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Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com Locked Out Of Heaven Deconstructed Skip to: Audio/Video At a Glance Song Overview Structural Analysis Momentum/Tension/Intensity (MTI) Lyrics & Harmonic Progression The Music The Vocal Melody Primary Instrumentation, Tone & Mix Compositional Assessment Hit Factor Assessment Conclusion Why it’s a Hit Songwriter/Producer Take Aways Audio/Video Back to Top At a Glance Back to Top Artist: Bruno Mars Song/Album: Locked Out Of Heaven / Unorthodox Jukebox Songwriters: Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine Producers: Mark Ronson, Jeff Bhasker, Emilie Haynie, the Smeezingtons (Mars, Lawrence, Levine) Genre: Pop Sub Genre: Pop/Rock, Electro, New Wave, Funk Length: 3:53 Structure: A-B-A-B-C-B Tempo: 144 bpm First Chorus: 0:56 (24% into the song) 1 / 61 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com Intro Length: 0:16 Outro Length: 0:16 Electric vs. Acoustic: Electric Primary Instrumentation: Electric Guitar, Synth Lyrical Theme: Love/Relationships, Hooking Up Title Occurrences: Locked Out Of Heaven occurs 6 times within the song, in 3 sections Primary Lyrical P.O.V: 1st & 2nd Song Overview Back to Top Some artists play it safe, and some throw caution to the wind and “go for it.” That’s exactly what Bruno Mars did with Locked Out Of Heaven, the lead single from his sophomore album, Unorthodox Jukebox. As you’ll soon see, Locked Out Of Heaven lives up to the name of the album, drawing on numerous influences including Guitar driven Pop/Rock ala The Police & The Romantics, 80’s New Wave, Modern Synth driven Electro Pop and Funk. Additionally, the evocative love/relationship/sex themed lyrics are cleverly conveyed utilizing religious symbolism, all the while managing to remain relatively clean in nature. Above all, it was the exceptional craft of the writers involved who were able to pull off a song that comes across so fresh and original despite its influences, enabling it to stand out amongst all others in the current Pop mainstream. To-date, Locked Out Of Heaven has has landed in the top 5 in 15 countries, hitting #1 in 4 and setting a Billboard chart record as the first single to hit #1 on the Hot 100, Radio, Digital and On-Demand charts simultaneously. CLIMB TO THE RECORD 2 / 61 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com *The dates represent the Billboard week starting once Locked Out Of Heaven entered the top 10 on the corresponding chart . Structural Analysis Back to Top At-a-Glance Section Length (Length of each individual section within the song) I=Intro, V=Verse, Chr=Chorus, Turn=Turnaround, Brg=Bridge, IB=Instrumental Break Locked Out Of Heaven contains 13 individual sections within its framework, with the longest landing at 0:27 (the “primary” sections – Verse, Chorus and Bridge), followed by the Intro, Outro and Turnaround which land at 0:16, 0:10 and 0:13, respectively. The shortest length sections within the song are Pre-Choruses A and B, which land at 0:07 and 0:06, respectively (more on that later in the report). Now – let’s see how Locked Out Of Heaven’s section length compared to the 21 songs that landed in the Billboard Pop Songs Chart top 10 during Q3-2012: Locked Out Of Heaven / Top 10 Hit Pop Song Averages Intro: 0:16 / 0:09 3 / 61 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com Verse: 0:27 / 0:20 *Pre-Chorus: 0:13 / 0:14 Chorus: 0:27 / 0:27 Bridge: 0:27 / 0:23 As you can see, with the exception of the Intro (which is almost double the length of the average) Locked Out Of Heaven is close to or right on par with top 10 hit Pop song averages. *Note: The 0:13 Pre-Chorus includes the back-to back Pre-Chorus A and B sections. Timeline (Shows when each section hits within the timeline of the song) Total Section Analysis (Total time consumed by each section and its percentage of the total song) 4 / 61 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com Locked Out Of Heaven is comprised of 7 full sections within its framework (i.e. all Choruses, Verses, Pre-Choruses plus the Intro, Outro, Turnaround and Bridge), accounting for 35% of the song’s total composition all the way down to 6%. As you would expect, the majority of time within the song was allocated to the Chorus (i.e. the “payoff”), with all 3 occurrences accounting for 35% of the total song. Let’s now see how the sectional breakdown of Locked Out Of Heaven compared to the 21 songs that landed in the Billboard Pop Songs Chart top 10 during Q3-2012: Intro Locked Out Of Heaven: Comprises 7% of the total song. Q3-2012 Average: Comprises 4% of the total song. Comparison: Locked Out Of Heaven allocated 3% more time to the Intro compared to the Q3-2012 average. Verse Locked Out Of Heaven: Comprises 23% of the total song. Q3-2012 Average: Comprises 20% of the total song. Comparison: Locked Out Of Heaven allocated 3% more time to the Verse compared to the 5 / 61 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com Q3-2012 average. Pre-Chorus Locked Out Of Heaven: Comprises 11% of the total song. Q3-2012 Average: Comprises 14% of the total song. Comparison: Locked Out Of Heaven allocated 3% less time to the Pre-Choruses than the Q3-2012 average. Note once again, however, that the full Pre-Chorus consists of 2 individual sections (i.e. Pre-Chorus A and B) that account for 6% and 5% of the total song, respectively). Chorus Locked Out Of Heaven: Comprises 35% of the total song. Q3-2012 Average: Comprises 45% of the total song. Comparison: Locked Out Of Heaven allocated 10% less time to the chorus than the Q3-2012 average. Bridge Locked Out Of Heaven: Comprises 12% of the total song. Q3-2012 Average: Comprises 10% of the total song. Comparison: Locked Out Of Heaven allocated 2% more time to the bridge than the Q3-2012 average. Summary: As you can see, the sections above were +/- 2% – 3% from top 10 hit Pop song averages EXCEPT for the Chorus, which accounted for 10% less time. Now, you might be asking the question, “don’t you want to stay in the PAYOFF of the song for as long as possible?” In most cases the answer would be yes, but when you have a song where each individual section is equally infectious and memorable, it doesn’t hurt to spread the time allocation around. Also remember that in this case an additional 6% of the song was dedicated to the Turnaround and 7% was allocated to the Outro. That time had to come from somewhere. Also keep in mind that the vast majority of top 10 Pop hits DO NOT contain an Outro or lengthy Turnaround within their framework. Music, Instrumentation & MTI (Momentum / Tension / Intensity) Back to Top 6 / 61 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com (Evaluation of the intensity of each section within the song timeline on a scale of 1 – 10, 10 being the most intense) When we talk about a song’s MTI level, we’re referring to how fluctuations in momentum, tension and intensity levels are utilized in each section of the song. MTI Level Key Points: Sectional Build & Release One area where Locked Out Of Heaven truly succeeds is how it takes the listener on a sonic journey via MTI level shifts throughout the entire song. As you can see in the graph above, there are 4 primary builds/releases that take place: Build/Release #1: The MTI level increase from the Intro through the second-half of the first Chorus which then releases into the Turnaround. Build/Release #2: The MTI level increase from the first-half of the second Verse (breakdown) through the second half of the second Chorus. The release is quick the second time around, this time going into a quick 0:02 transitional lull before exploding into the Bridge. Build/Release #3: The brief transitional lull as mentioned above is followed by an explosive Bridge which then releases into the breakdown first-half of Chorus 3. Build #4: The MTI level increase from the first-half of the third Chorus (breakdown) into the second half of the chorus. Notice that there isn’t any pronounced release this time around, however. Instead, it’s followed by the Outro which has an MTI level pretty much on par with that of the second-half of the chorus (though it’s different in nature as described below). Different Types Of Intensity As you’ve no doubt noticed by now, there are 2 distinct vibes that define Locked Out Of 7 / 61 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com Heaven. First, we have the “lighter” Pop/Rock “Police” vibe that defines the Intro, Verse, Pre-Chorus-A, Turnaround and Outro sections. Second, we have the “thick, fuzzed” synth driven sections that define Pre-Chorus B, the full Chorus as well as the Bridge. Each of those 2 distinct vibes has its own way of shifting the MTI level from one section to the next: Vibe 1 (Guitar Driven) Notice that the MTI level increase from the Verse to Pre-Chorus A is achieved by the change-up in Mars’s vocal delivery Coupled with the addition of the quarter-note snare/perc hits that enter the mix.