Pop: The Politics Of Desire

POP: THE POLITICS OF DESIRE (320kbs-m4a/77mb/33mins)
BBC Sounds podcast: 10th April 2025

Who gets to be a Pop star has often been dictated by image and marketability. While Black artists have shaped the sound of pop for decades, many have faced barriers to visibility, recognition, and success. Mia Thornton uncovers how Pop has both embraced and excluded Black artists, and what it takes to truly belong in the UK's biggest music scene.

Broadcaster Clara Amfo discusses stereotypes, colourism and what is considered ‘desirable' within the Pop's power structures and rising star Hannah-Morgan on her hopes of breaking the mould.

From Winifred Atwell, the Trinidadian pianist who in 1954, became the first Black person to have a UK No.1, to Craig David becoming the face of UK garage-infused Pop in the 2000s, Mia discovers how the industry has both celebrated and ignored Black talent.

Sugababes - Push The Button
Doja Cat - Say So
Billie Eilish - Birds Of A Feather
Beyoncé - Break My Soul
Rihanna - Pon de Replay
Sophie Ellis‐Bextor - Murder On The Dancefloor
Lil Nas X - Montero (Call Me By Your Name) (But Lil Nas X Is Silent The Entire Time)
The Beatles - Love Me Do
ABBA - Dancing Queen
The Human League - Don't You Want Me
Spice Girls - Wannabe
Rihanna - Umbrella
PinkPantheress - Pain
Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill
Sabrina Carpenter - Espresso
KAYTRANADA - Oh No (Instrumental)
Rachel Chinouriri - Even
Dolf van der Linden And His Metropole Orchestra - Angel Cake
Vera Lynn - We'll Meet Again
Winifred Atwell - Britannia Rag
Winifred Atwell - Let's Have a Party
Shanks & Bigfoot - Sweet Like Chocolate
Craig David - Rewind
Artful Dodger - Movin' Too Fast
Craig David - Walking Away
Charli xcx - Apple
Hannah-Morgan - Seen
Hannah-Morgan - Warm
Ezra Collective - No One's Watching Me