Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
Q3 Hit Pop Sub-Genre Influences
Overview
This report spotlights the individual sub-genres that helped shape the 23 top 10 songs that landed on the Billboard Pop Songs chart during Q3-2013. Typically, these sub-genres fall into one of the following categories:
Dance
Hip Hop/Rap
Rock
R&B/Soul
Pop Fusion/Other
“Other” refers to songs that didn’t fall into one of the primary sub-genre categories detailed above (e.g. Folk, Singer/Songwriter, Dubstep, etc…).
In regard to Pop Fusion, this is where more than one primary sub-genre influences a song’s sound. Some recent examples include Country/Folk fusing with EDM (Wake Me Up), Country fusing with Straight-Up Pop and Hip Hop/Rap (Cruise) and Funk, Disco and R&B packaged in a retro manner (Treasure).
Q3-2013 HIGHLIGHTS
Sub Genre Performance
All of the sub-genre categories yielded at least 1 #1 hit except for Dance and Rock.
Songs that feature a fusion of sub-genres that define their sound (i.e. more than one) rebounded after a 2 quarter decline and once again accounted for the vast majority of
1 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
songs.
Hip Hop/Rap was the only category that showed a slight increase in number over the previous quarter in addition to Pop Fusion/Other songs. Dance, Rock and R&B/Soul all declined in number.
There were 14 distinct sub-genres that mixed and matched with one another to help shape the sound of the 13 songs that landed in the Pop Fusion/Other category during Q3-2013. Country and Dance saw the greatest increase over the previous quarter, while Ballads and Straight-Up Pop saw a significant decline.
The vast majority of songs within the Pop Fusion category employed a “fusion blend,” meaning multiple sub-genres were at play at the same time throughout the entire song. Only 3 songs utilized “sectional segmenting.”
Compositional Characteristics
The majority of songs within the Hip Hop/Rap, Rock and Pop Fusion categories featured a combination of primary instrumentation within the mix. It was also the case with Dance songs as well, plus the synth which is no surprise.
All of the songs within the Hip Hop/Rap category featured a combination of electric and acoustic based instrumentation. All of the other categories were primarily electric in nature.
Songs featuring a male lead vocal dominated every category except for Dance, where 75% of songs featured a female lead.
The Hip Hop/Rap category possessed the longest average song length at 5:05. Rock was the shortest at 3:06.
The Hip Hop/Rap category possessed the longest average intro length at 0:31. Dance was the shortest at just 0:07.
The Dance and Pop Fusion categories were the only ones to contain songs that kicked off with the chorus as opposed to the verse.
Sectional Time Allocation
Rock songs on average allocated the most amount of time to the intro while Dance songs allocated the least.
Hip Hop/Rap songs on average allocated the most amount of time to the verse while Dance songs allocated the least.
Pop Fusion songs on average allocated the most amount of time to the pre-chorus
2 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
while Hip Hop/Rap songs allocated the least.
Pop Fusion songs on average allocated the most amount of time to the chorus while Hip Hop/Rap songs allocated the least.
Pop Fusion songs on average allocated the most amount of time to the bridge while R&B/Soul songs allocated the least.
Dance songs on average allocated the most amount of time to the instrumental break while Hip Hop/Rap songs allocated the least.
Hip Hop/Rap allocated the most amount of time to the outro while Dance allocated the least.
The Q3-2013 Primary Sub-Genre Category Breakdown
As you can see in the graph above, the vast majority of songs possessed either a Fusion of influences or were different in nature than the other primary sub-genre categories (i.e. they weren’t primarily Rock, R&B, Hip Hop/Rap or Dance). Note that this category has been in decline over the past couple of quarters but finally saw a moderate rebound in Q3, increasing from 48% to 56% of songs.
As for the other primary categories, notice that aside from Hip Hop/Rap that they all declined
3 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com in number from Q2 to Q3 and trailed WAY far behind the Pop Fusion/Other category.
The 23 top 10 Pop hits of Q3-2013:
Dance (4 Songs)
*Clarity
*I Need Your Love
*Summertime Sadness
The Other Side
Hip Hop/Rap (3 Songs)
Can’t Hold Us
Holy Grail
Same Love
R&B/Soul (1 Song)
Blurred Lines
Suit & Tie
Rock (2 Songs)
My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark
Radioactive
Fusion & Other (13 Songs)
Come & Get It: Electropop, World (Indian)
Cruise: Country, Straight-Up Pop, Hip Hop/Rap
*Cups: Country/Folk
Get Lucky: Retro Funk, Dance (Disco), R&B/Soul
I Love It: Synth Pop, Punk
4 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
Just Give Me A Reason: Straight Up Pop, Ballad
*Love Somebody: Straight-Up Pop, Dance
Mirrors: Straight-Up Pop, R&B, Ballad
*Roar: Straight-Up Pop, Pop/Rock, Power Pop
*Safe & Sound: Electro Alt Pop, Dance, Retro 80?s New Wave
*Treasure: Retro Funk, Disco, R&B
*Wake Me Up: Country/Folk, EDM
*We Can’t Stop: Straight-Up Pop, R&B, Dance
*Denotes a “new arrival” to the Pop songs top 10 during Q3-2013. The other songs were top 10 carryovers from Q2.
