Material Girl in an Imperial World Edition Part 1

Summary

Episode Summary: "Material Girl in an Imperial World Edition Part 1"

Podcast: Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia
Host: Chris Melanphy
Release Date: February 14, 2025
Episode: Material Girl in an Imperial World Edition Part 1

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Introduction to the Imperial Phase

In this episode, host Chris Melanphy delves deep into the concept of the "imperial phase"—a pivotal moment in an artist's career when their influence and popularity render them almost untouchable on the music charts. Melanphy begins by examining Lady Gaga's 2011 hit "Born This Way," which debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. He posits that Gaga's success was less about the song's inherent qualities and more about her "imperial phase," a period when an artist's cultural clout allows them to dominate the charts effortlessly.

Chris Melanphy [01:28]: "But honestly, mostly 'Born This Way' entered on top because Gaga in 2011 was too big to fail. She was taking advantage of her moments of maximum cultural clout in pop music."

Defining the Imperial Phase

Melanphy introduces the term "imperial phase," a nomenclature developed within chart analysis circles to describe artists who can consistently produce hits regardless of musical direction or trends. This phase is characterized by the ability to achieve top-charting songs seemingly effortlessly, allowing artists to experiment creatively without jeopardizing their commercial success.

Chris Melanphy [01:28]: "The imperial phase is when an act is so big they can score a hit with just about anything."

Origins and Codification of the Term

The concept originated from Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys, who unknowingly coined the term while reflecting on their own success. Tennant mentioned, "We entered our imperial phase," highlighting a period where every musical endeavor seemed to resonate with audiences.

Tom Ewing [14:20]: "Imperial phase is a way of talking about artistic development of a star, but one that includes the audience."

Music critic Tom Ewing later formalized the term in a 2010 Pitchfork magazine column, bridging Tennant's observation with a broader analytical framework. Ewing emphasized the symbiotic relationship between an artist's creative output and public reception during this peak period.

Rules for Identifying an Imperial Phase

Chris Melanphy outlines eight prescriptive guidelines to determine whether an artist is experiencing an imperial phase. While not rigid, these rules provide a structured approach to analyzing an artist's chart performance and cultural impact.

1. Self-Replacing Number Ones:

   • Rule: If an artist replaces themselves at number one or comes close, they are imperial.
   • Example: The Beatles replacing "She Loves You" with "I Want to Hold Your Hand" at number one in 1964.
   • Quote:

     Chris Melanphy [22:33]: "The Beatles were the first act in Hot 100 history to replace themselves at number one."

2. Consistent Top 10 Hits:

   • Rule: Aggregating five or more top 10 hits within three years signifies imperial status.
   • Example: Fleetwood Mac's sustained top 10 presence from their "Rumours" and "Tusk" albums.
   • Quote:

     Chris Melanphy [17:31]: "Imperial rule number two if an artist aggregates five or more top 10 hits within three years, they are imperial."

3. Transient Success After Back-to-Back Hits:

   • Rule: Back-to-back number ones don't confirm an imperial phase unless followed by sustained top 10 performance.
   • Example: Men at Work achieving consecutive number ones with "Who Can It Be Now?" and "Down Under" but failing to maintain the momentum.
   • Quote:

     Chris Melanphy [33:38]: "But at no point was the Men at Work sound either influencing other acts or guaranteed to connect on the airwaves."

4. Diverse Musical Styles Leading to Hits:

   • Rule: Ability to score hits with varied or experimental sounds indicates an imperial phase.
   • Example: John Mellencamp's shift to folk instruments resulting in top 10 hits.
   • Quote:

     Chris Melanphy [30:11]: "John Mellencamp had imperial capital, and he spent it to get rootsy folk rock on the radio."

5. Imitation and Influence:

   • Rule: A significant number of imitators replicating an artist's sound or style signals imperial influence.
   • Example: The Osmonds' "One Bad Apple" mirroring the Jackson 5's style.
   • Quote:

     Chris Melanphy [44:21]: "One bad apple even held the Jackson's own number two hit, Mama's Pearl, from reaching number one."

6. Dominance in the Streaming Era:

   • Rule: Placing ten or more tracks on the Hot 100 in a single week, including unpromoted album cuts, reflects an imperial phase in the digital age.
   • Example: The Weeknd's album "Starboy" with all tracks charting simultaneously.
   • Quote:

     Chris Melanphy [53:22]: "All of these acts were arguably having an imperial moment when they blanketed the Hot 100."

7. Decline After Sustained Success:

   • Rule: An imperial phase typically ends when more than two hits fall short of the top ten.
   • Example: Usher's decline after his "Confessions" album despite previous dominance.
   • Quote:

     Chris Melanphy [55:27]: "An Imperial phase is meant to be temporary, which brings up one last thing."

8. Duration of the Imperial Phase:

   • Rule: Imperial phases generally last five years or less, though some artists may experience multiple phases.
   • Example: The Beatles potentially having two imperial phases in America.
   • Quote:

     Chris Melanphy [61:36]: "For certain megastars, multiple imperial phases are possible, and certain phases are more legendary than others."

