Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com The Hit Songs Deconstructed Trend Report: Q1-2014 This report provides you with a detailed look at the key hit songwriting trends that defined all of the songs that landed in the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 over the past year (April 2013 through March 2014). Trend Categories: In Brief: Q1-2014 Highlights >> Number Of Songs Within The Top 10 >> Record Labels >> Songwriters >> Lead Vocal >> Primary Genres >> Primary Sub-Genres & Influencers >> Primary Lyrical Themes >> Song Title Word Count >> Song Title Appearances >> Primary/Prominent Instrumentation >> Electric Vs. Acoustic Songs >> The A-B-A-B-C-B Form >> Average Song Length >> Song Length Range >> First Section >> Last Section >> Average Intro Length >> Intro Length Range >> Average Outro Length >> Outro Length Range >> First Section Being A Chorus >> First Chorus: Avg. Time Into Song >> First Chorus: Time Into Song Range >> First Chorus: Avg. Percent Into Song >> First Chorus: Percent Into Song Range >> Songs That Contain A Pre-Chorus >> Songs That Contain A Bridge >> Songs That Contain A Prominent Instrumental Or Vocal Break >> The Songs The following are the 20 songs charted in the Hot 100 top 10 during the first quarter of 2014: All Of Me (John Legend) 1 / 40 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com Counting Stars (OneRepublic) Dark Horse (Katy Perry) Demons (Imagine Dragons) Drunk In Love (Beyonce featuring Jay Z) Happy (Pharrell Williams) Let Her Go (Passenger) Let It Go (Idina Menzel) Pompeii (Bastille) Roar (Katy Perry) Royals (Lorde) Say Something (A Great Big World & Christina Aguilera) Story Of My Life (One Direction) Talk Dirty (Jason Derulo featuring 2 Chainz) Team (Lorde) The Man (Aloe Blacc) The Monster (Eminem featuring Rihanna) Timber (Pitbull featuring Ke$ha) Wake Me Up (Avicii) Wrecking Ball (Miley Cyrus) IN BRIEF: Q1-2014 HIGHLIGHTS New Top 10 Arrivals & Carryovers For the first time in over a year, the number of top 10 songs that carried over from one quarter to the next surpassed new top 10 arrivals. What this means is that during the first quarter of the year a good number of top 10 songs possessed increased staying power relative to quarters 2 / 40 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com past. Note that over half of the new top 10 arrivals of the quarter stemmed from the R&B/Soul genre category. Record Labels 9 labels represented the 20 songs within the Hot 100 top 10 during the first quarter of the year, of which Interscope and Columbia tied as the top with 20% of songs each. Songwriters The number of songs featuring 5 or more credited writers remained in the majority during the first quarter of the year, though single writer songs have doubled in number over the past couple of quarters. Lead Vocal The number of songs featuring a solo male lead vocal remained in the majority for a fourth quarter in a row, accounting for 40% of all songs. Songs featuring a female lead have been in decline for the past 2 quarters, while those featuring a male/female duet have been steadily increasing in number since Q3-2013. Primary Genres Pop remained as the top genre within the Hot 100 top 10, though R&B/Soul saw the most stringent increase of all the genre categories, jumping from just 10% of songs in Q4 up to 25% of songs during Q1. Rock increased in prominence as well, while Dance and Hip Hop/Rap both saw significant declines. Primary Sub-Genres & Influencers Despite accounting for just 5% of songs within the Primary Genre category, Hip Hop/Rap was the top Sub-Genre / Influencer of Q1-2014, having its presence felt within 35% of songs within the top 10. Rock & R&B/Soul both increased in prominence, while Dance has been in a tailspin over the past couple of quarters, showing up as a prominent influence in just 10% of songs during the first quarter of the year. Lyrical Themes & Titles Not surprisingly, love/relationships remained as the most popular lyrical theme within the top 10 despite it significantly decreasing in prominence over the last couple of quarters. What was surprising though is that the “other/non-typical” lyrical theme category continued to account for a substantial amount of songs after surging upward to 45% from just 16% of songs back in Q3, of which boasting, historical/biographical and lifestyle were representatives. Additionally, hooking up and partying/clubbing continued to be the least popular themes within the top 10. 