POP FUSION CATEGORY BREAKDOWN
5 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
6 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
There were 14 distinct sub-genres that mixed and matched with one another to help shape the sound of the 13 songs that landed in the Pop Fusion/Other category during Q3-2013.
The 3 most popular elements were Straight-Up Pop/Electro Pop (showing up in 69% of songs), Dance (46% of songs) and R&B/Soul (31% of songs).
The big winners of the quarter (i.e. those that showed the greatest increase in influence over the previous quarter) were Country and Dance, while Ballads and Straight-Up Pop both saw a significant decline.
Sub-Genres on the Rise (these sub-genres increased in number from Q2 to Q3)
Country (Increased from 8% to 23% of songs)
Dance (Increased from 33% to 46% of songs)
Folk (Increased from 0% to 15% of songs)
New Wave (Increased from 0% to 8% of songs)
Power Pop (Increased from 0% to 8% of songs)
Sub-Genres in Decline (these sub-genres decreased in number from Q2 to Q3)
Ballads (Decreased from 42% to 15% of songs)
Dubstep (Decreased from 8% of songs to 0% of songs)
Funk (Decreased from 17% to 8% of songs)
Hip Hop/Rap (Decreased from 7% to 0% of songs)
Straight Up Pop/Electro Pop (Decreased from 100% to 69% of songs)
Sub-Genres that Remained Constant (+/- 5%)
Funk
Pop/Rock
Punk
Reggae
7 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
Singer/Songwriter
World
POP FUSION SUB-GENRE PLACEMENT The chart below shows where each sub-genre influence appears within songs that possess 2 or more sub-genres within the mix.
8 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
9 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
Note that there were 2 primary methods utilized to fuse multiple sub-genres together within a single song – the full song blend and sectional segmenting:
The Blend (multiple sub-genres are fused together in varying degrees of prominence at the same time throughout the song)
Come & Get It
Cups
Get Lucky
I Love It
Just Give Me A Reason
Love Somebody
Mirrors
Safe & Sound
Treasure
We Can’t Stop
Sectional Segmenting (one specific sub-genre defines a specific section of the song)
*Cruise
Roar
Wake Me Up
*Cruise: Aside from the Hip Hop/Rap bridge, the other sections of the song are a blended fusion of Country and Straight-Up Pop.
Back to Top
SUB-GENRE CHART PERFORMANCE (Peak Placement on the Billboard Pop Songs Chart as of Q3-2013)
10 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
Dance Songs (4)
None of the Dance songs peaked at #1 during Q3, though the majority did place in the top 5. The one exception was I Need Your Love, which peaked at #6.
Clarity (#2)
I Need Your Love (#6)
Summertime Sadness – Cedric Gervais Remix (#5)
The Other Side (#5)
Hip Hop/Rap Songs (3)
It was an equal split when it came to the chart performance of Hip Hop/Rap songs. Can’t Hold Us charted at #1, Same Love at #5, and Holy Grail at #10.
R&B/Soul Songs (1)
11 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
The sole R&B song, Blurred Lines, peaked at #1.
Rock Songs (2)
Neither of the Rock songs peaked at #1 during the quarter, though Radioactive came close at #2. My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark followed at #7.
Fusion & Other Influenced Songs (13)
12 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
The Pop Fusion/Other category yielded 3 #1 hits during the third quarter of the year, which included Just Give Me A Reason, Mirrors and Roar. Note that Roar was the only new addition to the top 10 during Q3, while the others were Q2 carryovers.
Additionally, a small majority of songs landed in the top 5, and 4 charted between #6 and #10.
Come & Get It (#3)
Cruise (#7)
Cups (#8)
Get Lucky (#2)
I Love It (#3)
Just Give Me A Reason (#1)
Love Somebody (#2)
Mirrors (#1)
Roar (#1)
Safe & Sound (#2)
Treasure (#5)
Wake Me Up (#8)
We Can’t Stop (#9)
Back to Top
13 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
SUB-GENRE COMPOSITIONAL BREAKDOWN & COMPARISON
14 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
15 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
SUB-GENRE COMPARISON
Song Structure (Form)
As was the case last quarter, the straight-up A-B-A-B-C-B form was the most popular song structure utilized within the Rock and Pop Fusion/Other categories. Note that there wasn’t one particular form that defined the majority of songs within the Dance and Hip Hop/Rap categories, and the one R&B/Soul song (Blurred Lines), possesses an A-B-A-B-A-B-C-A-B form.
Song Length
The Hip Hop/Rap category possessed the longest average song length at 5:05, while Pop Fusion and Rock were the shortest, landing at 3:33 and 3:06 respectively. Dance and R&B/Soul landed right in the middle.
Intro Length
The Dance category possessed the shortest average intro length by far, clocking in at just 0:07. Hip Hop/Rap was the longest at 0:31.
