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Chris Molanphy

@cmolanphy.bsky.social
2.9K followers 295 following 754 posts

Chart analyst/pop critic. Host of podcast #HitParadePod. Writer of Slate's #WhylsThisSongNo1? Author of book #OldTownRoad. Feet on the ground, reaching for the stars. (Pronouns—he/him/his.)

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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Just because they can: my latest #HitParadePod on @slate.com connects the late great Dolly Parton + currently dominant Ella Langley. How’d Dolly stay country while crossing pop—and what did she bequeath Ella’s generation, who are “Choosin’ Texas” while topping the pops? Talk about a cup of ambition.
slate.com
How Dolly Parton’s Crossover Career Paved the Way for Pop Fans to Start “Choosin’ Texas”
Older chart rules held back many of Dolly Parton’s hits on the pop charts, but the streaming era is rectifying that for modern country stars.
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
It happened: Ella’s “Texas” has taken the #Hot100 wks@No1 record. (I give Mariah 2 Christmases to get it back…) Wanna know how + why? I offer my latest @slate.com #WhyIsThisSongNo1? column (slate.trib.al/Da3cHmt) or my chat w/Wesley Morris on @nytimes.com Cannonball: www.nytimes.com/2026/09/17/p...
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I loved joining Wesley Morris to talk about Ella Langley’s #Hot100 record-setter “Choosin’ Texas,” on his @nytimes.com podcast #Cannonball. We get into the merits of the song…why some audiences haven't heard it…why country music is having a moment + what our current hits say about the national mood.
nytimes.com
Who Keeps On Choosin’ Texas? | Cannonball with Wesley Morris
Nevermind that cowboy at the bar.
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Hey @tombreihan.bsky.social, happy mutual birthday to my fellow chart-chronicler. Here's a thematically appropriate banger—if Billboard had launched the Modern Rock chart just 6 months sooner in '88, I'll bet you would've gotten to write about it for #AlternativeNumberOnes. Have a great day! 🎂
youtube.com
The Sugarcubes - Birthday (English Version) (Original 4K Music Video)
YouTube video by Björk: Music Video 4K
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
UPDATE: I called it—“Jolene” reenters@ No16, “I Will Always Love You” debuts@ No27. (First #Hot100 appearance ever for the latter!) I’m esp.proud I called which returning hit would be biggest—“IWALY” is more apropos to the moment but I just knew…folks love “Jolene.” www.billboard.com/music/chart-...
billboard.com
Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’ & ‘I Will Always Love You’ Recordings Become Top 40 Hot 100 Hits for the First Time
Dolly Parton's "Jolene" and "I Will Always Love You" both hit the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time, following her passing.
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
A “fun” read from @totcharts.bsky.social+a must-read for bellow chart junkies—even as it will not restore your faith in either the music biz or artist fandoms. I learned a few things—I missed that 6ix9ine leaked the #Hot100 formula & forgot Dua’s “Levitating” (likely) got robbed from a rightful No1.
talkofthecharts.org
20 Songs Notoriously Blocked From #1 on the Hot 100 This Decade
The decade’s 20 most notorious Hot 100 #1 blocks, ranked by infamy: fanbase battles, razor-thin margins and massive hits denied the top spot.
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JD Ryznar @jdryznar.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Incredible bluegrass song. Incredibly a Billy Joel cover. Thanks @cmolanphy.bsky.social for turning me on to this on your Billy Joel episode of hit parade. youtu.be/40wdYXbpv5U?...
youtu.be
Travelin’ Prayer
YouTube video by Dolly Parton - Topic
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Looking for silver linings on this sad, sad day—want to put this prediction out there now… On next week’s #Hot100 I look forward to this immortal No1 country, No60 pop song—already her top Spotify track—finally becoming the Top 40 pop hit it has long deserved to be. Rest in Power to a legend. 💔
youtube.com
Dolly Parton - Jolene (Official Audio)
YouTube video by DollyPartonVEVO
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Doesn't take a crystal ball to see: my #WhyIsThisSongNo1? series on @slate.com takes another look at “Choosin’ Texas” now that it’s about to tie an all-time #Hot100 record. Already #SongOfTheSummer, it’s pulling other country songs into the pop Top5. Country’s having a moment—but also…it’s the data.
slate.com
This Summer Has Had a Hit as Big as “Old Town Road,” Even Though You Might Never Have Heard It
Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is the longest-running No. 1 of all time, but another song is poised to take its title.
