Ann Powers
Ann Powers is NPR Music's critic and correspondent. She writes for NPR's music news blog, The Record, and she can be heard on NPR's newsmagazines and music programs.
One of the nation's most notable music critics, Powers has been writing for The Record, NPR's blog about finding, making, buying, sharing and talking about music, since April 2011.
Powers served as chief pop music critic at the Los Angeles Times from 2006 until she joined NPR. Prior to the Los Angeles Times, she was senior critic at Blender and senior curator at Experience Music Project. From 1997 to 2001 Powers was a pop critic at The New York Times and before that worked as a senior editor at the Village Voice. Powers began her career working as an editor and columnist at San Francisco Weekly.
Her writing extends beyond blogs, magazines and newspapers. Powers co-wrote Tori Amos: Piece By Piece, with Amos, which was published in 2005. In 1999, Power's book Weird Like Us: My Bohemian America was published. She was the editor, with Evelyn McDonnell, of the 1995 book Rock She Wrote: Women Write About Rock, Rap, and Pop and the editor of Best Music Writing 2010.
After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in creative writing from San Francisco State University, Powers went on to receive a Master of Arts degree in English from the University of California.
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The Beach Boys' co-founder, songwriter and producer transformed pop music into high art and became America's answer to The Beatles' Lennon and McCartney in the process. -
Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar won the night's biggest awards, but the real takeaway from the Grammys is that a wave of younger stars has arrived on the pop scene, fully prepared to own the spotlight. -
It's been a busy week for new music. NPR's Music team discusses new albums by Sturgill Simpson, Cassandra Jenkins and more.
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It's been 15 years since singer Michael Jackson died. How has his legacy changed since then?
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Which songs will dominate summer playlists on radio, social and streaming platforms? Avid fans and followers of pop music know that by late spring most of the candidates are already climbing the charts, so we're looking at the current top 10 of Billboard's Hot 100 chart to see which entries have a chance to be the song of the summer.
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With The Tortured Poets Department, the defining pop star of her era has made an album as messy and confrontational as any good girl's work can get. -
NPR's Sarah McCammon speaks with Lindsay Jones, senior NFL editor for The Ringer, about the newest coaches hired in the league and what trends we can take away from them.
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Some of the biggest names in music are nominated for the Grammy Awards happening this weekend. Here's who we think could take home some wins.
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At its best, the influential online music pub — which Condé Nast announced last week will be folded into GQ — created a rare and precious space to slow down, pay attention and really listen. -
Condé Nast has announced the music website Pitchfork will be rolled into GQ Magazine, and has laid off staff. The site has played a unique role in music criticism and discovery for decades.
