How to Game the Billboard Hot 100

Into It: A Vulture Podcast with Sam Sanders

Is it just us or has the Billboard Hot 100 felt... weird this year? It's the same chart that's seen Doja Cat's "Paint the Town Red" hit No. 1 — the first rap song to rise to the top spot in more than a year — as well as Oliver Anthony Music's controversial "Rich Men North of Richmond" and a remix of an old song by The Weeknd.

Is the Billboard Hot 100 actually measuring what people are listening to these days? Can we trust it to tell us about the most popular music? Sam talks with Switched on Pop's Charlie Harding and Reanna Cruz about how Billboard ranks the Hot 100 and the ways that artists, fandoms, and political actors have changed the game... and learned how to game the charts.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices