Popjustice
British music website
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Popjustice was a music website founded in 2000 by UK freelance music journalist Peter Robinson, who had worked for NME, The Guardian, Attitude and many others. It was composed of the work of editor Robinson, features editor Michael Cragg, and a host of contributors.[1]
 | |
Type of site | Music blog, online forum |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Dissolved | 26 April 2026 |
| Owner | Peter Robinson (editor) |
| Created by | Peter Robinson, various |
| URL | www |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Forum required |
| Launched | 2000 |
The website sought to celebrate commercial popular music and did this using humour, user interaction, and contacts within the music industry. Its writing style was compared favourably by a number of critics[like whom?] to that of the now defunct Smash Hits magazine, in that it mixed a passion for pop music with a surreal and biting wit.
The website was relaunched in January 2006 with more features, music downloads and online shop. In November 2006 Popjustice won a Record of the Day PR & Music Journalism Award in the Best Online Music Publication category, with another individual award going to Peter Robinson in the Breaking Music: Writer Of The Year category.
After a semi-hiatus since mid-2021[2] and two posts during 2022, as of 2023[update], the journalism component of the website migrated to Substack,[3][4] with the Popjustice forums remaining at the original location.
On 10 April 2026, it was announced that the site's forum would be shutting down on 26 April 2026.[5] The forum closed as planned on 26 April 2026; in the closing message, Popjustice noted that following the closure announcement, forum members had set up a new fan-made forum called Pop Square to continue discussions.[6]
Popjustice £20 Music Prize
In 2003, Popjustice set up the Popjustice £20 Music Prize, in order to find the best British pop single of the year, as a parody of the Mercury Music Prize and held on the same night, usually at a bar in Central London.
| Year | Artist | Song |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Girls Aloud | "No Good Advice" |
| 2004 | Rachel Stevens | "Some Girls" |
| 2005 | Girls Aloud | "Wake Me Up" |
| 2006 | Girls Aloud | "Biology" |
| 2007 | Amy Winehouse | "Rehab" |
| 2008 | Girls Aloud | "Call the Shots" |
| 2009 | Girls Aloud | "The Promise" |
| 2010 | Example | "Kickstarts" |
| 2011 | The Saturdays | "Higher" |
| 2012 | Will Young | "Jealousy" |
| 2013 | Chvrches | "The Mother We Share" |
| 2014 | Little Mix | "Move" |
| 2015 | Little Mix | "Black Magic" |
| 2016 | Zayn | "Pillowtalk" |
| 2017 | Little Mix | "Touch" |
| 2018 | Rita Ora | "Anywhere" |
| 2019 | Georgia | "About Work the Dancefloor" |
| 2020 | Dua Lipa | "Physical" |
| 2021 | Laura Mvula | "Got Me" |
| 2022 | Harry Styles | "As It Was" |
| 2023 | Raye featuring 070 Shake | "Escapism" |
| 2024 | Charli xcx and Lorde | "The girl, so confusing version with Lorde" |
| 2025 | Jade | "Plastic Box" |
Popjustice books and albums
A series of Popjustice books called Popjustice Idols were published in March 2006. They are illustrated by David Whittle. Drawing inspiration from Roger Hargreaves's Mr Men books, these feature amusing looks at the lives of pop stars. The initial titles were Kylie Minogue, Madonna, Robbie Williams and Eminem with a Take That version released in April 2006. Four more were released in November 2006 featuring Pete Doherty, Elton John, Britney Spears and Michael Jackson.[7] A compilation album was also released in October 2006, titled Popjustice: 100% Solid Pop Music.