Songs That Contain An Intro
All of the songs within the R&B/Soul, Dance and Rock categories utilized an intro within their framework. It was also the case with the majority of songs within the Pop/Fusion and Hip Hop/Rap categories as well.
Average Outro Length
Both the Hip Hop/Rap and R&B/Soul categories possessed moderate average outro lengths (0:29 and 0:21, respectively), while Dance and Pop/Fusion leaned more toward the shorter end of the spectrum at 0:13 and 0:15, respectively.
Songs That Contain An Outro
All of the songs within the Hip Hop/Rap and R&B/Soul categories utilized an outro within their framework. Additionally, it was the case with the majority of Dance songs, about half of Pop/Fusion, and none of the Rock songs.
Average First Chorus Occurrence: Time
On average, it took the longest amount of time for the first chorus to hit within the Hip Hop/Rap category and the shortest within the Dance and Pop Fusion categories. R&B/Soul and Rock fell right in the middle, averaging in the low 0:50 range.
16 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
Average First Chorus Occurrence: Percent Into Song
On average, first choruses within the Rock category hit the farthest into the song at 29% of the way in. The Hip Hop/Rap category wasn’t far behind at 25%. Dance and Pop Fusion averaged the earliest at 14% and 15%, respectively, while R&B/Soul fell right in the middle at 19%.
Songs That Kick Off With The Chorus
None of the songs within the Hip Hop/Rap, R&B/Soul or Rock categories kicked off with the chorus as opposed to the verse, while it was the case with around one-quarter of Dance and Pop Fusion songs.
Primary Instrumentation
The vast majority of songs within the Hip Hop/Rap, Rock and Fusion categories feature a combination of primary instrumentation within the mix. Dance was split between songs that primarily feature a synth (no surprise there) and songs that feature a combination of primary instrumentation as well. The 1 R&B/Soul song, Blurred Lines, primarily features synth bass within the mix.
Electric Vs. Acoustic Based Instrumentation
All of the songs within the Dance, R&B/Soul and Rock categories feature primarily electric based instrumentation, and it was the case with the majority of songs within the Pop Fusion category as well. As for songs within the Hip Hop/Rap category, they all featured a combination of electric and acoustic based instrumentation.
Lead Vocal Gender
Songs featuring a male lead vocal were in the majority within all of the categories except for Dance, where songs featuring a female lead accounted for 75% of all songs.
Songs That Contain Pre-Chorus
The majority of songs within the Dance, Rock and Pop Fusion categories utilized a pre-chorus within their framework. It was only the case with one-third of Hip Hop/Rap songs, and the 1 R&B/Soul song did not contain a pre-chorus within its framework.
Songs That Contain A Solo
None of the categories contain songs that feature a “proper” solo within the mix (i.e. guitar or synth).
Songs That Contain A Vocal Or Instrumental Break
17 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
The majority of songs within the Dance and Hip Hop/Rap categories utilized a prominent instrumental break within their framework. It was the case with only around one-third of Pop Fusion songs, and wasn’t the case with any of the songs within the Rock or R&B/Soul categories.
Songs That Contain A Bridge
All of the songs within R&B/Soul and Rock categories utilized a bridge within their framework and was the case with the vast majority of Dance and Pop/Fusion songs as well. None of the songs within the Hip Hop/Rap category, however, featured one.
Primary Lyrical Theme
Love/Relationships was the most popular theme within the Dance and Pop/Fusion categories, while Hip Hop/Rap was high on inspiration. Rock was split between the 2 aforementioned categories, and the 1 R&B/Soul song featured a “fusion” of themes (Love/Relationships and Hooking Up). Notice that lyrical fusion was also dominant within the Pop/Fusion category as well.
Average Tempo
The Rock category featured the highest average tempo at 144 BPM, and was followed by Dance and R&B/Soul at 127 and 120 BPM, respectively. Hip Hop/Rap and Pop/Fusion averaged the slowest at 101 and 104 BPM, respectively.
TOTAL SECTION BREAKDOWN Shows the average percentage of time allocated to each section within a song (i.e. all verses, all choruses, etc…)
18 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
*Indicates that only 1 song in the category possessed the section.
This section compares the total amount of time allocated to individual song sections within each sub-genre category to the overall Pop songs average during the quarter (i.e. all 23 songs).
Key: (*) Indicates the greatest amount of time allocation relative to all others. (**) Indicates the least amount of time allocation relative to all others.
Intro (Pop song average: Comprises 6% of a songs total composition)
**Dance: -3%
Hip Hop/Rap: +8%
R&B/Soul: +1%
*Rock: +7%
Pop Fusion/Other: Equal
Both the Pop Fusion and R&B/Soul categories were pretty much directly in-line with the top 10 average, while the Dance category wasn’t that far behind at 3% under. The Hip Hop/Rap and Rock categories, however, allocated significantly more time to the intro at 8% and 7% over,
19 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com respectively.
Verse (Pop song average: Comprises 24% of a songs total composition)
**Dance: -7%
*Hip Hop/Rap: +22%
R&B/Soul: +19%
Rock: -3%
Pop Fusion/Other: -3%
As you can see, both the Rock and Pop Fusion categories weren’t that far off from the average, while Dance songs on average allocated 7% less time to the verse sections compared to the average (you know where it went – to instrumental breaks!)
