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Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com Happy Deconstructed Skip to: Audio/Video Overview Song Structure Momentum/Tension/Intensity (MTI) Music/Instrumentation/Vocal Delivery Lead Vocal Melody Lyrics Benchmarking A&R Hit Factors Highlights & Takeaways Audio/Video Back to Top At a Glance Back to Top Artist: Pharrell Williams Song/Album: Happy / GIRL Songwriters: Pharrell Williams Genre: R&B/Soul Sub Genres: Retro Soul, Funk, Gospel Length: 3:51 Structure (Form): A-B-A-B-C-B-C-B Tempo: 160 bpm First Chorus: 0:26 / 11% into the song Intro Length: 0:02 Outro Length: n/a Electric vs. Acoustic: Electric Primary Instrumentation: Electric Piano, Claps, Bass, Prominent Drums Lyrical Themes: Love/Relationships, Inspirational Title Occurrences: Happy occurs 56 times within the song Primary Lyrical P.O.V: 1st & 2nd Person Overview Back to Top 1 / 85 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com Written specifically for a scene within the movie Despicable Me 2, Happy not only provided the perfect backdrop for Gru’s good mood to shine, but in the process wound up elevating the spirits of people throughout the world with its universal feel good vibe. As you’ll see within this report, there were many factors that went into making Happy such an infectious, engaging and memorable song, including 62% of its entire composition being allocated to the chorus, 56 “Happy” title appearances, an inspirational lyrical theme and an irresistible fusion of Retro Soul, Funk & Gospel, to name just a few of many. To-date, Happy has hit #1 on 35 charts in 29 countries throughout the world. Song Structure Back to Top TIMELINE (Shows when each section hits within the timeline of the song) Form For the first 7 sections of the song, Happy follows the most popular of all mainstream song structures, the A-B-A-B-C-B form. This translates to verse – chorus – verse – chorus – bridge – chorus. Notice however that instead of ending on the third double chorus, it instead goes back into a partial bridge, which is then followed by another double chorus and out. So in the end, Happy’s full form looks like this: A-B-A-B-C-B-C-B (verse – chorus – verse – chorus – bridge – chorus – bridge – chorus). Note that it’s a rarity for a current mainstream song to feature 2 bridge occurrences, but as you’ve probably figured out by now, Happy is not a “typical’ current mainstream song. More on that later. 2 / 85 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com Additionally, note that Happy DOES NOT contain a pre-chorus, solo, instrumental break or outro within its framework. SECTION LENGTH & COUNT (Length of each individual section within the song) I=Intro, V=Verse, CHR=Chorus, BRG=Bridge Section Count Happy contains 9 sections within its framework as follows: 1 intro 2 verses 2 full choruses (chorus 1 & 2) 2 double choruses (chorus 3 &4, 5 & 6) 1 full bridge 1 half bridge Section Length In regard to the length of full sections within the song, they range from the very short to quite lengthy as follows: Very Short 0:02 intro 3 / 85 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com Short 0:12 bridge 2 (part B only) Moderate 0:24 verse 1 0:24 verse 2 0:24 chorus 1 0:24 chorus 2 0:24 bridge (full – parts A & B) Long 0:48 (choruses 3 & 4 act as 1 double chorus) 0:48 (choruses 5 & 6 act as 1 double chorus) Notice that the sections within the song that are the longest (i.e. the double choruses) are PRECISELY the ones that you would WANT to be the longest! TOTAL SECTION BREAKDOWN (The total time consumed by each section and its percentage of the total song) 4 / 85 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com As you know, the greatest amount of time within a song is typically allocated to the chorus considering that it is usually the most infectious, engaging & memorable section of the song (at least it should be!) and that it functions as the primary “payoff” for the listener. As you can see in the graph above, this is certainly the case with Happy. It’s chorus accounts for a whopping 62% of its total composition! Interestingly, Happy actually allocated more time to its chorus than 95% of all the songs that landed in the Billboard Pop songs top 10 during 2013. It just goes to show, if you have a really killer/infectious hook, hammer it home until you completely “brainwash” it into the listener’s head! 5 / 85 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com Following the chorus, the verse and bridge trailed far behind at 21% and 16% of the song’s total composition respectively, and the intro barely registered due to its ultra short 0:02 length. Now you know why people can’t get Happy’s ultra-infectious chorus out of their heads! 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) CHR=Chorus, VB=Vocal Break, V=Verse, PC=Pre-Chorus, SV=Solo Vocal, P=Pause 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. For the most part, Happy’s MTI levels are kept at a heightened state, which perfectly jibes with and accentuates the happy, elated vibe of the song. The Importance Of Dynamic Diversity As you know, there’s nothing more boring or disengaging than a song that dynamically flatlines throughout. The listener needs to be provided with dynamic shifts not only to help keep them engaged, but to also maximize the impact of specific sections, such as a powerful chorus. What follows are some examples of how dynamic diversity was implemented throughout Happy, providing the listener with a dynamic, engaging listening experience: The reintroduction of the bass, electric piano and full drums into the mix following the clap & conga driven bridge resulted in an increase in the song’s MTI level. 6 / 85 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com The removal of the aforementioned instrumentation from the chorus within the bridge resulted in a decrease in the song’s MTI level. The addition of the repetitive “happy” background vocals in bridge part B provided the section with a more intense nature relative to the single “happy’s” that defined bridge part A. The additional voices that were added into the vocal harmony within double choruses 3 and 4 provided those sections with a heightened MTI level relative to choruses 1 and 2. The increase in momentum brought about via the addition of claps and the rolling “funky” bass line into the mix within the chorus relative to the verse that preceded it. The increase in momentum brought about via the shift in the nature of the claps coupled with the addition of the conga within the bridge. MTI Play By Play Intro & 1st Verse Happy kicks off with mid-level intensity via the brief 0:02 electric piano/hat/kick combo. The MTI level is then thrust upward within the first verse due to the full drums, electric piano, bass and lead vocal being added into the mix. Notice that the heightened MTI level is primarily elicited via the nature of the rhythm and William’s vocal delivery coupled with the prominent acoustic drums which take the intensity and grooving momentum to the next level. The MTI level then increases a touch during the last line of the section where William’s vocal becomes multitracked, providing it with a slightly more intense essence leading into the chorus. Chorus 1 As soon as we enter into the “payoff” of the song, notice that the MTI level is increased over that of the preceding verse due to the following factors: The “funky/soul” bass and electric piano are now in full effect throughout the entire section, as opposed to their stop & start nature which defined the preceding verse. As a result, the section is provided with a more intense, grooving vibe. Claps have been added to the mix, which increases the intensity and momentum of the section. The “happy” background vocal provides the section with an increased intensity over the preceding verse as well. 7 / 85 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com Notice that the overall MTI level remains pretty much constant throughout the section, though the intensity does increase a bit when Pharrell goes for that higher vocal register at the onset of the “clap along if you know what happiness is to you” line (reference the vocal melody section of the report for specifics). Verse 2 Following the chorus, the second verse brings the MTI level back down to where it was during the first verse of the song considering that the nature of the lead vocal and backing music remain virtually the same. That being said, notice that the new addition to the mix, the background vocal “yeah” stabs, provide a brief burst of intensity in between lead vocal lines. Chorus 2 The second chorus once again increases the MTI level of the song in the same manner as that of chorus 1, considering that they’re virtually carbon copies of one another.