Pop Music Formula

[giskardsb 12,565]

Obviously there is no exact formula to making a pop hit, or there would never be a flop single.   However, there are certain traits that are more likely to help propel a song to hit status.  Some of these things include:

1) Hooks, the more the better.  These are short melodic elements designed to make a song "catchy."

2) a powerful chorus that is easy to sing along with.

3) Major key, most of the time

4) don't waste time on long verses, get to the chorus payoff quickly.

5) danceable beat and tempo, unless it's a ballad people get emotionally.

6) memorable and "relatable" lyrics that are easy to sing with

7) short with a fairly typical structure alternating verse and chorus and with a bridge

now, not every hit follows this type of formula, and not every song with this formula becomes a hit, but these are very common elements among hit pop songs.  And it's not new, this structure has evolved over the years of recorded music based on what makes songs "successful", from the label's point of view anyway.  It's not an insult to say that this formula targets the base instincts of people that makes them enjoy singing and dancing along with music.

In Gaga's work, "The Fame" and TFM were loaded with all these things.  Gaga even mentioned some of these items in interviews, it was a conscious effort by herself and RedOne to create pop hits.   I consider it part of her fame culture experiment, manipulating all the formulas of music, visuals, and theatrically in order to gain Fame and pop culture status.  She still produced some great songs of course, but did constrain herself in some ways to a more radio and hit friendly structure.  You can make great songs within this structure, but it's limiting. 

From BTW and on through ARTPOP, she has been less inclined to follow the formula as directly. Her singles tend to still do though.   Applause certainly follows the formula, although it deviates in terms of easily relatable lyrics.  Venus, although not an official single, is basically a collection of hooks.  

For me personally, her released singles tend to be some of my least favorite songs almost exactly because they follow too close to pop formula.  They are literally "formulaic".  Sometimes a song like BR can transcend the formula, but most of the time predictability is a bit boring to me.  It's why most all my favorite Gaga songs are album tracks.  Some of my favorite songs like Speechless can be argued to follow much of the formula though.   And Rock music is not immune to the formula, after all rock was the basis of much of pop music for a long time.   But it's not surprising Marry the Night failed, given how much of the formula it doesn't follow.  MTN was too sophisticated for modern pop radio.  Which is interesting because MTN reminds me a lot of songs Jim Steinman wrote for Bonnie Tyler and Meatloaf back in the late 70's/80's, and those songs were hugely popular.  I think the formula has become so prevalent on top 40 radio now that its what people think music is supposed to sound like.

So this is basically why we end up with two camps of users.  Some just want more of the formula, catchy, dancy, easy music to have fun to.  Others want to see what would happen if Gaga really lets herself go outside the box.  Neither is "wrong" or "right", just different expectations of what people want from Gaga's music.

Personally, I'll take some soft of Gaga/Bjork/GoldFrapp/Muse/Rob Zombie/Led Zeppelin mix. 

 

 

 

[Head Empty 22,554]

This is why I love Aura. It doesn't really follow the formula either and doesn't even have a proper recurring hook. The song seems unhinged, yet all the individual elements are amazing and synergize really well together.

The pop formula tended to become really apparant in some of Gaga's work throughout the years. I really hope that this Jazz era will help her evolve with that - as the power of most of these songs is rooted in structuring and pacing.

[LoveandMagic 1,731]

 I'll take some soft of Gaga/Bjork/GoldFrapp/Muse/Rob Zombie/Led Zeppelin mix. 

 

 

 

​I'm down for that. I want some experimentation, I also really (not so secretely) want some rock. 

I like your a--lysis. Seems to ring true. I don't have anything against her doing the really catchy bops, she does them so damn well, but so do a lot of female pop singers. She can do things they can't though, which is why I would like so see more experimentation or different genres or "unusual" sounds/hybrids. I want her to create something really cool. Some sort of classic retro/future hybrid that sounds like it's from another world yet is infectious to the ears. 

I'm honestly here though for anything she wants to bring. I enjoy her stuff so much!

[Serendipity 7,821]

Ask Mariah

She charted a #1 for every year of a decade

15 #1s in 11 years

 

She did use lots of remixes though

Fantasy remix

Always be My Baby remix

Honey remix

Heartbreaker remix

Thank God I found You remix

Loverboy remix

Through the Rain remix

We Belong Together remix

Don't Forget About Us remix

Touch My Body remix

Bye Bye remix

Obsessed remix

 

Queen of remixes tbh

 

She used intense poetry yet could lodge 18#1s

 

[YCHofficial 5,293]

Be Katy Perry 

[Serendipity 7,821]

Be Katy Perry 

​Mariah could get #1s every year easily

Katy seems to be slowing down

[djBuffoon 11,641]

Agreed 100%.

