Last week (June 17, 2023), Miley Cyrus’ Flowers became the longest running #1 hit by a female artist in Billboard Radio Songs chart history, with 17 weeks at the top.
Co-written by Cyrus, ALDAE and Michael Pollack and produced by Kid Harpoon and Tyler Johnson, Flowers’ overarching strength is that each component effectively serves the song, the artist and the marketplace, otherwise known as Hit Songs Deconstructed’s S.A.M. principle.
Lyrically, Flowers alludes to Cyrus’ failed marriage to Liam Hemsworth and her ability to emerge self-loving and self-empowered. Not only did this create intrigue for her fans, but her personal connection with the subject matter heightened her ability to deliver the song in a compelling and believable manner. Furthermore, the way the vocal melody expertly unfolds with varying ranges, directions, and rhythms across sections heightens interest and enhances the listener’s emotional connection with the lyrics.
Musically, the song’s use of strings, four-on-the-floor kick, and electric bass pattern impart a funk and disco vibe that harkens back to 1970s disco classics such as Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive. This is complemented by other 1970s qualities such as the mellow, flange timbre of the keys and guitar and the processing on the post-chorus vocal, which along with Cyrus’ at times husky, raspy vocal performance provides an underlying early to mid-1970s soft-rock sound reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac and Carol King. These throwback qualities, effectively balanced by the song’s more modern pop qualities, enabled Flowers to both sound both familiar and unique compared to many of its mainstream contemporaries.
The song’s strategic and methodical hook arrangement takes its catchiness to a whole new level - but without becoming overly redundant. Among them are strategically placed "up top" and "down below" summative vocal hooks in the chorus, repetition of the empowering "I can love me better" hook in the post-chorus, the inclusion of a vocal/instrumental call and response "nano" hook in the second verse, and a foundational bass hook that serves as a catchy, cohesive thread throughout much of the song.
I = Intro | A = Verse | PC = Pre-Chorus | B = Chorus | VB = Vocal Break | PST = Post-Chorus | "D" = Departure | O = Outro
Number: Denotes the number of times that a particular hook/motif appears within a section
All in all, Flowers’ ability to connect on such a wide and profound scale is a testament to the song’s writers and producers. In addition to making Billboard Radio Song Chart history, the song has hit the Top 10 on over 75 charts throughout the world and peaked at #1 on close to 50.
Subscribers can read a full section-by-section analysis of Flowers here.
SPECIAL OFFER
Save 15% on the full 100+ page report and Logic project!
You'll gain unprecedented insight into
how Flowers was written, produced and arranged!
OR
Use discount code FLOWERS to save 15%!
“
My entire thought process as a producer, an engineer, a musician, and a songwriter are fleshed out in the pages of the HSD reports.
Prince Charles Alexander
Grammy winning, multi-platinum music producer, mixing engineer
and professor at Berklee College of Music
What Does a Pro Subscription Include?
Hit Song Deconstructions
A Library of 60+ Hit Songs Deconstructed Reports
The Hit Song Deconstructed reports provide unparalleled analysis of today's hits.
Each deconstruction breaks down a current hit to its foundational building blocks and pulls back the curtain on the patterns and science behind how the song was written, produced and arranged.
Leaving no stone unturned, everything is presented in a clear and concise manner and is complimented with unique Hit Songs Deconstructed visualizations that can be used to assess your own songs for strengths and weaknesses as well.
Among them are the HSD melodic parts tables and graphs, rhyme scheme tables, narrative structure tables, energy graphs, and more.
Each report is published in ten segments every two weeks, and analyzes structure, genres and sub-genre fusion, instruments and arrangement, energy and dynamics, vocal melody, vocal production, lyrics, and rhymes. The last segment features a top 10 benchmark and highlights the most important report takeaways.
By reading these deconstructions, you'll become privy to the same tools and techniques today's hitmakers are using.
The insight you'll gain will take your craft to the next level, guaranteed.
Downloadable DAWs
A visual roadmap for understanding how today's hits are arranged.
Every Hit Song Deconstruction includes a downloadable DAW project (Logic).
Using empty MIDI regions to visualize the instrumental arrangement, energy, vocal melody and production, structure, select techniques and more, these DAW projects provide you with a visual roadmap for understanding how today’s hits were effectively arranged.
By watching as you listen, you will gain valuable insight into the strategic decisions today’s hitmakers made to help prime their songs for maximum impact, giving you a host of new tools, techniques, and ideas to help take your own songs to the next level.
Fuel Your Inspiration with a Library of 100+ Hit Song Techniques
A Searchable Database of Songwriting Techniques
Fuel your inspiration with the techniques that helped today’s most successful songs become global hits!
This extensive collection houses examples of the most effective techniques found in Hot 100 top 10 hits spanning various genres.
Every Tuesday, you’ll receive an expertly curated technique that has been deconstructed by the Hit Songs Deconstructed team to study. Each technique is accompanied by a detailed explanation, visual aids, and audio clips revealing the what, the why, and the how behind them.
It's the perfect way to continuously hone your craft and incorporate techniques from current chart-toppers into your own music.
Techniques include: Hook Techniques, Intro Techniques, Outro Techniques, Duet/Group Lead Vocal Structure Techniques, Audience Participation Moment Techniques, Energy Techniques, Section Impact Accentuator Techniques, Sub-Genre Fusion Techniques, Chorus Vocal Structure Techniques, Departure Section Techniques, Prosody Techniques, and Rhyme Techniques (with more technique categories to come!)
Hit Song Search
200+ filters to find the exact song you are looking for with the click of a button.
Need reference tracks? Mix and match 200+ compositional filters to find Hot 100 Top 10 songs with very specific compositional characteristics.
