together, plus her beginnings living in New York, skipping school to read Manga at Barnes & Noble, the culture shock of moving to Chile as a teen, and a stint on a singing competition reality show. The first ever Chilean Sony Latin-signee also talks star signs, numerology, her bestie and make-up artist sister, female archetypes, and much more. Stream "CÓDiGOS DE MUÑEKA" ►►https://tinyurl.com/bdh7t2p7 SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 11 August 2025

Joining us in the studio, just before he jetted off to New Zealand to film the hotly anticipated new Evil Dead movie, is Hunter Doohan, the 31-year-old Arkansas-born actor that you undoubtedly know best as Tyler Galpin, the barista-turned-Tim Burton monster in Netflix smash Wednesday. He settles in to chat season 2, discussing his character’s evolution — and how one even preps for the role of an orphaned murderous monster-cum-love interest — Lady Gaga joining the cast, his audition with Jenna Ortega (and working with her generally), baby oil application, and seaon 2’s dom-sub undertones. We also get into his origin story: how he got to Hollywood, his big break, working with Bryan Cranston on the critically acclaimed Your Honor, finding love on the apps, and getting Cranston to officiate his wedding. Plus he talks about his experience being queer in Hollywood, his formative influences, his groundbreaking pro-tennis father and more. SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 6 August 2025

He needs no introduction. He’s in 5 Seconds of Summer. And he also has a solo album to talk about. (If you haven’t heard ‘give me a break!’ ft Waterparks, do so immediately.) So he’s joining us on the couch, all on his own for the first time ever, to talk about SIDEQUEST. Except actually this is the second time solo on our couch. Clifford popped in four months ago to talk about the record, and we get into why we’re doing a little reshoot. In this conversation really runs the gamut: the 29-year-old opens up about his musical insecurities, comparison being the death of creativity, writing with fellow 5SOS bandmate Callum, Awsten from Waterparks, and musical hero-turned-pal Porter Robinson. We also discuss his evolution as a father — he’s about to have baby number two!! — getting together with his wife, adulting, and shifting priorities. And of course the juggle between solo endeavors and 5SOS… and it seems like new music might just be on the way. Stream "SIDEQUEST" ►►https://tinyurl.com/3jtm9rbd SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55u See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 31 July 2025

We caught up with Quadeca a little bit last month when he crashed the Kevin Abstract interview with Love Spells, and thanks to overwhelming demand, here he is solo and in-depth. Still just 24 years old, Quadeca, aka Benjamin Fernando Barajas Lasky, has been extremely online for almost half his life. Starting his YouTube channel back in 2012, putting up Fifa videos, then becoming known as a YouTube rapper, getting in spats with KSI, and eventually swerving into more experimental sonic territory, releasing his own brain-bending records as well as working with others like Abstract and Danny Brown. We talk about all this plus his latest opus Vanisher, Horizon Scraper, an ambitious concept record that has a mythos all its own (and we get into it big time). We also discuss the influence of his parents, his early-years piano teacher, his loyal fanbase, and learning to sail as part of the creation of this fourth album. A dedicated polymath, his ethos on music videos and remaining independent is truly inspiring. Definitely don’t sleep on this conversation. Stream "Vanisher, Horizon Scraper" ►►https://tinyurl.com/373mef4b SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 25 July 2025

A whole 10 months since she last sat on our couch and Jessie Murph is back — all in pink with a Priscilla Presley bouffant — to talk about her new album Sex Hysteria. It’s a collection that flays with its honesty, filtering the 20-year-old’s relationship experiences — familial, romantic, and otherwise — into lyrics that are searing, sassy, and sad too (‘The Man Who Came Back’ we’re looking at you). There’s some solid good-time bangers too ‘Touch Me Like a Gangster’ and ‘Blue Strips’ with Sexyy Red to name a couple. We talk about all this, the Alabama-born singer’s new look, and her 60s soul-trap sonic palette. We also discuss the meaning behind Sex Hysteria, how she’s now incorporating her cheer background into her work, generational cycles (and how hard it is to break them), not to mention working with Lil Baby and Gucci Mane too. Oh and how there’s a few killer songs on the vinyl that won’t make it onto streaming. So you better get your hands on that 12-inch when you can. Although it doesn’t always come easily for her, it’s Jessie’s era of emotional transparency and we’re here for it. SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55u See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 23 July 2025

It’s been a minute or six years since DJ and internet prankster Dillon Francis dropped by. Since then a lot has happened — endless Vegas residencies, sobriety, and, it seems, he’s developed fatigue of The Drop. Naturally the LA-native is still busy crafting drops: he has a new release with German house DJ Marten Hørger for one, and a whole punk-pop project popping too (no drops there). We also talk about Diplo, his falling out and reconciliation with DJ Snake, the young artists he’s buzzing about, reality TV, plundering Splice, and how after a decade plus he manages to stay inspired. SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 21 July 2025

From being a sportsman in his youth to leaving it all behind to be a Kpop trainee, to touring the world with GOT7, to going solo and independent, Jackson Wang’s many phases could fill a memoir and he’s only 31. Fresh from traipsing round Mumbai, India, Jackson joined us again — for the first time in five years — to discuss this new era of his career and his third album MAGICMAN 2. It’s a record preceded by a year off, a necessary reboot, a recalibration — in short, Jackson took control. His sound is different and so is his outlook. It’s a coming of age, a newfound appreciation of his parents; a record that after greater glimpses into the dark corners of human behaviour, and one that opens himself up in a way previous records have not. Many diary entries later, it’s a record that also makes peace with betrayal. We discuss the machinations of GOT7 moving forward, fencing, his latest fashion venture, fandom and the idol system, and so much more. It’s a serious chat, but also one that’s full of jokes. And a fair few of them at our expense! Watch KCON LA LIVE this year with Amazon Music Aug 1-3! Fans all over the world can access the livestream through the Amazon Music channel on Prime Video and Twitch! More info here: https://music.amazon.com/live/events/LKZ17IR51R And be sure to check out the K-POP NOW playlist on Amazon Music! https://music.amazon.com/playlists/B07S68R7HP SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 18 July 2025

From being a sportsman in his youth to leaving it all behind to be a Kpop trainee, to touring the world with GOT7, to going solo and independent, Jackson Wang’s many phases could fill a memoir and he’s only 31. Fresh from traipsing round Mumbai, India, Jackson joined us again — for the first time in five years — to discuss this new era of his career and his third album MAGICMAN 2. It’s a record preceded by a year off, a necessary reboot, a recalibration — in short, Jackson took control. His sound is different and so is his outlook. It’s a coming of age, a newfound appreciation of his parents; a record that after greater glimpses into the dark corners of human behaviour, and one that opens himself up in a way previous records have not. Many diary entries later, it’s a record that also makes peace with betrayal. We discuss the machinations of GOT7 moving forward, fencing, his latest fashion venture, fandom and the idol system, and so much more. It’s a serious chat, but also one that’s full of jokes. And a fair few of them at our expense! Watch KCON LA LIVE this year with Amazon Music Aug 1-3! Fans all over the world can access the livestream through the Amazon Music channel on Prime Video and Twitch! More info here: https://music.amazon.com/live/events/LKZ17IR51R And be sure to check out the K-POP NOW playlist on Amazon Music! https://music.amazon.com/playlists/B07S68R7HP SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 18 July 2025

Keshi joins us IRL in the studio for the first time — last time was peak-pandemic vibes — and it gets real, real fast. He maps his beginnings as an oncology nurse and the moment he decided to make the leap to music and we go deep into his process — now on his latest LP Requiem versus his debut Gabriel — his tricked-out home studio, his abiding John Mayer nerdery (right down to the style of tattoos), and the striking the balance between his public and private spheres. The 30-year-old Houston, Texas-born artist also speaks movingly about the loss of the close collaborator, the grief of which inspired a significant amount of this record. Additionally we touch on imposter syndrome, Sigmund Freud, OCD, how much is too much and how sometimes his music is setting the stage for his own therapy. Don’t miss this conversation! Stream "Requiem" ►►https://keshi.lnk.to/RequiemDeluxe SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 16 July 2025

Lauren Spencer Smith returns to the studio for a third time to talk about her latest LP THE ART OF BEING A MESS. We go deep real fast with the British-born, British Colombia-based, American Idol alum. Just like her music, in conversation the 21-year-old is candid, raw, and funny, unpicking the true-life stories behind ‘IF KARMA DOESN’T GET YOU (I WILL),’ ‘Looking Up,’ ‘things you never say,’ and more. Her emotions are close to the surface; her songs, small exorcisms. The pain of grief, the disappointment of divorce, the fiery rage of being underestimated. We also talk about self-love and acceptance, friend breakups, singing with Keith Urban at 11, American Idol, love, and so much more. Stream "THE ART OF BEING A MESS" ►► https://laurenspencersmith.lnk.to/THEARTOFBEINGAMESS SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 14 July 2025

Amazon Music is offering Prime members a 4 Month Free Trial of Amazon Music Unlimited! Sign up here: https://www.tryamazonmusic.com/zach and enjoy your favorite music, podcasts, and audiobooks all summer long! We are so excited to welcome the cast of the latest Zombies installment, Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires: Meg Donnelly as Addison, Milo Manheim as Zed, and new characters Freya Skye as the day walker Nova, and Malachai Barton as Victor, the vampire. We get into the new movie, which takes place outside of Seabrook for the first time. Meg and Milo reprise their roles both as leads (and exec producers), but they’re making way for the next generation. They talk about everything from the audition process to the big dance numbers, to the cult-like following of Shrimpy, and where the hell is Bucky? We also find out more about newbies Freya and Malachi: like who has a former American Idol contestant mother, who stole what from the set post-wrap, and who puked after a particularly grueling stunt. Plus our very own Kelsey — a Zombies superfan — pops into grill the foursome. Freya and Malachi are also heading out on tour with the Descendants cast this summer so they give us a little sneak peak on that plus much, much more. SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 11 July 2025

