POP Quarterly Recap Report
Q1-2010 (January - March)
deconstructed
POP Q1 Report (January - March) The Hit Songs Deconstructed Quarterly Recap Report is based on the 22 Hit Pop Songs that entered the Billboard Top 10 during Q1-2010.
#1 Hit Pop Songs (6):
Peak position Song Artist
#1 Whatcha Say Jason Derulo
#1 Down Jay Sean
#1 TikTok Ke$ha
#1 Bad Romance Lady Gaga
#1 Telephone Lady Gaga
#1 Replay Iyaz
#2 - #10 Pop Songs (16):
Peak position Song Artist
#2 3 Britney Spears
#2 Fireflies Owl City
#2 Imma Be The Black Eyed Peas
#3 Sexy Chick David Guetta
#3 According To You Orianthi
#5 Do You Remember Jay Sean
#5 Empire State Of Mind Jay-Z
#5 Already Gone Kelly Clarkson
#6 In My Head Jason Derulo
#6 BedRock Young Money
#7 Two Is Better Than One Boys Like Girls
#8 Need You Now Lady Antebellum
#9 Hard Rihanna
#9 Carry Out Timberland
#10 Live Like We’re Dying Kris Allen
#10 Fifteen Taylor Swift
POP Q1 Report (January - March) AT-A-GLANCE: Structure Longest Shortest
BB Peak Song Intro Outro 1st % Into Song Artist Structure Position Length Length Length Chorus Song
Whatcha Say Jason Derulo 1 A-B-A-B-C-B 3:43 0:17 n/a 0:57 26%
Down Jay Sean 1 A-B-A-B-C-B 3:32 0:21 n/a 0:51 24%
Tik Tok Ke$ha 1 A-B-A-B-C-B 3:20 n/a n/a 0:32 16%
Bad Romance Lady Gaga 1 A-B-A-B-C-B 4:54 0:33 0:10 1:14 25%
*Telephone Lady Gaga 1 A-B-A-B 3:41 0:08 0:23 0:47 21%
Replay Iyaz 1 A-B-A-B-C-B 3:03 0:21 n/a 0:01 1%
AVERAGES FOR BILLBOARD #1 HITS 3:42 0:20 4:00 0:43 19%
3 Britney Spears 2 A-B-A-B-C-B 3:22 0:28 n/a 0:01 1%
Fireflies Owl City 2 A-B-A-B-A-B 3:48 0:21 0:13 0:43 19%
*Imma Be The Black Eyed Peas 2 A-B-A-A-C-A-C 4:16 0:26 0:13 1:08 27%
Sexy Chick David Guetta 3 A-B-A-B 3:14 0:15 n/a 1:15 39%
According To You Orianthi 3 A-B-A-B-C-Solo-B 3:22 0:02 0:13 0:33 16%
Do You Remember Jay Sean 5 A-B-A-B-C-B 3:31 0:15 n/a 0:46 22%
Empire State Of Mind Jay-Z 5 A-B-A-B-A-B 4:37 0:10 n/a 0:55 20%
Already Gone Kelly Clarkson 5 A-B-A-B-C-B 4:44 0:26 n/a 1:05 23%
In My Head Jason Derulo 6 A-B-A-B-C-B 3:19 0:10 n/a 0:43 22%
BedRock Young Money 6 A-B-A-B-A-B 4:48 0:13 n/a 1:06 23%
Two Is Better Than One Boys Like Girls 7 A-B-A-B-Solo-C-B 4:03 0:04 n/a 0:32 13%
Need You Now Lady Antebellum 8 A-B-A-B-Solo-C-B 4:38 0:37 1:08 1:08 24%
Hard Rihanna 9 A-B-A-B-C-B 4:11 0:20 n/a 1:15 30%
Carry Out Timbaland 9 A-B-A-B-C-B 3:53 0:20 0:17 0:58 25%
Live Like We’re Dying Kris Allen 10 A-B-A-B-C-B 3:33 0:11 n/a 0:52 24%
Fifteen Taylor Swift 10 A-B-A-B-Solo-C-A-B 4:55 0:10 0:36 0:53 18%
AVERAGES FOR BILLBOARD NON #1 HITS 4:00 0:16 0:25 0:52 22%
TOTAL AVERAGES 3:51 0:18 0:20 0:47 20%
*Note: Lady Gaga’s “Telephone” and The Black Eyed Peas “Imma Be” both deviate from conventional song structure.
