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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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?

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.

¡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?

One Generation Is Showing More Longevity on the Charts Than Any Other. It’s Not the Boomers. Don’t even mention Gen X.

Hey Mr. DJ: my first ’26 entry in @slate.com’s #WhyIsThisSongNo1? series is about Bruno Mars, who scores his first #Hot100 No1 debut ever w/“I Just Might”…at age 40! What’s up w/the Millennial popstar generation—Taylor, Bey, Gaga, Kendrick—who won”t let go of the charts? Eat your hearts out Boomers…

That's basically where I came out when I wrote about this for #WhyIsThisSongNo1? back in 2020—it’s better as a meme than a song, but it’s a charming/globally unifying phenomenon. It hasn’t aged well 5yrs later—honestly it’s all but disappeared—but as very online phenomena go it was rather wholesome.

America Is Already Moving On From Taylor Swift’s New Album—With One Major Exception The Life of a Showgirl’s massive opening has proven short-lived, but one part has real staying power.

Keep it💯on the land…thе sea…the sky—2wks into Taylor’s latest Era my @slate.com series #WhyIsThisSongNo1? considers“The Fate of Ophelia.” We were promised ‘Showgirl’ bangers but the song adapts Swift’s broody ’20s mode for the return of Max. Plus…the album’s chart feats+an asterisk on besting Adele.

Netflix’s Most Popular Movie in Years Has Now Birthed a No. 1 Song We finally have the first chart-topping hit by a girl group since Destiny’s Child. It’s not what you might expect.

Going up…UP…UP!!! The latest in my @slate.com series #WhyIsThisSongNo1? is about “Golden” by fictional trio Huntr/x—the “Sugar,Sugar” of 2025. The 1st No1 by a girl group in 20+years, “Golden” &the KPDH soundtrack are rescuing the 2020s’ dullest pop summer. Forget demons—they’re slaying Alex Warren.

America’s New Favorite Song Is by Its New No. 1 Wife Guy The sound of the mid-’20s isn’t the main pop girls, Kendrick, or Drake. It’s dudes like Alex Warren.

’Til we're dead and buried: My new @slate.com #WhyIsThisSongNo1? article considers the social-media-spawned Alex Warren & his wedding-ready smash “Ordinary.” How did the last year of Teddy Swims & Benson Boone domination help Warren scale the #Hot100? Is this the Jelly Roll–indication of the charts?

We’re Living Through the Most Dominant Chart Run Since the Height of Taylor Swift’s “Eras” Tour Kendrick Lamar didn’t just defeat Drake. He’s become him.

If this world were his: My @slate.com series #WhyIsThisSongNo1? takes on Kendrick Lamar’s “Luther,” which has spent 4wks on top—longer than his smash Drake diss “Not Like Us.” What does this mellow Vandross-sampling duet with SZA mean for Kdot’s pop profile? After beating Drake, has he become Drake?

Two of the 2010s’ Biggest Stars Are Back Atop the Charts. One of Them Needed It More. Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars are back at No. 1. This time, they each needed the other to do it.

P.S. As I half-predicted in my @slate.bsky.social #WhyIsThisSongNo1? piece on Bruno+Gaga, these 2 are probably gonna duet together a lot from here on—much the way Kenny n’ Dolly went from hardly ever singing together to doing it all the damn time after they scored a massive No1 hit together.

Two of the 2010s’ Biggest Stars Are Back Atop the Charts. One of Them Needed It More. Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars are back at No. 1. One of them needed it more.

If the world was ending, I'd wanna…have these folks’ careers: my @slate.bsky.social series #WhyIsThisSongNo1? takes on “Die with a Smile” by Bruno Mars & Lady Gaga—pop veterans who launched during Obama’s 1st term. As we brace for Trump 2.0 & watch the world burn, I analyze who needed this hit more.

We Have a New Longest-Running No. 1 Song in History. The Most Impressive Thing Is How It Got There. An indie artist just tied the record set by “Old Town Road.” Some of its feats are even more impressive.

We and this song got a history: How did Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” spend 19wks@No1, tying the all-time #Hot100 record w/Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road”? For my #WhyIsThisSongNo1? series @slate.bsky.social I discuss what’s changed on the charts since 2019 to make another country-rap hybrid a smash.

America’s New No. 1 Song Is Doing What Even Beyoncé Couldn’t A Black rapper is atop the country charts—and for once, even country listeners are embracing him.

He means EVERYBODY in the club: My new Slate #WhyIsThisSongNo1? article is on Shaboozey—beneficiary of the Beyoncé bump. “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” reboots JKwon’s ’00s hit as crossover twang—fulfilling the “Old Town Road”prophecy & winning more country fans than “Texas Hold’Em.” slate.com/culture/2024...

