Hit Songwriting Trends in Pop

Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com

Hit Songwriting Trends In Pop

This report provides you with a detailed look at the key hit songwriting trends that have been shaping all of the current top 10 Hit Pop songs from January, 2010 through June, 2011.

Average Song Length Song Length Range Average Intro Length Intro Length Range Songs That Contain “Proper” Intro’s Songs That Begin With The Chorus Average Outro Length Outro Length Range Songs That Contain “Proper” Outro’s 1st Chorus Occurrence: Average Time 1st Chorus Occurrence: Time Range 1st Chorus Occurrence: Percent Into Song 1st Chorus Occurrence: Percent Into Song Range Songs With A Pre-Chorus Songs With A Bridge Songs With A Solo Songs With An A-B-A-B-C-B Form Primary Instrumentation Primary Lead Vocal Gender Electric Vs. Acoustic Primary Sub-Genre Influence Lyrical Theme Summary

Average Song Length Shows how average song length has trended from January, 2010 through June, 2011

1 / 24 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com

From Q1-2010 to Q1-2011, average song length fluctuated by only 0:08 (landing between 3:43 and 3:51). From Q3-2010 to Q2-2011, it’s trended slightly upward, increasing by a total of 0:08.

Song Length Range Shows the percentage of total songs that had song lengths land in a particular time range

In Q1-2010, we saw a tight clustering of songs landing in the three primary length ranges (except for under 3:00, which has always been constant at 0%). A slight edge went to songs landing in the 4:00+ range by the end of Q2-2010.

2 / 24 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com

From Q1-2010 to Q2-2010, we saw a slight decrease in both of the longer song length ranges, while songs in the 3:00-3:29 range increased from 27% to 33% of all songs. Songs landing under 3:00 remained constant at 0% (and continued through Q2-2011).

From Q2-2010 to Q3-2010, we saw the gap widen, with songs landing in the 3:30-3:59 range drastically increasing from 29% in Q2 to 52% in Q3. Songs in the 4:00+ range dropped off significantly, dipping from 39% in Q2 to just 19% in Q3. Songs in the 3:00-3:29 range decreased slightly, dropping from 33% to 29%.

From Q3-2010 to Q4-2010, songs landing in the 3:30-3:59 range increased from 52% to 62%, while songs in the 3:00-3:29 range saw a moderate drop from 29% to 19%. Songs landing +4:00 remained constant at 19%.

From Q4-2010 to Q1-2011, we saw a moderate decrease (-7%) in the number of songs landing in the 3:30-3:59 range, while seeing a moderate increase (+9%) in the number of songs landing in the 4:00+ range. Songs landing under 3:00 and between 3:00 and 3:29 remained constant.

From Q1-2011 to Q2-2011, songs landing in the 3:30 – 3:59 range increased slightly (+3%), while songs landing in the 3:00 – 3:29 range decreased slightly (-5%). Songs landing under 3:00 over 4:00 remained pretty much constant.

Currently, the vast majority of songs (58%) are landing in the 3:30-3:59 range, followed by songs landing 4:00 and up (29% of songs). There still aren’t any songs in top 10 Pop that are landing under 3:00.

Average Intro Length Shows how average intro length has trended from January, 2010 through June, 2011

3 / 24 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com

From Q1-2010 to Q2-2011, average intro lengths have fluctuated only by 0:08, peaking in Q1-2010 (0:18) and bottoming out in Q3-2010 (0:10). The current average intro length is 0:13.

Intro Length Range Shows the percentage of total songs that had intro lengths land in a particular time range

In Q1-2010, the most popular intro lengths were relatively short to moderate in length, landing in the 0:10-0:19 and 0:20-0:29 ranges respectively. Very short and very long intro’s were few in number, with 15% landing under 0:09 and 10% landing over 0:30 in length.

From Q1-2010 to Q2-2010, we saw a significant drop in the 0:20-0:29 range (from 38% to 25% of all songs), as well as a small drop in the 0:10 to 0:19 range (38% to 33%). The shortest and longest intro ranges saw the largest increases, with the 0:01-0:09 range increasing from 15% to 25% of songs, and the 0:30+ range increasing from 10% to 17% of all songs.

