Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com Come & Get It 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: Selena Gomez Song/Album: Come & Get It / Stars Dance Songwriters: Dean, Eriksen, Hermansen Genre: Pop Sub Genre: Electropop, World (Indian) Length: 3:52 Structure: B-A-B-A-B-C-B Tempo: 80 bpm First Chorus: 0:15 / 6% into the song Intro Length: 0:15 Outro Length: n/a Electric vs. Acoustic: Electric Primary Instrumentation: Synth Lyrical Theme: Love/Relationships Title Occurrences: Come & Get It occurs 12 times within the song Primary Lyrical P.O.V: 1st & 2nd Song Overview Back to Top Released as the lead single from her first solo album, Stars Dance, Come & Get It finds Selena Gomez teaming up with 3 of today’s hottest hitmakers including Tor Hermansen & Mikkel Eriksen (both of Stargate), and Ester Dean with the aim of separating her from her Disney 1 / 71 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com past and to establish her as a major force within the mainstream Pop scene alongside contemporaries including Rihanna, Katy and Britney. As you’ll see within the report, Come & Get It possesses many of the “hit qualities” that are indicative of today’s chart-topping songs, but it also falls short in some key areas that preclude it from realizing its fullest potential. To date Come & Get It has landed in the top 10 on 10 charts throughout the world and hit #1 on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Songs chart. THE SONGWRITERS This wasn’t the first time that Ester Dean and Stargate have collaborated on a song. Together they’ve crafted chart-topping hits for some of today’s biggest artists including Rihanna (S&M, What’s My Name, Rude Boy) and Katy Perry (Firework), and have written hits for other A-list artists including the following: Stargate: Ne-Yo Tinie Tempah Karmin Wiz Khalifa Mary J. Blige Beyonce Flo Rida Jennifer Hudson Trey Songz Ester Dean: Britney Spears Nicki Minaj Rita Ora 50 Cent 2 / 71 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com Scotty McCreery Jennifer Hudson Mary J. Blige David Guetta Tinie Tempah Nelly Additionally, if you think that Come & Get It has a distinct Rihanna vibe about it, you’re right. These writers are the Rihanna specialists. Stargate Rihanna Credits Include: Unfaithful We Ride Don’t Stop The Music Hate That I Love You Take A Bow Wait Your Turn Te Amo Only Girl (In The World) Rude Boy What’s My Name S&M Diamonds Ester Dean Rihanna Credits Include S&M What’s My Name 3 / 71 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com Fading Complicated You Da One Where Have You Been Talk That Talk We All Want Love Drunk On Love Roc Me Out Farewell Fool In Love Lost In Paradise Right Now It’s been rumored that Come & Get It was originally written for Rihanna but didn’t make the final cut of her latest album, Unapologetic. As you go through the report you’ll see that this is certainly a distinct possibility. Structural Analysis Back to Top At-a-Glance Timeline (Shows when each section hits within the timeline of the song) 4 / 71 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com Section Length (Length of each individual section within the song) I=Intro, V=Verse, Chr=Chorus, Turn=Turnaround, Brg=Bridge, IB=Instrumental Break Come & Get It contains 10 individual sections within its framework, all of which land in the mid to upper 0:20 range except for the intro and pre-chorus-2. Key Points Notice that all of the verse and chorus sections within the song possess uniform section lengths, landing at 0:24. This amplifies the “predictability” factor of the song (though not in a negative way), and as a result accentuates the memorability factor for the listener. The first pre-chorus and bridge are the longest sections within the song (by a hair), each landing at 0:27. The 2 shortest sections within the song are the intro (as you would typically expect) and the second pre-chorus, both of which land at 0:15. Additionally, the 0:04 “trail” refers to the cymbal trail off that occurs at the tail end of the song. 5 / 71 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com In regard to the pre-chorus, notice that this is the only section within the song that doesn’t possess uniform section length between occurrences, which is an extreme rarity when it comes to chart-topping Pop songs. We’ll explore this in detail later within the report. Top 10 Hit Pop Song Comparison Let’s now see how Come & Get It’s section length compares to the 25 songs that landed in the Billboard Pop Songs Chart top 10 during Q2-2013: Come & Get It / Top 10 Hit Pop Song Averages Intro: 0:15 / 0:14 Verse: 0:24 / 0:26 Pre-Chorus: (0:27/0:15) / 0:15 Chorus: 0:24 / 0:27 Bridge: 0:27/ 0:24 As you can see, for the most part Come & Get It is right in line with the average section lengths that defined last quarter’s top 10 hit Pop songs. The only key difference is in regard to the length of the first pre-chorus, which is almost double the average. Additionally, note that it was the longest pre-chorus length out of all of the songs that landed in the Pop Songs top 10 during the quarter. As for the second pre-chorus, note that its length is exactly the same as the average, landing at 0:15. Now, let’s see how Come & Get It’s section count compares to the 25 songs that landed in the Billboard Pop Songs Chart top 10 during Q2-2013: Come & Get It / Top 10 Hit Pop Songs Intro: 1 / 1 Verse: 2 / 2 Pre-Chorus: 2 / 2 Chorus: 4 / 3 Bridge: 1 / 1 6 / 71 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com With the exception of the chorus, Come & Get It possesses the same section count as the vast majority of top 10 hit Pop songs from Q2. The differentiating factor is that Come & Get It contains 1 additional chorus that occurs at the beginning of the song following the intro as opposed to a verse. Additionally, besides the additional chorus at the onset notice that it utilizes an A-B-A-B-C-B form (verse – chorus – verse – chorus – bridge – chorus), which is still by far the most popular structure utilized in today’s chart-topping hits. Total Section Analysis (Total time consumed by each section and its percentage of the total song) Come & Get It is comprised of 5 primary sections within its framework (i.e. all choruses, verses and pre-choruses, plus the intro and bridge), accounting for 41% of the song’s total composition all the way down to just 6%. Not surprisingly, the vast majority of time within the song was allocated to that ultra-infectious chorus, accounting for 41% of its total composition. Notice that it wasn’t its length that provided it with increased weight relative to other sections within the song, but its count (i.e. 4 occurrences vs. 2 verse and pre-chorus occurrences). It just goes to show, repeating the most infectious part of your song more than others can’t hurt, that’s for sure! 7 / 71 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com As for the other sections, the amount of time allocated to the verse was about half that of the chorus (21%), and the 2 pre-chorus occurrences followed close behind at 18% of the song’s total composition. The bridge followed at 12%, and the intro accounted for just 6% of the total song. Top 10 Hit Pop Song Comparison Now let’s now see how the sectional breakdown of Come & Get It compares to the 25 songs that landed in the Billboard Pop Songs Chart top 10 during Q2-2013: Intro Come & Get It: Comprises 6% of the total song. Q2-2013 Average: Comprises 6% of the total song. Comparison: The percentage of time allocated to Come & Get It’s intro is exactly the same as the top 10 Pop song average. Verse Come & Get It: Comprises 21% of the total song. Q2-2013 Average: Comprises 24% of the total song. Comparison: Come & Get It allocated 3% less time to the verse than the Pop song average. Pre-Chorus Come & Get It: Comprises 18% of the total song. Q2-2013 Average: Comprises 14% of the total song. Comparison: Come and Get It allocated 4% more time to the pre-chorus than the Pop song average. Chorus Come & Get It: Comprises 41% of the total song. Q2-2013 Average: Comprises 41% of the total song. Comparison: The percentage of time allocated to Come & Get It’s chorus is exactly the same as the top 10 Pop song average.