Live From Mars

In this episode of Live From Mars, I sit down with John Stein, Head of Editorial at Spotify, to break down Spotify Wrapped 2025 and what the year in music actually sounded like.

We go behind the scenes of how Spotify Wrapped is made, how editorial teams balance streaming data with human curation, and how playlists like Discover Weekly and Fresh Finds help artists break and grow over time. John shares his 12-year journey at Spotify, how editorial has evolved, and how decisions made inside Spotify impact millions of listeners every day.

We also unpack the biggest music trends of 2025, including introspective pop, album-first listening habits, country rock crossovers, masked metal artists, and why songs released in previous years continued to dominate the charts. We talk about slow-burn artists, touring as a growth engine, and how older catalog songs keep finding new life on streaming.

Plus, we look ahead to 2026 music predictions, the rise of more organic sounding music in response to AI, and which albums and artists might still be talked about a decade from now.

If you’ve ever wondered how Spotify decides what you hear, why Wrapped became such a massive cultural moment, or how music discovery actually works in 2025, this conversation pulls back the curtain.

📲 Follow Alex Mars
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vinylbymars
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vinylbymars
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@vinylbymars
Substack: https://vinylbymars.substack.com

#SpotifyWrapped #SpotifyWrapped2025 #YearInMusic #MusicTrends2025 #SpotifyPodcast #MusicPodcast #LiveFromMars #MusicDiscovery #DiscoverWeekly #FreshFinds #StreamingMusic #PopMusic #MusicIndustry #AlbumListening #MusicTrends #MusicYouTube #PodcastInterview
To provide feedback, please fill out this survey: http://bit.ly/livefrommars-survey
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Subscribe to my Substack for more pop music deep dives and unfiltered reactions: https://vinylbymars.substack.com

This week on Live From Mars, I’m joined by my good friend (and resident guy-who-screams-songs-in-the-car) Nick Palmai to finally give Miley Cyrus’ Something Beautiful the deep dive it deserved. We’re talking about why this album became my favorite of 2025, why it got such a mixed reception, and how a messy rollout and delayed visual release may have kept people from fully getting what Miley built here.

What we cover in this episode
Why Something Beautiful is one of the most underrated pop albums of 2025
Our IRL story: meeting at the Something Beautiful premiere and watching the film before the album dropped
The rollout choices that helped and hurt the album (and why “End of the World” deserved way more)
Why the project feels so cinematic, loud, and experimental compared to Endless Summer Vacation
Best Worst Fave: our picks for the best song, weakest track, and personal favorites (yes, “Golden Burning Sun” stans rise)

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure you’re following the show on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and if you feel like being nice today, drop a 5-star review.

Follow me:
Substack: https://vinylbymars.substack.com
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vinylbymars
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vinylbymars
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@vinylbymars
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/vinylbymars
To provide feedback, please fill out this survey: http://bit.ly/livefrommars-survey
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re continuing my Top 3 Albums of 2025 series with the record that kicked off the year’s biggest pop era: Lady Gaga’s Mayhem. I’m joined by two of my first internet friends, Seth and Amanda, for a full deep dive into the rollout, the tracklist chaos, Best / Worst / Fave picks, and why this album stayed in our rotation all year.

If you’re looking for a Lady Gaga Mayhem review, an "Abracadabra" breakdown, Mayhem Ball reactions, or Grammys Album of the Year predictions, this episode covers all of it.

