Hit Parade

What makes a song a smash? Talent? Luck? Timing? All that—and more.

About the Show

Chris Molanphy, a pop-chart analyst and author of Slate’s “Why Is This Song No. 1?” series, tells tales from a half-century of chart history. Through storytelling, trivia, and song snippets, Chris dissects how that song you love—or hate—dominated the airwaves, made its way to the top of the charts, and shaped your memories forever.

Host

  • Chris Molanphy is a feature writer and critic who writes widely about music and the pop charts.

Feet on the Ground, Reaching for the Stars Edition

For Hit Parade’s 100th episode, Chris Molanphy reflects on the nature of chart fandom—and salutes the countdown king.

The Bridge: Why Is This Episode No. 100?

Your Hit Parade host talks with Slate culture editor Forrest Wickman about the changing meaning of a No. 1 hit and how it informs the podcast.

Country Roads and Summer Nights Edition

Before Grease and the Muppets, John Denver and Olivia Newton-John defined country-pop crossover in the 1970s.

The Bridge: Take Me Home, Country Crossover

Author David Cantwell explains how Olivia Newton-John and John Denver blazed their own trails through Nashville.

Starman to Blackstar Edition

How rock’s freakiest alien built his pop stardom through a series of ch-ch-ch-changes.

The Bridge: Fame Makes a Man Take Things Over

David Bowie scholar Chris O’Leary traces the Thin White Duke’s lifelong pattern of chasing stardom—then burning it down.

The Bridge: Slate’s Music Club 2025

Our critics’ roundtable recaps how Bad Bunny became imperial, Geese took flight, and a trio of Demon Hunters made K-pop golden.

Hooked to the Silver Screen Edition

After Barbie, Wicked and KPop Demon Hunters, is movie music making a chart comeback?

Pour Some Sugar on Me Edition

Mutt Lange built the sound of arena rock—then ruled the charts for decades.

The Bridge: Any Mutt of Mine

Nashville journalist Brian Mansfield says Shania Twain and producer Mutt Lange rebooted country music for pop crossover.

If You Love Sting, Set Him Free Edition

From the schoolroom to sophisti-pop, Sting’s genre-bending career is packed with hits.

The Bridge: Every Little Thing They Did Was Magic

Biographer Geoff Edgers on what powered the Police, rock’s most combustible trio.

Toppermost of the Poppermost Edition

The odd alchemy that sends a brand-new song to the top of the charts.

The Bridge: You Like My Hit? Gee, Thanks—Just Bought It

A chart-data scholar says No. 1 debuts need an extramusical X-factor.

Here’s The Beef Edition

The Kendrick-Drake feud made it all the way to the Super Bowl, but pop star beefs go back to the earliest days of wax.

The Bridge: How Ya Like Me Now?

Dan Charnas on how rap beefs evolved from Kool Moe Dee to Kendrick Lamar.

Mighty Real Edition

From Little Richard to Chappell Roan, queer artists have always been vanguards of pop, even when they have not been out.

The Bridge: The Closet Was Never Binary

Barry Walters, a scholar of LGBTQ music, says queer artists have long expressed their identities on a spectrum.

All Apologies Edition

From Cobain to Creed, how alt-rock went mainstream in the ‘90s.

The Bridge: Isn’t It Iconic?

Rob Harvilla, host of 60 Songs That Explain the ’90s, on the gap between what was cool and what actually charted during alt-rock’s greatest decade.

Only Girl in the World Edition

Rihanna was the most prolific 21st century chart-topper before bowing out of the game.

The Bridge: Rihanna Is Still Unapologetic

Music journalist Julianne Escobedo Shepherd says Rih always had the swagger to chart her own pop path.

Singing Nuns and Green Tambourines Edition

The 1960s will always be associated with counterculture and the Summer of Love, but the decade’s pop charts were full of novelty, schlock, and bubblegum.

The Bridge: Ballad of the Forgotten Hits

Producer, music archivist, and historian Andy Zax on why we love groovy ’60s hits but forget the Green Berets.

Material Girl in an Imperial World Edition

Pet Shop Boys coined the term “imperial phase” to describe a pop star’s untouchable era. In the ’80s, Madonna lived it.

The Bridge: They Must Be Our Lucky Stars

Pop Pantheon’s DJ Louie XIV ranks pop royalty—and weighs in on imperial phases.

The Freewheelin’ Edition

A Complete Unknown depicts Bob Dylan’s ’60s cultural explosion. His chart success came many years later.

The Bridge: Dylan Was Always Electric

Elijah Wald, whose book inspired the film A Complete Unknown, says the folk icon’s electrified surprise at Newport ‘65 had been gestating for years.

I’d Like to Teach the World to Buy Edition

How does advertising turn earworms and odd ditties into hits? You might be surprised at the bops that started as jingles.

The Bridge: Slate’s Music Club 2024

Our critics’ roundtable returns to recap the year in music—from Chappell to Charli, Kendrick to Doechii, Sabrina to Shaboozey.

Say a Little Prayer Edition

How Aretha Franklin became not only the Queen of Soul but a massive pop star, earning respect with amazing grace.

The Bridge: Spirit in the Dark

Black-music scholar Emily Lordi says Aretha Franklin personified soul by bringing the church to the pop mainstream.

The Bridge: All That Bono Can’t Leave Behind

Critic and music historian Stephen Thomas Erlewine says U2 always carried themselves like rock stars, especially their frontman.

With or Without U2 Edition

How Bono and the boys pivoted from the earnest ’80s to the ironic ’90s. They’ve always been both cool and cringe.

The Bridge: Got My Back Against the Record Machine

Author and 1984 music scholar Michaelangelo Matos says even the rockers that year wanted to make you dance.