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
And I say…it’s all right. My latest #HitParadePod —now live on @slate.com—chronicles the hit the Beatles left on the table: “Here Comes the Sun,” George’s Abbey Road deep cut. It’s now their most-played digital song, over any Lennon–McCartney joint…how did Harrison’s self-care inspire a stealth hit?
slate.com
The Most Popular Beatles Song Wasn’t Written by John or Paul
“Here Comes the Sun” inspired countless cover versions. (George preferred James Brown’s.)
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
It’s all coming back: my latest #HitParadePod —now live on @slate.com—is about Canadian chanteuse Céline Dion, training like an Olympian for her stage comeback. We go deep on her imperial ’90s when she turned flops into smashes & supercharged the soundtrack. Is your mom’s fave finally…a little cool?
slate.com
How a Titanic Voice Helped Power the World’s Biggest Movie
Celine Dion’s soaring vocals turned flop songs into hits, made a boat movie a blockbuster, and soundtracked your mom’s car.
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
I enjoyed talking w/Lawrence Peryer for his cultural conversation podcast @thetonearm.com. We had a wide-ranging chat—from Taylor Swift to James Taylor…why I loved Bruce Hornsby & couldn't abide Bon Jovi…why Billy Idol + Pointer Sisters are great #HitParadePod topics…& why Ella Langley is still No1.
podcast.thetonearm.com
Chris Molanphy on the Hot 100, Poptimism, and Music Trends
The Hit Parade host on what better data revealed about hit songs, why country radio guards its gate, and his refusal to believe in guilty pleasures.
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
In @newyorker.com, the great @luxante.bsky.social on Daft Punk’s master single: “We need ‘Get Lucky’ too, because we need romance, or at least hope. The struggle we face is not just political but existential…we need to dance and to love, so that we don’t forget what we’re ultimately fighting for.” 😭
newyorker.com
When “Get Lucky” Took Me Back to the Years of Disco
The 2013 Daft Punk track was uncannily evocative of the late nineteen-seventies, when I was young and dancing was my creed.
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Anybody playing Catalogues, the new pattern-recognition game from @newyorker.com? Today’s installment (Fri 31 Jul) was—you might say—up my alley. I got it in 1—if you’re a fellow #Hot100 chart nerd you will too. P.S.One of the names in the stack will make you sad for him. 1 guess 😻 🟢 🟢 🟢 🟢 🟢 🟢 🟢
newyorker.com
Play Catalogues: Friday, July 31, 2026
Can you sort the items into the correct order?
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
Allow him to reintroduce himself: my new #HitParadePod —live on @slate.com—celebrates 30yrs of JayZ rocking the mic. His 4 #Hot100 No1s are teamups w/female singers & you can organize his career around them: Striver Jay…Imperial Jay…Mogul Jay + Elder Statesman Jay. He’s never had girl problems, son.
slate.com
Jay-Z’s Collaborative Path to No. 1
He may have created rap’s Blueprint, but female collaborators were key to Hova’s formula for chart success.
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
It’s a gas…it’s a hit: my new #HitParadePod on @slate.com is about Pink Floyd & the alltime album-chart record #TheDarkSideoftheMoon still holds. How does this LP keep seducing new generations of HS stoners+vinyl buyers? What competing LPs are creeping up on Floyd’s record? slate.com/podcasts/hit...