Notable Case Studies

• Pet Shop Boys: Exemplifying the imperial phase with hits like "It's a Sin," and innovative covers that still topped charts.
• Taylor Swift: Her transition from country to pop showcased her imperial standing, especially with her recent resurgence post-pandemic.
• Drake and Lizzo: Modern artists navigating their imperial phases with varying degrees of success and consistency.
• Guns N' Roses & Usher: Illustrating the transient nature of imperial phases and the factors leading to their eventual decline.

Cultural Impact and Legacy

An imperial phase not only signifies chart dominance but also shapes the musical landscape by inspiring imitators and setting new trends. Artists like Madonna and The Beatles have left indelible marks during their imperial phases, influencing generations of musicians and redefining pop culture.

Chris Melanphy [46:38]: "Even his imitators were scoring on the charts. Similarly, Imperial in nineteen ninety-eight was of course Prince and the Revolution who were riding an epic run of hits from the movie soundtrack to 'Purple Rain.'"

Conclusion and Tease for Part 2

As the episode draws to a close, Melanphy sets the stage for the next installment, promising an in-depth analysis of Madonna's imperial phase. He hints at exploring how Madonna not only dominated the charts but also transformed pop culture, solidifying her status as a true pop icon.

Chris Melanphy [61:36]: "In part two of our show, ... the 80s queen of pop goes from boy toy to silver screen, from virgin to prayer, and generally causes a commotion."

Listeners are encouraged to stay tuned for the continuation of this exploration into one of pop music's most influential figures.

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Key Takeaways

• Imperial Phase Defined: A period when an artist's influence and popularity allow them to dominate music charts effortlessly.
• Origin of the Term: Introduced by Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys and formalized by critic Tom Ewing.
• Eight Rules Established: From self-replacing number ones to domination in the streaming era, these guidelines help identify imperial phases.
• Cultural Influence: Imperial phases shape music trends and inspire future artists, leaving lasting impacts on pop culture.
• Transient Nature: Imperial phases are typically temporary, and sustained success requires continual evolution and adaptation.

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This comprehensive exploration of the imperial phase provides valuable insights into the dynamics of pop music success, offering listeners a deeper understanding of what propels certain artists to unparalleled heights in the industry.

Transcript

[Lady Gaga]

Get the Angel Reese Special at McDonald's. Now let's break it down. My favorite barbecue sauce, American cheese, crispy bacon, pickles, onions, and a sesame seed bun, of course. And don't forget the fries and the drinks. Sound good? Ba da ba ba ba I participate.

[Chris Melanphy]

In restaurants for a limited time hey there Hit Parade listeners. What you're about to hear is part one of this episode. Part two will arrive in your podcast feed at the end of the month. Would you like to hear this episode all at once the day it drops? Sign up for Slate Plus. It supports not only this show, but all of Slate's acclaimed journalism and podcasts. Just go to slate.com hitparadeplus you'll get to hear every Hit Parade episode in full the day it arrives. Plus Hit Parade, the Bridge, our bonus episodes with guest interviews, deeper dives on our episode topics, and pop chart trivia. Once again to join, that's slate.com hitparadeplus thanks. And now please enjoy part one of this hit Parade episode.

[Lady Gaga]

It doesn't matter if you love him or capital H I M I M I M I m I am Just put your paws as it Cause you were born this way baby.

[Chris Melanphy]

Welcome to Hit Parade, a podcast of pop chart history from Slate magazine about the hits from coast to coast. I'm Chris Melanfy, chart analyst, pop critic, and writer of Slate's why Is this Song number one series on today's show. Fourteen years ago, in February 2011, Lady Gaga dropped a single celebrating empowerment for the LGBTQ community and ethnic minorities. That song, Born this Way debuted debuted at number one on the Hot 100. The song's chart performance had something to do with Gaga's galvanizing message and how catchy the song was. But honestly, mostly Born this Way entered on top because Gaga in 2011 was too big to fail. She was taking advantage of her moments of maximum cultural clout in pop music. There's a term we chart nerds have developed for this kind of clout, the moment when an artist can seemingly do no wrong. We call it an imperial phase, and you know it when you hear it. The imperial phase is when an act is so big they can score a hit with just about anything.

[Lady Gaga]

Just just say that you got me.

[Chris Melanphy]

There have been imperial phases where a bulletproof pop star strings together multiple top 10 hits.

[Lady Gaga]

I'm a hazard to myself don't let me get.

[Chris Melanphy]

Multiple top five hits or even multiple number ones.

[Lady Gaga]

Is it too late now to say sorry? Cause I'm missing more than just your body.

[Chris Melanphy]

And when an artist is on an imperial run, suddenly everyone else wants to sound like them. But the moment you know an artist is deep into their imperial phase is when they get a big hit on the charts that would have gone nowhere near the top 10. Under nor circumstances, they are able to widen the lane for what can be a hit. These moments can be exciting. The imperial star is trying something outside of their wheelhouse. Today on Hit Parade, we'll explain where the term imperial came from in the first place, how a certain 80s synth pop duo with an eloquent frontman scored their own small boomlet of hits. And we'll go extra deep on one of the most remarkable imperial runs in pop history. A streak of top five hits. That's a record that may never be broken by an 80s chart queen. She reimagined pop and pop culture in her image, creating her own material imperial world. And that's where your hit parade marches today, the week ending August 22, 1987. When who's that Girl by Madonna reach number one on Billboard's Hot 100, it's a hit. So Imperial Madonna left it off her greatest hits album just three years later. What's it like to put together a chart streak so totemic you can afford to forget about a number one hit? I'll offer some rules for imperial phases, and we'll talk about how Madonna's late 80s checks a lot of those boxes. So join us as we stan a queen from Like a virgin to Like a Prayer and ask how did Madonna help define the imperial phase? Stick around. This episode is brought to you by Defender. For those who embrace the impossible, the Defender 110 is ready for the adventure. This vehicle has been reimagined with modern design for a new generation of explorers. With a striking exterior that boasts compelling proportions and precise detailing, the Defender 110 masterfully combines style with capability. The Defender is built with a durable, lightweight monocoque architecture to provide extra strength for your next great adventure. And its tough, rigid body design exudes confidence. So when you're behind the wheel, you will too. Engineered to meet challenges head on and tested to the extreme, the Defender empowers you to explore with confidence and embrace the impossible. Whether you're off road or on ready for a wide range of adventures. The Defender family also features the two door Defender 90, the Defender 110, and the Defender 130, which seats up to eight. A vehicle made to go further, the Defender 110. Learn more at Land RoverUSA Defender.

[Lady Gaga]

My dad works in B2B marketing. He came by my school for Career Day and said he was a big roaz man. Then he told everyone how much he loved calculating his return on ad spend. My friends still laugh at me to this day.

[Chris Melanphy]

Not everyone gets B2B, but with LinkedIn you'll be able to reach people who do. Get $100 credit on your next ad campaign. Go to LinkedIn.com results to claim your credit. That's LinkedIn.com results. Terms and conditions apply. LinkedIn the place to Be To Be.

[Carvel Wallace]

Hey Hit Parade listeners. This is Carvel Wallace, host of the Slate Advice podcast, and if you've never heard the show, here's what we do Listeners reach out to us with a question or a conundrum and we match them with experts who can offer tips and advice on how to move forward. So since you are a Hit Parade listener, I know that you love music history. And here at how to, we want to find out how you are discovering new music. Do you have tips that you can share with our other listeners? Or are you, like many of us, stuck in a rut and having trouble breaking free from the streaming service algorithms? Maybe you're stumped, or maybe you've discovered a secret pipeline to awesome new music. Either way, we want to hear from you. Tell us how you're finding or not finding new music with an email to howtoate.com or just leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and you might end up up as a guest on how to.

[Chris Melanphy]

This is It's a Sin, a 1987 transatlantic hit by Pet Shop Boys, the British dance pop duo of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe. Tennant, in particular, started his career in pop music not as a recording artist but as a journalist for the British pop fanzine Smash Hits. And he has the sensibilities of a pop critic. You can tell from the droll, erudite way he described the duo's career in the album Notes to an early 2008 2000s reissue of actually, the 1987 Pet Shop Boys album that produced this hit. In those actually liner notes, Tennant said, quote, I felt at this time that we had the secret of contemporary pop music, that we knew what was required. We entered our imperial phase. This sentence turned out to be Neil Tennant's unwitting gift to music fandom and scholarship. He named a concept that pop critics had observed for decades but never given a name to the moment in an act's career when it seems everything they touch turns to gold or platinum. When even Seemingly wacky ideas won't Stop the Act's hit making momentum. Like, for example, Pet Shop Boys themselves in 1987 recording a cover of a love ballad made famous by Elvis Presley and Willie Nelson, Always On My Mind, as throbbing club music. This could have been a terrible idea. Instead, Pet Shop Boys Always On My mind hit number one in the UK in 1987 and top five in America in 1988. Their imperial phase persisted. Mind you, nobody was calling this phenomenon an imperial phase in the 80s. No one was even quoting Neil Tennant in the 2000s when that actually reissue CD came out. That is, until a 2010 column in Pitchfork magazine by music critic Tom Ewing, my British friend and colleague, whose popular blog does for the UK charts what I do at Slate for the American charts. In that Pitchfork column, an entry titled simply Imperial, Tom expanded on Neil Tennant's concept and basically codified the term imperial phase. Here, in a conversation with American podcaster DJ Louis XIV for his show Pop Pantheon, Tom Ewing describes what he thinks the term means. How do you become inspired to graph out what an imperial phase is after hearing Neil Tennant's quote?

[Tom Ewing]

I think the thing that I liked about it was the self consciousness. Obviously what he was doing wasn't just saying, you know, we were very successful. You can look at the chart statistics and the sales figures and you can tell when someone's being successful. He was saying something else, which is this is the point at which we could do no wrong. It's this kind of feedback loop between an artist finding a high gear and the public responding to that gear. And it's a sort of dance, a kind of like high velocity dance between an artist and the public. And imperial phase is a way of talking about artistic development of a star, but one that includes the audience.

[Chris Melanphy]

After Tom Ewing's 2010 article, the term imperial phase caught on in a big way among critics and pundits. Listen to any music podcast, no matter what music star they're discussing, and the word imperial is going to come up eventually. Here, for example, is a recent installment of the New York Times Popcast discussing Taylor Swift, co hosted by Times journalists John Caramonica and Joe Coscarelli. Joe is the primary voice you'll hear. You know, we've started to hear the phrase imperial phase thrown around a lot with Taylor Swift. Yes, this peak of her career, this time of plenty. It's in the air. Imperial phase. And here's an excerpt of a recent Bandsplain podcast looking back on the 90s career of the Brit pop band Oasis featuring host Yassi Salak and her guest Rob Harville. Oasis still in their Imperial Phase like these reviews show that, right? This is still the Imperial era, even if it's the crash.

[Lady Gaga]

This is the tail end of the Imperial phase. But like, once the album comes and goes, it's over.

[Chris Melanphy]

So yes, Imperial is now part of the lingua franca of pop criticism. A cursory check of our own Hit Parade archives indicates that I myself use the word in about half of our episodes. But are there any rules for an Imperial phase? You will note that Tom Ewing said the definition of Imperial means more than just chart statistics, and I agree. But the charts do usually provide evidence that a phase is at hand. For example, Pet Shop Boys in their British homeland, they very clearly had an imperial phase, scoring 10 straight UK top 10 hits from 1998 1986's suburbia through 1990s. So hard.

[Lady Gaga]

Why don't we try not to break our hearts and make it so hard for us?

[Chris Melanphy]

What about in America? Pet Shop Boys were pretty big hit makers here too. For a time they racked up five top tens from 1986 through 88, starting with their Hot 100 number one hit West End Girls.

[Lady Gaga]

Western Girl in a Western town.

[Chris Melanphy]

Okay, the five top 10s weren't consecutive in America. During this run, Tennant and Low issued a couple of singles that missed our top 40, but I would call the boys two year run fairly imperial. They made hits that seemed improbable on paper, like they're Always On My Mind cover or their duet with UK vocal legend Dusty Springfield, who hadn't scored a hit in two decades. Her pairing with Pet Shop Boys. What have I done to deserve this reach number two in America? In short, identifying an Imperial phase is not an exact science. You know one when you see it, and charts alone can't determine it. But is it possible to make rules for Imperial phases? And can we use the charts? With some caveats, I say we can. At least we can try. About five years ago, this podcast offered rules for how to identify a one hit wonder.

[Carvel Wallace]

Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting.

[Lady Gaga]

Those kids were fast as lightning.

[Chris Melanphy]

I boiled it down to just three rules that helped us determine that. For example, Carl Douglas of Kung Fu Fighting fame really was a one hit wonder, even though he had other minor hits. Imperial Phases are not that simple. I'm going to offer eight rules that define the Imperial Phase. These rules are not hard and fast. Artists don't have to meet all eight of them, or even a majority. They are prescriptive parameters. More than Firm directives. Ultimately, an imperial phase is a judgment call. But if an artist is checking several of these boxes, chances are they are in an imperial phase. Before I proceed with my so called rules, I should also offer a caveat. But not all hitmakers have imperial phases. Some players have to earn their hits every time they're at bat. Cher is a good example. She's never been guaranteed a hit. Her big hits often come with multi year gaps in between. She has missed the top 10 or even the top 40 after scoring a big hit. As regal as she is, Cher arguably never has been imperial. Or to pick a more recent example, Lizzo.

[Lady Gaga]

I'm going to be all right. Okay, okay, all right. It's about damn time. Turn up the music. Let's celebrate.

[Chris Melanphy]

Lizzo has topped the hot 100 more than once, but she has followed big hits with strikeout singles. Artists like Cher and Lizzo remind us that imperial phases are momentary. And they are a special kind of chart alchemy, even for well known legendary pop stars. With all that stipulated, let's start running down some rules for artists who can be called imperial. Imperial rule number one. If an artist replaces themselves at number one or comes within a month of doing so, they are imperial.

[Lady Gaga]

She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah she loves you.