POP Q1 Report (January - March) AT-A-GLANCE: Lyrical Theme / Writers / Point of View
#1 Hits
Song Artist # of Writers Primary P.O.V. Lyrical Theme
Whatcha Say Jason Derulo 5 1st Love/Relationships
Down Jay Sean 6 1st Love/Relationships
TikTok Ke$ha 3 1st Partying
Bad Romance Lady Gaga 2 1st Love/Relationships
Telephone Lady Gaga 5 1st Partying
Replay Iyaz 4 1st Love/Relationships
Here we see that the majority of #1 hits (67%) have a lyrical theme that deals with love and relationships. The other two songs in the category have to do with partying/clubbing. Every #1 hit song is told from the 1st person perspective. All of the number #1 hits were written by more than one songwriter, and all of them had a contribution from the performing artist. Interestingly, there were 25 total songwriters involved in writing 6 #1 hit Pop songs, averaging out to around 4 writers per song.
#2 - #10 Hits
Song Artist # of Writers Primary P.O.V. Lyrical Theme
3 Britney Spears 3 1st Hooking Up
Fireflies Owl City 2 1st Holding on to Childhood
Imma Be The Black Eyed Peas 9 1st Doing what you want
Sexy Chick David Guetta 4 1st Checking someone out
According To You Orianthi 2 1st Love/Relationships
Do You Remember Jay Sean 7 1st Love/Relationships
Empire State Of Mind Jay-Z 7 1st Hyping your hometown
Already Gone Kelly Clarkson 2 1st Love/Relationships
In My Head Jason Derulo 4 1st Hooking Up
BedRock Young Money 8 1st Hooking Up
Two Is Better Than One Boys Like Girls 1 1st Love/Relationships
Need You Now Lady Antebellum 4 1st Love/Relationships
Hard Rihanna 4 1st Being Resilient
POP Q1 Report (January - March) Song Artist # of Writers Primary P.O.V. Lyrical Theme
Carry Out Timberland 5 1st Hooking Up
Live Like We’re Dying Kris Allen 4 3rd Living life to the fullest
Fifteen Taylor Swift 1 3rd Love/Relationships
Here we see a more diverse set of lyrical themes. The majority (38%), still deal with love and relationships, and is followed by hooking up, at 25%. Another popular theme has to do with people relating to themselves on a personal level. This is evident in “Live Like We’re Dying”, “Hard”, “Imma Be” and “Fireflies.” Only two songs, “Fifteen” and “Two Is Better Than One” were written by single artists, with the rest having songwriters that ranged from 2 to 9. Three songs (“Live Like We’re Dying”, “According To You”, and “3”) were completely written by outside songwriters (no credited involvement from the performing artist). All of the songs were written from a first person perspective, with the exception of two (“Live Like We’re Dying” and “Fifteen”) which were written in the third person. There were a total of 67 songwriters involved in the “16 songs in this category, averaging out to 4 songwriters per song. SUMMARY RECAP
#1 Billboard Pop Hits
Structure • Most Popular Song Structure: A-B-A-B-C-B (Occurs in 83% of #1 hit Pop songs) • Average Song Length: 3:42 • Average Intro Length: 0:20 • Average Outro Length*: 0:16 • 1st Chorus Hit Average: 0:43 • 1st Chorus Hit % of Song: On average the 1st chorus hits 19% into the song • Songs with a Pre-Chorus: 50% of the songs have a pre-chorus and 50% do not. • Songs with a Solo: 0% of the #1 hit Pop songs have a solo • Songs with a Bridge: 83% of #1 hit Pop songs have a bridge
Attributes • Most Popular Tempo: Mid/Up (67% of #1 hit Pop songs) • Most Popular Tone (Acoustic/Electric): Electric (100% of #1 hit Pop songs) • Most Popular Primary Instrumentation: Synth (100% of #1 hit Pop songs) • Most Popular Primary Vocal Gender: 50% Male, 50% Female • Most Popular Lyrical Theme: Love and Relationships • Most Popular Style: Electro Pop (100% of all #1 hit Pop songs) • Heavy use of Auto-Tune on lead vocals: 67% of #1 hit Pop songs.