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Don’t fear the repeat: my new #HitParadePod on @slate.com is about 2-Hit Wonders—fluky acts who could’ve been one-hitters but made lightning strike twice. It’s all about the hit gap—the best 2HWs come back years, even a decade after their 1st hit…from Gloria Gaynor to Murray Head to Golden Earring.
slate.com
Lightning Strikes Twice: the Fluky World of Pop’s Two-Hit Wonders
Whether it's Hozier or Blue Öyster Cult, Gloria Gaynor or Paula Cole, certain artists surpass the one-hit wonder curse with a second smash.
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
Fun w/charts: The news that Robert Smith (!) guests on the new Stones LP (!!) sent me back to fall ’89 to see if my suspicion was right that the Cure & Stones mixed it up on the #Hot100. Boy howdy, did they! One week after this, the Cure’s biggest-ever pop hit rose to its No2 peak; Stones held@ No5.
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
What can I say about the last days of @slate.com #CultureGabfest? It’s been my honor to help @juliaturner.bsky.social @thehighsign.bsky.social & Steve Metcalf curate Summer Strut—their annual collection of hot-time bops. I’m on this week to help them strut into the sunset. slate.com/podcasts/cul...
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
They remembered they loved her: my latest #WhyIsThisSongNo1? article on @slate.com is about Taylor Swift’s instant chart-topper from #ToyStory5. Why’d it take her so long to score a No1 soundtrack hit? And why did country radio welcome her back like her 15-year pivot to pop never happened? Giddy up.
slate.com
Taylor Swift Once Told Country “We Are Never, Ever Getting Back Together,” but Now Here We Are
Would country music ever welcome back Taylor Swift? We finally have the answer.
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
Forever yours—faithfully: What is a power ballad? My new #HitParadePod episode on @slate.com explores how these climaxing…cringy…kinda awesome mini-melodramas took over the charts in the ’70s–’80s—from Styx to Skid Row. Does a PB require spandex…or an Olympic voice? And who’s keeping them alive now?
slate.com
How Power Ballads Taught Us to Pledge Love While Rocking Out
From intimate whispers to soaring glory notes—plus a wicked guitar solo—the everlasting reign of the power ballad.
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
I am a longtime, diehard @slate.com #PoliticalGabfest fan—literally since week one, over 2 decades ago—so I was thrilled to hear Gabfest host David Plotz shout out my latest #HitParadePod toward the end of this week’s show! The full Gabfest episode can be heard here: slate.com/podcasts/pol...
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Guess I can retire—an article I wrote for @slate.com 6 years ago became an answer in the semifinals of Netflix’s #PopCultureJeopardy! The article, from the start of the pandemic—my #WhyIsThisSongNo1? piece on The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights”: slate.com/culture/2020... “FLAILING…ARMS & LEGS” FTW.
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
Live&let die? Think again! My new #HitParadePod on @slate.com is a tour of near-miss hits—No2s, 11s & 41s that became legendary. In this episode…the ’70s: How’d Wings’ No2 Bond theme outlast a No1 ballad? Why’d Steely Dan’s yacht rockers miss the Top10? How’d Elton’s blue-jean baby miss Casey Kasem?
slate.com
Near Misses: Hit Songs That Never Quite Made the Winner’s Circle
“We Are Family,” “Wild World” and “Tiny Dancer” are signature songs of the ‘70s that fell just shy of No. 1, the Top 10, and the Top 40.
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
Announcing the return of my @slate.com podcast #HitParadePod! We now offer single-episode topics more frequently in a conversational style. For our comeback I go deep on ’80s shapeshifter + Rock Hall inductee Billy Idol. How’d the sneer king fuse punk w/pop+dance+goth+metal to rule MTV & the charts?
slate.com
Bleached Hair + an Elvis Sneer = MTV Immortality
His punk look was unmistakable, but Billy Idol's sound was ever-changing as he explored new wave, glam metal, even club music in his quest for pop stardom.
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
This @billboard.com factoid should come w/10 asterisks. Sure…technically ‘Number Ones’ is “new” to the Billboard 200’s Top10 this week…but for over a month in 2009 it was America’s top-seller, excluded from the chart only cuz of a now-defunct rule that purged catalog titles. A dubious MJ chart feat.
