Hit Songs Deconstructed - Powerful Analytical Tools for the Music Industry

Then & Now


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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, a few notable shifts are that today the most influential sub-genres include Electropop, Hip Hop/Rap, and Trap, in addition to R&B/Soul.   Solo Male Lead Vocals are currently outshining Duet/Group Vocals, and Two-Word Song Titles have become more popular than Single-Word Titles.

Among the categories that remained the same are the top Lyrical Theme and Primary Genre categories. Additionally, the #1 songs on both Hot 100 charts possess a strong Reggae influence (Rude in 2014, Cheerleader in 2015).

What follows is a comparison of the top performing categories within the HSD Music Charts during the third week of August in 2014 and 2015.

[Header 1 header=”Songs In The Hot 100 Top 10″]

Then (Week of 8/30/14)

Now (Week of 8/29/15)

[Header 1 header=”Remained The Same From 2014 to 2015″]

Categories Then Now
Top Lyrical Theme Love/Relationships
Top Electric Vs. Acoustic Instrumentation Category Primarily Electric
Top Song Title Appearance Category 6 – 10 Appearances
Top Primary Genre Pop
Top Record Label Republic

[Header 1 header=”Changed From 2014 to 2015″]

Categories Then Now
Top Lead Vocal Category Duet/Group Solo Male
Top Sub Genre/Influencer R&B/Soul Electropop, Hip Hop/Rap,
R&B/Soul & Trap
Top Song Length Category 3:00 – 3:29 Under 3:00, 3:00 – 3:29, &
3:30 – 3:39
Top First Chorus Occurrence Category Moderately Early
(0:20 – 0:39)
Moderately Late
(0:40 – 0:59)
Top Intro Length Category Short
(0:01 – 0:09)
Moderately Short
(0:10 – 0:19)
Top Song Title Word Count Category One Word Two Words
Top Primary Instrumentation Category Synth Synth, Prominent Drums,
Beats, Perc.
Top Songwriter Count Category Two & Three-Writer Teams Two & Four-Writer Teams

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