Hitmaker Chronicles

The ultimate underdog story. Homeless at 18 after losing his father to cancer and being kicked out by his alcoholic mother. Co-founded the Hype House with now-wife Kouvr. Nobody cared about his music until he filmed himself singing on a toilet on a burner account (10M views). Wrote "Ordinary" for Kouvr, everyone said it wasn't a single, pushed it anyway. Synced to Love Is Blind, topped Billboard Hot 100 for 10 weeks, became longest-running #1 UK Singles Chart of the 2020s. Grammy-nominated. Garrett's wrap-up: "Sometimes ordinary is the most extraordinary thing you can achieve."Unlock an ad-free podcast experience with Caloroga...

Garrett Fisher examines the most transparent pop star manufacturing process in modern music history: KATSEYE, the global girl group created from 120,000 auditions by HYBE (the company behind BTS) and Geffen Records. With their formation documented on Netflix, their choreography engineered for TikTok virality, and their Gap campaign achieving 400 million views in two weeks, KATSEYE's breakthrough single "Touch" proved you can reverse-engineer a viral moment—if you have the resources, strategy, and six genuinely talented performers to sell it. It's a fascinating look at what "authentic" even means in 2025.Unlock an ad-free podcast experience with Caloroga Shark Media! Ge...

Garrett Fisher tells the story of Shane Boose, who went viral on TikTok at 17 with "Caroline," signed to Warner Records, then watched 20 consecutive singles fail over two and a half years. When he stopped making music he thought people wanted and returned to his bedroom setup to create "back to friends," he discovered that patience and authenticity could outperform strategy—the song climbed to number seven on the Hot 100 over 40 weeks and earned him a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. It's the ultimate slow-burn breakthrough story about a kid who learned that sometimes you can't go back, you can on...

Harry Styles returned after nearly four years of musical silence with “Aperture” — a five-minute house track that debuted at Number 1 worldwide and signaled a bold new era. In this episode of Hitmaker Chronicles, Garrett Fisher explores the Berlin creative reset, the cryptic marketing buildup, and why Styles chose risk over radio safety. From dancefloor euphoria to legacy-level career strategy, we unpack the sound, symbolism, and cultural impact behind the song — and what it reveals about an artist still evolving at the peak of global fame. Sometimes opening up is the biggest hit of all.Unlock an ad-free podcast...

Welcome to Hitmaker Chronicles! I'm your host, Garrett Fisher. Today we celebrate Olivia Dean's Best New Artist Grammy win - the journey from a bright yellow truck to music's biggest stage. We'll trace how performing for five people in a prawn restaurant became a roadmap to global success, why patience matters more than virality, and how "Man I Need" made her the first female solo artist with four simultaneous UK top 10 singles. It's a story about eight-week recording sessions, Windrush generation grandmothers, and proving that slow-building success is still the best kind.Unlock an ad-free podcast experience...

Welcome to Hitmaker Chronicles! I'm your host, Garrett Fisher. Today we celebrate Lola Young's Grammy win for "Messy" - the song that became an anthem for every messy human being. We'll trace how an ADHD anthem written the night before a video went viral, how a barely-there TikTok dance launched a global hit, and why winning four months after collapsing onstage made this victory so much more than a trophy. It's about mental health, authenticity, and what happens when you stop trying to be enough for the world and start being honest about the chaos.Unlock an...

Welcome to Hitmaker Chronicles! I'm your host, Garrett Fisher. Today we celebrate YUNGBLUD's Grammy win for a performance that silenced 40,000 skeptics. We'll trace how a 27-year-old punk rocker convinced metalheads he deserved to cover Black Sabbath, why Brian May called his performance "deafening," and how seventeen days after this concert, rock music lost its Prince of Darkness. It's about mentorship, proving yourself to doubters, and what happens when someone passes you the torch at their final show. From Doncaster to Villa Park to Grammy gold.Unlock an ad-free podcast experience with Caloroga Shark Media! Get all our...

Welcome back to Hitmaker Chronicles! I'm your host, Garrett Fisher. This week we add to our Grammy countdown with ROSÉ and Bruno Mars' "Apateau" - the drinking game that became K-pop history. We'll trace how a late-night McDonald's run turned into the year's biggest song, why ROSÉ begged her team to delete it from their phones, and how teaching Bruno to say "apateau" created a billion-stream phenomenon. It's a story about stacked hands, perfect storms, and proving that staying authentic to your culture can make the whole world sing along.Unlock an ad-free podcast experience with Caloroga Sh...

Welcome back to Hitmaker Chronicles! I'm your host, Garrett Fisher. Today we close our Grammy countdown with Billie Eilish's "WILDFLOWER" - the apology that wouldn't stop charting. We'll trace how consoling a friend after a breakup led to dating the ex, why this guilt-soaked confession became the longest-charting song in Billboard history, and what it means when a wildflower phone case company becomes part of your narrative. It's a story about 72 weeks on the charts, breaking SZA's record, and proving that sometimes your messiest moments make your most enduring art.Unlock an ad-free podcast experience with Caloroga...

Welcome back to Hitmaker Chronicles! I'm your host, Garrett Fisher. This week we continue our Grammy countdown with Chappell Roan's "The Subway" - the song she was terrified to release because fans already knew every word. We'll trace how a year-long rollout tested her patience, why she threatened to move to Saskatchewan (and what happened to tourism there), and how missing someone on the F train became her biggest hit. It's a story about live debuts, shoegaze guitars, and learning that sometimes the fans are right - even when that's absolutely terrifying.Unlock an ad-free podcast experience...