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
As part of Slate’s commemoration of my 100th episode of #HitParadePod, this week EIC Hillary Frey interviewed me for her weekly Friday email to Slate Plus members. It was fun reminiscing about how charts have changed, why Casey Kasem mattered, favorite HP episodes and my recent musical comfort food.
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
This ranking is fun but w/all due respect to @augetoffmygold.bsky.social & the Billboard gang, ranking JT’s “SexyBack” No1 & the still-superior, Pitchfork-poptimism totem “My Love” No37 is revisionist madness (not like opinion changed in 20yrs—cf @tombreihan.bsky.social’s ratings on The Number Ones)
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
On a new #HitParadePod –The Bridge, my guest @slate.com editor Forrest Wickman says the trick of both my podcast & column #WhyIsThisSongNo1? is making connections between modern chart-toppers & hits of yore—an Archies-to-Huntr/x continuum. Plus—Casey Kasem trivia & words of gratitude from your host.
slate.com
The Pop-Chart Column That Isn’t Afraid to Ask: Why Is This Song No. 1?
The Hot 100 has never been more accurate than it is today.
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Reposted by Chris Molanphy
Hollywood Steve Huey @hollywoodsteve.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
If you missed it last week, check out our annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Voter's Guide episode - this year with an actual voter!!! Special thanks to @cmolanphy.bsky.social for guesting while in town for PopCon at USC
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
Billboard Bildungsroman: For the 100th episode of #HitParadePod on @slate.com I go deep on my chart-geek history. Part 1: my musical memoir, Solid Gold to Nirvana. Part 2: the story of Casey Kasem, original #AmericanTop40 host—how he nationalized countdowns, invented the LDD & survived the Dead Dog.
slate.com
Hit Parade’s Origin Story—and a Long-Distance Dedication to Casey Kasem.
What makes a person want to track these rankings? Why do we care about what—or who—is No. 1?
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
I joined @djlouiexiv.bsky.social on his #PopPantheon podcast along with pop critic @popsamcam.bsky.social to debate the past & current state of the #Hot100 and what a No1 hit means. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/d...
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
It was a blast joining the #BeyondYachtRock gang— @jdryznar.bsky.social @hollywoodsteve.bsky.social Hunter & Dave—in the Fart Dungeon™ for a #RockHall ballot podcast chat. What genre is Billy Idol? Why can’t we agree on Mariah? Why do JD & NO belong together? And why does everybody diss the Crowes?
podcasts.apple.com
155. 2026 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Voters' Guide
Podcast Episode · Beyond Yacht Rock 2000 · March 19 · 2h 8m
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Todd in the Shadows @shadowtodd.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
If "Sinners" had won would the ending sketch be Conan meeting Buddy Guy in '90s Starter jacket clothes
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
I’m back playing #Oscars pundit on the music categories for #BelowTheLine podcast. First up…Best Score—Louis Weeks, Jennie Armon & I discuss: Will the Academy go for 𝘉𝘶𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘢 weirdness or 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘪𝘯 lushness? Why’s 𝘏𝘢𝘮𝘯𝘦𝘵’s best tune ineligible? And does Göransson have the prize locked for 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴?
youtube.com
S26 - Ep 11 - 98th Oscars - Original Score
YouTube video by Below the Line podcast
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
Two-steppin' round the room: my new #WhyIsThisSongNo1? on @slate.com is about “Choosin’ Texas,” Ella Langley’s country smash that’s improbably tops@pop—the 1st song by a woman to top #Hot100, Hot Country +Country Airplay (a decade after #Tomatogate). How did Ella go where even Dolly&Taylor couldn’t?
slate.com
America’s New No. 1 Song Just Did What Even Taylor Swift Couldn’t
The latest Hot 100 chart-topper announces the arrival of a new country-music superstar.
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Natalie Weiner @natalieweiner.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
wrote a little about Langley/Moroney and What It All Means in my latest for @billboard.com ! www.billboard.com/music/countr...
billboard.com
Ella Langley and Megan Moroney’s Milestone Chart-Toppers Are Forcing Nashville to Break a Decades-Old Rule
Megan Moroney's and Ella Langley's simultaneous success is breaking traditional country rules about only woman thriving in the mainstream at a time.