POP Q1 Report (January - March) Non #1 Billboard Hits (#2 - #10):
Structure • Most Popular Song Structure: A-B-A-B-C-B (Occurs in 44% of #1 hit Pop songs) • Average Song Length: 4:00 • Average Intro Length: 0:16 • Average Outro Length*: 0:25 • 1st Chorus Hit Average: 0:51 • 1st Chorus Hit % of Song: On average the 1st chorus hits 21% into the song • Songs with a Pre-Chorus: 44% have a pre-chorus • Songs with a Solo: 25% have a solo • Songs with a Bridge: 75% have a bridge
Attributes • Most Popular Tempo: Mid (56% of the songs) • Most Popular Tone (Acoustic/Electric): Electric (75% of the songs) • Most Popular Primary Instrumentation: Synth (69% of the songs) • Most Popular Primary Vocal Gender: 44% Male (followed by 31% combo and 25% woman) • Most Popular Lyrical Theme: Love and Relationships • Most Popular Style: Electro Pop (56% of the songs) • Heavy use of Auto-Tune on lead vocals: 38% of the songs
All Top 10 Billboard Hit Songs
Structure • Most Popular Song Structure: A-B-A-B-C-B (Occurs in 55% of all songs) • Average Song Length: 3:51 • Average Intro Length: 0:18 • Average Outro Length*: 0:20 • 1st Chorus Hit Average: 0:47 • 1st Chorus Hit % of Song: On average the 1st chorus hits 20% into the song • Songs with a Pre-Chorus: 45% have a pre-chorus • Songs with a Solo: 18% have a solo • Songs with a Bridge: 77% have a bridge
Attributes • Most Popular Tempo: Mid / Mid-Up (51% and 49% respectively) • Most Popular Tone (Acoustic/Electric): Electric (82% of all top 10 hit Pop songs)
POP Q1 Report (January - March) • Most Popular Primary Instrumentation: Synth (77% of all top 10 hit Pop songs) • Most Popular Primary Vocal Gender: 45% Male (followed by 32% woman & 23% combo) • Most Popular Lyrical Theme: Love and Relationships • Most Popular Style: Electro Pop (68% of all top 10 hit Pop songs) • Heavy use of Auto-Tune on lead vocals: 45% of all top 10 hit Pop songs
AT-A-GLANCE: Comparison Chart
CATEGORY #1 Songs #2-#10 SONGS All Songs
Most Popular Song Structure A-B-A-B-C-B A-B-A-B-C-B A-B-A-B-C-B
Average Song Length 3:42 4:00 3:51
Average Intro Length 0:20 0:16 0:18
Average Outro Length 0:16 0:25 0:20
Average Time For 1st Chorus To Hit 0:43 0:51 0:47
Avgerage % Of Song Where 1st Chorus Hits 19% 21% 20%
Top Occuring Tempos Mid/Up Mid Mid & Mid/Up
Most Popular Tone Electric Electric Electric
Most Popular Primary Instrumentation Synth Synth Synth
Most Popular Primary Vocal Gender Male & Female Male Male
Songs With A Pre-Chorus 50% 44% 45%
Songs With A Solo 0% 25% 18%
Songs With A Bridge 83% 75% 77%
Lyrical Theme Love/Relationships Love/Relationships Love/Relationships
Most Popular Style Electro-Pop Electro-Pop Electro-Pop
POP Q1 Report (January - March) DETAIL RECAP
Song Structure
#1 Hit Songs • 5 out of 6 songs (83%) were structured A-B-A-B-C-B. • 1 out of 6 songs (17%) was structured A-B-A-B, “Telephone” by Lady Gaga. Note, however, that overall this song does not have a “conventional” song structure; it’s more of a roaming club/dance structured song than anything else.
#2 - #10 Hit Songs • 7 out of 16 songs (44%) were structured A-B-A-B-C-B. • The other songs were varied in song structure, but the vast majority (15 out of 16) all started with the A-B-A-B structure. Three went into a solo after the second chorus and three were structured A-B-A-B-A-B. • The odd track in the category is “Imma Be” by The Black Eyed Peas. This particular song has a structure that is all over the place. From the best that I can tell, the structure is A-B-A-A-C-A-C.
Song Length
#1 Hit Songs • The average song length for #1 hit Pop songs was 3:42 • The longest song was “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga at 4:54. • The shortest song was “Replay” by Iyaz at 3:32.
