Switched on Pop

As summer comes upon us, it’s time for some Billboard shake ups. On this week’s edition of Chartbreakers, we’re looking at the recent iterations of the Hot 100 and a trend that has slowly been creeping up in popularity over the past few months: the influx of regional Mexican music. The past two years have seen many songs by Mexican artists making their way onto Billboard, all managing to highlight different scenes and sounds from the different states in Mexico. We’re joined this week by the cohost of the NPR Music podcast Alt. Latino, Anamaria Sayre, who says that Mexican regional, or simply, regional, is a marketing “bucket term” that encompasses different Latin genres including everything from norteño to corridos, all genres that are comfortably finding a home in the top 20 of the Hot 100 in 2023.Of course, there’s more happening outside of Latin music. Much of the chart has been stagnant since our last iteration of Chartbreakers, but, as always, there’s been some shake ups thanks to the world of the TikTok sped-up remix, the legacy artist, and on some occasions, a mix of both (we’re looking at you, Miguel).Songs Discussed: Eslabon Armado, Peso Pluma – Ella Baila Sola Bizarrap, Peso Pluma – Peso Pluma: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 55 Grupo Frontera, Bad Bunny – un x100to Fuerza Regida – TQM Grupo Frontera, Fuerza Regida – Bebe Dame Los Tigres del Norte – Prisión De Amor Chalino Sanchez, Banda Brava – Alma Enamorada Chalino Sanchez, Los Amables Del Norte – El Crimen De Culiacán Ramon Ayala y Sus Bravos del Norte – Solo Una Patada Grupo Firme, Junior H – Tronando Ligas Banda MS de Sergio Lizárraga – Que Bendición DannyLux – Mi Otra Mitad Natanael Cano – Pacas De Billetes Miguel – Sure Thing FIFTY FIFTY – Cupid Lana del Rey – Say Yes to Heaven Taylor Swift, Ice Spice – Karma (ft. Ice Spice) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the song "Touch" from Daft Punk's final studio album, 2013's Random Access Memories, featured artist Paul Williams sings a line that augured the end of an impressive collaboration: "I need something more." With RAM, Daft Punk pulled out all the stops, going the opposite direction of their previous albums, to "give life back to music" and bestow hearts and souls upon their robotic doppelgängers.RAM features almost no samples or programmed digital instruments, instead leaning into extensive collaborations with legendary studio musicians, iconic producers like Nile Rodgers, and modern mavens such as Pharrell. The making of RAM followed the blueprint of classic albums from what Daft Punk called "the golden age" of recording—Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, Pink Floyd. The duo spent over a million dollars, held five years of studio sessions, and painstakingly crafted each track. The result was a record that helped usher in a retro disco-funk revival across pop music and generated a smash hit in "Get Lucky." The band had perhaps crafted their magnum opus—but did it also represent the conclusion of their epic narrative of the battle between human and machine?Songs DiscussedDaft Punk - Give Life Back to MusicDaft Punk - Lose Yourself to Dance (feat. Pharrell Williams)Daft Punk - Get Lucky (feat. Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers)Daft Punk - Giorgio by MoroderEagles - Hotel CaliforniaDaft Punk - ContactThe Sherbs - We Ride TonightDaft Punk - The Prime Time of Your LifeDaft Punk, Paul Williams - Touch (feat. Paul Williams)Thomas Bangalter - Mythologies: X. L'Accouchement Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Throughout their legendary career, Daft Punk continued to prove that the more robotic their music became, the more human they sounded. This dichotomy came to a head on their third album, aptly titled Human After All. Where their past two records wired their circuits and gave the robots a voice, on Human After All, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo gave Daft Punk sentience. On Human After All robots rock, but they also question their rigid programming. The record's ensuing tour and resulting live album, Alive 2007, furthered the narrative by ushering in a new age of live electronic performance. The impact of these two records range from the development of EDM to everlasting hits like “Technologic.” On episode three of our Listening 2 Daft Punk series, we take a look at these two records, and how both Alive and Human After All imbued the robots with super intelligence.Songs Discussed Daft Punk - Human After All Daft Punk - The Prime Time of Your Life Daft Punk - Robot Rock Breakwater - Release the Beast Daft Punk - Steam Machine Daft Punk - The Brainwasher Black Sabbath - Iron Man Daft Punk - Technologic Daft Punk - Emotion