2026 Pop Predictions: big beat, animated avatars, and Bruno Mars

January 6, 2026·59 min·5 clips

Nate Sloan predicts big beat's comeback, citing Prodigy and Fatboy Slim as influences for 2026.

It starts with New Year studio banter. Rihanna and Charlie are in the studio, Nate is in LA, and the room turns FOMO into prediction fuel fast. A correction over 'Die Trying' becomes the kind of tiny musical housekeeping this show enjoys, where even a title can carry a little extra twang. Then Bruno Mars takes over. Charlie treats him as a pop craftsman due for another move after 24K Magic, and the question is what source material is still sitting there. The bit has theory under it. His past references already run through funk, Philly soul, the Police, Motown, and new jack swing, so the prediction starts by checking the archive. Blues feels possible but boxed in. Afrobeats opens a wider lane. Ska gets the biggest laugh because it sounds ridiculous for about a second, then suddenly makes musical sense once the horns, live-band energy, and 90s nostalgia line up. That is the episode's best swing. The panel also looks younger. Nate pushes toward Gen Alpha, admitting he cannot name the next star while still sensing a top 40 hit forming somewhere out of frame. Cable television gives them a clue: an Access Hollywood segment about teenage country singer Maddox Batson and a Ringling Brothers circus collaboration. It becomes a weirdly good example of how pop finds odd entry points. The conversation moves through comeback albums, Grammys chatter, and the plain truth that novelty often sneaks in sideways. No one acts certain. The fun is hearing three pop analysts try wild ideas against real musical habits, then crack up when one starts to hold.

As heard by us

A lively New Year forecast that treats pop gossip like a serious listening game.

The episode uses its New Year frame to think through what 2026 might sound like, and it does it with the easy give-and-take of hosts talking in real time.

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Why you'd press play

For when you want a 2026 pop forecast that swings from Bruno Mars to a Gen Alpha surprise hit.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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