Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com Pop Top 10 Deconstructed: Q3-2013 The Songs The #1 Hit Club Songwriters New Arrivals & De-Charted Hits Song Structure & Compositional Characteristics Song Attributes Back to Top THE SONGS & SONGWRITERS During Q3-2013, there were a total of 23 songs that landed in the Billboard Pop Songs top 10. Macklemore led the pack with 2 top 10 hits (Can’t Hold Us & Same Love), but it was without a doubt Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines that stole the show during the quarter. 1 / 58 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com The #1 Hit Club of Q3-2013 Only 5 of the 23 songs (22%) that landed in Billboard Pop songs top 10 either hit #1 for the first time or peaked at #1 during the preceding quarter. The 4 carryovers from Q2 included the balladesque Mirrors & Just Give Me A Reason, the Hip Hop/Rap natured Same Love, and the massively successful R&B, Dance, Hip Hop/Rap influenced Blurred Lines. The only new #1 addition during Q3 was Katy Perry’s Power Pop, Pop/Rock natured Roar. Q3 #1 Play By Play 2 / 58 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com Can’t Hold Us kicked the quarter off at #1, holding on to the top spot for just 2 weeks before being dethroned by the hit of the summer (and the year for that matter), Blurred Lines. The song remained at #1 for an astounding 10 consecutive weeks until Katy Perry’s “Roaring” comeback brought it all to an end during final week of the quarter. Who They Held Off These are the #2 songs that the #1?s prevented from reaching the top spot during Q3-2013: Can’t Hold Us Held off Come & Get It for 2 weeks. Blurred Lines Held off Come & Get It for 1 week Held off Get Lucky for 2 weeks Held off Radioactive for 3 weeks Held off Love Somebody for 2 weeks Held off Clarity for 2 weeks Roar Jumps from #5 to #1 during the final week of the quarter #1 Hit Primary Sub-Genre Influence Comparison: Q2-2013 vs. Q3-2013 Dance/Club Q2-2013: None Q3-2013: None Hip Hop/Rap Q2-2013: Can’t Hold Us, Thrift Shop Q3-2013: Can’t Hold Us R&B/Soul Q2-2013: None 3 / 58 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com Q3-2013: Blurred Lines Rock Q2-2013: None Q3-2013: None Pop Fusion & “Other” Q2-2013: 5 #1 hits Daylight (Straight-Up Pop/Rock, Ballad) I Knew You Were Trouble (Straight-Up Pop, Dubstep) Just Give Me A Reason (Straight Up Pop, Ballad) Mirrors (Straight-Up Pop, R&B, Ballad) When I Was Your Man (Straight-Up Pop, R&B/Soul, Ballad) Q3-2013: 3 #1 hits Just Give Me A Reason (Straight Up Pop, Ballad) Mirrors (Straight-Up Pop, R&B, Ballad) Roar (Straight-Up Pop, Pop/Rock, Power Pop) The Songwriters During Q3, 93 credited songwriters were involved in crafting the 23 songs that landed in the Billboard Pop Songs top 10, averaging around 4 writers per song. Of those songwriters, 6 were involved in co-writing 2 top 10 hits. One of them however surpassed them all to become Q3?s “undisputed champion of hit songwriting.” That champion is Timothy Mosley (aka Timbaland), who saw 3 of his co-writes land in the Pop songs top 10 during the quarter. The Top Songwriters Of Q3-2013 These songwriters had 2 or more of their co-writes place in the Pop Songs top 10 during Q3-2013. Note: The position denotes the peak position of the song to-date by the end of the quarter. 4 / 58 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com *Indicates the “Hit Songwriting Champion” of the quarter. NEW ARRIVALS VS. DECHARTED HITS This section compares the songs that entered into the Pop Songs top 10 for the first time during Q3 against those that didn’t make it back in from Q2, giving you a look at what’s in, what’s out, and where things are headed. Song Count – New Arrivals vs. Decharted Hits 5 / 58 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com As you can see in the graph above, there was a slightly higher concentration of Pop Fusion and Hip Hop/Rap songs within the Pop songs top 10 during Q3-2013 and lesser amount of Dance, R&B/Soul and Rock songs compared to the preceding quarter. New Top 10 Arrivals In Q3 (12 Songs) 6 / 58 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com As was the case in Q2, the vast majority