Welcome to the Season Finale Of Encore!

What would you say is the catchiest song of all time? You know that one earworm that you hear once and then for the rest of the day it plays over and over in your head?

Well, according to researchers at St. Andrews University in Scotland a song needs to have five things to make it an earworm: surprise, predictability, rhythmic repetition, melodic potency and, most importantly, the listener must be receptive to the creation on a basic level. In their study they determined the catchiest song of all time is Queen’s “We Will Rock You,” which alone can be identified by its rhythm. I’m sure you’ve attended some sporting event and stomped or clapped that song without even singing a note. It’s catchy, there’s no denying it and these people are actual scientists sure, but have they ever heard a song by the name of “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen? Because that wins my vote.

And I’m not alone. Justin Bieber agrees with me. He once tweeted: “Call me maybe by Carly Rae Jepson is possibly the catchiest song I've ever heard lol” How can anyone argue with the Biebs!

This is the true story of the iconic Carly Rae Jepsen song 'Call Me Maybe' - with newly unearthed audio from Carly Rae Jepsen herself!

Encore will return for season 5 in October 2024!

There aren’t too many global superstars out there who got their start impersonating Elvis at the age of 2, but that’s exactly how Bruno Mars began his career in music. Yes, you heard me right, Bruno Mars began entertaining while he was still in diapers - and I’m gonna assume it all happened pre-potty training! That is apparently what it takes to become one of the biggest musicians in the world: gyrating your hips and dancing to the jailhouse rock in your nappy.

But all of that hard work so early on in his life led to stardom for Bruno Mars, who has built an impressive career as a singer, songwriter, producer, all-around entertainer and 15-time Grammy winner.

This is the story of Bruno Mars' Iconic hit: Locked Out of Heaven, with newly unearthed audio from Bruno Mars!

It’s probably safe to say that by late 2002, Eminem was the most popular rapper in the world.

With three full-length solo albums under his belt, Slim Shady had come quite a long way in the four years since taking the world by storm with The groundbreaking Slim Shady LP in 1999 - introducing the world to his devil-may-care madcap rhymes that ranged from insightful, to absurd, to downright offensive; sometimes all at once.

There was no denying Marshall Mathers’ talent on the mic - combining the sounds of the underground with a hurricane flow, lyrical wizardry, and pop culture irreverence - Eminem’s popularity was bolstered by the frustrated angst of the emerging nu metal, horror-core and even pop punk sounds of the era.

Realistically, he didn’t even *sound* like anything from those genres, but his aura was so strong that he became a sort of crossover artist without even needing to actually cross over. It was just *cool* to like Eminem.

With the backing of music industry heavy hitters like Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, Eminem also had serious critical credibility - He’d won Rap Grammys for the aforementioned Slim Shady LP and it’s lead single ‘My Name Is’ in 2000; He followed it up with three more the following year for the likes of The Real Slim Shady, Forgot About Dre, and his sophomore album The Marshall Mathers LP - and would eventually go on to win two MORE Grammys in 2003 for his ‘02 album The Eminem Show and its lead single ‘Without Me’.

And, while we’re on the topic of the successes of Slim Shady - the records show that by late 2002 Eminem’s 3 Solo LPs had gone no less than 18x Platinum in America alone.

There is just one thing Em hadn’t done yet - and quite honestly I can barely believe it myself - Eminem had never had a US Billboard hot 100 Number 1 Hit.

That all changed when Eminem recorded the lead single for his feature film debut - changing how we all thought about Eminem forever.

This is the story of Eminem's 'Lose Yourself' with newly unearthed audio from Marshall Mathers himself!