TF and TFM are terrific pop songs but, for the most part, they adhere too much to formula, and lack the surprise factor that her latter two albums have. With BTW and AP, the tracks sound like they're breathing and gaining momentum with each stanza, as opposed to starting at one level and remaining there.

[Jjang 2,262]

She tips her toes here and there and experiments with the established formula or rather a pattern on an extremely basic level, but I'd hardly refer to it as adventurous, experimental or risky (musically speaking). It only sounds like that because you're addressing people who aren't as musically open minded or comparing her music to an awfully tepid standard, but essentially ARTPOP is nearly as accessible as The Fame or The Fame Monster as its targeted towards the same specific group of people.

I'm sure she will prove herself in the future, though.

[giskardsb 12,565]

^^^ as much as people like to say she has gone too far from commerciality, she has gone nowhere near as far as she could go.  I'd like to see what she could do personally even if it meant a record that sold 10,000 copies.

 

[ARTPOPchamp 292]

Obviously there is no exact formula to making a pop hit, or there would never be a flop single.   However, there are certain traits that are more likely to help propel a song to hit status.  Some of these things include:

1) Hooks, the more the better.  These are short melodic elements designed to make a song "catchy."

2) a powerful chorus that is easy to sing along with.

3) Major key, most of the time

4) don't waste time on long verses, get to the chorus payoff quickly.

5) danceable beat and tempo, unless it's a ballad people get emotionally.

6) memorable and "relatable" lyrics that are easy to sing with

7) short with a fairly typical structure alternating verse and chorus and with a bridge

now, not every hit follows this type of formula, and not every song with this formula becomes a hit, but these are very common elements among hit pop songs.  And it's not new, this structure has evolved over the years of recorded music based on what makes songs "successful", from the label's point of view anyway.  It's not an insult to say that this formula targets the base instincts of people that makes them enjoy singing and dancing along with music.

In Gaga's work, "The Fame" and TFM were loaded with all these things.  Gaga even mentioned some of these items in interviews, it was a conscious effort by herself and RedOne to create pop hits.   I consider it part of her fame culture experiment, manipulating all the formulas of music, visuals, and theatrically in order to gain Fame and pop culture status.  She still produced some great songs of course, but did constrain herself in some ways to a more radio and hit friendly structure.  You can make great songs within this structure, but it's limiting. 

From BTW and on through ARTPOP, she has been less inclined to follow the formula as directly. Her singles tend to still do though.   Applause certainly follows the formula, although it deviates in terms of easily relatable lyrics.  Venus, although not an official single, is basically a collection of hooks.  

For me personally, her released singles tend to be some of my least favorite songs almost exactly because they follow too close to pop formula.  They are literally "formulaic".  Sometimes a song like BR can transcend the formula, but most of the time predictability is a bit boring to me.  It's why most all my favorite Gaga songs are album tracks.  Some of my favorite songs like Speechless can be argued to follow much of the formula though.   And Rock music is not immune to the formula, after all rock was the basis of much of pop music for a long time.   But it's not surprising Marry the Night failed, given how much of the formula it doesn't follow.  MTN was too sophisticated for modern pop radio.  Which is interesting because MTN reminds me a lot of songs Jim Steinman wrote for Bonnie Tyler and Meatloaf back in the late 70's/80's, and those songs were hugely popular.  I think the formula has become so prevalent on top 40 radio now that its what people think music is supposed to sound like.

So this is basically why we end up with two camps of users.  Some just want more of the formula, catchy, dancy, easy music to have fun to.  Others want to see what would happen if Gaga really lets herself go outside the box.  Neither is "wrong" or "right", just different expectations of what people want from Gaga's music.

Personally, I'll take some soft of Gaga/Bjork/GoldFrapp/Muse/Rob Zombie/Led Zeppelin mix. 

 

 

 

​This is what I'm talking about, pop music is so gimmicky and contrived and there's so much scheming to trick people and play with people's minds. Why can't a song just be a song in pop, like it is in rock or country? 

[ARTPOPchamp 292]

Most of the most memorable songs are rock songs and country songs and they don't resort to things pop music does. Pop music is exactly that pop - popular for a particular moment in time before the next trendy thing comes along, but with rock or country, the music is always a classic and gets people thinking and talking and listening. Rock and Country Classics from the 70s, 80s and 90s still hit the right spot these days, can't say the same about pop music.