[Chris Melanphy]

The Beatles were the first act in Hot 100 history to replace themselves at number one in March of 1964. The Fab Four's She Loves yous replaced their own hit, I Want to hold you'd hand in the number one spot. Two weeks later, the Beatles ejected themselves again with Can't Buy Me Love. This was the first American wave of Beatlemania, and no one would dispute that the group was at an imperial high point among artists in lead roles. This rare feat, succeeding oneself directly at number one has happened only a dozen times in Hot 100 history. And you'd have a hard time arguing any of the examples were anything less than imperial at that moment. Among the acts who have done it are Boyz ii men in 1994 who replaced their I'll make love to you with their own unbended knee Outkast, whom we covered in depth in their own hit parade episode. In 2004. Their Andre 3000 fronted smash hey ya was replaced by the big boy led the Way youy Move. The Black Eyed Peas were at their Imperial peak in 2009 when their chart topper Boom Boom Pow gave way to their even bigger number one smash, I Got a Feeling. Taylor Swift was the only solo woman to replace herself at number one in 2014 the lead single from her album 1989, Shake It off ceded the top spot to her own blank space. It was the peak of her first imperial phase, and in 2018, Drake, remember him? Ejected himself from the number one spot twice. Drake's own God's plan was replaced by Nice for what? Later, after a few other singles, took turns at number one, Nice for what? Came back to number one and was then ejected by his own In My Feelings. Let's pour one out for the time when a plurality of pop fans liked Drake Break. It seems only fair to extend this rule to artists who come within a couple of weeks of replacing themselves at number one. For example, in 1983, at Michael Jackson's imperial height, his smash Billie Jean was out of number one for only one week before his own Beat it rose to the top. Or in 2006, Justin Timberlake spent a fortnight out of the number one spot. His sexy back departed, and two weeks later his My Love took over. With hindsight, this was clearly Timberlake's imperial high point. So those are the Imperial acts who score number one hits. But what if you rack up a string of top 10 hits? How many make you imperial? That's where my next guideline comes in. Imperial rule number two if an artist aggregates five or more top 10 hits within three years, they are imperial. As we discussed in our Fleetwood Mac episode of Hit Parade, the Transatlantic Band Band was the first act to pull four top ten hits from one album. In 1977, their classic Rumors LP generated the number ten hit Go youo Own Way, the number one Dreams, the number three Don't Stop and the number nine You Make Loving Fun. That alone seemed pretty imperial. But it also could have been a one album fluke if Fleetwood Mac hadn't returned to the top 10. However, when their 1979 LP Tusk generated two more top 10s, including the song Tusk, a truly bizarre track recorded in Dodger Stadium backed up by the USC Trojan Marching Band, and it too became an improbable top 10 hit. Fleetwood Mac were affirmed as Imperial. Five hits of this magnitude is admittedly an arbitrary number, but it seems to track when an artist qualifies as imperial. A decade later, Australian band INXS scored their First American top 10 hit hit in 1986 with what you need, that too could have been a fluke. But when INXS came back in 1987 with their album Kick, which racked up four more top 10s, need you'd tonight, Devil Inside, New Sensation, and even a ballad Never Tear Us apart, you were there.

[Lady Gaga]

Two worlds collided and they could never, ever tear us apart.

[Chris Melanphy]

Their imperiality was confirmed. INXS was now big enough to score with singles that didn't even echo their original sound. What makes my 5 hits in 3 years benchmark useful is it separates what might be a small flurry of hits from a truly commanding run. For example, Pink, whom we covered in depth in a previous Hit Parade episode, had an early flurry of top tens at the beginning of her career. It could be argued Fairly that her 2000-2002 run was imperial.

[Lady Gaga]

Doctor, doctor, won't you please prescribe me something A day in the life of someone else. Cause I'm a hazard to myself.

[Chris Melanphy]

But arguably her more impressive run came later. From 2010 to 2013, when an older, savvier pink scored five more top 10s, most of which went top five and two of which even hit number one. The pink of Raise your Glass, Blow Me, One Last Kiss and Just give me a reason, among others, was at a whole new level of imperiality. At the turn of the tens, she created her own lane on the radio. But what about the opposite? What happens when an artist scores a couple of massive hits and then can't follow them up? This is why we need parameters for disallowing an imperial phase. Imperial Rule three Back to back Number one hits do not necessarily indicate an imperial phase if they are followed by multiple hits that fall short of the top 10, or especially the top 40. It's easy to forget just how massive the Australian group Men at Work seemed for a year or two in the early 80s. Their 1982 debut LP, Business As Usual spent 15 weeks on top of the Billboard album chart. It even held Michael Jackson's Thriller out of number one for a while. And on the Hot 100, Business As Usual generated two back to back number one singles, who can it be Now And Down Under. So were Men at Work experiencing an imperial fate? Not really, because soon enough the hits began drying up. A 1983 follow up album produced two more top ten hits, including the superlative number three hit Overkill.

[Lady Gaga]

Day After Day Reappear, Night After Night, My Heartbeat Show.

[Chris Melanphy]

But by the end of 83, Men at Work's singles were peaking well outside of the top 10. They never got that fifth top 10 hit, and soon even missing the top 40, the band never duplicated their early flurry of success. And at no point was the Men at Work sound either influencing other acts or guaranteed to connect on the airwaves. Men at Work were a momentarily big act that were never Imperial. This is a reminder that actually calling an imperial phase requires perspective and often hindsight. For every Huey Lewis and the News or Black Eyed Peas seemingly goofy, surprisingly enduring, and their peak was definitely Imperial, there's another goofy band that can jump out with a pair of hits and then just fizzle. Like, say, 2011 hitmakers LMFAO.

[Lady Gaga]

Let's go.

[Chris Melanphy]

It might seem laughable now, but the electro pop duo of Red Fu and Sky blue topped the hot 100 twice back to back. LMFAO did it with their unkillable party rock anthem, followed by the self deprecatingly self aggrandizing Sexy and I Know It.

[Lady Gaga]

I'm Sexy and I Know It.

[Chris Melanphy]

I'm Sexy and I Know It If I may paraphrase Pet Shop Boys Neil Tennant, I'm sure that around the start of 2012, Redfu and Sky Blue thought they had the secret of contemporary pop music, and for a hot minute maybe they did. But it was over as fast as it began. After Sexy and I know it, LMFAO never cracked the top 40 again. Unlike PET Shop Boys, at no point were LMFAO an imperial pop act. One other thing that's sort of damning about LMFAO's pair of hits is how similar they sound. The second hit sounds like a reboot of the first one. This brings up one more way you can usually tell an artist is at their imperial high point. They can score a hit without sounding like themselves. Imperial Rule Number four An Imperial Phase generally includes at least one major hit that would not have been a hit if the artist wasn't imperial. An Imperial phase is like cultural capital, a foundation of goodwill that an artist can draw upon when they're trying to stretch. The most ambitious artists will use that capital as a license to try something bold or weird or personal. For example, Indiana rocker John Mellencamp. Known in the 80s as John Cougar, Mellencamp had long infused his hits with Americana and even country adjacent tropes, from Hurts so Good to Pink Houses, Jack and Diane to Small Town. But after his 1985 LP, Scarecrow became his biggest selling album ever, generating an unprecedented five Top 40 hits, including three Top 10s. Mellencamp at his Imperial peak decided his next LP could go even deeper down the Americana rabbit hole for 1987's the Lonesome Jubilee album, Mellencamp and his band picked up folk and country instruments like Autohaus harp, banjo, accordion and fiddle, and the first single sounded like this improbably paper in fire became a top 10 pop hit at a moment when hair metal and dance pop were dominating the charts. John Mellencamp had imperial capital, and he spent it to get rootsy folk rock on the radio. Two years later, George Michael pulled off a similar trick with a completely different sound.

[Lady Gaga]

Apart from you, people always make a lover.

[Chris Melanphy]

By the time he issued Kissing a Fool as a single in late 1988, George Michael's multi platinum album Faith had generated a half dozen hits, ranging from the funk pop of I Want yout Sex to the rockabilly title track to the soul ballad's Father Figure and One More Try. With nothing left to lose, Michael decided he'd try getting on the radio with his take on cocktail jazz. Talk about a flex. Kissing a Fool made the top five on the Hot 100, an unlikely slice of Sophistopop that sounded totally incongruous on top 40 radio. This is what an imperial phase means, a license to try anything and score a hit with more in a moment.

[Lady Gaga]

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[Chris Melanphy]

It's a wellness center. You should get a facial.

[Lady Gaga]

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[Chris Melanphy]

There has been more crime on the item. I'm a little crazy freaked out.

[Lady Gaga]

What happens in Thailand stays in Thailand. What does that mean? It means we're not dead yet. Amen. Amen. A new season of the HBO original series the White Lotus premieres February 16th at 9pm on MAX.

[Leon Nayfak]

I'm Leon Nayfak and I'm the host of Slow Burn Watergate. Before I started working on this show, everything I knew about Watergate came from the movie all the President's Men. Do you remember how it ends? Woodward and Bernstein are sitting with their typewriters clacking away. And then there's this rapid montage of newspaper stories about campaign aides and White House officials getting convicted of crimes. About audio tapes coming out that prove Nixon's involvement in the coverup. The last story we see is Nixon resigns. It takes a little over a minute in the movie. In real life, it took about two years.

[Chris Melanphy]

Five men were arrested early Saturday while trying to install eavesdropping equipment. It's known as the Watergate Incident.

[Leon Nayfak]

What was it like to experience those two years in real time? What were people thinking and feeling as the break in at Democratic Party headquarters went from a weird little caper to a constitutional crisis that brought down the President? The downfall of Richard Nixon was stranger, wilder and more exciting than you can imagine. Over the course of eight episodes, this show is going to capture what it was like to live through the greatest political scale scandal of the 20th century. With today's headlines once again full of corruption, collusion and dirty tricks, it's time for another look at the gate that started it all. Subscribe to Slow Burn now, wherever you get your podcasts.

[Chris Melanphy]

At the beginning of this episode, I played Lady Gaga's Born this Way, another song that leveraged her cultural capital at that imperial moment. One other hallmark of Lady Gaga's early 2000s imperial phase was how she set the agenda for pop. Picture all of the electro pop and Eurodance beats from that period, from iconopop to ke$charli xcx to tove lo, and that inspires another imperial parameter, imperial rule. Five imitators of an artist's sound or style are clear indicators of the artist's imperial phase. In 1970 and 71, the Jackson 5 racked up a half dozen consecutive number one or or number two hits. That alone indicated their imperiality. But what affirmed it was when another family band topped the Hot 100 in early 71 with this song, One Bad Apple.

