A lot can happen in a year, especially when it comes to hit songwriting. What’s hot today may not necessarily be hot tomorrow, and vice versa.
Below is a brief comparison of how intros, first choruses, lead vocal gender, record labels and sub-genres have changed (or remained the same) compared to last year.
Shorter length intros became more popular
Q3-2013
The moderately short (0:10 – 0:19) intro length category was the most popular, accounting for 52% of songs. Amongst its representatives were Applause, Cruise, Cups, and Get Lucky.
The long (0:30+) intro length category was the least popular, of which there were no representatives.
Q3-2014
The short (0:01 – 0:09) intro length category became the most popular, accounting for 53% of songs. Amongst its representatives were All Of Me, Break Free, Fancy, and Shake It Off.
The moderately short category dropped to the #2 spot, accounting for 41% of songs.
The least popular was still the long (0:30+) category, of which there were no representatives.
Songs got to the chorus faster
Q3-2013
The moderately late (0:40 – 0:59) first chorus occurrence category was by far the most popular, accounting for 50% of songs. Amongst its representatives were Best Song Ever, Holy Grail, Just Give Me A Reason, and Royals.
The late (1:00+) first chorus occurrence category was the least popular, represented by just one song – Can’t Hold Us.
Q3-2014
The moderately early (0:20 – 0:39) first chorus occurrence category became most popular, accounting for 47% of songs. Amongst its representatives were Bang Bang, Boom Clap, Chandelier, and Problem.
The moderately late category dropped to the #2 spot, trailing far behind at just 26% of songs.
The late (1:00+) category was once again the least popular and was represented by just one song, Latch.
Solo male lead vocals remained the most popular
Q3-2013
The solo male lead vocal category was the most popular, accounting for 42% of songs. Amongst its representatives were Bezerk, Love Somebody, Treasure, and Radioactive.
The all female duet/group vocal lead category was the least popular; of which there were no representatives.
Q3-2014
The solo male lead vocal category was still the most popular, accounting for 45% of songs. Its representatives included All Of Me, Am I Wrong, Latch and Maps.
The all male duet/group lead vocal category was the least popular. It was represented by just one song, Wiggle (Jason Derulo & Snoop Dogg).
Additionally, the all female duet/group category moved into third place, accounting for 15% of songs. It was represented by Black Widow (Iggy Azalea & Rita Ora), Fancy (Iggy Azalea & Charli XCX), and Bang Bang (Jessie J, Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj).
Sub-Genres: R&B’s prominence more than doubled
Q3-2013
R&B/Soul played a role in shaping the sound of 33% of top 10 hits, both within and outside the R&B/Soul primary genre category and in varying level of prominence. Amongst its representatives were Blurred Lines, Get Lucky, Hold On, We’re Going Home, and Holy Grail.
Q3-2014
R&B/Soul’s prominence more than doubled, playing a role within 70% of songs. Amongst its representatives were All Of Me, Bang Bang, Problem, Stay With Me, and Wiggle
Republic remained the top performing label
Q3-2013
Republic was the top performing label, accounting for 21% of songs. Amongst its representatives were Cruise, Cups, Hold On, We’re Going Home, and The Way.
Q3-2014
Republic was once again the top performing label, accounting for 25% of songs. Its representatives included Anaconda, Bang Bang, Break Free, Problem and Shake It Off.