Episode 229: "Authenticity"

Chris Molanphy from Slate's Hit Parade joins us to discuss the Big 5 and Sweden's entries for Eurovision 2024. How do the entries from France, Spain, Italy, Germany, the UK, and Sweden stack up to current US Billboard chart sensibilities? Are there any bangers in the mix? About Chris Molanphy Chris Molanphy is a chart analyst and pop critic who writes about the intersection of culture and commerce in popular music. For Slate, he created and hosts the Hit Parade podcast (https://slate.com/podcasts/hit-parade) and writes their “Why Is This Song No. 1?” series (https://slate.com/tag/why-is-this-songno1). His most recent book is Old Town Road (DUP, 2023), about the Lil Nas X song of the same name and the chart history and race/genre intersections that led to its record-setting chart run. Chris’s work has also appeared in Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Vulture, NPR Music’s The Record, The Village Voice, Billboard _and _CMJ. Chris has also been a frequent guest on National Public Radio (All Things Considered, On the Media, Planet Money, Soundcheck), on SiriusXM and on numerous podcasts including the Culture Gabfest and the New York Times Popcast. "Authenticity" Summary Welcome, Chris Molanphy! (0:46) 🇫🇷 France - Slimane - "Mon Amour" ❤️‍🔥 (8:22) 🇪🇸 Spain - Nebulossa - "ZORRA" 🦊 (16:46) 🇮🇹 Italy - Angelina Mango - "La Noia" 🥱 (26:51) 🇩🇪 Germany - ISAAK - "Always on the Run" 🏃 (33:34) 🇬🇧 United Kingdom - Olly Alexander - "Dizzy" 😵‍💫 (41:32) 🇸🇪 Sweden - Marcus & Martinus - "Unforgettable" 👯‍♂️ (49:43) Final Thoughts (1:00:56) Subscribe The EuroWhat? Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. Find your podcast app to subscribe here (https://www.eurowhat.com/subscribe). Comments, questions, and episode topic suggestions are always welcome. You can shoot us an email (mailto:[e-mail]) or reach out on Bluesky @eurowhat.bsky.social (https://bsky.app/profile/eurowhat.bsky.social). Malmö 2024 Stay up to date on everything happening in the leadup to the Eurovision Song Contest on our page dedicated to Malmö 2024 (https://www.eurowhat.com/2024-malmo). You can keep tabs on the countries, artists, and songs, set your laundry folding schedule with our EuroWhat's On calendar, and futz with your Spotify algorithm with our Selection Season playlist (https://eurowhat.com/selection-season)! Join the EuroWhat AV Club! If you would like to help financially support the show, we are hosting the EuroWhat AV Club over on Patreon! We have a slew of bonus episodes with deep dives on Eurovision-adjacent topics. Special Guest: Chris Molanphy.