As for R&B/Soul and Hip Hop/Rap, they allocated significantly more time to the verse than the Pop songs average. Hip Hop/Rap was 22% over, while Blurred Lines (the one R&B song), was 19% over. As you know, historically Hip Hop/Rap songs are the most verse heavy out of all the genres.
Pre-Chorus (Pop song average: Comprises 15% of a songs total composition)
Dance: +1%
**Hip Hop/Rap: -7%
R&B/Soul: n/a
Rock: -4%
*Pop Fusion/Other: +5%
Dance was the only category that was basically right on par with the Pop songs average at just 1% over. Rock songs allocated 4% less time, and the 1 Hip Hop/Rap song to contain a pre- chorus, (Holy Grail), allocated 7% less time. The only category to allocate more time to the pre- chorus than the average was Pop Fusion, at 5% over.
Additionally, note that the 1 R&B song, Blurred Lines, does not contain a pre-chorus within its framework.
Chorus (Pop song average: Comprises 44% of a songs total composition)
Dance: -7%
20 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
**Hip Hop/Rap: -24%
R&B/Soul: -7%
Rock: Equal
*Pop Fusion/Other: +4%
Rock is the only category that was directly in-line with the Pop songs average. Both R&B/Soul and Dance allocated 7% less time to the chorus, while Pop Fusion allocated 7% more.
Remember – Dance songs put increased time/emphasis on the instrumental breaks which detract from the amount of time that can be allocated to the chorus. Additionally, the R&B song Blurred Lines is quite verse heavy which detracted from the overall weight of the chorus as well.
Not surprisingly, Hip Hop/Rap songs allocated the least amount of time to the chorus compared to the Pop songs average at 24% under.
Bridge (Pop song average: Comprises 9% of a songs total composition)
Dance: -1%
Hip Hop/Rap: n/a
**R&B/Soul: -3%
Rock: Equal
*Pop Fusion/Other: +1%
All of the categories were either in-line or close to in-line with the Pop songs average when it came to the total amount of time allocated to the bridge. Note that none of the Hip Hop/Rap songs utilized a bridge within their framework.
Break (Pop song average: Comprises 16% of a songs total composition)
*Dance: +6%
**Hip Hop/Rap: -13%
R&B/Soul: n/a
Rock: n/a
Fusion/Other: -3%
21 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
Once again, Dance was the only category to allocate more time to the instrumental and/or vocal break sections than the Pop songs average, which should come as no surprise. Pop Fusion songs allocated slightly less time, while Hip Hop/Rap songs allocated significantly less time at 13% under.
Note that none of the songs within the R&B/Soul and Rock categories utilized a break within their framework.
Outro (Pop song average: Comprises 7% of a songs total composition).
**Dance: -1%
*Hip Hop/Rap: +2%
R&B/Soul: +1%
Rock: n/a
Fusion/Other: +1%
All of the categories were close to being in-line with the average except for Rock due to the fact that none of the songs featured an outro within their framework.
Back to Top
SUB-GENRE FACTS & STATS
DANCE: (4 Songs)
# Of Songs
There were 4 primarily Dance natured songs that landed in the Pop songs top 10 during Q3, down from 6 during the preceding quarter. 1 was a carryover from Q2 (The Other Side), while the rest were new to the top 10.
Form
Only 1 song, Jason Derulo’s The Other Side, utilized the historically most popular structure in Pop music – the straight-up A-B-A-B-C-B form (verse – chorus – verse – chorus – bridge – chorus). The rest varied, with examples as follows:
Clarity (A-B-IB-B-A-B-C-IB/B-B): A few key things to note include the fact that the first instrumental break is sandwiched between 2 choruses, the second chorus is followed by
22 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
a bridge, NOT an instrumental break, and that an instrumental break/chorus hybrid leads into a final chorus to conclude the song.
I Need Your Love (B-IB-A-B-IB-A-B-IB-C-B-IB): Notice that aside from starting off with the chorus as opposed to the verse that this song technically follows an A-B-A-B-C-B form with interspersed instrumental breaks that follow each chorus occurrence.
Summertime Sadness (A-B-IB-B-A-B-IB-B): 2 key things to note are that each instrumental break is “sandwiched” between a chorus and that the song DOES NOT contain a bridge within its framework.
Song Length
The average length of a Dance influenced Pop song was 3:56, 0:07 longer than the Pop songs average. Clarity was by far the longest of the bunch, clocking in at 4:31, while the Summertime Sadness Cedric Gervais remix was the shortest, landing at 3:33. The Other Side and I Need Your Love fell in between at 3:47 and 3:53, respectively.
Intros
All of the songs within the Dance category contain an intro within their framework and average 0:07 in length, which is 0:06 shorter than the Pop songs average. Note that this is basically half of what it was during Q2, but the same as Q1.
The longest intro can be found within Clarity, clocking in at a still very short 0:09, while the shortest of the bunch was The Other Side, landing at just 0:04. Both I Need Your Love and Summertime Sadness landed at 0:08 each.
