• It's All Good: The Story of Sean Paul's 'Get Busy'
    May 15 2025

    Is there anything better than a song that pops up on the radio, a bar or a club - or even unexpectedly in a playlist, and it just makes you happy?

    I mean, I know we’re in the business of documenting hit songs here on encore - but I’d argue that the first seconds - scratch that - milliseconds of Sean Paul’s super-hit Get Busy are some of the most euphoric moments in all of music.

    There’s just something about that call-to-action ‘Shake that thing’ intro, the doubling up of syllables in Kana-Kana, and Ana-Bella that captivates you - even before the rhythm hits.

    I bet - and I totally didn’t research this - Get Busy is the most fully listened to three minutes and thirty seconds in all of music; because once you press play - there ain’t no WAY you’re shutting the song off until it’s over.

    This is the story of Sean Paul's Get Busy - with newly unearthed audio from Sean Paul!

    Written by Clayton Taylor for iHeartRadio Canada

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    29 mins
  • I Know You Planned It: The Story of Beastie Boys' Sabotage
    May 8 2025

    What would you say is the greatest music video ever made?

    Rolling Stone argues that it’s “Formation” by Beyoncé for its statement on black American history. Esquire says it’s “Weapon of Choice” by Fatboy Slim. You know the one where Christopher Walken dances and levitates? Sure, that’s fun.

    The AV Club insists that it’s “Sledgehammer” by Peter Gabriel, which for years was revered for its groundbreaking stop-motion animation. All of those publications picked great videos, but they are also just flat out wrong. Because the answer to that question is easily and without a doubt “Sabotage” by Beastie Boys. Yes it’s incredibly goofy and sure, it might seem insignificant compared to something like “Formation,” but it’s “Sabotage”! By Beastie Boys!

    But “Sabotage” isn’t just a music video. It’s also a total banger that still feels fresh and relevant after 30 years. It helped influence the rap-rock revolution of the late ‘90s, it provided countless memorable moments in film and television, and it brought the Beastie Boys back into the mainstream after they nearly sabotaged their own careers in the late 1980s. See what I did there?

    This is the story of Beastie Boys' Sabotage, with newly unearthed footage from the band themselves.

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    51 mins
  • Is This It? The Story of The Strokes' 'Last Nite'
    May 1 2025

    The Strokes… Music’s coolest ‘The’ Band of the early 21st century.

    Along with Sweden’s The Hives, Australia’s The Vines, and Detroit’s The White Stripes - The Strokes almost certainly had no intention of getting looped into the phenomenon of wispy haired indie rock bands that all seemed to break out between the summers of 2001 and 2002; because - if we’re being honest - they didn’t exactly have what you might call an indie origin story.

    Formed in New York City in as early as 1997 by Frontman Julian Casablancas, Guitarist Nick Valensi and Drummer Fabrizio Moretti at the illustrious Dwight Private School (which lists Truman Capote and Paris Hilton as Alumni) the trio would quickly recruit friend Nikolai Fraiture to play bass with them, as well as Guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. in ‘98. Hammond Jr. had just relocated to New York from Los Angeles by way of Switzerland, where he was childhood friends with Julian Casablancas - at - you guessed it - an even more illustrious Private Boarding School.

    Within less than 3 years, The Strokes would completely re-define what it would mean to be a trendy modern rock band - and they did it mostly on the back of this hit single; This is the story of The Strokes Last Nite, with newly unearthed audio from the band!

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    31 mins
  • I Never Wanna Hear You Say: The Story of Backstreet Boys' 'I Want It That Way'
    Apr 24 2025

    Welcome to Season SEVEN of Encore with brand new host, Ruby Carr!

    Boy bands - they really don’t get much cred for being musicians, performers, and entertainers, am i right? From the Jackson 5 in the mid-1960s to the current global phenomenon that is K-pop, boy bands have been a big moneymaker in music for decades now. But at the same time, they have also been subjected to plenty of ridicule, disparagement and even hatred while girl groups like Destiny’s Child, Spice Girls and TLC have earned respect and admiration for their empowering and inspirational music.

    Some even say that the 'Boy Band' was essentially a music industry creation with the sole purpose of capitalizing on the love and devotion of young girls and their allowances. The boys in these bands were almost always reduced to being puppets to just sing and dance to music that was mostly written, recorded and - to use a dirty industry term - “manufactured” by professional songwriters and musicians. This music was designed to be a perfect product that girls of the tween and teen variety couldn’t resist.

    HOWEVER… there is one song that goes against the grain, that breaks all the rules, and for the past quarter century that has been an exception to everything I just said. It is a song that had the likes of grown men like Adam Sandler, Paul Rudd, Jerry Seinfeld and Jon Hamm singing along to it on live television like true stans when it was performed at the Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary concert this past February. It has been used countless times in movies and TV shows, covered, sampled and parodied to no end.

    Let's face it, because you can’t deny it, it is the one true boy band song that virtually everyone on Earth gives a pass to - Even more so, it’s a song that everyone flat out loves - whether they will admit it or not. That song is “I Want It That Way” by Backstreet Boys.

    With Newly Unearthed audio from the Backstreet Boys & a NEW Interview with Howie D!

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    41 mins
  • Box Set 3: Mariah Carey, Amy Winehouse, Adele & Lady Gaga's Biggest Hits!
    Apr 17 2025

    It's the Best of Encore Seasons 1-6 with a jam-packed Vocal Powerhouses BOXSET.

    Listen to 4 episodes of Encore featuring the stories behind Mariah Carey's We Belong Together, Amy Winehouse's Rehab, Adele's Rolling in the Deep, and Lady Gaga's Bad Romance.

    Listen to NEW Episodes of Encore: The Stories Behind The Songs You Love every Thursday on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your Podcasts coming soon!

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    1 hr and 49 mins
  • Box Set 2: Green Day, Sum 41, MCR & Jimmy Eat World's Biggest Hits!
    Apr 10 2025

    It's the Best of Encore Seasons 1-6 with a jam-packed Pop-Punk BOXSET.

    Listen to 4 episodes of Encore featuring the stories behind Green Day's American Idiot, Sum 41's Fat Lip, My Chemical Romance's Welcome to the Black Parade and Jimmy Eat World's The Middle!

    Listen to NEW Episodes of Encore: The Stories Behind The Songs You Love every Thursday on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your Podcasts coming soon!

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    1 hr and 37 mins
  • Box Set 1 : Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, Nelly Furtado & Christina Aguilera's Biggest Hits
    Apr 3 2025

    It's the Best of Encore Seasons 1-6 with a jam-packed POP BOXSET.

    Listen to 4 episodes of Encore featuring the stories behind Taylor Swift's We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, Britney Spears' Toxic, Nelly Furtado's Promiscuous and Christina Aguilera's Dirrty!

    Listen to NEW Episodes of Encore: The Stories Behind The Songs You Love every Thursday on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your Podcasts coming soon!

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    1 hr and 10 mins
  • Colours of the World : The Story of Spice Girls' 'Spice Up Your Life'
    Mar 27 2025

    Way back in Season 2 of Encore we talked about the United Kingdom’s rich history of introducing some of the most iconic Boy Bands of all time into the world. From The Beatles to Wham! Westlife to One Direction, Pop Music is littered with some fine British Exports.

    But of course, that’s really only half the story isn’t it?

    Because through all the Boys noise there’s one incomparable group of Girls that rocked the world in the mid-to-late-nineties. Sporty, Scary, Baby, Ginger, and Posh - The Spice Girls!

    This is the Story of Spice Girls’ Spice up your Life! With newly unearthed audio from the girls themselves!

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    25 mins