The Bridge: The Number of the Nominees Shall Be Five

[This edition of my Hit Parade—“The Bridge” bonus series is available to Slate Plus subscribers only. A link to the episode show page is below. To sign up for Plus—and tell Slate that Hit Parade sent you!—visit slate.com/hitparadeplus.]

In this mini-episode of Hit Parade, host Chris Molanphy is joined by Paul Grein, Billboard’s awards editor, for a discussion of the Grammy Awards and how they align with the charts and pop consensus. Paul says Grammy voters do their best with the long list of eligible songs and albums each year, but a narrower field would produce better results. In response to Chris’s proposed Grammy guidelines, Paul offers his own ideas—including going back to just five nominees in the big categories.

Next, Chris quizzes a Slate Plus listener with some music trivia, gives him a chance to turn the tables with a question of his own, and previews next month’s full-length episode. Slate Plus members can sign up for a chance to be our trivia contestant on a future episode here.

Podcast production by Kevin Bendis.