From Q2-2010 to Q3-2010, we saw some substantial increases and decreases in intro length ranges. Songs with shorter intro’s were the gainers, with the 0:01-0:09 range rising drastically from 25% in Q2 to 47% of all songs in Q3. Intro’s in the 0:10-0:19 range rose as well, increasing from 33% to 41%. Longer intro’s decreased significantly, with the 0:20-0:29 range decreasing from 25% to just 6% of songs, and the 0:30+ range decreasing from 17% of songs to just 6% as well.

From Q3-2010 to Q4-2010, intro’s in the 0:01-0:09 decreased slightly (from 47% to 43%), while intro’s landing 0:30 and up decreased from 6% to 0%. Intro’s in the 0:10 to

4 / 24 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com

0:19 range rose slightly, from 41% to 43% of songs, while the 0:20-0:29 range saw a moderate gain from 6% to 14% of songs.

From Q4-2010 to Q1-2011, we saw a good jump in the number of songs containing longer intro lengths (the 0:20 – 0:29 range increased 11% and the 0:30+ range increased from 0% to 12%). The largest drop occurred in the number songs containing intro lengths landing between 0:10 and 0:19 (decreasing by 17%). Songs containing short intro’s also saw a decrease in number, dropping from 43% to 37% of songs.

From Q1-2011 to Q2-2011, we see the inverse of last quarter’s results. Songs containing shorter intro’s increased in number, while songs containing longer intro’s decreased in number (most prominently in the 0:20 – 0:29 range).

Currently, shorter intro’s are still by far the most popular (not a big surprise here), with 75% of songs containing intro’s that land 0:19 or less. 40% of songs have their intro’s land 0:09 or under.

Songs That Contain “Proper” Intros Shows the percentage of total songs that contained a “proper” intro in their framework

From Q1-2010 to Q1-2011, we’ve seen the number of songs containing “proper” intro’s (i.e. a section other than a verse or chorus starting the song off) decreasing on a steady basis before leveling off from Q4-2010 to Q1-2011. From Q1-2011 to Q2-2011, we saw a pretty substantial increase (16%) in the number of songs that contained “proper” intro’s, increasing from 72% to 88% of all songs. Interestingly, it’s not due to any particular sub-genre influence seeing a spike (i.e. dance/club or hip hop/rap oriented songs). It’s across the board.

5 / 24 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com

Songs That Begin With The Chorus Shows the percentage of total songs that began with the chorus as opposed to the verse

One of the highest growing trends from Q1-2010 to Q2-2011 was the number of songs starting with the chorus as opposed to the verse. After a drastic increase from Q1-2010 to Q4-2010 (increasing from 0% to 38% of songs), the number has leveled during the last two quarters, currently residing at 38% of songs. Hip Hop/Rap influenced songs have the greatest percentage of songs kicking off with the chorus (80% of songs).

Average Outro Length Shows how average outro length has trended from January, 2010 through June, 2011

6 / 24 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com

From Q1-2010 to Q2-2011, we saw a minimal (0:07) fluctuation in average outro lengths, with the peak coming in Q4-2010 (0:25). From Q1-2011 to Q2-2011, there was only a 0:03 change, increasing from 0:18 to 0:21.

Outro Length Range Shows the percentage of total songs that had intro lengths land in a particular time range

In Q1-2010, the vast majority (66%) of outro’s were relatively short to moderate in length, landing in the 0:10-0:19 range. Moderate to long outro’s followed, with 22% landing 0:30 and up. Few outro’s (11%) landed in the 0:20-0:29 range, while no intro’s

7 / 24 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com

landed under 0:09.

From Q1-2010 to Q2-2010, we saw a substantial drop off in the number of songs that contained outros landing in the 0:10-0:19 range, decreasing from 66% to 36% of songs. Outro’s landing 0:30 and up decreased as well, but not by much (just 4%). Outro’s in the 0:20-0:29 range saw a large increase in number, jumping from 11% to 41% of all songs in Q2-2010. Songs with very short outro’s increased slightly, increasing from 0% to 6%.

From Q2-2010 to Q3-2010, we saw a small to moderate decrease in three out of four ranges, with the exception being outro’s landing under 0:09, which increased from 6% to 16% of all top 10 Pop songs in Q3-2010.

From Q3-2010 to Q4-2010, we saw moderate to large drop offs in both the 0:10-0:19 and 0:01-0:09 ranges (landing at 20% and 0% of all songs respectively). The 0:20-0:29 was pretty much stable, increasing by just 2%, while outro’s landing at 0:30 and up increased significantly, from 16% to 40% of all songs.