Amazon Music is offering Prime members a 4 Month Free Trial of Amazon Music Unlimited! Sign up here: https://www.tryamazonmusic.com/zach and enjoy your favorite music, podcasts, and audiobooks all summer long! Dream-pop band The Marías have captivating audiences since their nimble, lush EPs Superclean Vol. I and II, in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Led by frontwoman Maria Zardoya’s slinky, sultry vocals and anchored by Josh Conway’s cinematic grooves, their music feels instinctual and familiar, with lyrics that go for the emotional jugular. Slot them seamlessly between Cigarettes After Sex and Mazzy Star and you’re getting there. Fast-forward eight years and they’re streaming millions and have collaborated with everyone from Bad Bunny to Benny Blanco and Selena Gomez. Maria joins us in the studio for the first time to discuss all this, plus how and why she left Puerto Rico for Snellville, Georgia, ultimately winding up in LA (and the crazy way she did so!), meeting Josh by chance, falling in love, and forming the band. But how does a band — completed by Jesse Perlman and Edward James — survive the break-up of its key songwriters? Maria and Josh navigated these choppy waters in the creation of 2024’s Submarine, their story lingering on recent singles ‘Back to Me’ and ‘Nobody New.’ The 29-year-old opens up about the therapy, the heartbreak and the healing. Is love worth it? What is love without possession? We go deep and talk psychedelics, underwater photoshoots, the upcoming record which will complete this three colors trilogy (a nod to director Krzysztof Kieślowski), plus much, much more. SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 9 July 2025

Amazon Music is offering Prime members a 4 Month Free Trial of Amazon Music Unlimited! Sign up here: https://www.tryamazonmusic.com/zach andenjoy your favorite music, podcasts, and audiobooks all summer long! Belinda Peregrín Schüll — known mononymously as Belinda, or Beli to her inner circle — has been famous for longer than she’s been alive. The Madrid-born, Mexico City-raised multi-hyphenate first rose to fame acting in telenovelas like Aventuras en el Tiempo and Cómplices Al Rescate (in which she played twins separated at birth, including the iconic Silvana), rising to greater acclaim and renown at 13 when she dropped her debut, self-titled album. Since then multi-Latin Grammy nominated artist has consistently balanced a thriving music, movie and TV, and voiceover career: From the Cheetah Girls 2 to being a judge on The Voice Mexico to her latest Amazon Prime Video hits and 2025’s Mentiras, la serie. The 35-year-old joins us in the studio for the first time to talk about her first full-length LP in 12 years, Indómita, her grand vision, and her love of the craft. We also talk about Corridos Coquette, working with Bad Bunny and explicit Dominican rapper Tokischa (one of her collaborators on the boundary-pushing ‘Wet Dreams,’ plus what her father thought of the song). She discusses her control freak tendencies, her love of Cumbawumba, public scrutiny, romance and heartbreak, and why Scorpios are just not it. Additionally she explains her love of fantasy works like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings and its influence on her work alongside the impact of Jane Austin and Frida Kahlo alike. There’s also Bad Bunny, ex-boyfriends, Aristocats and so much more. SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 7 July 2025

Kylie Cantrall is now forever synonymous with the character of Red — the headstrong daughter of the Queen of Hearts — thanks to last year’s smash hit Descendents: The Rise of Red, the latest installment in the Disney Descendents franchise (and of course a new one is on the way). Now 20-years-old, LA-born Kylie has been laser-focused on a career in music, dance, and acting since she started her YouTube channel Hello Kylie, at just eight years old. Joining us in the studio for the first time she was also super excited to discuss her 90s-early 2000s R&B-influenced EP B.O.Y. — all its lyrical inspirations and working with production icon Rodney ‘Darkchild’ Jerkins — and the influences of her music producer dad and her choreographer mom. We talk about her big break babysitting aliens in Gabby Duran and the Unsittables, her role in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, what it was like working with Rita Ora and Brandy on Descendents, hitting the road this summer on the Descendants/Zombies: Worlds Collide Tour, and so much more… including an Addison Rae co-sign. SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 3 July 2025

Alert! This episode does contain Ironheart spoilers! In the space of eight short years Dominique Thorne has gone from her big break in Barry Jenkins’ adaptation of James Baldwin’s If Beale Street Could Talk, to starring as RiRi Wiliams in Disney’s Ironheart series, with roles in Judas and the Black Messiah and Wakanda Forever along the way. The Brooklyn-born, Trinidadian has featured in hard-hitting, critically acclaimed smashes at every step. The 27-year-old joins us in the studio for the first time to talk about her early years, falling for Shakespeare, acting in Greek, and studying at Cornell and how her degree feeds into her craft today. Not to mention her Black Panther screentest with the late, great Chadwick Boseman, director Ryan Coogler, Robert Downey Jr., Ironheart — and its impactful female crew and costars — and the MCU. She also discusses the loss of her makeup artist and close friend AJ Crimson, and so much more. Whatever’s next, the future is certainly bright. SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 2 July 2025

You will know Jenna Davis as the cheeky but saccharine-sweet but totally lethal voice of AI robot M3GAN, now back in M3GAN 2.0. But Davis has been on her grind since she was just 10-years-old, building up her credits not only as a voice actor, but in front of the camera, all the while honing her skills as a singer too. Now, at 21, she’s dropping her debut LP, Where Did That Girl Go?, a sassy country-pop, coming-of-age collection with cuts from the likes of Kelsea Ballerini and plenty of co-writes as well. We talk about her debut album, but also her early viral success as the “penny nickel dime girl,” the Drake of it all, and becoming a meme. Primarily though we go deep into the world of M3GAN, her audition, working with Alison WIlliams, the horror community, and how uncannily predictive of the future the movies have been with regards to the ever-advancing AI revolution. Stream "Where Did That Girl Go?" ►►https://tinyurl.com/38utjwzb SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 30 June 2025

Frankie Grande has been on one heck of a journey. From reality shows to Broadway performances, cocaine addiction to eight years sober, wild nights in dark clubs as his alter ego Ferosha to throuples to meeting his hubby line-dancing and having a Star Wars-themed wedding. He joins us on the couch for the first time ever to discuss all this, and go deep on his riotous, smutty, sexy debut album Hotel Rock Bottom — which as Zach rightfully points out, has a song on it for every gay — and features many personal stories from Grande’s colorful experiences. Grande also talks about Ariana’s reaction to his music, being on the set of Wicked, his coming out story, and so much more. Stream "Hotel Rock Bottom" ►►https://tinyurl.com/rd9fhcy9 SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 27 June 2025

Charlotte Lawrence has had a crazy life. The 25-year-old daughter of actor (and music supervisor) Christa Miller (Scrubs, Shrinking) television producer and showrunner Bill (also Scrubs, Ted Lasso, Spin City), Lawrence has grown up in a rarefied environment. The kind of environment where Ed Sheeran can plausibly gift her her first guitar because he showed up at the Lawrence house for her parents’ Sunday night hootenanny. True story. She talks about it. She also talks about what it’s like going out — and sometimes collaborating with — Andrew Watt, her boyfriend of five years, who also happens to have written and produced for everyone from Elton John to Gaga to Bieber to Miley). And recalls that one time she beckoned Paul McCartney onstage to sing with her. And discusses what it’s like growing up with people like Gracie Abrams, Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, and how they’re still friends today. Of course we really get into her debut album Somewhere — which was produced by Death Cab for Cutie / The Postal Service’s Ben Gibbard, as well as Andy Park. And how it is she bagged Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to play drums. Not to mention giving up weed, how she’s not competitive, and for a hot second, how really wanted to be in the WNBA. She’s got the gift of the gab and stories to spare and album packed with sultry, swaggering, raw, and vulnerable pop. SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 25 June 2025

Calum Hood has always been the quietest, most reticent member of world conquering, chart-topping power-pop band 5 Seconds of Summer, but today we get him on the couch solo — for the first time ever — and it turns out the 29-year-old has plenty to say. His debut solo album ORDER chaos ORDER is an intimate journey during which Hood takes in the whirlwind past 15 years, his first love, his first heartbreak. It’s introspective and it’s raw and it’s the soundtrack to his life. A collaboration with producer and songwriter Jackson Phillips, aka Day Wave, that offers woozy indie sonics, part-Postal Service, part dream-pop and nu-gaze. Hood discusses his out-of-comfort zone process, from the songs he scrapped early on to finally nailing what would become ORDER chaos ORDER. We find out how watching old VHS movies and the 1984 Oscar-nominated documentary Streetwise informed his work. Plus hetalks about the 5SOS bond and the rest of the group’s solo work, making sense of himself through songwriting, the influence of his sister Mali-Koa and her blossoming music career as one half of AR/CO, and so much more. Stream 'ORDER chaos ORDER' ►►https://tinyurl.com/4apemczp SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 23 June 2025

Actor Emily Alyn Lind joins us in the studio for the first time to talk about the hotly anticipated book-to-screen adaptation We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, which was a bestseller back in 2014, becoming a booktok phenomenon during the pandemic. It’s a series that’s a hotbed of wealth, deception, rivalry, and intrigue, and she unpacks it all for us. And yes, there are some spoilers, so beware! Plus we discuss what it was like growing up in a showbiz family (her mom is an established actor known primarily for One Tree Hill, her father a first assistant director, and her two sisters are also in the biz), her first role aged five in Gaspar Noé’s Enter the Void, navigating the industry, nepotism, and the Gossip Girl reboot in which she starred as preppy Upper East Sider Audrey Hope. She’s a die-hard film nerd and we go deep. Check out We Were Liars on Prime Video here: https://amzn.to/4lBw5vt SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 20 June 2025

Benito Skinner is having a moment. The 31-year-old first captured the internet’s attention back in 2018 with his on-point impressions of everyone from the Kardashians to Timothee Chalamet to Billie Eilish, not to mention original characters like Jenni the TMI hairdresser and realtor Deliverance Richards. But all the while, between the online skits and the stand-up nights in Bushwick, he was gestating the script for what is now Prime Video’s Overcompensating. Based on his own experiences as a closeted football player heading to college, finding his people and grappling with his sexuality, Overcompensating is a stylistic throwback to American Pie and Mean Girls. It’s a hilarious coming of age, with a helluva lot of heart, and a story that packs a punch. Not to mention an ensemble cast and cameos to die for including Lukas Gage, Connie Britton, Adam DiMarco, Kyle MacLachlan, Megan Fox, Bowen Yang, Holmes, and that’s just to name a few. Skinner joins us on the couch for the first time to talk about how it all came together, how he got Charli XCX to feature and be the music supervisor, plus, his bestie/co-star/podcast co-host Mary Beth Barone. We also discuss the importance of queer content, how straight guys are always talking about his butt, and that one time his whole high school football team did drag. Plus how he’s a Grailed Warlord, that condom scene, the real Carmen, his boyfriend Terrence O’Connor, and so much more. SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 18 June 2025

The last time 28-year-old Kevin Abstract joined us in the studio was as part of BROCKHAMPTON way back in 2019. At that point he was already three solo albums deep (if you include his 2014 mixtape MTV1987), but as the founding member of sprawling, genre-splicing “boyband,” BROCKHAMPTON were still the centripetal force. By 2022 the group which was formed partially with friends in high school and partially via a Kanye West fan forum, were on permanent hiatus. Never say never, the members are still collabing here and there, and that includes with Abstract, but in the meantime the rapper/singer/producer/creative director/filmmaker has been carving his own assured path, including 2023 scuzzy indie rock swerve Blanket. After sliding into Zach’s DMs, Abstract — joined by collaborators Quadeca and Love Spells — joined us on the couch to lift the lid on his latest opus BLUSH. It’s a record he likens to a movie, with an expansive cast including Dominic Fike, Truly Young, JPEGMAFIA, Drigo, to name a few. He’s seeking to craft a Warholian, Factory-like creative vibe. He talks to us about all this, plus the heartbreak and breakup that both fueled the album and inspired him to move back to Texas to reset — both emotionally and creatively. He also discusses what he learned from working with Jack Antonoff, how he often writes music from a place of survival or chaos, the story of how he and Fike became so tight, and so much more. On this record — after years of estrangement and a lot of work done — Abstract also reconnected and began working with former BROCKHAMPTON member (and his high school friend) Ameer Vann, who parted ways with the group following sexual misconduct allegations in 2018. You don’t want to miss this conversation. SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 16 June 2025

Best known as Lizzie McGuire’s pesky little brother Mike (and his role in Cory in the House), these days Jake Thomas isn’t only an actor, but a director, writer, photographer, Japanese speaker, and Pokemon aficionado with a social media presence that’s both genuine and nostalgic. Now, after working on the video game MindsEye for the better part of five years, utilizing state of the art performance capture technology, the 35-year-old is expanding his skillset again, playing tech billionaire mogul Marco Silva. He joins us in the studio to discuss this latest project, plus we take a trip down memory lane, talking not just about the good ol’ days on the Disney / McGuire set, but also just what happened with the canceled reboot. Plus his love for K-pop and Pokemon, his meme-ability, how his 13th bday was his party peak (it’s a story that involves Aly & AJ), and just why he stayed at Nicholas Cage’s house for a week (and what he did there). Not to mention working with Jennifer Lopez in the iconic 2000 psychological and surrealist horror The Cell, and so much more. SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 13 June 2025

These days she needs no introduction, as the magnetic co-star in Wicked, breathing new life into the character of Elphaba, but Cynthia Erivo has been wowing audiences on the stage and screen (and in the ears) for years. With a knack for inhabiting and redefining iconic characters she’s been Celie in The Color Purple and Harriet Tubman in Harriet, not to mention also playing Aretha Franklin. She’s almost EGOT-status (only the Oscar has eluded her thus far), and now she’s back with her ambitious second album I Forgive You, which took a staggering 396 days to make — often in tandem with the world-conquering Wicked press tour. Phew! We discuss all this with her plus her close relationship with Ariana Grande and the key role she played in getting the ball rolling with Erivo and President & Chief Creative Officer of Republic Records, Wendy Goldstein, and now we have a 20 track album — which we go deep on. We also discuss notions of forgiveness, abandonment issues, her Broadway experience, being a VP of her former acting school RADA (because she’s not busy enough!), and so much more. Stream "I Forgive You" ►►https://cynthiaerivo.lnk.to/IForgiveYou SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 11 June 2025

Ever since she emerged at the tail-end of the 2000s as Marina and the Diamonds, Marina Diamandis has been a blast of fresh air with her elastic vocals, indelible left-of-center pop hooks, and fantastical world-building. From her playful but probing explorations of female archetypes on second record Electra Heart, to the technicolor disco of Froot, to the apocalyptic pop of Ancient Dreams In A Modern Land, the Welsh-Greek singer is in a state of constant evolution. All of which we get into in this conversation. Returning with her sixth record Princess of Power, her first as a fully independent artist, Marina walks us through the new album, a shimmering Italo-disco pop juggernaut. She discusses her battle with chronic fatigue syndrome and how that’s affected her life and process, and how now, at 39 she’s really standing in her power, but also eager to get back to FUN. For Marina it’s not just about healing through writing, it’s also about writing to bring who she wants to be into existence. Plus we talk poetry, mushroom trips, house parties, dating, loneliness, her tight-knit circle of friends, and that one time she dressed as a boy to audition to be in a boyband, and so much more. SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55u See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 9 June 2025

Still only 22 Finn Wolfhard is a prolific polymath. An actor, musician, screenwriter, director — he wears all these hats with ease, curiosity and enthusiasm. He first came to prominence playing Mike Wheeler in the much beloved Stranger Things, which wrapped filming last year after five seasons. The Vancouver-born multi-hyphenate talks grieving the end of the series that has taken up half his life, that final day, the special bond with the cast (particularly fellow actor and musician Joe Keery), and what mementos he took from set. Not to mention what he learned, which he took into writing, directing, and starring in his A24 slasher-comedy Hell of a Summer, which was six and a half years in the making, alongside friend, co-director, co-star, and co-writer Billy Bryk. Wolfhard has previously released music as part of the band The Aubreys and Calpurnia, but now he’s striking out on his own with his debut LP, Happy Birthday, a compendium of catchy, lo-fi indie-pop. A solitary, instinctual project recorded entirely to tape, we talk about that too. Not to mention working with Jesse Eisenberg, anxiety, decision paralysis, seeking community and coming of age in art, digital versus analogue, big budgets versus indie films, and so much more. Stream "Happy Birthday" ►►https://finnwolfhard.ffm.to/happybirthday SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 6 June 2025

Julia Michaels is unquestionably one of the finest songwriters of her generation. She’s penned hits for everyone from Bieber to Selena to Sabrina to One Direction to Dua Lipa… the list goes on. And on. But in 2017, when she emerged with the raw, gut-wrenching ‘Issues,’ she also established herself as a solo star with a distinct voice all her own. Since then the six-time Grammy-nominated star has released a debut LP, 2021’s Not in Chronological Order, and now she’s back with her new EP Second Self — her first released under the own label GFY. She opens up about this transition and taking control of her career in a new way, plus the songs on her EP, including her second collab with Maren Morris, and the biting lyrics of ‘Time.’ She also opens up about what it was like to work with Tate McRae, Britney Spears, and how she approaches songwriting. And the 31-year–old is newly engaged! So we get the skinny on her French tattoo-artist fiance Mat Rule. Stream "Second Self" ►►https://tinyurl.com/2573vxr8 SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55u See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 4 June 2025

He’s one of the key architects of modern pop music who’s written smashes for everyone from Justin Bieber to Jungkook to Miley to Eminem to Maroon 5, while simultaneously launching a successful solo career (two full-lengths, four mixtapes). But at the height of his solo fame, the Long Island native took stock of his situation and his label contract and dipped, deciding to spend his most recent years writing for others. It’s been seven years since his second album Glory Sound Prep, and as long since we had him in the studio. Finally he’s back with a new, third record Father Figure, that pulls as much from legends like J Dilla, as his own canny ear for melody and cadence. He talks about why he stepped away for so long, the impact of becoming a father to three boys, the brass tacks of being a songwriter, and why he’s back and doing it on his own terms with his label Beautiful Mind Records. We dive into his new album collabs with Pharrell Williams and Luke Combs, buying himself out of his contract, his views on success and so much more. Plus he plays us the initial demos — with his vocals on it — for songs like ‘Ghost’ and ‘Holy’ which went on to be hits for Justin Bieber, and what it was like to work with Jungkook on ‘Seven’ featuring Latto which broke the record for the fastest song in history to surpass one billion streams on Spotify. Stream "Why" ft. Luke combs SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 2 June 2025

As Zach rightfully quips in his intro, Justin Firstman is a TV writer-turned-center of attention. While the Long Island-born 33-year-old became a viral smash seemingly out of nowhere with his Instagram impressions series in the early months of the pandemic (biggest hit an impression of banana bread’s publicist), Firstman had been honing his craft for a minute, writing and starring in whip-smart, subversive shorts like Men Don’t Whisper and Call Your Father, as well as working as a writer on the acclaimed, five-season run of the series Search Party. But just before the pandemic his life fell apart, the TV project he’d been working on collapsed as did his long-term relationship, and then he was trapped inside like the rest of us. Which is when he started churning out his impressions series, which blew up, in part, because Ariana Grande started reposting his skits. We discuss all this, plus his debut album Secrets, a genre-jumping comedy record that grew out of an appeal to his followers to confess their secrets which he would then post anonymously. And people would spill the wildest, most out of pocket tidbits. The record features everyone from Rufus Wainwright to Julia Fox to the dude from the Bloodhound Gang. We delve into the songs and also discuss his coming out, his theory on being a slut-soul, his sexual awakening at legendary Berlin club Berghain, and his complicated relationship with both the internet and the transactional town that is LA. Plus he educates Dan on dark rooms, talks TV show English Teacher (in which he’s a recurring character), and discusses working with his friend Rachel Sennott on her new upcoming show. Not to mention sex party etiquette and starring in the Sebastián Silva-directed art house film Rotting in the Sun, in which he took part in unsimulated on-screen sex. And that’s just the, ahem, tip, of the iceberg. SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55u See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 28 May 2025

Early-Aughts mainstay Ryan Cabrera first hit the pop culture consciousness as Ashlee’s boyfriend on The Ashlee Simpson Show, but he was grinding as a musician way before Simpson’s dad Joe plucked him from obscurity, performing at a Hard Rock Cafe in Dallas, Texas. He joined us in the studio for the first time to reminisce about his beginnings, his experience on The Ashlee Simpson Show, 20 years of his breakthrough, Johnny ‘Goo Goo Dolls’ Rzeznik-produced debut LP Take It All Away, and coming of age (and fame) without cellphone photography, while intrusive paparazzi and toxic bloggers (hai Perez Hilton!) were on the rise. The 42-year-old, uber-friendly artist also lifts the lid on how reality TV works now versus then, along with insights into his trademark hair, the Pop 2000 Tour, owning one of Elvis’s rings, recreating proms, and his meet-cute with wrestling icon Alexa Bliss — with whom he shares a daughter. Did Courtney Love really try to make out with him? What he actually thinks about Y2K fashion, and so much more. Stream "On The Way Down (20th Anniversary)" ►► https://tinyurl.com/4mj9hm4h SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 23 May 2025

It’d be easy to assume Michael Cimino was an overnight success — he’s been everywhere the past five years. First as the titular character in coming of age (and coming out) series Love, Victor, then as the (not-so-bright) bad boy Ethan Morales in Never Have I Ever, and now he stars in Prime Video’s Motorheads, playing Zac Torres. The series follows Zac and his twin Caitlyn as they move to the small town where their parents first met. Here they navigate new relationships, rivalries, their father's mysterious past, while falling in with a crew of high school outsiders who bond over street racing. In fact it took the 25-year-old, Las Vegas-born actor 10 years from starting acting classes till he booked his first job, but he kept grinding, finally snagging a role in 2017 horror movie Annabelle, which changed his life. Cimino joins us in the studio for the first time to discuss Motorheads and his own car collection, we go deep on his formative acting roles, his nascent music career, and the female pop stars he thinks are killing it in the game. Plus he tells us about the great advice he got from Rebel Wilson, his workout regimen, getting bit in the face by a dog, what it’s like playing a heatthrob, his gritty upcoming film Street Smart directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight), and that one time he got punched in the face and mugged in London. Watch Motorheads Here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0F3GHQGQY/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 21 May 2025

Thanks to his brother and sister grentperez — the Aussie-Filo singer born Grant Perez — first appeared on YouTube singing covers at just five-years-old, but while his siblings eventually left singing behind (beyond family karaoke, obviously), the 23-year-old multi-instrumentalist became a full blown bedroom tender-pop sensation. “Cherry Wine” popped off in 2021 and after releasing four tantalizing EPs, now we have his eclectic, silky-smooth debut LP Backflips in a Restaurant. It’s a record that blends 90s R&B, bossanova, a pinch of indie-pop, and a lot of romanticism. Hanni from New Jeans keeps covering his songs and Rex Orange County is also a fan. He joins us in the studio for the first time for a wide-ranging conversation that takes in driving simulators, anime, how his girlfriend of five years introduced him to stick n poke and public transport (!), and we course out his album — see what we did there? Plus his mullet, Toyotas, living with his parents, the fact that he’s actually incredible at drawing, his fave kind of SPAM, and how excellent he is at imitating a trumpet, saxophone, or any brass instrument you care to name… with just his mouth. P.S. Has anyone seen B.o.B? Stream "Backflips in a Restaurant" ►► https://grentperez.fastfriends.co/backflipsinarestaurant SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 19 May 2025

Michelle Zauner — aka the creative powerhouse known to the world as Japanese Breakfast — joins us in the studio for the first time ever to talk about her fourth, Blake Mills-produced LP, For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women). A florid and fantastical record, it’s peppered with literary references and sharp observances with regards to both the world and Zauner’s own experiences achieving her wildest dreams in 2021. It was the year both her third album, Jubilee, became a critical and commercial smash, while her memoir Crying in H Mart, chronicling the loss of her mother to cancer, became a New York Times bestseller. (The film adaptation is currently on ice, sadly.) We discuss all this plus, Zauner moving to Korea to immerse herself in the culture and learn the language for an entire year, her romance and marriage to her guitarist Peter, anxiety, work ethic, and rigor, incels and the manosphere, reconnecting with her estranged dad, and the art of reading the room. Plus stay tuned to find out more about that one time her and her pal auditioned for The Amazing Race, and why cold mozzarella sticks were involved. Stream "For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women) ►►https://japanesebreakfast.lnk.to/for-melancholy-brunettes-and-sad-womenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 17 May 2025

There have been some tectonic shifts in Maren Morris’ life since her last album in 2022: she released her EP Intermission, contributed a couple songs to The Wild Robot, not to mention finalizing her divorce, coming out as bisexual, and exploring dating — and dating apps — and all the experiences that come with that; all of which we discuss. Singing since she was in her teens, the 35-year-old Arlington, Texas-born artist also talks about her early years in the business, auditioning for various reality TV talent shows before going her own way, making it big first in the country space with 2016’s “My Church,” and then becoming a crossover star with songs like Zedd’s 2018 smash “The Middle” and her own “The Bones.” Returning with her fourth LP Dreamsicle — where she worked with the likes of Naomi McPherson from MUNA, Jack Antonoff, and Joe Little to name a few — she opens up about the life changes that inspired this new batch of songs, such as the cheeky “Bed No Breakfast,” plus healing mushroom trips, reparenting her inner child, Dolly Parton, The Highwomen (her supergroup with Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, and Amanda Shires), the crazy backstory behind “The Middle,” and so much more. Stream "Dreamsicle" ►► https://marenmorris.lnk.to/DREAMSICLE SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 15 May 2025

It’s been a wild 18 months for Tucker Wetmore, a former college football star turned country hopeful who moved to Nashville hoping to make it… and then he actually did, and in a big, big way, to the tune of roughly eight million monthly Spotify listeners. Before last year he’d never even played live, and how he’s hitting the road with Thomas Rhett. The 25-year-old joins us in the studio for the first time to fill us in on how a small-town, Pacific-Northwest-born, grandson of a pastor wound up turning from sports to music (it involves a leg broken in three places), and how writing songs almost every day from 2019 to 2024 finally paid off. We also find out the meaning of “looking like wine in a truckbed,” why whiskey and women (blonde or brunette, 5’5”) remain abiding sources of inspiration, collaborating with his friends, and the story behind the vulnerable title track from his debut LP What Not To. Plus we tackle the big question about hats and whether Zach should grow a mullet. SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 13 May 2025

PinkPantheress first emerged at the very tail-end of 2020, becoming a TikTok phenom in early 2021 thanks to songs like the Adam F-sampling "Break It Off" and the Sweet Female Attitude-sampling "Pain;" songs which never breached two minutes — and still don’t — capped off my PP’s candyfloss sweet vocals. No one knew who she was. Fast-forward to now and PinkPantheress has since been revealed as 24-year-old Beverly Walker, and the Bath-born, Canterbury-raised singer and self-taught producer whose back catalog includes her 2021 mixtape To Hell With It, 2022’s EP Take Me Home, and her flawless 2023 debut album Heaven Knows. Meanwhile her career-making turn of having Ice Spice jump on the plinkety dance-pop of “Boy's a liar Pt. 2” means PinkPantheress is an international, chart-bothering concern. She joins us in the studio just ahead of her set at Coachella to talk about all this — including how she got together with Ice Spice — plus what takes place at PinkPantheress HQ, her love of emo, Kpop, jungle, and drum ‘n’ bass. And the freedom of going back to basics with her new, epic mixtape Fancy That, which mines UK big beat and late 90s dance / pop — from Basement Jaxx to Groove Armada, Underworld to Just Jack to the Sugababes. She also discusses overcoming stage fright, OCD, drug deals gone wrong, Subway sandwiches, working with The Dare, the aborted Olivia Rodrigo tour, the awesomeness of Lily Allen, and so much more. Stream "Fancy That" ►►https://tinyurl.com/3jwmbj4b SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 12 May 2025

Songwriters and actors Aly & AJ join us for the third time to discuss their new, sixth album Silver Deliverer, a record the sister-duo created in the hills of Laurel Canyon and those LA, Fleetwood Mac, sunshine and sadness vibes certainly permeate the collection… a collection they actually wrote and recorded while Aly was pregnant with her first kid. We discuss all that plus, their experience surviving a shooting while on tour and how that inspired both their activism and the song ‘Sirens,’ how maturation and loss informed some of their most potent new cuts, and what happened to their MTV reality show, back when they were teenagers and fresh from their Disney success. And speaking of which, we get the tea on Aly turning down the role of Hannah Montana, take a look back on 20 years of Into the Rush, and what are the fashion trends from the 2000s we should bring back or bury forever. Stream "Silver Deliverer" ►►https://alyandaj.ffm.to/silverdeliverer SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 9 May 2025

The prolific South Memphis rapper returns after with his fourth LP Glockaveli, joining us in the studio for the first time ever. Still only 27, Glock started rapping in high school, before making waves back in 2017 signing to his cousin Young Dolph’s Paper Route Empire. Since then, as well as the four albums, he’s released seven mixtapes including two with Young Dolph, who was tragically gunned down in 2021. Glock opens up about Dolph as an ongoing presence in his life — along with God — not to mention the music with the both of them that sits in the vaults. But primarily we dive into his new record: his songwriting process, signing to a major, and his desire to smash preconceptions. Not to mention the effect of becoming a father to a little girl, being raised by women, the story behind new songs ‘Hallelujah,’ ‘The Grinch,’ and the beauty of Erykah Badu’s work. Oh, and the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, plus much more. SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 8 May 2025

Alt rock heroes the Goo Goo Dolls join us in the studio for the first time to talk about the 30 year anniversary of 1995’s A Boy Named Goo. Crazy to think it was actually the Buffalo band’s fifth album that finally garnered mainstream success thanks to the still iconic slowburn “Name.’ It’s a long way from their beginnings as a scuzzy punk band, and even further from their first incarnation as Sex Maggots. We talk all about their early years, pissing in a hole in the bottom of their tour van, who “Name” is about, and how the success of that song lead to a spate of writer’s block and anxiety that eventually lead to their biggest hit, “Iris” (which Taylor Swift called one of the greatest songs ever written and happens to be about an angel called “Seth”). Plus Johnny Rzeznik and Robby Takac tell tales of plane crashes, physical fights, and drug deals gone right. Plus they consider the evolving music industry, inform us about Buffalo’s sewer system (obviously, it’s important context), and Rzeznick whips out his acoustic guitar to lift the lid on his creative process, particularly with regards to ‘Slide.’ SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 7 May 2025

Gigi Perez’s path to her current status of beloved, confessional alt-pop songwriter on the up-and-up has been anything but straightforward: full of twists and turns, and marked by unfathomable loss, grief, and self-made success. Joining us in the studio for the first time, she discusses her 2024 breakout hit ‘Sailor,’ and her journey up to this point — from signing to a major, to getting dropped and going it alone and learning to produce, to signing to a major again, ultimately releasing her rich and wondrous debut, At the Beach, In Every Life. But we also go deep on her childhood, the influence of her sister Celene, an opera singer and the profound effect of her untimely passing, tumblr escapism, and how writing (and Hayley Kiyoko and Troye Sivan) helped her make sense of her sexuality. Plus the power of Chappell Roan, her complicated feelings about religion, and so much more. Stream "At The Beach, In Every Life" ►► https://gigiperez.lnk.to/AtTheBeachInEveryLife SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 5 May 2025

Josh Groban joins us in the studio for the first time ever to talk about his greatest hits record Gems and his celebratory Vegas residency. Famed and acclaimed for the past 25 years thanks to his powerful, operatic chops that brought songs like ‘You Raise Me Up,’ not to mention a range of originals and standards (sung, in English, French, Italian, and sometimes Latin) to life. An adult contemporary icon from the jump, but also a talented actor whose roles on Broadway (Sweeney Todd, Pierre in Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812), and TV (Glee, The Office, Parks & Rec), Groban chats about all this, plus his career-making turn rehearsing with Celine Dion when he was a teenager, his neuroses, the early days of his career, his fans teaching him how to fly a plane, and exactly why his face is on the ceiling of an OBGYN, and so much more. SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55uSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcribed - Published: 2 May 2025