#2 - #10 Hit Songs • The average song length for #2 - #10 hit Pop songs was 4:00 • The longest song was “Fifteen” by Taylor Swift at 4:55. • The shortest song was “Sexy Chick” by David Guetta at 3:14.
POP Q1 Report (January - March) Song Length: #1 Hit Pop Songs
Here we see that the overwhelming majority of #1 hit Pop songs land in the 3:30 – 3:59 range (50%).
Song Length: #2 - #10 Hit Pop Songs
Interestingly enough, here we see that the majority of Pop songs that placed #2 - #10 landed in the 4:30 – 4:59 range (31%), which is quite long by traditional Pop genre standards. If you total up songs that range from 3:00 – 3:59 and 4:00 – 4:59, you find that it’s basically cut right down the middle, with half the songs belonging to either category.
Song Length: All Hit Pop Songs
When looking at the total song length for all 22 hit Pop songs, here we see that a slim majority (32%) off all songs fall into the 3:30 – 3:59 range. However, with the exception of songs within 4:00 – 4:29, the distribution is quite equal in nature. If we look at songs that land 3:00 – 3:59 and 4:00 – 4:59, we see that it’s close again – being a 59% / 41% split respectively.
Intro Analysis
#1 Hit Songs • The average intro length is 0:20 • The longest intro was “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga at 0:33 • The shortest intro was “Telephone” by Lady Gaga at 0:08 • All songs have an intro section with the exception of “TiK ToK” by Ke$ha, which starts right off with the verse.
POP Q1 Report (January - March) #2 - #10 Hit Songs • The average intro length is 0:16 • The longest intro was “Need You Now” by Lady Antebellum at 0:37 • The shortest intro was “According To You” by Orianthi at 0:02. • All songs in the category have an intro section.
Intro Length of #1 Pop Songs
Here we see that the overwhelming majority of hit Pop songs have an intro section that lands in the 0:20 – 0:24 range (40%). There is equal distribution between the other length ranges, all landing at 20% of the total category.
Intro Length of #2 - #10 Pop Songs
Here we see that the overall length of intro’s in Pop songs placing #2 - #10 land in the 0:10 – 0:14 range (31% of all songs in the category). This is followed by an equal distribution of intro lengths that land in the 0:20 – 0:29 range. The minority of songs (6%) have intro lengths that land over 0:35.
Intro Length of All Hit Pop Songs
When looking at all of the hit Pop songs within the category, we see an equal amount of songs having intro’s that land both in the 0:10 – 0:14 and 0:20 – 0:24 ranges (each with 24%). The vast majority of songs do not have intro’s that are under the 0:09 mark, as well as over the 0:30 mark.
POP Q1 Report (January - March) Outro Analysis
#1 Hit Songs • 2 out of the 6 songs (33%) (“Bad Romance and “Telephone” by Lady Gaga) have an outro section that is different than any other section within the song (i.e. something other than a chorus out). • The other 4 songs in the category all end after the last chorus. • The average outro length is 0:16 • The longest outro was “Telephone” by Lady Gaga at 0:23. • The shortest 0utro was “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga at 0:10.
#2 - #10 Hit Songs • 6 out of 16 (38%) songs have an outro section that is different than any other section within the song (i.e. something other than a chorus out). • The other 10 songs in the category all ended after the last chorus. • The longest outro was “Need You Now” by Lady Antebellum at 1:08 • The shortest outro was a three way tie between “Imma Be”, “Sexy Chick” and “According To You”, all at 0:13.
Outro Length of #1 Hit Pop Songs
When looking at songs that have an outro section that differs from any other pre-existing section within the song (i.e. the chorus), we see an equal split with the lengths. We DON’T see any outro’s less than 0:10 or more than 0:24.
Outro Length of #2 - #10 Hit Pop Songs
Here we see that the majority of outro sections land in the 0:10 – 0:14 range (43% of all songs in the category). 72% of all songs in the category have an outro that lands between 0:10 and 0:19.
POP Q1 Report (January - March) Outro Length of All Hit Pop Songs
When looking at all hit Pop song outro lengths, we see that the majority of them land in the 0:10 – 0:14 range. 77% have outro sections that last less than 0:24.
1st Chorus Hit - Timeframe
#1 Hit Songs • The average time that it took for the first chorus to hit within #1 hit Pop songs was 0:43. • The longest amount of time that it took for the first chorus to hit was in “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga at 1:14. • The shortest amount of time that it took for the first chorus to hit was in “Replay” by Iyaz at 0:01. The song kicks off with the chorus.