In addition, this tool can be used to:
- See how your song stacks up against proven hits with similar compositional characteristics
- Get insight for ways to take your song to the next level and/or give it a unique spin
- Understand the space you are looking to compete in
- Or simply get inspired!
Search Filters include:
Unlike AI-Powered analytics, each song is manually analyzed and every data point is vetted in accordance with HSD's proprietary methodologies for accuracy.
Compositional Analytics
Round out your toolbox with songwriting analytics for today's most successful songs.
Looking for insight into what today's hits have in common? Or want to spot trends on the rise, or in decline? Or need to back up gut feelings with factual data?
This powerful, fully interactive database provides you with critical insight into how the current musical landscape is evolving with valuable, real-time intelligence on the compositional characteristics of the songs that land in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100.
Hundreds of different searches keep you in tune with what’s driving the Hot 100 Top 10 at the compositional level. Trends are visualized with graphs and tables with each data point linking to a list of the corresponding songs.
Search for trends pertaining to primary genres, sub-genres/influences, instruments, lead vocals (gender, vocal delivery, etc.), lyrics (lyrical theme, title placement and appearances, etc.), song structure (key, tempo, song length, song form, etc.), song sections (intro characteristics, first chorus occurrence, post-chorus types, etc.), and much more.
Save your most important searches to your dashboard for easy access!
Benchmark Tool
Compare and contrast compositional characteristics across songs, artists, songwriters, producers and labels.
This powerful tool gives you the ability to compare and contrast any of the compositional characteristics in The Immersion Database across songs, artists, songwriters, producers and labels.
- Gain insight into a specific body of work of a particular artist, songwriter, producer or label
- Understand what compositional characteristics a select group of songs have in common
- Discover how songs stand out from the pack by going against the grain
- Make targeted pitches by researching what creates the signature sound of a particular artist, producer, or songwriter
Trend searches include number of songs in the Top 10, weeks in the Top 10, trends for featured artist, genre breakdown, team size, and more.
Searches can be filtered in a multitude of ways including by date range, primary genre, peak chart position, among others.
All search results include links to the corresponding songs and profile pages.
Artist, Songwriter, Producer and Label Database
Stay in tune with the artists, writers, producers, and labels behind today’s hits and the trends behind them.
Every artist, songwriter, producer and label has its own personal profile detailing which artists, songwriters, producers and labels they’ve collaborated with, their compositional profile, charting information and a link to their Twitter and Instagram pages.
Hit Songs Deconstructed Trend Reports
The State of the Hot 100 Top 10 Delivered to Your Inbox
Today’s hits are changing faster than ever, from the songwriting and production techniques used to craft them to the influences and instruments shaping their sound. To stay ahead of the curve, it's critical to proactively stay on top of what's driving today’s most successful songs at the compositional level. The Hit Songs Deconstructed trend reports deliver an easy-to-digest snapshot of the trends driving the Hot 100 top 10.
A deconstruction of the most recent quarter's new arrivals, and how they differ from the songs that carried over from the previous quarter.
This report delivers an in-depth look at trends for all the compositional categories we track, including primary genres, sub-genres, lead vocals, lyrical themes, instruments, key, tempo, song length, song structure, and much more.
A deconstruction of the compositional characteristics that are unique to #1 hits.
A deconstruction of the compositional characteristics that are unique to songs that chart for 10+ weeks in the top 10..
Used By:
“
I find the site VERY valuable. I’m a fan.
- Eric Hurt
VP, A&R Publishing / Nashville at EMPIRE
“
Spot on with the analysis and relevant to any music theory, composer, songwriter, or producer in the game now.
- Dr. O
Producer, Young M.A., Chris Brown, Lil Wayne
“
I love the in-depth charts and explanations. I’m looking to incorporate some of your questions in my A&R style.
- Shalik Berry
Vice President of A&R, Epic Records
“
ASCAP aims to provide members with a multifaceted toolchest to augment their craft and their careers. Hit Songs Deconstructed is a cutting-edge service that can support our members' creative process with in-depth data and analysis of current songwriting techniques.
- Nick Lehman
ASCAP Chief Strategy & Digital Officer
“
Some producers have a hit or two by sheer fluke/talent and the subconscious knowledge of a lifetime of growing up with music. However, making hits songs consistently is not just about talent and the occasional fluke. There is a science to the art of making hit music.
Hit Songs Deconstructed will equip you with tools that will allow you to make hit songs more consistently.
Lyburn Geldenhuis
A&R/Producer/Songwriter/Mixing Engineer
“
As a songwriter, an important part of my job is to analyze what works in successful songs. By identifying the tools that were employed in hits, writers can incorporate them into their own songs--using techniques that have proven successful--while putting their own spin and unique creative angle on them. HSD does the research for me.
- Jason Blume
Songwriter w/50 million album sales and top-selling author, Billboard Books
“
I am honestly blown away by the amount of information you provide on each of these songs, practically like a thesis deserving of a degree. From a songwriting standpoint, so much of this information is so helpful, and the time-saving benefits are enormous.
- KC Porter
Grammy winning producer/songwriter/recording artist
Carlos Santana, Ricky Martin, Ozomatli, Boyz II Men, Selena
“
I can't stress enough how important HSD is to any serious professional hit songwriter.
Hilton Wright II
Record Producer/Songwriter
“
The way songs are broken down is extremely useful in really solidifying your understanding of what's happening in the most popular music, and how you can incorporate it in your own.
Omar Zulfi
Music Artist/Producer, Deviant Noise
“
Whether you want to work with the current trends or against them, HSD is a powerful tool in music production strategy.
- Dean Nelson
Director of Music Production, Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology
“
I have never seen hit songs broken down in such an accurate and detailed way.
- Jerome Baylor
Songwriter, Composer, Lyricist, Topline Writer, Beat Producer