[Lady Gaga]

Don't spoil a whole bunch, girls. Oh give it one more try before you give up on love.

[Chris Melanphy]

As we discussed in our boy bands episode of Hit parade, the Osmonds, one bad apple was literally a Jackson 5 reject, a song Motown's Berry Gordy turned down for his superstar family band that was then remade by the Osmond brothers into an uncanny Jackson 5 facsimile. One bad apple even held the Jackson's own number two hit, Mama's Pearl, from reaching number one. Frustrating for the Jacksons, but an affirmation of their imperial status. Throughout chart history, there are numerous examples of how imitation of an imperial artist really is the sincerest form of flattery. Sometimes the original act even benefits directly. In early 1978, as the Bee Gees racked up hit after hit from the soundtrack to the John Travolta movie Saturday Night Fever, the Brothers Gibb also locked down Most of the Hot 100's top five not only with their own hits, but with chart toppers by their brother Andy Gibb that Barry Gibb co wrote and produced Like Love Is Thicker Than Water and Australian singer and and friend of the Gibbs, Samantha Tsang, who took the Barry penned song emotion to number three on the Hot 100. Emotion was an especially uncanny Bee Gees facsimile. Barry Gibb even sang backup on it.

[Lady Gaga]

In the words of a broken heart, it's just emotion that's taking me over. Tied up.

[Chris Melanphy]

Or how about the mid-80s when an imperial Bruce Springsteen was amassing seven top 10 hits from his album Born in the USA as we discussed in our Springsteen episode of Hit Parade, Bruce's blow up led radio stations to revive a 1983 single from a flop movie soundtrack, Eddie and the Cruisers, that sounded an awful lot like Springsteen and the E Street Band, John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Bands on the Dark side became a top 10 hit belatedly in the fall of 1984. That's how you know that Bruce was finally a pop star. Even his imitators were scoring on the charts. Similarly, Imperial in nineteen nineteen eighty four was of course Prince and the Revolution who were riding an epic run of hits from the movie soundtrack to Purple Rain. One year later, another R and B band from the upper Midwest, Flint Michigan's Ready for the World, topped the Hot 100 with an electro funk jam oh Sheila that many pop fans mistook for Prince. This emulation of Imperial hitmakers persists right up to today and the digital era charts. Taylor Swift's 2000s imperial phase has not only brought her back to number one, it's also boosted the fortunes of other singer songwriters, including some who have opened for Sweet Swift on her ERAS tour. Among those tour openers are Sabrina Carpenter, Benson Boone and Gracie Abrams, whose very Swift esque that's so True just cracked the top five on the Hot 100 in the fall of 2020.

[Lady Gaga]

Making eyes from across the room.

[Chris Melanphy]

Speaking of the digital era, now that streaming music dominates the charts, the biggest current stars may rack up Hot 100 hits that are not really promoted singles. These short lived deep cuts have changed our perception of what a hit even is, so we need a rule to account for that Imperial Rule 6 any artist that places 10 or more tracks on the Hot 100 in a single week, including unpromoted album cuts, is likely experiencing an imperial phase. In the fall of 2015, Abel Tesfay, aka the Weeknd, joined the very exclusive club of artists I mentioned earlier who replaced themselves at number one on the Hot 100. The Weeknd's disco funk banger can't Feel My Face was knocked out of the top spot by his own menacing horrorcore jam the Hills. That alone qualified the Weeknd for imperial status. One year later, the Weeknd dropped a follow up album called Starboy in December of 2016. All 18 tracks from the album placed on the Hot 100 from its title track, which also hit number one, to such deep cuts as Die for you, which only reached number 43. In fact, most of these weekend album tracks placed below the top 40. Did this mean the Weeknd's imperial phase was over? Quite the opposite. It was kicking into a higher gear. Digital music has changed the game. Chart stunts like this were simply not possible in the analog charts era of such imperial stars as Elton John, Fleetwood Mac or Michael Jackson, back when songs had to be issued as physical singles. In the last two decades, after downloads and streams were added to the Hot 100 formula, more than a dozen Millennial or Zoomer artists have placed 10 or more songs on the chart all at once. From Taylor Swift to Justin Bieber.

[Lady Gaga]

Oh, what do you mean? Since you're running out of time, what do you mean?

[Chris Melanphy]

Drake to Beyonce, Billie Eilish to Olivia Rodrigo?

[Lady Gaga]

Sing it tonight. It's a bad idea, right? Seeing you tonight, It's a bad idea, right? See it tonight, whatever it's.

[Chris Melanphy]

And even country mega star Morgan Wallen, who set a new all time record when all 36 tracks from his 2023 album One Thing at a Time made the Hot 100 all at once. We'll see how long Wallen's simultaneous hits record holds. I expect someone will chart with 40 songs someday. The point is, all of these acts were arguably having an imperial moment when they blanketed the Hot 100. A single song that misses the top 40 can be considered a flop. But if that low charting track is part of a fusillade of hits by a single artist in a single week, that only burnishes that act's imperiality. Last year, for several weeks, Chapel Roan had as many as six hits on the Hot 100 at once. So just watch what happens in a year or two when Rhone comes back with her next album, I fully expect all of its tracks to dive bomb the Hot 100. So how does an Imperial phase end again? Critics and pop fans will debate, and no yardstick is infallible. But I have a couple of guidelines. Imperial Rule Number seven An Imperial phase generally ends after more than two hits fall short of the Top ten.

