Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com Just a Kiss Deconstructed Skip to: Audio/Video General Information At a Glance Structural Analysis Sectional Analysis Waveform Primary Instrumentation, Tone & Mix Benchmark Analysis Overall Assessment Hit Factor Assessment Conclusion Why it’s a Hit Take Aways Audio/Video Back to Top General Information Back to Top Artist: Lady Antebellum Song/Album: Just A Kiss/Own The Night Songwriter(s): C. Kelley, H. Scott, D. Haywood, D. Davidson Producer: Paul Worley Chart Position: #1 Country Song Genre: Country Sub Genre: Pop At a Glance Back to Top Length: 3:39 Structure: A-A-B-A-B-C-B 1 / 16 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com Tempo: Slow/Mid First Chorus: 0:54 (25% into the song) Intro Length: 0:14 Outro Length: 0:10 Primary Tone (Electric/Acoustic): Electric and Acoustic Instrumentation Primary Instrumentation: Piano & Electric Guitar Lyrical Theme: Love/Relationships Title Occurrences: “Just A Kiss” occurs 6 times within the song, twice within the each chorus, on the first and last lines of the section. Primary Lyrical P.O.V: 1st and 2nd person Structural Analysis Back to Top At-a-Glance Section Length (Length of each individual section within the song) Here we see three of the five sections in the song (verse, chorus and bridge) landing quite close in length to one another, with the verse sections and bridge both landing at 0:20 and the first two choruses landing at 0:27. The third chorus is slightly longer than the first two (landing at 0:34), due to the “extension” at the end of the section before going into the outro. Both the intro and outro sections are relatively short in nature (landing at 0:14 and 0:10, respectively), as are both of the turn-arounds, landing at 0:07 and 0:10, respectively). Structure Timeline (Shows when each section hits within the timeline of the song) 2 / 16 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com Total Section Analysis (Total time consumed by each section and its percentage of the total song) When you’ve got a super-infectious chorus, chances are you’re going to want it to comprise the largest percentage of your song. This was exactly the case with “Just A Kiss,” with the chorus totaling 40% of the songs total composition. This is followed by the verse at 27%, which is still up there in relation to the other sections within the song (each accounting for 9% or less of the songs total composition). Momentum/Intensity Factor (Evaluation of the intensity of each section within the song timeline on a scale of 1 – 10, 10 being the most intense) 3 / 16 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com “Just A Kiss” kicks off in a “subdued” manner, characterized by the up-front piano and backing drum machine. At 0:14 we enter the first verse, where the overall momentum remains the same (the backing music hasn’t changed from the intro), and we see a slight increase in intensity & tension with the introduction of Hillary’s vocals. At 0:34, we enter the second verse, this time with a lead vocal from Charles. The intensity/tension is kicked up a notch from the previous verse due to Charles’s “raspier,” more up front vocal delivery, live, spacious drums, subtle strings (cello – I assume) and the addition of electric guitar into the mix (panned left). At 0:46 the tension is subtly brought up once again, this time with the Hillary/Charles vocal harmony that takes place toward the end of the second verse. The intensity peaks at 0:52 with the drum fill (which kind of fakes you out – it leads you to believe that the chorus would directly follow, but it doesn’t). Right after the drum fill, everything dissipates for 0:02, before slamming into the first chorus at 0:54. This type of “pause” transition does a great job of maximizing the impact of the chorus that follows. The overall momentum remains pretty much constant throughout the first chorus, until being brought back down to the level nearing that of the intro during the first turn-around. The momentum continues until we get to the two high-level drum and guitar “hits” at 1:26 and 1:27 that lead us into the third verse. The momentum and intensity of the third verse is above that of the previous two specifically due to the addition of the overdriven guitar that is panned right in the mix. The overall flow continues until we hit the second chorus at 1:48, where we see the intensity rising a notch above that of the previous chorus due to the orchestration that is now more up front in the mix. It gives the section more of a “soaring” vibe than was present in previous chorus. Speaking of “soaring,” at 2:15 we hit the bridge, which is by far the most “intense” part of the song, characterized by the more driving, up-front electric guitars (specifically the one that is panned left), heavier drums, more prominent orchestration and the three-way vocal harmony. At 2:35 we head back into the turn-around, which is basically the same as the first turn-around except for the fact that it now incorporates vocals into the section. At 2:45 we “swell” into the third and final chorus, which is on par intensity wise with that of the previous chorus. The 4 / 16 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com momentum continues until we get to the final 3:11 – 3:16 of the section, where we see the intensity peaking (this part of the chorus was not present in the previous two chorus sections), before going into the outro, where the intensity is a notch above that of the second turn-around (specifically due to the addition of the “live” drums). The song “officially” ends at 3:29, with the ring-out (trail-off) lasting for 0:10. Sectional Analysis Back to Top Intro: 8.5/10 The intro section in “Just A Kiss” is just the backing music to the first verse of the song (amongst other sections as well), characterized by the up-front piano riff, bass and drum machine. Sometimes simplicity works best, and it’s definitely the case here. The piano melody is exceptionally memorable, evocative and instantly sets the overall tone and vibe of the song. It also functions as an instant “identifier,” the second you hear it you know exactly what song it is. This piano riff melody also reappears throughout the entire song, occurring in the verse, turn- around and outro sections. Verses: 9/10 The verse sections within “Just A Kiss” are quite strong for a number of reasons: LYRICS The evocative lyrics do a fantastic job of conveying the sexual tension between the two characters in the story. Lyrics like “feels so hard to breath” (sang by Hillary in the first verse) and “so hard to hold back…” (sung by Charles in the second verse) really make you feel how difficult it is for these two people to take it slow. VOCAL DELIVERY Hillary and Charles convey tons of emotion in their respective vocal deliveries, bringing the lyrics to life and really doing a great job of engrossing the listener in the song on an emotional level. You don’t just hear the lyrics, you feel the lyrics. INSTRUMENTAL MELODY & INSTRUMENTATION The instrumental melody and instrumentation used do a great job of backing the vocals, and each verse is differentiated from, and a bit more intense than, the previous verse through the addition of live drums (2nd verse), slight orchestration (strings) and electric guitar (introduced in the 2nd verse, panned left, and additional electric guitar in the 3rd verse, panned right). VOCAL MELODY & PHRASING Notice the overall simplicity and effectiveness of the vocal melody and lyrics within the song. There’s nothing cryptic or hard to follow, and it instantly grabs and keeps you engaged. Another thing to note is how the vocal inflection goes up on certain lyrics in the section. In the first verse, the last word on both the first and second lines (“me” and “breathe”) goes up in inflection, leading you into the line that follows. The last line of the first verse (“smile,”) goes down in inflection, bringing Hillary’s section to a close. 5 / 16 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com In the second verse (the two lines that are sung exclusively by Charles), the last word on the first line (“anyone”), goes up, and last two words on the second line (“my arms”) goes down, which then leads perfectly into the Hillary/Charles/Dave vocal harmony that comes in for the final line of the section. Notice the difference in the inflection present on the last word (“slow”) in the second verse and (“so right”) in the third verse. “Slow,” in the second verse, basically brings the section to a conclusion (similar to how Hillary ended the first verse), leading perfectly into the pause that follows before exploding into the chorus. “So right,” in the third verse, is more “climactic” in nature, and works well leading into the 2nd chorus with a drum fill as opposed to the pause that was present going into the first chorus.