We Officially Have a Major New Pop Star To understand how Sabrina Carpenter got so big, you have to understand her controversies.

’Cuz she’s a singerrrr: My latest Slate #WhyIsThisSongNo1? takes on #SabrinaCarpenter — why is she on top with a song that’s not “Espresso”? How did her oddball country-synthpop hybrid “Please Please Please” blow up so fast? And what does Olivia have to do with it? slate.com/culture/2024...

An article from my Slate #WhyIsThisSongNo1? series inspired a New York Times crossword clue. ✏️

Funny coincidence: I wrote about Post Malone this week, but the correct answer is from my first article about him—almost seven years ago—not this week’s.

There’s a Reason Pop’s Three Biggest Stars Are All Duetting With the Same Person America’s favorite face-tattooed, billy goat–voiced singer is in the middle of one of history’s most successful rebrands.

Teamwork makes his dream work: How is #PostMalone duetting with every music megastar—and why is it working? My Slate series #WhyIsThisSongNo1? assesses his smash Morgan Wallen teamup “I Had Some Help” & whether it’s got #SongoftheSummer in the bag. (Hold up, says Kendrick.) slate.com/culture/2024...

Taylor Swift Is Doing Michael Jackson–Level Numbers, but Does She Have a “Billie Jean”? With The Tortured Poets Department, she breaks even more sales records. But is a song like “Fortnight” a lasting smash?

Effects were…temporary? My Slate series #WhyIsThisSongNo1? takes on #TaylorSwift’s new chart monster “Fortnight,” which rode her #TorturedPoets wave to the top. Does that make it a hit–hit? As a certain #PetShopBoys frontman recently asked, does Swift have a “Billie Jean”? slate.com/culture/2024...

Wow, a Whole Lot of People Listened to Kendrick Lamar Disassemble Drake and J. Cole on This Week’s No. 1 Track The rap beef record is perfectly adapted to the streaming era.

What “Big 3”? It’s Big He: my Slate series #WhyIsThisSongNo1? takes on #Kendrick’s smash diss verse on Future/Metro’s“Like That” & weighs the 2024 rise of rap beef. Between Megan bodying Nicki & KDot rinsing Drake have disses ever charted this well? And how are these rappers doing Carly Simon proud?

Ariana Grande’s Latest Chart-Topper Turns the Controversy Into Jet Fuel “We Can’t Be Friends” is a master class in how to ride backlash all the way to No. 1.

She’ll wait for your love: My Slate series #WhyIsThisSongNo1? takes on #ArianaGrande’s pair of Max Martin–produced No1s, including the recent “Yes,And?” & this week’s “We Can’t Be Friends.” Does Ariana really “wanna let this story die”? Or does weaponizing her meta-narrative make her a #MainPopGirl?

Beyoncé Has Embraced Country. That Doesn’t Mean Country Has Embraced Beyoncé. Why “Texas Hold ’Em” is No. 1 on the country chart—but not on country radio.

Lay your cards down…down…down: What does #Beyoncé topping the Country chart actually mean? My Slate series #WhyIsThisSongNo1? considers the win by “Texas Hold Em” 5 years after the“Old Town Road” Country-chart debacle. How accepted is Bey’s hit by the Nashville faithful? And will she have coattails?

A 78-Year-Old Has America’s No. 1 Song. Here’s How She Pulled It Off. Why a 65-year-old Christmas classic is finally atop the Billboard charts.

The new old-fashioned way: my Slate series #WhyIsThisSongNo1? celebrates its 10th (!) anniversary explaining how septuagenarian Brenda Lee hit the top in 2023 with her 1958 holiday bop. Little Miss Dynamite earned it—the digital era revealed just how much we love this song.

We Regret to Inform You That the Biggest Rap Hit in a While Is From This Goofball 2023 saw hip-hop’s longest drought in decades. Is Jack Harlow the man to save it?

He’s vanilla, baby: My Slate series #WhyIsThisSongNo1? takes on Jack Harlow’s TikTok-fueled banger “Lovin’ on Me.” After a 2023 in hip-hop that was celebratory but commercially lacking, is this flirty goofball the answer? And what’s up with that “whips & chains” sample?

Only One Taylor Swift Album Never Spawned a No. 1 Hit—Until Four Years Later From “Space Oddity” to “Cruel Summer,” the long history of second-chance hits.

Devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes: my Slate series #WhyIsThisSongNo1? tries to explain how a 4-year-old Taylor Swift song about summer finally hit the top of the Hot 100…in autumn. Cursed by the pandemic, then boosted by #ErasTour, “Cruel Summer” would not be denied.