Olivia Dean, Taylor Swift and Ella Langley: Which Pop Stars Won November 2025?

For the most part, the stars who defined pop music in October continued to do so in November: namely, Taylor Swift and Olivia Dean, the artists with the biggest hits and the most momentum in top 40 right now, respectively. But outside of their dominance, it was still a big month for rising and returning pop artists coming through with surprising new releases, impressive chart breakthroughs, major award show moments and other head-turning achievements — getting it all in before the final bell rings for 2025 at the end of this month.

This week, we look back at the November that was in pop stardom, as host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Trevor Anderson and Michael Saponara to share and debate our respective November top five lists, while also naming some honorable mentions, some disappointments, and some artists who we’re looking forward to in the final months of the year. (If you missed our recaps of the first 10 months of 2025, check them out here, including our review of the entire first half of the year in pop stardom.)

While doing so, we answer all the big questions about November pop stardom: Do Olivia Dean’s performances match the excitement around her in general? Did Taylor Swift make the right move flooding the zone in Showgirl‘s first week and disappearing almost immediately after? Is Rosalía setting the standard for pop star excellence right now? Why do some people still not believe in Tate McRae as a top-tier superstar? Is Ella Langley headed for 2026 superstardom? Was Summer Walker’s Finally Over It actually a disappointment, or is our disappointment in how it was received? And what’s still left to impact the Greatest Pop Stars of 2025 race — which we’ll present our final picks for in January?

Check it out above, along with a YouTube playlist of some of the greatest moments in November 2025 pop stardom — all of which are discussed on the pod — and subscribe to the Greatest Pop Stars podcast on Apple Music or Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts) for weekly discussions every Thursday about all things related to pop stardom!

And as we say in every one of these GPS podcast posts — if you have the time and money to spare, please consider donating to any of these causes in the fight for trans rights:

Transgender Law Center

Trans Lifeline

Destination Tomorrow

Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe

Also, please consider giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on 5Calls.org.