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Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com Wrecking Ball Deconstructed Skip to: Audio/Video Overview Song Structure Momentum/Tension/Intensity (MTI) Music/Instrumentation/Vocal Delivery Vocal Melody Lyrics Benchmarking A&R Hit Factors Recap, Takwaways & Final Thought Audio/Video Back to Top At a Glance Back to Top Artist: Miley Cyrus Song/Album: Wrecking Ball / Bangerz Songwriters: Gottwald, McDonald, Moccio, Skarbek, Walter Genre: Pop Sub Genres: Power Ballad Length: 3:40 Structure (Form): A-B-A-B-C-B Tempo: 60 bpm First Chorus: 0:42 / 19% into the song Intro Length: 0:08 Outro Length: n/a 1 / 102 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com Electric vs. Acoustic: Combo Primary Instrumentation: Synth, Electric Guitar, Piano, Strings, Drums Lyrical Theme: Love/Relationships Title Occurrences: “Wrecking Ball” occurs 5 times within the song Primary Lyrical P.O.V: 1st & 2nd Overview Back to Top To say that Miley Cyrus is at the forefront of Pop culture right now would be an understatement. Her recent outlandish, controversial behavior which includes twerking at the VMA’s, stating publically to Rolling Stone that “weed is the best drug on earth,” and swinging nude from a wrecking ball all have taken her exposure (no pun intended) to astronomical heights. But behind all the hype and controversy lies a talented artist who was able to take a song that was provided to her by some of today’s hottest hitmakers, make it her own, and deliver it in an infectious, engaging, memorable manner that was able to connect and resonate with the masses on a global scale. As you’ll see within the report, there is a lot that can be learned from Wrecking Ball. You just need to look beyond the hype and appreciate the song for what it really is – a clever, expertly well crafted Power Ballad. To date, Wrecking Ball has landed in the top 10 on 30 charts throughout the world, and hit #1 on 11. Song Structure Back to Top TIMELINE (Shows when each section hits within the timeline of the song) 2 / 102 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com GENERAL FORM Wrecking Ball utilizes by far the most popular, and arguably the most effective form (structure) in Pop music: A-B-A-B-C-B (Verse – Chorus – Verse – Chorus – Bridge – Chorus). FULL FORM When you take into account all of the sections within the song, Wrecking Ball’s full form looks like this: Intro – Verse – Pre-Chorus – Chorus – Verse – Pre-Chorus – Chorus – Bridge – Pre-Chorus – Chorus. We’ll be getting into specifics regarding these sections further into the report. SECTION LENGTH & COUNT (Length of each individual section within the song) I=Intro, V=Verse, PC=Pre-Chorus, CHR=Chorus, BRG =Bridge, TRANS-Transition, RING=Ring Out SECTION COUNT Wrecking Ball contains 10 primary sections within its framework, which includes the following: 1 intro 2 verses 2 full pre-choruses 1 half pre-chorus 3 / 102 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com 3 choruses 1 bridge Regarding the “TRANS” segments that are detailed in the graph above, note that these are the transitional points between the pre-chorus and chorus sections within the song as well as between the second chorus and the bridge. More on the importance of these transitional points soon… SECTION LENGTH In regard to the length of individual sections within the song, as you’ll see below they range from the very short to quite long. Not surprisingly, excluding the brief transitional segments, the intro clocks as the shortest while the chorus sections, (i.e. “payoffs”), are amongst the longest in addition to the bridge: Very Short (0:05 and Under) All of the transitional segments (ranging from 0:02 to 0:04). Short (0:06 – 0:10) 0:07 Pre-Chorus 3 (half section) 0:08 Intro 0:10 Ring Short/Moderate (0:11 – 0:15) 0:14 Pre-Choruses 1 & 2 Moderate (0:16 – 0:20) 0:16 Verses 1 & 2 0:20 Chorus 1 Moderate/Long (0:21 – 0:25) None Long (0:25+) 0:34 Chorus 2 4 / 102 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com 0:38 Chorus 3 SECTIONAL SEGMENTING Engaging the listener and KEEPING them engaged throughout each section of the song is of paramount importance to its success. If there is any point that causes the listener’s attention to start to wander, it’s all over. There are many elements that act to heighten the engagement value for the listener including an infectious melody and rhythm, strong lyrics, MTI