[Lady Gaga]

Child.

[Chris Melanphy]

Any Guns N Roses fan can agree that their Imperial phase started in 1988 and 89 after they racked up four straight top 10 hits and they would soon score more. The question is, how long did GNR's phase last? They took 1990 off and they started to fall off after Their singles night train and you'd could be mine missed the top 10 good songs though after their 1991 double album use youe Illusion turned out a couple more top 10 hits, including the classic November Rain, GNR basically stopped scoring big pop hits altogether by the time their cover of Paul McCartney's Live and Let Die became their third hit to miss the top 20 in 1992, you could call the time of death. Guns N Roses were still a major band, but the Imperial phase, their time of automatic cultural command was over. Something similar happened to usher in the 2000s. Usher's 2004 could not have been more imperial. He replaced himself at number one twice between the singles yeah, Burn and Confessions Part two, and he spent more than half the year on top of the Hot 100, including his Alicia Keys duet My Boo. After an unusually long, long break, Usher came back in 2008 and he seemed to pick up his imperial status right where it left off, soaring back to number one with love in this club. But then three straight Usher follow up singles missed the top 10. Two of them even missed the top four 40, and his Imperial phase was undoubtedly done. In retrospect, it was probably done even before he went back to number one with Love in this club. In later years, Usher would have more hits, but he would never again be an automatic chart topper. An Imperial phase is a delicate thing. Both GNR and Usher were already pushing it by taking a couple of years off between recordings. By definition, an Imperial phase is meant to be temporary, which brings up one last thing. Imperial rule number eight. Imperial phases generally last five years or less. However, it is possible for an act to have more than one phase. It's debatable whether the Beatles were ever anything less than Imperial. They scored 20 number one hits from 1960 to 1970, still an all time record, and those hits were pretty evenly distributed. But Beatles scholars point to 1966, when the band's output slowed, they had more British Invasion competition and they stopped touring as the closest thing they had to a fallow period. Songs like Rain, a charting B side, fell short of the top 10. But then in 1967, the 12 punch of the Penny Lane single and the Sergeant Pepper album reignited fans love of the Fab Four. And their next two years were arguably equally imperial, with even quirky singles like all youl Need Is Love and hello Goodbye reaching the top spot. It's debatable, but I'd say The Beatles had two imperial phases in America, the first from 1960 through 65 and the second from 1967 through 68. Frankly, if you wanted to argue that 64 through 69 was one long five to six year imperial phase for the Beatles, I might not fight you. More recently, something similar happened to Taylor Swift. Yes, her again.

[Lady Gaga]

I love. So take a look what you've done.

[Chris Melanphy]

Swift's pivot from country music to pop starting in 2012 was peaking by 2014 and 15. This was her first fully imperial phase, when even second tier singles like Bad Blood were hitting number one. Was Swift ever not imperial? Arguably, yes. In the late 10? S when controversy surrounding her feud with Kanye west cut her music sales and limited her radio hits. In that period, first rate Taylor Swift singles like 2017's Delicate were missing the top 10 entirely. What makes Swift's post pandemic comeback in the 2000 and 20s remarkable is she is arguably even more imperial the second time. Not only have some very catchy Swift singles like Anti Hero or Cruel Summer been dominating the radio, she's even scored unlikely number one ones like her 10 minute re recording of All Too well in 2021 or the 2023 bonus track number one is it over Now? So yes, for certain megastars, multiple imperial phases are possible, and certain phases are more legendary than others. In part two of our show, if you will indulge me, I will detail one of my favorite imperial phases, one that checks several of the boxes I just defined. This artist set the terms for what pop sounded like like in this period, overtook the cultural narrative, had imitators and improbable hits, and she put together a chart streak that may never be repeated again. When we come back, the 80s queen of pop goes from boy toy to silver screen, from virgin to prayer, and generally causes a commotion. You want eras? Listen up, Taylor Madonna had movements and so many hits. Non Slate plus listeners will hear the rest of this episode in two weeks. For now, I hope you've been enjoying this episode of Hit Parade. Our show was written, edited and narrated by Chris Melanfy. That's me. My producer is Kevin Bendis, our supervising producer is Joel Meyer, and Slate's editor in chief is Hilary Fry. Check out Slate's roster of of [e-mail] podcasts. You can subscribe to Hit Parade wherever you get your podcasts, in addition to finding it in the Slate Culture feed. If you're subscribing on Apple Podcasts. Please rate and review us while you're there. It helps other listeners find the show. Thanks for listening and I look forward to leading the hit parade back your way. We'll see you for part two in a couple of weeks. Until then, keep on marching on the one. I'm Chris Melanfy.