#2 - #10 Hit Songs • The average time that it took for the first chorus to hit was 0:51. • The longest amount of time that it took for the first chorus to hit was in “Sexy Chick” by David Guetta at 1:15. • The shortest amount of time that it took for the first chorus to hit was in “3” by Britney Spears at 0:01. The song kicks off with the chorus.
1st Chorus Hit of #1 Hit Pop Songs
Here we see that the majority of songs have a 1st chorus that kicks in between 0:50 and 0:59 (33% of the songs). The distribution of the other ranges is equal throughout.
POP Q1 Report (January - March) 1st Chorus Hit of #2 - #10 Hit Pop Songs
This surprised me. The two most popular ranges for the 1st chorus to kick in was 0:50 – 0:59 and 1:00 – 1:09. That’s double the length of what used to be deemed to the optimal time frame to have your first chorus hit (0:30 – 0:39). If you look at the % of songs that had their first chorus hit in the 0:30 – 0:39 range, you’ll see that it’s only 13% of all songs in the category. The songs that landed in the 0:01 – 0:09 range had their songs kick off with the chorus as the first section.
1st Chorus Hit of All Hit Pop Songs
Again, as with the previous section, we see that 77% of all songs see their first chorus hitting 0:40 and up. Only 14% have their 1st chorus kicking in within the traditional 0:30 – 0:39 range.
1st Chorus Hit - Timeframe
#1 Hit Songs • On average, the first chorus kicks in at 19% of the way into the song within #1 hit Pop songs. • The latest point where the first chorus hits occurs in “Whatcha Say” by Jason Derulo. It occurs 26% into the total song. • The earliest point in a song where the first chorus hits is “Replay ” by Iyaz. It occurs in less than 1% into the song.
#2 - #10 Hit Songs • On average, the first chorus kicks in at 21% of the way into the song within the songs. • The latest point where the first chorus hits occurs in “Sexy Chick” by David Guetta. It occurs 39% into the total song. • The earliest point in a song where the first chorus hits is “3” by Britney Spears. It occurs in less than 1% into the song.
POP Q1 Report (January - March) 1st Chorus Hit % into Total Song: #1 Hit Pop Songs
When looking at when the 1st chorus kicks in as a percent of a total songs construction, we see that an equal amount of them have their 1st chorus hitting between 20% and 29% into the song.
1st Chorus Hit % into Total Song: #2 - #10 Hit Pop Songs
Here we see an overwhelming majority of songs have their 1st chorus hit within 20% - 24% into the song (44% of all songs in the category).
1st Chorus Hit % into Total Songs
As a whole, again, we see that the majority of songs (41%) have their 1st chorus landing 20% - 24% into the total song.
#1 Hits Production / Waveforms
Below are the waveforms for the #1 hit Pop songs from Q1-2010. It’s easy to see that massive amounts of compression was used to make them as loud as possible, especially during the choruses.
POP Q1 Report (January - March) Whatcha Say (Jason Derulo)
Down (Jay Sean)
Tik Tok (Ke$ha)
Bad Romance (Lady Gaga)
POP Q1 Report (January - March) Telephone (Lady Gaga)
THE IDEAL HIT POP SONG: Q1-2010
Based on the analysis and findings in this report, the ideal hit Pop song from Q1-2010 would look like this:
• Style: The song would be in the style of Electro-Pop. • Song Structure: A-B-A-B-C-B • Tempo: Mid/Up • Primary Vocal Gender: The lead vocal would be sung by a male. • Lyrical Theme: The song would most likely deal with love and relationships • Instrumentation: The primary instrumentation would be synth based. • Song Length: The song would land between 3:30 and 3:59 • Intro Length: The intro would land in the 0:10 – 0:14 range or 0:20 and 0:24 range • Outro Length: The outro would land in the 0:10 – 0:14 range • 1st Chorus Hit: The 1st chorus would hit between 0:50 and 0:59. • 1st Chorus % of Song: The 1st chorus would hit between 20% - 24% into the song • Pre-Chorus: A pre-chorus is optional • Solo: The song would not have a solo. • Bridge: The song would have a bridge • Autotune: The song would feature heavy use of Autotune • Tone: The primary tone would be Electric based. • Production: The song would be immensely compressed for maximum sonic impact.
POP Q1 Report (January - March)