Welcome back to Hitmaker Chronicles! I'm your host, Garrett Fisher. This week we continue our Grammy countdown with Lady Gaga's "Abracadabra" - the spell cast during a commercial break that nobody saw coming. We'll trace how a scrapped slower song became a dance-floor resurrection, why the post-chorus whispers Latin words for love and death, and how Gaga's fiancé convinced her to face her greatest fear. It's a story about reassembling shattered mirrors, 40 backup dancers battling between light and dark, and proving that sometimes coming home means becoming the monster again.Unlock an ad-free podcast experience with Caloroga S...

Welcome back to Hitmaker Chronicles! I'm your host, Garrett Fisher. Today we kick off our four-week Grammy countdown with Sabrina Carpenter's "Manchild" - the country-tinged confession that debuted at number one while its creator fell into a cactus. We'll trace how a random Tuesday writing session became a chart-topper, why Jack Antonoff physically touched tape machines like instruments, and how Sabrina turned exasperation into a loving eye roll. It's a story about thirty-seven outfit changes, incompetent men, and proving that sometimes the boldest move is releasing a country song after a pop breakthrough.Unlock an ad-free podcast...

Welcome to Hitmaker Chronicles! I'm your host, Garrett Fisher. Today we explore Dan Fogelberg's "Same Old Lang Syne" - the New Year's classic that almost didn't happen. We'll trace how a 90-minute encounter at a Peoria convenience store became a perfectly crafted story song, why Fogelberg thought it was a joke until he finished writing it, and how Jill Anderson kept quiet for 27 years. It's a story about whipping cream and eggnog, Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture hidden in plain sight, and proving that sometimes the most personal songs become the most universal.Unlock an ad-free podcast experience with Caloroga...

Welcome back to Hitmaker Chronicles! I'm your host, Garrett Fisher. This week on our eight-week Christmas countdown, we close with "The Chipmunk Song" - the novelty hit that almost didn't happen. We'll trace how a broke Broadway actor's last $200 gamble created "Witch Doctor," why Liberty Records executives became singing rodents, and how a frustrated father's September question launched a multimillion-dollar franchise. It's a story about tape speed manipulation, the hula hoop craze of 1958, and proving that sometimes the silliest idea in the room becomes the one that lasts forever.Unlock an ad-free podcast experience with Caloroga Shark...

Welcome back to Hitmaker Chronicles! I'm your host, Garrett Fisher. This week on our eight-week Christmas countdown, we explore Elvis Presley's "Blue Christmas" - the holiday standard he didn't want to record. We'll trace how a commuter train daydream became Ernest Tubb's country hit, why a 22-year-old Elvis told his musicians to "just do something silly," and how those iconic "woo" vocals almost didn't make the final cut. It's a story about reluctant genius, September sessions with Christmas trees, and how the King turned his least favorite recording into a performance that redefined holiday heartbreak.Unlock an...

Welcome back to Hitmaker Chronicles! I'm your host, Garrett Fisher. This week on our eight-week Christmas countdown, we're celebrating Hanukkah with Adam Sandler's "The Chanukah Song" - the novelty hit that made Jewish kids feel seen during the holiday season. We'll trace how a nervous SNL cast member turned childhood loneliness into cultural phenomenon, why Roseanne Barr graciously stepped aside, and how four minutes of fake rhymes and celebrity name-dropping became an annual tradition. It's a story about feeling left out, the Carnegie Deli, and proving that sometimes the silliest song can say something serious.Unlock an...

Welcome back to Hitmaker Chronicles! I'm your host, Garrett Fisher. This week on our eight-week Christmas countdown, we explore "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" - the greatest vocal performance in Christmas music history, born from rejection and bad timing. We'll trace how Phil Spector locked the Wrecking Crew in Gold Star Studios for two months, why Ronnie Spector couldn't sing her own song, and how David Letterman turned Darlene Love's annual performance into appointment television for 29 years. It's a story about the Wall of Sound at its peak, a voice that could shatter glass, and the song that refuses to...

Welcome back to Hitmaker Chronicles! I'm your host, Garrett Fisher. This week on our eight-week Christmas countdown, we explore "Do They Know It's Christmas?" - the charity single that changed everything about celebrity activism. We'll trace how Bob Geldof's night watching TV news led to 40 British pop stars recording a song in a single day, how it sold a million copies in its first week, and why its legacy is more complicated than anyone expected. It's a story about good intentions, massive success, and the questions we're still asking 40 years later about how the West tries to help.<...

Welcome back to Hitmaker Chronicles! I'm your host, Garrett Fisher. This week on our eight-week Christmas countdown, we explore "Silent Night" - the song written by a young priest after witnessing war's devastation, set to music in hours because a church organ wouldn't cooperate. We'll trace how two men in a tiny Austrian village created the most recorded song in human history, how it spread across the world mistaken for folk music, and how it stopped World War I for one extraordinary night in 1914. It's a story about broken organs, traveling glove-makers, and the song that proved sometimes the quietest...

Welcome back to Hitmaker Chronicles! I'm your host, Garrett Fisher. Today, we begin our eight-week Christmas series with the song that defined what a Christmas standard could be - written in 45 minutes on the hottest day of summer 1945 to psychologically cool off. We'll trace how two young Jewish songwriters created the most-performed Christmas song ever, how Nat King Cole recorded it four times searching for perfection, and why Capitol Records thought strings would ruin everything. It's a story about thinking cool thoughts, breaking color barriers, and how the first Black artist to record a Christmas standard created the template for...