With the second month of 2022 coming to a close, it’s time for “Under the Hood,” where we take a look at the songs that have charted in the Hot 100 Top 10 so far this year!
During the first two months of 2022, 16 songs charted in the Hot 100 Top 10, eight of which were new to the Top 10 this year.
Behind them were 18 credited primary artists, one credited featured artist (Young Thug), 53 credited songwriters, 25 credited producers, and 8 record labels.
Two songs occupied the top spot so far this year – Adele’s Easy On Me, which spent a cumulative 10 weeks in the region, and Encanto’s We Don’t Talk About Bruno, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and performed by the cast of Encanto. This breakout hit has defied boundaries, beating out Disney’s previous record holder for most weeks spent at #1, A Whole New World. As mentioned in last month’s “Under The Hood”, Bruno’s ensemble vocals, plot-centric lyrics, and Latin primary genre make it an incredibly atypical Top 10 hit, even among Disney songs. Still remaining at #1 after 5 weeks, the world is continuing to talk about Bruno.
So, what’s shaping the sound and vibe of this year’s Top 10?
Below you’ll find a few select highlights from Hit Songs Deconstructed’s monthly “Under the Hood” report.
Primary Genres: Pop continues to be the most common primary genre, accounting for half of the Top 10.
Sub-genres & Influences: In addition to the popular mainstays, some of the less common sub-genres and influences that are featured in just one song each include punk in GAYLE’s abcdefu, new wave in Justin Bieber & The Kid LAROI’s Stay, fanfare in Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow’s Industry Baby, and theatrical/show tune in We Don’t Talk About Bruno and Surface Pressure.
Vocals: Keeping in line with the popularity of the pop genre, sung vocals are most popular at 63% of songs, followed distantly by those with a combination of sung and rapped vocals at 31%. Only one song features entirely rapped vocals – Pushin P.
Lyrics: Also in line with pop’s popularity is the love/relationships lyrical theme, which currently defines a little over half of the Top 10.
Key: Minor keys are in the overwhelming majority so far this year, accounting for 69% of songs.
Last Section: While the most popular last section continues to be the outro, accounting for 63% of songs, the number of songs concluding with the chorus has been becoming more popular, accounting for 37% of songs YTD compared to 23% in 2021.
Subscribers can view a full, in-depth report of how 2022 is shaping up at the compositional level by clicking here.
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