Summertime Sadness allocated the most amount of time to the intro at 4%, while The Other Side allocated the least at just 2%.
Verses
All of the songs within the category contain 2 verse sections within their framework.
3 of the 4 songs contain verses of equal length, while 1 (The Other Side) features a full verse followed by a half.
Clarity is the only song that features 2 0:30 verse sections. Both I Need Your Love and Summertime Sadness clock in at 0:15, while The Other Side is split 0:30/0:15 between both occurrences.
Clarity and The Other Side allocated the most amount of time to the verse (22% and 20%, respectively), while Summertime Sadness and I Need Your Love allocated the least at 14% and 13%, respectively.
23 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
Pre-Choruses
3 out of the 4 Dance songs contain a pre-chorus within their framework, with the sole exception being Clarity. Note that all possess pre-choruses of equal length, with each landing at 0:15.
Choruses
All of the songs within the Dance category except for 1 contain 4 chorus occurrences within their framework. The one exception, The Other Side, contains 3.
Only 1 song, I Need Your Love, kicks off with the chorus as opposed to the verse.
I Need Your Love and The Other Side were the only songs to contain choruses of equal length throughout the song. Clarity is full/half/full/half, while Summertime Sadness is full/full/full/double.
The length of each chorus occurrence landed either at 0:15 or 0:30 within all songs.
The average amount of time that it took for the first chorus to hit in Dance natured Pop songs was 0:33 / 14% of the way into the song, which is 0:07/4% earlier than the Pop songs average.
The longest amount of time that it took for the first chorus to hit occurred in The Other Side at 0:49 / 22% of the way in, while the shortest was I Need Your Love at 0:08 / 3% of the way in.
Summertime Sadness allocated the most amount of time to the chorus at 49%, while I Need Your Love allocated the least at 26%.
Bridges
All of the Dance songs utilized a bridge within their framework except for the Dance remix of Summertime Sadness.
Clarity allocated the most amount of time to the bridge at 11%, while I Need Your Love and The Other Side allocated the least at 6% and 7%, respectively.
Outros
All of the songs except for Summertime Sadness feature an outro within their framework, with Summertime being the only one to conclude on the chorus.
I Need Your Love features the shortest outro length at just 0:03, and was followed by Clarity at 0:14. The Other Side features the longest outro length of the bunch, clocking in at 0:23.
The Other Side allocated the most amount of time to the outro at 10%, while I Need Your Love allocated the least at just 1%.
24 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
Solos & Instrumental/Vocal Breaks
Not surprisingly, none of the Dance natured Pop songs contain a solo within their framework (i.e. a “proper” guitar solo, keyboard solo, etc…). All except for 1, however, do contain prominent instrumental and or vocal breaks within the mix, with the 1 exception once again being The Other Side.
Both Clarity and Summertime Sadness contain 2 prominent breaks within their framework, while I Need Your Love contains 4.
Note that all IB/VB’s directly followed a chorus except for Clarity, which has one following the bridge as well.
I Need Your Love and Clarity allocated the most amount of time to the break sections at 27% and 25%, respectively, while Summertime Sadness allocated the least at 14%.
Tempo
The average tempo of a Dance song was 127 bpm, just 1 bpm short of the 128 Dance norm. Clarity & The Other Side were the fastest at 128 bpm, while Summertime Sadness and I Need Your Love were the slowest at 126 bpm and 125 bpm, respectively.
Primary Instrumentation
Not surprisingly, all of the songs feature a synth to some degree within the mix. It was featured most prominently within Clarity and I Need Your Love, and featured alongside other instrumentation within Summertime Sadness (Piano) and The Other Side (Electric Guitar).
Lead Vocal Gender
All of the songs except for 1, The Other Side, feature a female lead vocal.
Lyrical Themes
All of the songs feature a love/relationship lyrical theme. Note however that The Other Side features it in conjunction with a Hooking Up theme as well.
HIP HOP/RAP: (3 Songs)
# Of Songs
There were 3 Hip Hop/Rap songs that landed in the Pop songs top 10 during Q3: Macklemore’s Can’t Hold Us and Same Love, as well as Jay Z’s Holy Grail.
Note that the preceding quarter belonged to Macklemore as well with Can’t Hold Us and Thrift Shop.
25 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
Form
All of the songs within the category utilized a different form from one another. The one commonality that they all share, however, is that none contain a bridge.
Can’t Hold Us: A-B-A-B-IB-VB-B (Verse – Chorus – Verse – Chorus – Inst. Break – Vocal Break – Chorus). Notice that this is very close to a “typical” A-B-A-B-C-B Pop form except for the fact that the IB and VB sections provide diversity following the second chorus before ending on the third and final chorus.
Holy Grail: A-B-A-B-A-B-A-B (Verse – Chorus – Verse – Chorus – Verse – Chorus – Verse – Chorus). It doesn’t get much more straight forward than this. The entire song is an alternation of verse (Jay Z) and chorus (Justin Timberlake).