From Q4-2010 to Q1-2011, we saw songs that contained shorter length outro’s increasing in number while songs with longer outro’s decreasing in number – quite substantially on both ends. Outro’s landing in the 0:10 – 0:19 range increased from 20% to 75% of songs, while outro’s landing 0:30 and over decreased from 30% of songs to 0%.

From Q1-2011 to Q2-2011, we saw outro lengths that reside on both ends of the spectrum (i.e. the shortest and longest) increase in number (most substantially the longer outro’s, increasing from 0% of songs in Q1-2011 to 18% of songs in Q2-2011), while “middle of the road” outro’s (0:10 – 0:19 and 0:29 – 0:29) declined in number.

Songs That Contain “Proper” Outros Shows the percentage of total songs that contained a “proper” intro in their framework

8 / 24 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com

From Q1-2010 to Q2-2011, we’ve seen the amount of songs containing “proper” outro’s (i.e. a section other than a verse, chorus or bridge ending the song) fluctuate tremendously, peaking at 81% of all songs in Q2-2010 and bottoming out at 23% of all songs during Q4-2010.

Initially, we saw a major increase (+40%) from Q1-2010 to Q2-2010, and then saw a steep decline from Q2-2010 all the way through Q4-2010. We then saw an increase of 13% from Q4-2010 to Q1-2011, followed by a smaller (7%) increase from Q1-2011 to Q2-2011. Currently, 42% of all top 10 hit Pop songs contain a “proper” outro in their framework, with the rest primarily ending on the chorus.

1st Chorus Occurrence: Average Time Shows the average time where the first chorus occurs within the song

9 / 24 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com

From Q1-2010 to Q3-2010, we saw the average time at which the first chorus occurs in the song shorten from 0:47 to 0:30, ultimately leveling off between Q3-2010 and Q4-2010. From Q4-2010 to Q1-2011, we saw a moderate jump, from 0:30 to 0:39, before leveling off once again from Q1-2011 to Q2-2011.

1st Chorus Occurrence: Time Range Shows the percentage of total songs that had their first chorus occur in a particular time range

In Q1-2010, the majority of first choruses were occurring mid to mid/late into the song, with 45% occurring between 0:40 and 0:59 and 33% occurring over 1:00 into the song.

10 / 24 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com

Only 14% occurred between 0:20 and 0:39, and 9% occurring between 0:01 and 0:19.

From Q1-2010 to Q2-2010, we saw a drop off in the longer time frame ranges, with the 0:40-0:59 range decreasing from 45% to 33% of songs, and the 1:00+ range decreasing from 33% to 29% of songs. Shorter time frames increased, with the 0:01-0:19 and 0:29-0:39 ranges increasing to 20% and 19% of songs respectively.

From Q2-2010 to Q3-2010, we saw a tremendous drop off of first choruses occurring at 1:00+, decreasing from 29% to just 5% of songs in Q3-2010. Shorter time frames continued to increase in number, with the 0:01 – 0:19 and 0:20-0:39 ranges increasing to 34% and 24% of songs respectively. First choruses occurring in the 0:40 – 0:59 range increased slightly, hitting 38% of all songs in Q3-2010.

From Q3-2010 to Q4-2010, 1st choruses occurring at 1:00 dropped to 0% of songs, while those occurring in the 0:40-0:59 range decreased from 38% to 33%. Shorter time frames continued to increase, with the 0:01-0:19 and 0:20-0:39 ranges increasing to 39% and 29% of songs respectively.

From Q4-2010 to Q1-2011, three out of four ranges saw small to moderate decreases in number, except for first choruses occurring at 1:00+, which increased from 0% to 14% of all songs in Q1-2011.

From Q1-2011 to Q2-2011, the overall trend that was established during the previous two quarters continued, with all ranges decreasing in number except for first choruses landing over 1:00 into the song (increasing from 14% of songs in Q1-2011 to 25% of songs in Q2-2011).

Overall, songs that have their first choruses occurring early in the song still have a slight edge over the others (29% of songs), but not by much. It’s pretty much evenly distributed amongst the ranges.

1st Chorus Occurrence: Percent Into Song Shows the average percent into the song where the first chorus occurs

11 / 24 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com

As with the amount of time that it takes for the first chorus to hit as discussed earlier in the section, here we see a similar trend in regard to the percent into the song where the first chorus occurs. Overall, choruses are occurring relatively early within top 10 hit Pop songs, occurring less than one-fifth of the way into the song.

1st Chorus Occurrence: Percent Into Song Range Shows the percentage of total songs that had their first chorus occur at a particular percent range into the song

In Q1-2010, the vast majority (59%) of first choruses occurred between 20% and 29%

12 / 24 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com

into the song. This was followed by 23% landing in the 10% – 19% range, 10% landing 30% into the song and up, and 9% occurring under 9% into the song.

From Q1-2010 to Q2-2010, we saw an increase in first choruses occurring both in the 20%-29% range and 1%-9% range (occurring in 67% and 20% of songs respectively). 1st Choruses occurring between 10% and 19% into the song decreased from 23% to 15%, while 1st choruses occurring at over 30% into the song hit 0% of all songs.

From Q2-2010 to Q3-2010, the number of songs having their first chorus occur between 20% and 29% into the song dropped off substantially, decreasing from 67% to just 38% of all songs. Both the 1%-9% and 10%-19% ranges increased moderately, landing at 33% and 29% of songs respectively. 1st choruses occurring at over 30% into the song remained constant at 0%.

From Q3-2010 to Q4-2010, 1st choruses occurring between 20% and 29% into the song continued to decrease, dropping from 38% to 29% of all songs. Choruses landing in the 1%-9% and 10%-19% ranges continued to increase slightly, with both landing at 38% and 33% of all songs respectively in Q4-2010. Once again, songs having their first chorus occur at over 30% into the song remained constant at 0% of all songs.

From Q4-2010 to Q1-2011, we saw songs that have their first chorus occur relatively early in the song start to decrease slightly, with the 1%-9% and 10%-19% ranges decreasing to 32% and 28% of all songs respectively. 1st choruses occurring in the 20% – 29% range saw their first increase since Q1-Q2-2010, jumping from 29% to 36% of all songs. 1st choruses that occurred over 30% into the song increased as well, from 0% to 5% of all songs in Q1-2011.

From Q1-2011 to Q2-2011, we saw the trends established during the last two quarters continue, with songs that have their first choruses occurring earlier in the song continuing to decline, while songs that have their first choruses occurring later in the song continuing to increase.

Currently, the majority of songs see their first choruses occurring between 20% and 29% into the song, followed by the 1% to 9% range (which is specifically due to the number of songs kicking off with the chorus). Even though songs with first choruses occurring 30% or more into the song are on the rise (slightly), they still only account for 8% of all current top 10 hit Pop songs.

Songs With A Pre-Chorus Shows the percentage of total songs that contained a pre-chorus in their framework

13 / 24 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com

From Q1-2010 to Q3-2010, we saw a moderate (12%) increase in the number of songs that contained pre-choruses as part of their structure. From Q3-2010 to Q1-2011, we saw a significant decrease in this number, after peaking at 57% of all songs in Q3 to bottoming out at just 32% in Q1-2011. Interestingly, from Q1-2011 to Q2-2011, we saw a substantial increase in the number of songs containing a pre-chorus, rising from 32% to 50% of all top 10 hit Pop songs.

Songs With A Bridge Shows the percentage of total songs that contained a bridge in their framework

14 / 24 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com

After a stable run from Q1-2010 to Q2-2010, we saw the number of songs that contained a bridge as part of their structure start to significantly increase from 76% of songs in Q2-2010 to 90% of all songs in Q4-2010. We saw a slight decline from Q4 to Q1-2011, followed by a significant drop-off from Q1-2011 to Q2-2011 (86% of songs to just 58% of songs). Interestingly, seven out of the eight #1 hits from Q2-2011 DID contain a bridge.

Songs With A Solo Shows the percentage of total songs that contained a solo in their framework

The number of top 10 Pop songs that contained a solo as part of their structure significantly declined from Q1-2010 to Q3-2010, decreasing from 18% to just 5% of all songs. This number has been steady for the past four quarters. One thing is readily apparent – solos are not popular in the current Pop genre.

Songs With An A-B-A-B-C-B Form Shows the percentage of total songs that followed an A-B-A-B-C-B form

15 / 24 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com

The A-B-A-B-C-B (verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus) form has historically been the most popular song structure within Pop music. This has also been the case from Q1-2010 to Q2-2011. After peaking during Q1-2010 at 55% of all songs, we saw a moderate decrease down to 43%, which lasted through Q3-2010. We then got back up into the low to mid 50% range during Q4-2010 and Q1-2011. From Q1-2011 to Q2-2011, we saw another dip from 54% down to 42% of songs (basically the same as Q1-2010 to Q2-2010). All in all, in the last year and a half, we haven’t seen less than 42% of top 10 hit Pop songs not encompass an A-B-A-B- C-B form.

Primary Instrumentation Shows the percentage of total songs featured a particular instrument in the mix

16 / 24 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com

For anyone following the current Pop genre, it’s no surprise that we’re in the midst of an Electro-Pop fad. This is readily apparent in the primary instrument featured in all top 10 Pop songs – the synth.

We’ve seen a fluctuation between 77% and 62% of all songs featuring a synth as the primary instrument since Q1-2010, ultimately hitting a high of 79% of all top 10 hit Pop songs during Q2-2011. The decrease in the synth trend between Q1-2010 and Q3-2010 is mostly attributed to other instruments also being featured prominently in the mix besides a “lone” synth, which is visible in the increase in the “other” line between Q1 and Q3-2010. The “other” category includes such combinations as guitar and synth, synth and piano and guitar and keys (low percentage).

As for how the guitar fits in to the current Pop genre, it accounts for a very small portion of overall Pop songs. From Q1-2010 to Q2-2011, songs that primarily featured a guitar peaked at 24% of all songs in Q2-2010 and bottomed out at 4% in Q2-2011.

Primary Lead Vocal Gender Shows the percentage of total songs that primarily featured either male, female or duet vocals

From Q1-2010 to Q2-2010, we saw a stable majority of songs featuring a male as the primary lead vocalist. Female leads saw a moderate 12% increase, and the number of duets dropped from 23% to 14%.

From Q2-2010 to Q3-2010, we saw the males dominate, increasing by 14% to 57% of all songs. Woman saw a moderate drop off, decreasing from 43% to 33% of all songs. Duets continued with their drop-off, though not as significant as before, decreasing from

17 / 24 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com

14% to 10% of songs.

From Q3-2010 to Q4-2010, the men lost a bit of ground, decreasing from 57% to 52% of all songs. Woman decreased slightly as well, going from 33% to just 29% of all songs. Duets saw a moderate increase, though, increasing from 10% to 19% of all songs.

From Q4-2010 to Q1-2011, the men continued on their decline, decreasing from 52% to 45%. Woman saw a slight/moderate increase, growing from 29% to 36% of songs. The number of duets remained constant at 19%.

From Q1-2011 to Q2-2011, we saw the number of songs featuring male lead vocalists stabilize in the mid 40% range, while female lead vocal driven songs continued to increase, from 36% to 42% of songs. Duets saw a slight drop off, decreasing from 19% to 12% of songs.

As of Q2-2011, Male and Female lead vocals are basically split, with males accounting for 46% of songs and females accounting for 42% of songs. Duets account for only 12% of hit Pop songs.

Electric Vs. Acoustic Shows the percentage of total songs that featured either electric or acoustic based instrumentation

Since we’re in the midst of an Electro Pop wave, it’s no surprise that the vast majority of songs are comprised of electric based instrumentation.

Between Q1-2010 and Q3-2010, we saw an increasing number of songs that were primarily

18 / 24 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com electric in nature (82% in Q1 to 95% of all songs in Q3), while the number of electric/acoustic combo songs decreased from 14% to just 5% of all songs during this time frame.

The number of purely acoustic based songs remained extremely low throughout, stable at 4% from Q1 to Q2, before dropping to 0% from Q3 through Q1-2011. They did see a small increase in number from Q1-2011 to Q2-2011, though, attributed to Adele’s Rolling In The Deep and Bruno Mars’s The Lazy Song.

Currently, songs with electric based instrumentation account for 88% of all top 10 hit Pop songs, followed far behind by acoustic and combo based instrumentation.