of songs that entered into the Pop songs top 10 for the first time during Q3 possess a Fusion of influences or are different in nature than the typical Dance, Rock, Hip Hop/Rap and R&B/Soul songs that show up from quarter to quarter. Song that are predominantly Dance and Hip Hop/Rap followed far behind, accounting for 25% and 17% of songs, respectively. Notice that the Hip Hop/Rap category showed the greatest increase relative to the preceding quarter. On the other end of the spectrum, new R&B/Soul and Rock songs were no-shows during Q3. New Dance Songs Clarity I Need Your Love Summertime Sadness (Cedric Gervais remix) New Hip Hop/Rap Songs Holy Grail 7 / 58 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com Same Love New Pop Fusion & “Other” Songs Cups (Country/Folk) Love Somebody (Straight-Up Pop, Dance) Roar (Straight-Up Pop, Pop/Rock, Power Pop) Safe & Sound (Electro Alt Pop/Dance, Retro 80?s New Wave) Treasure (Retro Funk, Disco, R&B) Wake Me Up (Country/Folk, EDM) We Can’t Stop (Straight-Up Pop, R&B, Dance) Key Points Form & Sectional Of the 12 songs within the category, only 3 utilized a straight-up A-B-A-B-C-B form, all of which stemmed from the Pop Fusion/Other category (Love Somebody, Roar and Treasure). All of the other songs possess forms of differing nature. Only 2 out of 12 songs kicked off with the chorus as opposed to the verse – I Need Your Love and We Can’t Stop. Average song length for the new arrival category was 3:52, up 0:06 from the preceding quarter. The Hip Hop/Rap category averaged the longest by far at 5:29, while the Pop Fusion/Other category clocked in at the shortest, averaging at 3:22. All songs except for 2 (Holy Grail and We Can’t Stop) utilized an intro within their framework. The average length landed at just 0:12, 0:04 shorter than the preceding quarter. 58% of all new arrivals contain a pre-chorus, virtually the same amount as the preceding quarter. Note that at least 1 song from each sub-genre category utilized one within their framework. Only 58% of all songs featured a bridge within their framework, down from 80% in Q2. Note that neither of the songs within the Hip Hop/Rap category utilized one within their structure. 58% of all new arrivals featured an outro within their framework, up from 33% during the preceding quarter. This was the case with at least 1 song from each sub-genre category. 8 / 58 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com 58% of all songs featured an instrumental break within their framework, also up from 33% during the preceding quarter. At least 1 song from each sub-genre category utilized one, and was the case with all Dance songs which should come as no surprise. On average, first choruses occurred 0:38 / 16% of the way into a song, which was 0:04/3% earlier than the preceding quarter. They hit earliest within the Dance category, averaging just 0:28/12% of the way in, followed close behind by Pop/Fusion songs at 0:32/17%. The Hip Hop/Rap category averaged by far the longest, with first choruses hitting around 1:10/22% of the way in. Tempo The average tempo for all new arrivals was 110 BPM, just 4 BPM slower than the preceding quarter. Note however that the preceding quarter was also 4 BPM slower than the quarter that preceded that. The Dance category as you would expect possessed the highest average BPM, landing at 126. This was followed by Pop Fusion at 111. The Hip Hop/Rap category possessed the slowest average BPM at 79. The Pop Fusion/Other Category As usual, the Pop/Fusion category contained a wide range of sub-genre influences that helped to shape the sound of songs within the category, this time around including Country/Folk, Dance, Power Pop, Retro Funk/Disco, R&B, EDM and Retro 80?s New Wave. Instrumentation 58% of songs featured primarily electric based instrumentation within the mix, down from 73% during the preceding quarter. 3 featured a combination of electric & acoustic instrumentation, while only 2 are primarily acoustic in nature. The vast majority (92%) featured a synth to some degree within the mix (no surprise there), while half featured a guitar as well. As for piano, it was an element within 42% of all songs.