Same Love: A-B-A-B-A-B (Verse – Chorus – Verse – Chorus – Verse -). Notice that this song possesses the same form as Holy Grail except for the fact that it contains 1 less verse and chorus occurrence.
Song Length
The average length of a Hip Hop/Rap song during Q3 was 5:05, about 1 minute longer than the previous quarter and 1:16 longer than the Pop songs average. Holy Grail clocked in as the longest at 5:39, followed by Same Love at 5:19. Can’t Hold Us trailed at 4:19.
Intros
The only song within the category NOT to contain an intro within its framework was Holy Grail, which immediately kicks off with the verse.
Can’t Hold Us possesses the second longest intro at 0:20 (0:07 longer than the Pop songs average), while Same Love clocks in at an exceptionally long 0:42.
Same Love allocated the most amount of time to the intro at 13%, while Can’t Hold Us allocated the least at 8%.
Verses
It was a mixed bag when it came to the number of verse sections within Hip Hop/Rap songs. Can’t Hold Us contains 2, Same Love contains 3, and Holy Grail contains 4. Note that all of the songs contain verse sections of varying length, except for verses 2 and 3 within Holy Grail, each of which lands at 0:40.
Holy Grail allocated the most amount of time to the verse sections at 55%, while Can’t Hold Us allocated the least at 40%.
Pre-Choruses
26 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
Only 1 song, Holy Grail, utilizes a pre-chorus within its framework, accounting for 8% of its total composition.
Choruses
All of the songs within the Hip Hop/Rap category contain 3 chorus occurrences within their framework except for Holy Grail, which contains 4.
Interestingly, none of the Hip Hop/Rap songs kicked off with the chorus as opposed to the verse. Historically, this is the one genre where you’ll usually find it happening more than the others.
Both Can’t Hold Us and Holy Grail feature choruses of equal length throughout the song, landing at 0:27 and 0:26, respectively. Same Love on the other hand has each chorus possessing a different length throughout.
The average amount of time that it took for the first chorus to hit in Hip Hop/Rap songs was 1:15 / 25% of the way in, which is 0:35 / 7% longer than the Pop songs average.
Time wise, it took the longest for the first chorus to hit within Same Love, occurring at 1:28 / 28% of the way in. It was followed by Can’t Hold Us, which has its first chorus hitting 1:25 of the way in. Note however that from a percentage standpoint it hit much farther into the song at 33% compared to Same Love. In contrast, Holy Grail’s first chorus hit much earlier, at 0:53 /16% of the way into the song.
Can’t Hold Us and Holy Grail allocated the most amount of time to the chorus at 31%, while Same Love wasn’t far behind at 29%.
Bridges
As previously mentioned, none of the Hip Hop/Rap songs contain a bridge within their framework.
Outros
Both Holy Grail and Same Love contain an outro within their framework, landing at 0:20 and 0:37 and encompassing 6% and 12% of the song’s total composition, respectively.
Can’t Hold Us, on the other hand, ends directly on the chorus.
Solos & Instrumental/Vocal Breaks
Both Can’t Hold Us and Same Love contain instrumental and or vocal breaks within their framework, accounting for 20% and 3% of the song, respectively.
Can’t Hold Us features a back to back instrumental/vocal break, while Same Love features a
27 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com brief 0:11 brass break.
Tempo
It was a mixed bag in regard to Hip Hop/Rap song tempos. Can’t Hold Us was by far the fastest at 146 bpm, followed by Same Love at 85 bpm and Holy Grail at 73 bpm.
Instrumentation
All of the songs within the category feature a combination of primary instrumentation and utilize both electric and acoustic elements within the mix. The commonalities between the 3 were piano and synth, while both of Macklemore’s songs featured brass as well.
Lead Vocal Gender
Can’t Hold Us and Holy Grail feature a male lead vocal, while Same Love was the sole duet.
Lyrical Themes
Both of Macklemore’s songs possess an inspirational theme, while Holy Grail is primarily Love/Relationships in nature.
R&B/SOUL: (1 Song)
Reference the compositional breakdown chart section of the report for specifics on the sole R&B/Soul song, Blurred Lines.
ROCK: (2 Songs)
# Of Songs
There were 2 Rock songs that landed in the Pop songs top 10 during Q3-2013, down 1 from the preceding quarter. They include the mega-successful Radioactive as well as Fall Out Boy’s My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark.
Form
Both songs feature a straight-up A-B-A-B-C-B form.
Song Length
Both songs are almost identical in length, with My Songs clocking in at 3:07 and Radioactive landing at 3:06. Note that the Rock category possesses the shortest average song length out of all the sub-genre categories.
Intros
28 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
Both songs within the category contain an intro within their framework and are longer than the Pop songs average of 0:13. My songs clocked in at 0:19 while Radioactive landed at a very lengthy 0:28.
Radioactive allocated the most amount of time to the intro at 15%, while My Songs allocated the least at 10%.
Verses
Both songs contain 2 verse sections within their framework and possess a uniform length throughout. My Song’s verses land at 0:25, while Radioactive’s are significantly shorter at 0:14.
My Songs allocated the most amount of time to the verse sections at 27%, while Radioactive allocated the least at 15%.