3 / 40 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com 1 word song titles were the most popular during the first quarter of the year, though they were followed very close behind by those featuring 2 and 3 words, the later which doubled in number over the past 2 quarters. Only 1 song contained 4 words within its title, and none contained 5 or more. Songs that have their title appearing between 6 and 10 times within the song accounted for a small majority during Q1, while those that appear between 16 and 20 times as well as those that don’t appear at all were barely a factor. Pompeii was the only song NOT to mention the title throughout the entire song. Instrumentation The synth remained as the most popular instrument featured within top 10 hits, though it took a significant hit during the first quarter of the year, decreasing from 90% down to just 65% of songs. Prominent bass, strings and wind instruments all increased in prominence, while guitar and piano both declined in number. Songs that are primarily electric in nature were in the majority during the first quarter of the year, followed close behind by those that possess a combination of electric and acoustic based instrumentation. Additionally, note that the number of primarily acoustic songs has significantly increased within the top 10 over the past couple of quarters. Song Structure & Form The majority of songs featured an A-B-A-B-C-B form, which reached a 4 quarter high during the first quarter of 2014. Average song length decreased by 0:07 to land at 3:48 during the first quarter of the year. The 4:00+ range was the most popular, but was followed close behind by the 3:30 – 3:59 range. Only a couple of songs landed under 3:00 in length. 75% of all songs kicked off with an intro during Q1, which was down from 90% just 3 quarters earlier. Those that didn’t either immediately kicked off with the verse (15% of songs) or chorus (10% of songs). Of the songs that do contain an intro, they averaged at just 0:12 in length (down 0:02 in relation to the preceding quarter), with the most popular range being the moderately short range (0:10 – 0:19). That being said, note that the shortest intro length range (0:01 – 0:09) has nearly doubled in number over the past year, accounting for 40% of all songs by the end of Q1-2014. For the first time since Q3-2013, the number of songs that feature an outro as the last section of the song fell below those that end on the chorus. It was a close split, however, each accounting for 40% and 45% of songs, respectively. Note that the other 15% of songs ended on an instrumental and/or vocal break, which has increased in prominence over the past year (e.g. Timber and Wake Me Up). Of the songs that do contain an outro, they averaged at just 0:14 in length with the most popular range being the moderately short category (0:10 – 0:19). Note that this category increased significantly over the last 2 quarters, jumping from 44% 4 / 40 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com to 74% of songs. 30% of all songs featured the chorus as the first section of the song as opposed to a verse. On average, first choruses occurred 0:37 / 17% of the way into a song, which was almost identical to the preceding quarter. The most popular first chorus occurrence TIME range by far was the moderately late range (0:40 – 0:59), which has been in the majority over the past year. In regard to the PERCENT into the song where the first chorus occurs, the moderately late range (20% – 29%) took over at the top spot for the first time since Q2-2013, accounting for 50% of all songs. The previous quarter’s top range (10% – 19%), was more than cut in half, decreasing from 45% of songs down to just 20% by the end of Q1-2014. The number of songs that contain a pre-chorus within their framework saw a slight increase during the first quarter of the year, accounting for 65% of all songs within the Hot 100 top 10. Note that this number has remained relatively stable over the last few quarters. After embarking on a 3 quarter decline from which it started out accounting for 85% of all songs, the number of songs that feature a bridge within their framework rebounded during the first quarter of 2014, accounting for 75% of all songs. Back to Top THE TRENDS Note: An (*) indicates a category that increased, decreased or remained constant over 2 or more quarters Number Of Songs Within The Top 10 5 / 40 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com During the first quarter of 2014, 20 songs charted in the Hot 100 top 10.