John Williams – Wild Signals Daft Punk – Touch It / Technologic Daft Punk – Oh Yeah Daft Punk – Technologic Busta Rhymes – Touch It Daft Punk – Around the World / Harder Better Faster Stronger Daft Punk – Face to Face / Short Circuit Daft Punk – Da Funk / Daftendirekt Kanye West – Stronger Kanye West – On Sight Daft Punk – Human After All / Together / One More Time / Music Sounds Better With You Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Daft Punk’s first album laid the groundwork for their robot personas, with four to the floor beats, programmed drum machines, and sequenced synthesizers. On their second album Discovery, Daft Punk fully lean into the artificial – singing through robotic vocoders that correspond with their now-iconic robot helmets.But in there is a paradox, explored on episode 2 of Listening to Daft Punk: the more machine the robots become, the more human the music sounds.Songs Discussed Daft Punk - One More Time Daft Punk - Teachers Daft Punk - Aerodynamic Sister Sledge - Il Macquillage Lady AC/DC - Thunderstruck Laurie Anderson - O Superman Daft Punk - Revolution 909 Kraftwerk - Autobahn Kraftwerk - The Robots Earth, Wind & Fire - Let's Groove Herbie Hancock - I Thought It Was You Zapp - More Bounce to the Ounce Stevie Wonder - 1-2-3 Sesame Street Cher - Believe Kid Rock - Only God Knows Why Barry Manilow - Who's Been Sleeping In My Bed Daft Punk - Superheroes Edwin Birdsong - Cola Bottle Baby Electric Light Orchestra - Evil Woman Daft Punk - Face to Face Daft Punk - Something About Us Daft Punk - Voyager Daft Punk - Veridis Quo Daft Punk - Superheroes Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams - LYTD (Vocoder Tests) [feat. Pharrell Williams] Daft Punk - Digital Love Daft Punk - Crescendolls Eddie Johns - More Spell On You George Duke - I Love You More Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ten years ago, Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories gave life back to music. The world-beating smash “Get Lucky” broke streaming records, forged a retro sound that still dominates the charts, and paved the way for artists like The Weeknd, Dua Lipa and Lizzo to craft their own throwback hits. How did Daft Punk do it? Switched On Pop’s four part-mini series Listening 2: Daft Punk unlocks the sounds, voices, and stories across all four of the group’s studio albums. On their first album, Homework, Daft Punk stretched the boundaries of electronic music and began wiring the circuits that would become their robot alter-egos, asking a fundamental question: where does the human end and the machine begin?Songs Discussed ​​Daft Punk - Give Life Back to Music Daft Punk - Get Lucky (feat. Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers) The Beach Boys - Darlin' Daft Punk - Around the World Daft Punk - Harder Better Faster Strong Daft Punk - Robot Rock Daft Punk - Game of Love Daft Punk - Da Funk Daft Punk - Teachers Black Box - Ride on Time Daft Punk - Daftendirekt Daft Punk - Fresh Daft Punk - High Fidelity Daft Punk - Oh Yeah Daft Punk - Phoenix Daft Punk - Rollin' & Scratchin' Daft Punk - Rock'n Roll Daft Punk - Burnin' Kraftwerk - The Robots Vangelis - Main Titles Brad Fiedel - Main Title - The Terminator Ben Salisbury, Geoff Barrow - The Turing Test Daft Punk - TRON Legacy (End Titles) Daft Punk - Indo Silver Club Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After nearly two decades as a band the Jonas Brothers are staking their claim to a magnum opus by calling their next album, quite simply, The Album (out May 12). The project follows the success of their 2019 comeback project Happiness Begins — which blended polished pop sounds with ‘70s funk breaks and produced the No. 1 single “Sucker” — with a focus on the smooth sounds of yacht rock. Switched On pop co-host Charlie Harding spoke with Nick, Joe and Kevin Jonas in March 2023, during their five night broadway run, in anticipation for the release of The Album.  Songs Discussed Jonas Brothers - Wings, Waffle House, Montana Sky, Summer Baby, Before the Storm Daryl Hall & John Oates - She's Gone, Wings Kenny Loggins - Meet Me Half Way Steely Dan - Reelin' In The Years Stevie Wonder - Higher Ground Michael Jackson - The Way You Make Me Feel, Leave Me Alone The Doobie Brothers - Takin' It to the Streets, Minute By Minute Thundercat, Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins - Show You The Way Michael McDonald - I Keep Forgettin' Steve Miller Band - Fly Like An Eagle Eagles - Take It Easy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s May, and that can only mean one thing: it’s time for the Eurovision Song Contest. This year’s edition of the international-but-primarily-in-Europe competition features a uniquely eclectic group of songs (per