Pre-Choruses
Both songs utilize a pre-chorus within their framework, with Radioactive allocating the most amount of time to the section at 15%, and My Songs allocating the least at 7%.
Choruses
Both songs contain 3 chorus occurrences within their framework.
Radioactive’s choruses all land at 0:28, while My Song’s first 2 land at 0:25 with the last one being slightly extended by 0:05 to land at 0:30.
The average amount of time that it took for the first chorus to hit within the Rock category was 0:53 / 29% of the way in, which is 0:13 / 11% longer than the Pop songs average.
Radioactive allocated the most amount of time to the chorus at 45%, while My Songs allocated a slightly less 43%.
Bridges
Both songs utilize a bridge within their framework, with My Songs allocating 11% of its total composition to the section and Radioactive allocating 8%.
Outros
Nether song utilized an outro in their framework, instead opting to end on the chorus.
Solos & Instrumental/Vocal Breaks
Neither song contains a solo or instrumental break within their framework.
29 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
Tempo
The average tempo of a Rock song in Q3 was 144 bpm, which was the fastest tempo of all the categories. My Songs possesses the fastest tempo of the quarter at 152 bpm, while Radioactive followed not that far behind at 136 bpm.
Instrumentation
Aside from the acoustic guitar that’s utilized within Radioactive’s intro, both songs feature primarily electric based instrumentation and prominently feature electric guitar and synth within the mix.
Lead Vocal Gender
Both feature a male lead vocal.
Lyrical Themes
Radioactive possesses an inspirational lyrical theme, though it’s certainly subject to interpretation by the listener. Overcoming addition/depression is just one of the many interpretations that you can derive from the lyrics. My Songs, on the other hand, possesses a more straight-forward love/relationship theme.
POP FUSION/OTHER: (13 Songs)
# Of Songs
There were 13 songs that landed in the Pop Fusion/Other category during Q3, up 1 from the preceding quarter. 7 of them were new to the top 10, while 6 were carryovers from Q2.
Form
The majority of songs (46%) feature a straight-up A-B-A-B-C-B form, which was down from 67% during the preceding quarter. These songs include:
Get Lucky
Just Give Me A Reason
Love Somebody
Mirrors
Roar
Treasure
30 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
Notice that 3 additional songs also possess the form except for the fact that they first kick off with the chorus as opposed to the verse (B-A-B-A-B-C-B):
Come And Get It
Cruise
We Can’t Stop
As for the songs that don’t possess an (B)-A-B-A-B-C-B form, they include:
Cups (A-B-A-B-B): Notice that this song doesn’t contain a bridge.
I Love It (A-B-A-B-C-B-A-B-C-B): Notice that the first half of the song follows an A-B- A-B-C-B form, but then adds an additional verse – chorus – bridge – chorus during the second half.
Safe & Sound (A-B-A-B-A-BRK-B-A-A-B): This song contains the most “unusual” structure out of all the Pop Fusion/Other songs.
Wake Me Up (A-B-IB-A-B-C-IB): This global blockbuster contains an EDM natured instrumental break after the first chorus and features it as the last section of the song following the bridge as well.
Song Length
The average length of songs within the Pop Fusion/Other category was 3:33, 0:16 less than the Pop songs average. Cups was by far the shortest at just 2:07, while Mirrors was the longest at 4:37, which by the way is its radio edit (the full version clocks in at an exceptionally long 8:06!)
Intros
All of the songs except for 2 contain an intro within their framework. The exceptions were Cruise & We Can’t Stop, both of which immediately kick off with the chorus.
The average length of an intro was 0:13, which is exactly the same as the Pop songs average. Safe & Sound possesses the longest intro of the bunch at 0:17 while Roar is the shortest, clocking in at just 0:05.
Cups allocated the most amount of time to the intro relative to the song’s total length at 12%, while Roar allocated the least at just 2%.
Verses
All of the songs in the category contain 2 verse sections within their framework except for I
31 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
Love It and Safe & Sound, both of which contain 3 and 5, respectively.
All of the songs possess uniform (or close to uniform) verse lengths throughout the song, except for Roar which has its second verse clocking in at half the length of the first.
Safe & Sound allocated by far the most amount of time to the verse at 44% (due specifically to the fact that it contains 5 verse sections), while Cruise allocated the least at just 12%. Note that both of Cruise’s verses are quite short in nature, both landing at just 0:13 (the song obviously revolves around the chorus).
Pre-Choruses
69% of all songs utilized a pre-chorus within their framework, down from 75% during the preceding quarter. Those that didn’t transitioned directly from the verse into the chorus.
Get Lucky and Roar allocated the most amount of time to the pre-chorus at 20%, while Mirrors allocated the least at 9%.
Choruses
Chorus Occurrences:
All of the songs contain at least 3 chorus sections within their framework EXCEPT for Wake Me Up, which only contains 2 (remember, the IB’s share center stage within this song).
4 Chorus Sections:
Come & Get It: Contains an additional chorus at the beginning of the song prior to the first verse.