Topics covered
Why Mayhem is a Grammy Album of the Year contender
"Disease" vs "Abracadabra" and how the Grammys premiere reset the era
Tracklist debate, production shifts, and whether "Die With a Smile" belongs on the album
Best / Worst / Fave picks including "Perfect Celebrity", "Vanish Into You", and "How Bad Do U Want Me"
Most underrated songs on Mayhem
Tour thoughts, Mayhem Ball performances, and what Gaga should do next
Grammys 2026 predictions, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, and Best Dance Pop Recording

Timestamps
00:00 - Intro and Top Albums of 2025 series setup
02:37 - Seth and Amanda join the conversation
05:11 - Rollout talk: "Disease" to "Abracadabra"
06:09 - "Abracadabra" Grammys premiere reaction
11:37 - Does "Die With a Smile" belong on Mayhem?
13:30 - Tracklist debate and the two-halves album conversation
16:12 - Best, Worst, and Fave picks
20:30 - Why "Vanish Into You" hits and why Amanda disagrees
27:30 - Most underrated songs on the album
29:15 - What’s next for Gaga after Mayhem
35:21 - Grammys 2026 predictions across major categories
37:57 - Plugs and wrap-up

Follow & support the show:
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vinylbymars
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vinylbymars
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@vinylbymars
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/vinylbymars
To provide feedback, please fill out this survey: http://bit.ly/livefrommars-survey
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Subscribe to my Substack for weekly reviews, charts talk, and deep dives: https://vinylbymars.substack.com

This special end-of-year episode of Live From Mars breaks down my official list of the Top Ten Pop Albums of 2025. With every major outlet releasing their Best Albums of 2025 and Year-End Music Lists, this episode adds the perspective you will not get anywhere else. If you are searching for the real standout albums across pop, R&B, experimental pop, and Latin music, this countdown brings you the records that truly shaped the year.

I walk through the projects that defined 2025, including Justin Bieber’s SWAG, PinkPantheress’ Fancy That, Sabrina Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend, Lorde’s Virgin, Miley Cyrus’ Something Beautiful, Addison Rae’s Addison, Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving, Lady Gaga’s Mayhem, Bad Bunny’s DTMF, and Rosalía’s Lux, my pick for the best album of 2025. These albums pushed pop forward with bold production, unforgettable songwriting, genre-blending experimentation, and some of the strongest artistic visions of the decade.

If you love year-end recaps, pop music deep dives, album reviews, or “albums of the year” content, this episode gives you everything you need in one place. These are the albums that stayed in my rotation long after release week, the ones that built full worlds and delivered the biggest musical statements of 2025.
And if you want even more insight into this year’s top albums, listen to my full deep dive into Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving with HTHAZE on the podcast. It is the perfect companion to this countdown.

Follow the show:
TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@vinylbymars
Instagram: https://instagram.com/vinylbymars
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@vinylbymars
Substack: https://vinylbymars.substack.com
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/vinylbymars
To provide feedback, please fill out this survey: http://bit.ly/livefrommars-survey
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Substack: Get weekly music breakdowns, reviews, and unedited reaction content: https://vinylbymars.substack.com

The Top Albums of the Year series is back. After last year's run highlighted releases from Taylor Swift to Sabrina Carpenter to Charli xcx and beyond, I’m returning with a three-episode run to highlight the three albums that defined my 2025 listening experience. We’re starting with Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving, a project that continues to build her momentum and shape conversations around Album of the Year considerations.

I’m joined by special guest HTHAZE, one of the most recognizable music reaction creators online and the number one music creator on Patreon, to get into why The Art of Loving stands out in this moment. We talk about how listeners first connected with Olivia, the impact of her live performances, how she has become part of the current UK-to-US artist wave, and what we hope to hear next as she heads into a new chapter.

In this episode, we cover:
Why The Art of Loving kicks off the Top Albums of 2025 series
How we each first discovered Olivia Dean
Why the live performances at Rough Trade, Brooklyn Paramount, and MSG matter
Best song, worst song, and personal faves
Pitchfork’s score and how we would rate the album
Adele comparisons and Olivia’s place in this era of music
What we hope to see from album three

Follow and support the show:
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vinylbymars
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vinylbymars
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@vinylbymars
Substack: https://vinylbymars.substack.com
Link in bio: https://linktr.ee/vinylbymars
To provide feedback, please fill out this survey: http://bit.ly/livefrommars-survey
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.