usual), from a take on electro-flamenco, to Game of Thrones EDM, to a previous winner’s return to the Eurovision stage. On this episode, Charlie and Nate look at the six songs bookmakers are looking at to lead the pack of this year’s entries.Songs Discussed: Alessandra – Queen of Kings Deadmau5 – Right This Second Gabry Ponte, R3HAB, Timmy Trumpet – Call Me  La Zarra – Évidemment Édith Piaf – Non, je ne regrette rien Claude François – Alexandrie Alexandra Blanca Paloma – EAEA TVORCHI – Heart of Steel Kalush Orchesta – Stefania Käärijä – Cha Cha Cha Kraftwerk – Radioactivity Alice Deejay – Better Off Alone Metallica – 72 Seasons Loreen – Tattoo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When trouble strikes in music town, there’s one guy who gets the call. That’s me, Joe Treble, forensic musicologist. This week, I've got one of the most shocking cases I've ever worked. Someone killed the key change in pop music, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to find the perpetrator.The key change used to be at large on the Billboard charts. From the 1950s to the 1990s, 20-30% of all number one hits featured one. In Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody," the key change hits right before the final chorus. The song’s harmonic center shifts up, raising the pitch of the song, challenging the vocalist to hit higher and higher notes, juicing the big finish with excitement and pep. But starting in the 1990s the key change virtually disappeared from the Hot 100. Now, hit songs start and end in the same key, and no one seems to have even noticed. Except for me.This investigation will bring me face to face with a rogue's gallery of suspects and sources: Chris Dalla Riva, music and data specialist; Brandon McFarland, alias 1-O.A.K., producer; Emily King, singer and songwriter. Each interrogation brings me closer to revealing the murderer, but will I be able to handle the terrible truth? Tune in as I tackle the hardest case of my career: the case of the missing key change!Songs DiscussedEmily King - Georgia Sleepwalker, Medal, The Way that You Love MeYG, Kamaiyah, RJ, Mitch, Ty Dolla $ign - Do Yo Dance (feat. Kamaiyah, RJ, Mitch, Ty Dolla $ign)Beyoncé - Love On TopBon Jovi - Livin' On A PrayerWhitney Houston - I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)Frank Sinatra - Strangers In The Night Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We have an emergency podcast drop because the biggest and fastest moving story on the internet right now is about a song called “Heart On My Sleeve.” The track sounds like it was made by the producer Metro Boomin featuring Drake and The Weeknd. It might be one of the most consequential songs in music history because it was actually a fake, made with artificial intelligence. The blowback from this song has been enormous and a bit confusing. So host Charlie Harding went on The Vergecast podcast to break down how this song was likely made, and what it might mean for the music industry, the tech industry and all of our intellectual property.  Listen to the whole episode on The Vergecast Read Alex Cranz's story on Laser Bongs on The Verge Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The South Korean idol group BTS is one of the biggest musical sensations in history. They're constantly breaking records and they have one of the most dedicated fan bases in the world known as Army. Their hit singles like “Boy With Love,” “Dynamite,” and “Butter” have been discussed on the show in the past for breaking through the US charts. But back in 2022, they decided to take a break from group activities and start releasing solo material because of their obligations to each fulfill mandatory military service in South Korea, precluding them from working together at the same time. Solo projects aren’t new for the group – BTS members have released mixtapes as far back as 2015 and countless solo singles – but this was the first time that BTS had ever announced a prolonged break. This moment, originally presented as a hiatus, has evolved into a whole new musical chapter for the group, with a seemingly endless array of new solo releases. Switched On Pop listens back to one track from each solo effort so far to introduce the casual listener to what is happening in this new era of BTS. Joining the show is Lenika Cruz, senior editor at The Atlantic, who literally wrote the book on BTS, simply called On BTS out on the Atlantic Editions imprint.Songs Discussed: j-hope, J. Cole - on the street Jimin - Like Crazy RM, Youjeen - Wild Flower Agust D - People Pt.2 Agust D - People Jung Kook - Dreamers JIN - The Astronaut BTS - Singularity, Inner Child Coldplay, BTS - My Universe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices