About this episode
Even before the launch of MTV, the music video has been making pop songs buzzworthy. And since the early ’80s, it has transformed also-rans into hitmakers—from the Buggles and Duran Duran to Peter Gabriel and a‑ha . But until the early 2010s, watching a video didn’t count on the Billboard charts. That all changed thanks to YouTube—and the biggest immediate beneficiary from the addition of video to the charts was a rising pop star, incubated on the Disney Channel, but looking to change her image. Miley Cyrus was born into hitmaking, line-dancing, multimedia royalty, and she used video titillation—and even the social site Chatroulette —to top the charts. But what did all that provocation mean for…y’know, the music ? And how is video still making hits—including the song that’s No. 1 this very week in 2018? Chris Molanphy explains it all. hitparade@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices