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Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com Problem Deconstructed Skip to: Audio/Video Overview Song Structure Momentum/Tension/Intensity (MTI) Music/Instrumentation/Vocal Delivery Vocal Melody Lyrics Benchmarking A&R Hit Factors Highlights & Takeaways Audio/Video Back to Top At a Glance Back to Top Artist: Ariana Grande Song: Problem Songwriters: Ariana Grande/Amethyst Amelia Kelly (Iggy Azalea)/Savan Harish Kotecha/Ilya Salmanzadeh/Martin Karl Sandberg (Max Martin) Producers: Illya, Martin, Schuster (Shellback) Genre: Pop Sub Genres/Influencers: Pop, Retro 90?s R&B, Dance, Hip Hop/Rap, Trap Key: G# Length: 3:11 Structure (Form): A-B-A-B-C-PC/B-B Tempo: 103 bpm First Chorus: 0:39/ 20% into the song Intro Length: 0:11 Outro Length: n/a Electric vs. Acoustic: Electric Primary Instrumentation: Brass, bass, drums/beat/perc Lyrical Themes: Love/Relationships, Inspirational Title Appearances: “Problem” appears 34 times within the song Primary Lyrical P.O.V: 1st & 2nd Overview Back to Top 1 / 110 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com Released as the lead single from Ariana Grande’s forthcoming sophomore album, Problem is hands down one of the “hookiest” and most expertly well crafted Pop songs to come around in quite some time. Every aspect of the song is primed for maximum impact. This includes the featuring of three diverse vocal talents (Grande, Azalea, and Big Sean), each of whom impart their own unique influence on the song, an engaging fusion of sub-genres & influencers (Retro 90?s R&B, Pop, Dance, Hip Hop/Rap and Trap), all of which work in perfect tandem with one another in providing the song with a fresh, unique spin, and most of all the numerous irresistible hooks that makes Problem one of the most infectious, engaging and memorable songs out there. As you’ll see throughout the report, there is a wealth of hit songwriting characteristics and techniques contained within Problem that when studied will undoubtedly help take your songwriting and producing skills to the next level. Song Structure Back to Top TIMELINE (Shows when each section hits within the timeline of the song) Key I=Intro, PC=Pre-Chorus, B=Chorus, C=Bridge, TURN=Turnaround, TRAIL=Trailoff Form At its core Problem follows the historically most popular form/structure in popular music, the A-B- A-B-C-B form (verse – chorus – verse – chorus – bridge – chorus). The one key area where it differs, however, resides in the section that directly follows the bridge (i.e. Azalea’s Rap section). Instead of heading directly into the final chorus as you would typically expect, the song provides the listener with an unexpected twist by going into a pre- 2 / 110 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com chorus/chorus “hybrid” section, where elements from both sections are fused into one. Following this “hybrid” section, the song then heads into the final chorus and out. Additionally, Problem features two standalone pre-choruses within its framework, an intro, and three brief turnarounds which follow choruses one & two. SECTION LENGTH & COUNT (Length of each individual section within the song) Section Count Problem contains 10 full sections and three secondary sections within its framework as follows: Primary Sections One intro Two verse sections Two pre-chorus sections Three chorus sections One bridge One pre-chorus/chorus “hybrid” section Secondary Sections 3 / 110 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com Three turnarounds (two featuring the sax hook, one featuring the pause/delay/swell) Section Length In regard to the length of primary and secondary sections within the song, they range from the very short to the moderately long as follows: Very Short 0:02 turnaround three 0:04 turnaround one & two Short 0:09 pre-chorus one & two 0:11 intro Moderate 0:19 verse one & two 0:19 chorus one & two 0:19 pre-chorus/chorus “hybrid” Moderately Long 0:28 bridge (Azalea’s Rap section) 0:28 chorus three Accentuating The Engagement Factor In order to ensure that the listener is kept fully engaged at all times, notice how some of the longer sections within the song are broken into shorter, differentiated segments. This enables new elements to enter the mix more frequently, which ultimately makes for a more engaging listening experience. Verse Each full 0:19 verse is broken into two stanzas of equal length. The first line of the second stanza, “tell me tell me baby” provides a vocal melody departure from the nature of the first. 4 / 110 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com Chorus 1 & 2 Choruses one & two are also 0:19 in length and divided into two distinct ~0:09 stanzas. The key differential factor between the two is the sax hook which comes into play during the second segment. Bridge The 0:28 bridge is split into three ~0:09 stanzas, each possessing a shift in the nature of Azalea’s Rap as well as a more profound shift in the nature of the backing music (more on this later). Chorus 3 The third (and last) chorus of the song is 32% longer than choruses one & two, landing at 0:28. In addition to its longer length, note that chorus three features the sax hook entering the mix at the very onset of the section, which is in contrast to choruses one and two where it enters during the second stanza. Additionally, note that sporadic vocal “embellishments” pop in and out of the mix throughout the section, which helps to keep things fresh and engaging. TOTAL SECTION BREAKDOWN (The total time consumed by each section and its percentage of the total song) 5 / 110 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com As you can see, the majority of time within Problem (34%) is allocated to the ultra-infectious chorus (“payoff”) sections, and for good reason! This is due to the following: There are more chorus occurrences within the song than any other section (i.e. three). The first two choruses are the second longest sections within the song, while the third chorus is tied along with the bridge as the longest. The two verse sections follow at 20%, and the bridge isn’t that far behind at 15%. Remember, the bridge is where the featured artist, Iggy Azalea, gets her time to shine, which warrants the greater time allocation relative to most of the other sections within the song. Additionally, both pre-choruses as well as the pre-chorus/chorus “hybrid” section account for virtually the same amount of time at 9% and 10%, respectively. And finally, as you would expect, the intro was allocated the least amount of time within the song next to the brief turnarounds, totaling just 6% of its total composition. 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) 6 / 110 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com 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. As you can see in the graph above, Problem features pronounced MTI level fluctuations throughout the entire song, which makes for an exceptionally engaging listening experience. You can think of the song as possessing a “roller coaster” type of flow, going through five primary “waves” of MTI level fluctuations as follows: Wave 1: Intro – Chorus 1 Problem kicks off with a moderate MTI level in the intro. It’s then kicked way up within the first verse via the full backing music and vocals entering the mix, which provides an increase in MOMENTUM and INTENSITY. Notice that the overall level remains relatively constant throughout the entire section. Once the pre-chorus hits, the MTI level starts to gradually increase via the lift and increasing TENSION that the section provides in anticipation of the “payoff” that follows. The TENSION and INTENSITY levels finally reach a climax at the tail end via Grande’s “got” wail, which is then followed by an immediate release into the chorus which provides TENSION relief. The first stanza of the chorus brings the MTI level down a few notches from the peak in the preceding chorus. Notice, however, that the sub bass provides the section with a strong sense of power and INTENSITY. The MTI level is then kicked up during the second half of the section once the drums and sax hook enter the mix, taking the MOMENTUM and INTENSITY levels of the section to a climax. Wave 2: Turnaround – Chorus 2 7 / 110 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com Following the intense nature of the second half of the chorus, notice that the MTI level is brought way down within the turnaround due to its sparse nature (i.e. it consists solely of the sax hook). The MTI level is then once again kicked back up within the second verse that follows. Notice that the MTI flow from this point through the end of the second chorus is pretty much exactly the same as wave one as detailed above. Wave 3: Turnaround – Bridge Following the intense nature of the second stanza within chorus two, notice that the MTI level is once again brought way back down during the solo sax turnaround, which this time also includes Azalea’s spoken intro to the bridge that follows.