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
On a new #HitParadePod –The Bridge, live on @slate.com, my guest @cantkill.bsky.social says Olivia Newton-John & John Denver were just part of a ’70s country-to-pop crossover wave, as Nashville acts covered a slew of rock&pop hits. Plus trivia…and a next-episode preview that’s ready for a milestone.
slate.com
They Were Country When Crossovers Weren’t Cool
Can you believe she was magic? Music journalist David Cantwell on Olivia Newton-John’s trailblazing country-pop crossover campaign.
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
It's all right…dancing through the lightning strikes: my latest #WhyIsThisSongNo1? on @slate.com is about “Opalite,” which gives Taylor her first followup No1 hit since her ‘1989’ heyday. How did the celeb-studded video & clever sales tactics push it to the top? And why does it deserve to be there?
slate.com
Taylor Swift’s Just Scored Another No. 1 Song on Billboard’s Hot 100. But Is It a Real Hit?
It’s harder than ever for albums to produce multiple chart-topping singles. Taylor Swift just did it anyway.
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Always a delight to join @augetoffmygold.bsky.social on @billboard.com’s Greatest Pop Stars podcast. This time, for Andrew’s Vintage Pop Stars series, I’m on to talk about David Bowie’s ’83—his commercial peak. How well do hits like “Let’s Dance” & “Modern Love” hold up? Has “China Girl” aged badly?
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
¡Métase to'l mundo! My new @slate.com #WhyIsThisSongNo1? column is about Bad Bunny’s “DTMF”—beneficiary of his halftime triumph+the 1st all-Spanish #Hot100 No1 since “La Bamba.” Out of all of Benito’s hits why’d this one top the charts? And what does it have to do w/the country song it replaced@No1?
slate.com
The Right-Wing Backlash to Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Performance Has Only Made Him More Popular Than Ever
Long after the right-wing freak-out, the Puerto Rican superstar is getting the last laugh.
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
Almost heaven/hopelessly devoted: My new #HitParadePod episode—now live on @slate.com—is on John Denver & Olivia Newton-John, titans of ’70s pop who crossed over via country & tangled w/Nashville. They went Hollywood, then took different paths—she aerobicized…he went full Muppet. Embrace the mellow.
slate.com
Nashville Turned Its Back on Two Country-Pop Upstarts. Then Hollywood Came Knocking.
Long before Taylor Swift and Morgan Wallen, Olivia Newton-John and John Denver took country roads to pop superstardom.
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
The roll call of Latin countries (plus the US and Canada!) at the close had me in my feelings. ¡Muchissimas gracias, Benito! #Halftime #BadBunny
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Okay, that Grammy cameo was a nice flex. Hey, MAGA—how ya like me now? #BadBunny #Halftime
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Speaking as a half-Italian half-Cuban, I heartily endorse the cross-cultural exchange between #Gaga and #Benito. 🇮🇹 🇨🇺 🇵🇷
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Anyone else wish “Die with a Smile” had been this way all along? #Gaga #BadBunny #Halftime
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
I not only encourage you to read @radiomatt1.bsky.social’s chart analysis of Bad Bunny ahead of #SuperBowlHalftime. I urge you to read thru his recap of José Feliciano’s ’68 Detroit national-anthem controversy & its chart/career impact—the more things change… www.graphsaboutsongs.com/p/um-actuall...
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High Sheriff’s Lady @highsheriffslady.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
I’m looking forward to all of the queens I follow doing spoken word lip synchs of this new classic! God bless Cher! #glaaaaadiator2026
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Theories of the case (#AlbumOfTheYear): • the (Dixie) Chicks effect: voting for Benito was a political act • the Latino vote: the Recording Academy added hundreds of Latin #Grammys voters last year • duh, DTMF is a great album
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Chris Molanphy @cmolanphy.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Bad Bunny is having a moment. We get it, Benito. #Grammys #AotY
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