Pop Chart Wire: Week of December 24Th

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

Pop Chart Wire: Week of December 24th

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Note: * denotes a new addition to the top 5

Changes from last week’s chart:

Rihanna holds onto the #1 spot for a third week in a row with “We Found Love.” David Guetta’s “Without You” drops one spot, landing at #3. LMFAO climbs one spot, landing at #2 with “Sexy And I Know It.” Katy Perry’s “The One That Got Away” rounds out the top 5 at the #5 spot for a second week in a row. Gym Class Heroes drop out of the top 5, landing at #6 with “Stereo Hearts.” Bruno Mars enters the top 5 at the #4 spot with “It Will Rain.”

New Arrivals To The Top 5:

“It Will Rain” (Bruno Mars – Pop): Written and produced by the Smeezingtons (Mars, Lawrence and Levine), “It Will Rain” is a powerful, melancholy love/relationship themed song characterized by piano, synths, strings, atmospheric production, and a strong vocal performance from Mars.

Songwriter Alert: There are a few noteworthy points(amongst many) to take note of in this song. First, notice how the reverb effect on the backing instrumentation creates the perfect atmospheric backdrop for Bruno’s evocative vocals and powerful lyrics.

Second, take note of the powerful nature of the lyrics: “If you ever leave me baby, leave some morphine at my door,” There’s no religion that could save me, no matter how long my knees are on the floor,” etc… These types of lyrics take the emotional nature of the song to the next level.

Third, Bruno creates “familiarity” within the song by utilizing attributes from past hits. (Most notably the cymbal swell that’s present in “Grenade” and Just “The Way You Are,” as well how the vocal phrasing of “my eyes will do the same” in the “It Will Rain” chorus is similar in nature to the “take a bullet straight through my brain” section of the chorus in “Grenade.”) These techniques, amongst others, gives Bruno his unique sound and vibe that enables him to stand out from others in the genre.

Deconstruction:

This week three out of five songs possess an Electro Pop/Dance sub-genre influence (“We Found Love,” “Without You,” and “The One That Got Away,”) one incorporates

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both Hip Hop and Dance influences into its sound (“Sexy and I Know It,”) and one possesses an R&B/Soul/Rock influence (“It Will Rain.”) Only one song possesses a straight-up A-B-A-B-C-B form (“The One That Got Away.”) Three out of five songs feature a male lead vocalist and two feature a female lead.. Regarding when first choruses occur, one occurs quite far into the song (“Without You,” at 36% of the way in,) one occurs a bit over a quarter of the way in (“Sexy and I Know It,” at 29%,) one at one-fifth of the way in (“It Will Rain”) and two occur quite early in the song (“We Found Love” at 17% and “The One That Got Away” at 14% of the way into the song). Primary instrumentation varies from song to song, though all feature a synth at some point in the mix. 100% of songs in the top 5 contain an intro, all of which are quite short in nature (they all land at 0:15 or less). Only one song, “Sexy and I Know It,” contains an outro section, which lands at 0:26. Three out of five songs contain a bridge, two of which occur after the second chorus and one after an instrumental break (“It Will Rain.”) None of the songs contain a “proper” solo.

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