Justin Vernon was a near-immediate critical sensation upon his late-’00s emergence with his first album as Bon Iver, the alt-folk opus For Emma, Forever Ago. With his unique falsetto, emotional delivery and irresistible backstory — retreating to a cabin in the woods following a pair of personal and professional breakups to record in solitude — Bon Iver earned significant industry respect and a devoted cult following. But few would’ve guessed that, following an extremely valuable A-lister’s co-sign, he would make the jump to stardom in his own right, with a best-selling album, multiple Grammy wins and even a Justin Timberlake impression of him on Saturday Night Live.
This month on the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, our Vintage Pop Stardom spin-off series Vintage Almost-Pop Stardom is welcoming on first-time guests to look at really interesting artists during years in which they brushed up against pop stardom, but perhaps never quite got all the way there. We’ve already discussed 1995 Björk and 2005 Paul Wall, and this week we continue with 2011 Bon Iver. Billboard‘s Kristin Robinson (of the excellent new Billboard On the Record podcast) journeys back with us to the year when Bon Iver stepped onto the biggest figurative and literal stages in popular music — thanks to his work with Kanye West, his wildly acclaimed self-titled sophomore album, and a shifting musical landscape where the gap between indie stars and mainstream stars was suddenly disappearing.
While we’re there, we answer all the most pressing questions about 2011 Bon Iver: Should we consider Bon Iver a band or just the one guy? Is it Bon Iver or Bon Iver, Bon Iver? Does understanding Justin Vernon’s lyrics enhance or detract from the Bon Iver experience? Do Bon Iver and Bonnie Raitt secretly have beef? How the hell did “Holocene” get nominated for both song and record of the year at the Grammys? Did the Twilight: New Moon soundtrack have to go so hard? Is We Bought a Zoo unwatchably sincere? And most importantly: Did Bon Iver check out of almost-pop stardom too early or at the exact right time?
Check it out above — along with a YouTube playlist of some of the most important moments from Paul Wall’s 2005, all of which are discussed in the podcast — and subscribe to both the Greatest Pop Stars podcast on Apple Music or Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts) and to Billboard on the Record for great new episodes of each every Thursday!
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.
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