level fluctuations, etc… But one factor that is of utmost importance is to provide them with new elements entering the mix frequently to help keep things fresh and engaging. If the song lingers on for too long within one particular section without providing diversity, the listener will eventually start to lose interest. What follows is a rundown of how certain sections were “segmented” into shorter, more frequent segments: Intro (0:08) Very short on its own. Verse 1 (0:16): Split into 2 stanzas 0:08 First Stanza 0:08 Second Stanza Pre-Chorus 1 (0:14): Split into 2 stanzas 0:07 First Stanza 0:07 Second Stanza Chorus 1 (0:20): Single stanza + repeat 0:16 First Stanza 0:02 “Wreck me” repeat/0:02 trans into verse-2 Verse 2 (0:16): Split into 2 stanzas 0:08 First Stanza 0:08 Second Stanza Pre-Chorus 2 (0:14): Split into 2 stanzas 5 / 102 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com 0:07 First Stanza 0:07 Second Stanza Chorus 2 (0:34): Split into 2 Stanzas + repeat 0:16 First Stanza 0:16 Second Stanza 0:02 “Wreck me” repeat Bridge (0:32): Split into 2 stanzas 0:16 First Stanza 0:16 Second Stanza Chorus 3 (0:38): Split into 2 stanzas + double repeat 0:16 First Stanza 0:16 Second Stanza 0:06 Double “Wreck me” repeat As you can see, when you break each full section down into shorter individual segments (i.e. stanzas), you wind up with a new passage entering the mix quite frequently which along with other factors as you’ll see within the report holds the listener’s attention from start to finish. TOTAL SECTION BREAKDOWN (The total time consumed by each section and its percentage of the total song) 6 / 102 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com As you know, typically in chart-topping Pop songs it’s the chorus (i.e. the “payoff”) that receives the greatest amount of time allocation relative to the other sections, and for good reason. Looking at the graph above, you can easily see that this was the case with Wrecking Ball. 42% of its total composition was allocated to those super-infectious, powerful choruses. Following far behind we have the pre-chorus, verse and bridge sections, all of which were allocated virtually the same amount of total time at 16%, 15% and 15%, respectively. The lesser amount of time allocation to those aforementioned sections doesn’t mean that they were any less infectious, engaging and memorable, however. On the contrary, they’re just as strong and pertinent to the song’s overall effectiveness and success as the chorus. MTI (Momentum/Tension/Intensity) Back to Top (Evaluation of the intensity of each section within the song timeline on a scale of 1 – 10, 10 being the most intense) 7 / 102 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com When we talk about a song’s MTI level, we’re referring to how fluctuations in momentum, tension and intensity levels are utilized within each section of the song. As you can see in the graph above, Wrecking Ball makes very good use of MTI level shifts throughout the song, making for a very engaging listening experience. MTI LEVEL PLAY BY PLAY ***THE BUILD BEGINS*** Wrecking Ball kicks off with a low/mid intensity level via the solo synths that define the intro. Notice that even though the section isn’t intense from a momentum or sonic standpoint (i.e. like the chorus), the synths provide a heightened degree of tension and heaviness via their overall nature and Dm – F – C – Gm progression. The MTI level then further increases during the first verse via the addition of Cyrus’s vocal into the mix, though not by much. This is due to the fact that the nature of the backing music that defined the intro remains pretty much the same in the first verse. Once we enter into the pre-chorus, the overall MTI level increases yet again (albeit slightly) over the preceding verse. This time it’s brought about via the additional synth counter melody that has been added to the mix coupled with the shift in the nature of Cyrus’s vocal melody. All in all, it’s further heightening the tension, suspense & anticipation as the song moves closer to the payoff within the chorus. ***SETTING UP THE BIG CHORUS*** At the tail-end of the pre-chorus, notice that the synth briefly fades from the mix and that we’re left with almost total silence, bringing the MTI level all the way down to near nil. It’s this silence that will provide the powerful chorus that follows within even greater perceived impact when it hits.