Cruise: Contains an additional chorus at the beginning of the song prior to the first verse.
Safe & Sound: The first 2 choruses follow the first 2 verse sections, the third follows the break and the last concludes the song following a verse.
We Can’t Stop: Contains an additional chorus at the beginning of the song prior to the first verse.
5 Chorus Sections:
Get Lucky: Contains 3 choruses that occur back to back (choruses 2, 3 and 4), all of which differ in nature from one another from a backing music standpoint, specifically due to the use of the breakdown.
I Love It: Contains 5 short choruses within its framework, 3 of which follow a verse and
32 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
2 that follow a bridge.
In regard to the songs that kick off with the chorus as opposed to the verse, note that there were 3 in Q3, which was the same amount as during the preceding quarter. This includes both Come & Get It and Cruise (both of which charted in the top 10 during Q2), as well as Q3?s new arrival, We Can’t Stop.
The average amount of time that it took for the first chorus to hit in the Pop Fusion/Other category was 0:32/15% of the way in, which was is 0:08/3% earlier than the Pop songs average.
The longest amount of time that it took for the first chorus to hit occurred within Just Give Me A Reason at 0:51 / 21% of the way into the song, while the shortest (besides the songs that immediately kick off with the chorus) occurred in Come & Get It at 0:15/6% of the way in.
Cruise allocated by far the most amount of time (a whopping 74%) to the chorus, while Wake Me Up allocated the least at just 25%.
Bridges
All of the songs in the Pop Fusion/Other category except for 2 contain a bridge within their framework. The exceptions were Cups and Safe & Sound.
All were preceded and followed by a chorus except for Wake Me Up, which has its bridge followed by an instrumental break. Additionally, note that Cups was the only song to feature 2 bridges within its framework.
Cruise & Get Lucky allocated the most amount of time to the bridge at 14% of the total song, while Wake Me Up allocated the least at just 6%.
Outros
46% of all Pop Fusion/Other songs contain an outro within their framework, up from 33% during the preceding quarter.
Just Give Me A Reason allocated the most amount of time to the outro at 16% of the total song, while Love Somebody allocated the least at just 2%.
Tempo
Tempos within the Fusion/Other category ranged from the slower end of the spectrum (Cruise & Mirrors which landed at 75 bpm and 77 bpm, respectively), to the relatively fast (Cups, I Love It and Wake Me Up which landed at 130 bpm, 126 bpm and 124 bpm, respectively). The balance fell in between these 2 groupings.
The average for the category was 104 bpm, 8 bpm slower than the Pop songs average.
33 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
Solos & Instrumental/Vocal Breaks
None of the songs featured a “proper” solo, while only 4 out of 13 featured a prominent break within the mix. They include Get Lucky, I Love It, Safe & Sound, and of course the EDM influenced Wake Me Up.
Wake Me Up allocated by far the most amount of time to its instrumental breaks at 37%, while Get Lucky allocated the least at just 3% (it’s more of a brief instrumental interlude).
Instrumentation
The majority of songs (54%) feature primarily electric based instrumentation within the mix, followed by songs that feature a combination of acoustic and electric instrumentation at 38%. Cups is the only song that is primarily acoustic in nature.
Instrumentation breakdown
Of the 13 songs in the category, the vast majority (85%) feature a synth to some degree within the mix. This was followed by the electric guitar, which helped to shape the sound of 54% of all songs. Note that both of these categories were pretty much right on par with last quarter’s results.
The piano followed at 38%, showing up in songs including Get Lucky, Just Give Me A Reason, Love Somebody, Roar and We Can’t Stop.
As for the “other” category, this includes banjo (Cups), tabla (Come & Get It), strings (Mirrors), prominent bass (Treasure), and brass (Safe & Sound).
34 / 35 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com
Additionally, note that there were 2 songs (Come & Get It and I Love It) that are primarily dominated by the synth, while the rest feature a combination of primary instrumentation within the mix. Examples include:
Cruise: Acoustic guitar + electric guitar + synth.
Mirrors: Synth + electric guitar + strings.
Safe & Sound: Brass + synth + electric guitar.
We Can’t Stop: Piano + synth.
Lead Vocal Gender
As was the case in Q2, the majority of songs in Q3 (50%) featured a male lead vocalist. Songs featuring a female lead followed at 38% (down from 33% during the preceding quarter), and only 1 song was a duet (Just Give Me A Reason).
Lyrical Themes
There were 2 primary categories that defined the lyrical themes of Q3 – straight-up love/relationships and “lyrical fusion,” meaning those that possess more than 1 primary lyrical theme within the mix.
Straight-up love/relationships accounted for a slight majority 54% of songs, followed by lyrical fusion at 46%. When you take into account the lyrical fusion songs that feature love/relationships as a component, however, the number skyrockets to 92% of songs.
Examples of “lyrical fusion” songs include:
Get Lucky: Hooking Up, Love/Relationships, Inspirational
Roar: Love/Relationships/Empowerment
Wake Me Up: Inspirational, Love/Relationships, Introspection
We Can’t Stop: Partying/Clubbing, Inspirational
35 / 35
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)