Primary Sub-Genre Influence Shows the percentage of total songs that featured a particular sub-genre influence in their sound

In Q1-2010, we saw an almost equal amount of songs showing strong elements of Dance, R&B/Soul and Rap/Hip Hop within their framework. Rock barely figured into the equation, comprising just 14% of current top 10 Pop songs.

From Q1-2010 to Q2-2010, we saw a slight decrease in the amount of songs featuring Dance and R&B/Soul vibes, while Rock saw a modest jump, increasing from 14% to 24% of all top 10 Pop songs. Rap/Hip Hop remained pretty much stable, increasing by 32% to 33% of all songs.

From Q2-2010 to Q3-2010, both Rap/Hip Hop and Rock saw moderate declines, having their influence drop by 9% and 5% of total songs respectively. Dance saw a 4% increase, while R&B/Soul saw the greatest increase, rising from 29% to 38% of all

19 / 24 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com

songs.

From Q3-2010 to Q4-2010, Dance saw the largest increase, rising from 33% to 43% of all songs. R&B/Soul saw a moderate drop from 38% to 33%, Rap/Hip Hop remained constant at 24%, and Rock saw a 5% increase to 24% of all songs.

From Q4-2010 to Q1-2011, Dance took off, increasing from 43% to 59% of all songs. R&B/Soul continued with its decline since Q3-2010, dropping from 33% to 27%. Rap/Hip Hop still remained pretty much steady since Q3, increasing to 27% in Q1-2011. Rock saw a significant drop off, decreasing from 24% to 14% Q4 to Q1-2011.

From Q1-2011 to Q2-2011, both Dance and R&B/Soul influenced songs saw a slight drop in number (decreasing by 5% and 6% respectively), while Hip Hop/Rap influenced songs remained pretty much stable at 8% of all top 10 hit Pop songs. The “gainer” during this time period was the “other” category, which includes Reggae (The Lazy Song) and a Blues/Soul/Rock combo (Rolling In The Deep).

Currently, Dance/Club continues to have the greatest influence on today’s top 10 hit Pop songs, accounting for 50% of all songs. Far behind is Rap/Hip Hop (21% of songs), “Other” (13% of songs), and finally Rock, accounting for just 8% of songs.

Lyrical Theme Shows the percentage of total songs that featured a specific lyrical theme

In Q1-2010, we saw love/relationships comprising the vast majority (45%) of lyrical themes in top 10 Pop songs. This was followed by “hooking up” at 23%, “inspirational”

20 / 24 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com

at 14%, and “partying/clubbing” and “other” each comprising 9% of total songs.

From Q1-2010 to Q2-2010, both the love/relationships and “other” categories grew by 7% and 10% respectively, while hooking up and inspirational both decreased by 4% and 14% respectively. There weren’t any top 10 Pop songs featuring an “inspirational” theme in Q2-2010. Partying/clubbing remained pretty much constant, increasing by just 1% from Q1 to Q2.

From Q2-2010 to Q3-2010, love/relationship themed songs continued to rise, increasing by 10%. The “other” category increased slightly as well, by a total of 4%. Partying/clubbing remained stable at 10%, and inspirational remained at 0% of all songs. The only major decrease was seen in the hooking up category, which dropped by 14% between Q2 and Q3-2010.

From Q3-2010 to Q4-2010, we saw a major lyrical theme shift in three categories. After peaking at 62% of all songs in Q3, love/relationships took a dive between Q3 and Q4, decreasing by 14% to 48% of all songs. The “other” category decreased by 14% as well. The greatest gain was seen in the partying/clubbing category, which jumped from 10% to 29% of all songs (a 19% gain). Both the inspirational and hooking up categories increased slightly, by 5% and 4% respectively.

From Q4-2010 to Q1-2011, we saw another major drop for love/relationships, decreasing from 48% of all songs to just 32% of all songs in Q1-2011. The “other” category saw a significant drop as well, decreasing from 9% of songs to 0% of songs in Q1-2011. Partying/Clubbing saw a decrease as well, though only by 6%. The two big gainers were hooking up (increasing from 9% to 27%) and inspirational (increasing from 5% to 18% of all songs).

From Q1-2011 to Q2-2011, love/relationships saw another significant drop in number, decreasing from 32% to just 17% of songs. Partying/clubbing decreased as well, but just by 2%. Hooking up and Inspirational themed songs both increased in number, by 9% and 7% respectively. The “other” category remained stable at 0% of songs.

