A lot can happen in the course of a year, especially when it comes to hit songwriting.
When you compare today’s trends with those of this time last year, some of the most notable shifts include first choruses hitting earlier, song titles appearing more frequently, and Hip Hop/Rap joining Pop as the top primary genre. Categories that remained the same include the top lyrical theme and most popular lead vocal gender.
What follows is a comparison of the top performing categories within the HSD Music Charts during the fourth week of July in 2014 and 2015.
[Header 1 header=”Songs In The Hot 100 Top 10″]
[Header 3 header=”Then (Week of 7/26/14)”]
- #1 Rude: Magic!
- #2 Fancy: Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX
- #3 Problem: Ariana Grande featuring Iggy Azalea
- #4 Am I Wrong: Nico & Vinz
- #5 Stay With Me: Sam Smith
- #6 Wiggle: Jason Derulo featuring Snoop Dogg
- #7 All Of Me: John Legend
- #8 Maps: Maroon 5
- #9 Summer: Calvin Harris
- #10 Latch: Disclosure
[Header 3 header=”Now (Week of 7/25/15)”]
- #1 Cheerleader: OMI
- #2 See You Again: Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth
- #3 Can’t Feel My Face: The Weeknd
- #4 Bad Blood: Taylor Swift featuring Kendrick Lamar
- #5 Watch Me: Silento
- #6 Trap Queen: Fetty Wap
- #7 Shut Up And Dance: Walk The Moon
- #8 Fight Song: Rachel Platten
- #9 Where Are U Now: Skrillex, Diplo, Justin Bieber
- #10 Hey Mama: David Guetta featuring Rexha and Afrojack
[Header 1 header=”Remained The Same From 2014 to 2015″]
[Header 3 header=”Top Lead Vocal Category”]
- Then: Solo Male
- Now: Solo Male
[Header 3 header=”Top Lyrical Theme Category”]
- Then: Love/Relationships
- Now: Love/Relationships
[Header 3 header=”Top Electric Vs. Acoustic Instrumentation Category”]
- Then: Primarily Electric
- Now: Primarily Electric
[Header 3 header=”Top Song Length Category”]
- Then: 3:00 – 3:29
- Now: 3:00 – 3:29
[Header 3 header=”Top Songwriter Count”]
- Then: Five+ Writer Teams
- Now: Five+ Writer Teams
[Header 1 header=”Changed From 2014 to 2015″]
[Header 3 header=”Top First Chorus Occurrence Category”]
- Then: Moderately Early (0:20 – 0:39) and Moderately Late (0:40 – 0:59)
- Now: Early (0:01 – 0:19)
[Header 3 header=”Top Intro Length Category”]
- Then: Short (0:01 – 0:09) and Moderately Short (0:10 – 0:19)
- Now: Moderately Short (0:10 – 0:19)
[Header 3 header=”Top Song Title Appearance Category”]
- Then: 6 – 10 Times
- Then: 6 – 10 Times
[Header 3 header=”Top Primary Genre”]
- Then: Pop
- Now: Hip Hop/Rap and Pop
[Header 3 header=”Top Song Title Word Count Category”]
- Then: One Word
- Now: Two Words
[Header 3 header=”Top Primary Instrumentation Category”]
- Then: Electric Guitar, Prominent Bass and Synth
- Now: Synth
[Header 3 header=”Top Record Label”]
- Then: Interscope, Columbia and Warner Bros.
- Now: Atlantic
