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Every chart drawn in this format, newest first. How it reads: Methodology.

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  Hit Songs: The Rise and Fall of “Featuring”, 1959–2025

  How many of America's 20 biggest songs each year credit a featured artist, 1959–2025: none before 1990, about four in ten in the early 2000s, and few today.

  Updated 2025
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  Pop Songs Went Minor, 1959–2025

  The share of America's top 20 hits written in a minor key, 1959–2025, from about one in eight in the early 1960s to more than half in the late 2010s.

  Updated 2025
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  Long Songs Out, Short Songs In, 1959–2025

  How long America's biggest hits run, 1959–2025: songs over four minutes rose to 70 percent in the 1990s, and songs under three minutes are back.

  Updated 2025
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  The Reading Level of the State of the Union, 1790–2026

  The Flesch–Kincaid reading grade of every State of the Union message since 1790, from beyond a college graduate in the 1800s to 6.9 in 2026.

  Updated 2026