Currently, hooking up themed songs are dominating current Pop, accounting for 38% of all songs. This is followed by inspirational and partying clubbing, accounting for 25% and 21% of songs respectively. Love/relationship themed songs account for only 17% of current top 10 hit Pop songs.

Summary:

Song Length:

The vast majority of songs are landing in the mid to upper 3:00 range (58% of all top 10 hit Pop songs). This range has held the majority since Q3-2010.

21 / 24 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com

The current song length average is 3:51.

Intro’s

The vast majority of intro’s are short in nature, with 75% landing at or under 0:19.

40% (majority) are landing at or under 0:09.

Shorter intro’s have held the majority since Q3-2011.

The current intro length average is 0:13.

88% of all top 10 hit Pop songs contain a “proper” intro.

Outro’s

Currently, both short (0:01-0:09) and long (0:30+) outro’s are on the rise.

The vast majority of current outro’s (54%) land in the 0:10 – 0:19 range, though this range saw a large drop in number from the previous quarter (from 75% of songs in Q1-2011).

The current average outro length is 0:21. This has been pretty much consistent for over a year.

Currently, 42% off all top 10 hit Pop songs contain “proper” outro’s. This number has nearly doubled since Q3-2010.

Choruses

The average time that it takes for the first chorus to hit in top 10 hit Pop songs is 0:39. This number has been stable over the last two quarters.

A small majority of songs (29%) see their first choruses occurring between 0:01 and 0:19 into the song (primarily due to songs that kick off with the chorus as opposed to the verse).

The average percent into the song where the first chorus occurs is currently landing at 17% of the way in. Since Q1-2010, this number has only fluctuated between 14% and 20% of the way into the song.

The majority of first choruses occur between 20% – 29% of the way into the song. This range has been steadily increasing since Q4-2010.

Pre-Choruses

22 / 24 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com

After a steady decline (57% down to 32%) in the number of songs containing a pre- chorus from Q3-2010 to Q1-2011, the number of songs containing a pre-chorus saw a substantial jump in number from Q1-2011 to Q2-2011, increasing from 32% to 50% of songs.

Bridges

After seeing a gradual increase in the number of songs that contained a bridge from Q1-2010 to Q4-2010 (77% to 90% of songs) we saw a slight dip from Q4-2010 to Q1-2011, followed by a significant drop in number in Q2-2011. Currently, only 58% of top 10 hit Pop songs contain a bridge in their framework.

Solos

After seeing a drop off in number from Q1-2010 to Q3-2010 (18% of songs down to 5%), we saw the number of songs containing an “actual” solo remain pretty much stable over the last four quarters.

A-B-A-B-C-B Form

Since Q1-2010, songs comprised of an A-B-A-B-C-B form have fluctuated from the mid 50% range to low 40% range, currently accounting for a majority 42% of all top 10 hit Pop songs.

Primary Instrumentation

The synth consistently remains the most popular instrument in current Pop, and has gradually increased in number from 62% to 79% of top 10 hit Pop songs since Q3-2011.

Primary Lead Vocal Gender

Since Q3-2010, the gap between songs featuring a male lead vocalist as opposed to a female lead vocalist has been continuously shrinking (starting at 57% male/ 33% female in Q3-2010), to where it’s now almost even. Males lead vocals currently account for 46% of songs, females account for 42% of songs, and duets account for 12% of songs.

Electric Vs. Acoustic

The number of songs containing primarily electric based instrumentation has been pretty much stable in the mid 80% to mid 90% range over the past year and a half. Both Acoustic and Electric/Acoustic combo oriented songs continue to not really play any kind of role in current Pop.

Sub-Genre Influences

After a consistent rise in number since Q2-2010, Dance/Club oriented songs saw a

23 / 24 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com

slight decline in number from Q1-2011 to Q2-2011, but still account for the vast majority at 50% of all songs.

Lyrical Themes

Love/relationship themed songs have been in a steep decline since Q3-2010 (where they accounted for 63% of all songs), and now account for just 17% of all top 10 hit Pop songs. Hooking up themed songs have been on the rise since Q3-2010, and how account for the majority of top 10 hit Pop songs at 38%. Inspirational themed songs have also been seeing a steady increase in number, climbing form 0% of songs in Q3-2010 to a now second place 25% of songs in Q2-2011.

24 / 24