Lady Gaga's Enduring Reign: A Deep Dive into Her 'Greatest Pop Star of 2025' Accolade

Explore why Lady Gaga secured the No. 3 spot on Billboard's 'Greatest Pop Stars of 2025' list, examining her impactful year filled with a new album, a dazzling tour, and unforgettable Gaga moments.

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Lady Gaga's Enduring Reign: A Deep Dive into Her 'Greatest Pop Star of 2025' Accolade

This Greatest Pop Stars podcast episode delves into why our staff selected Lady Gaga as the No. 3 Greatest Pop Star of 2025, featuring insights from Billboard's Eric Frankenberg.

This podcast episode is part of the Billboard editorial staff’s Greatest Pop Stars of 2025 list. Find our accompanying Lady Gaga essay here, and all the rest of our essays and podcasts related to the list here.

Lady Gaga delivered everything fans craved in 2025: a compelling new album highlighted by a mesmerizing lead single, an arena tour of immense artistic and commercial scale, and countless classic Gaga moments. She embarked on a traditional press and media blitz, graced numerous award shows and significant cultural events, and headlined some of the year's largest concerts. In essence, she demonstrated to the "kids"—a group that now includes a new generation of stars who admire Gaga as the epitome of pop stardom—how it's done.

The Greatest Pop Stars of 2025 episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast explores how Lady Gaga secured the No. 3 spot, thanks to a year where she reminded everyone, especially her longtime "Little Monsters," why she remains one of the best. (You can find Katie Atkinson’s essay on Lamar’s stunning sequel year here.) Today, Billboard charts senior analyst/writer Eric Frankenberg joins host Andrew Unterberger to revisit Lady Gaga’s eventful 2025 and examine whether she reaffirmed her legacy and proved her continued relevance among the current pop leaders.

During our in-depth discussion, we tackle key questions about Lady Gaga’s 2025: What distinguishes “Abracadabra” from mere rehashes of past hits? How did “Judas” become the most-streamed Born This Way track on Spotify? Did Coachella, Rio, and the Mayhem Ball represent her peak as a live performer? Was her Harlequin: One Night Only HBO special the year's hidden gem? Will 2026 feature her marriage to fiancé Michael Polansky (and a performance at the wedding)? How will she perform at the upcoming Grammys? And crucially, how would Gaga’s career (or pop music in general) differ had her 2025 never occurred?

Listen above, and explore a YouTube playlist of Lady Gaga’s greatest 2025 moments—all discussed in the podcast. Subscribe to the Greatest Pop Stars podcast on Apple Music or Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts) for full coverage of this year's Greatest Pop Stars of 2025 list!

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