Study Reveals most present day lyrics for hit songs are at 3rd grader level

[Serendipity 7,821]

Andrew Powell-Morse, a staffer at entertainment, sports, and ticket data blog SeatSmart, just compiled information on pop music lyrics over the past 10 years, and the results are pretty interesting.

He found that most of the lyrics from popular songs over the last decade average at around a third-grade reading level.

 

Country music had the highest reading level of the genres, at 3.3 — which means your average third-grader can read and understand the lyrics.

 

The other genres’ reading level average was 2.9 for pop and rock, and 2.6 for R&B and hip-hop, all lower than a third-grade reading level.

 

 

The study also broke down the lyrics based on the artists’ genders.

 

It showed that on average male artists say more words, but female artists had smarter things to say, with a higher reading level average. (No, duh!)

 

Powell-Morse also broke down the lyrics based on the most popular artists, and the hip-hop results might make Beyoncé fans revolt.

 

Powell-Morse wrote that to get the results, he “picked 7 of the top artists based on their number of hit songs and how long those songs stayed at #1.”

He added:

This is probably a good time to reiterate that these are the numbers, plain and simple, and that all Beyoncé partisans should address their complaints to the people at the Readability Score. We can’t hide the facts: of these 7 top R&B and Hip Hop artists, she has the second smallest average word count and the least sophisticated lyrics.

 

 

For pop, Mariah Carey slayed the competition, while Kesha barely made it out of first grade.

 

In terms of singles, the top song of the past 10 years was Blake Shelton’s “All About Tonight,” with a reading level of 5.9, and the least intelligent lyrics were from “The Good Life” by Three Days Grace, with a score of 0.8

 

 

Other “dumb” songs include Maroon 5’s “Moves Like Jagger” and Kesha’s “Tik Tok.”(LOL the shade)

 

 

Overall, he found lyrical intelligence has been declining over the past 10 years.

 

 

 

Read Entire article:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/javiermoreno/third-graders-write-better-lyrics#.sdJy9dA61

 

 

 

Oh my God, too much shade

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS at Queen Mimi slaying (obviously, she is the Queen of lyrics)

 

And mess at Gaga

And I'm shocked children like Adele more than Katy

 

 

[shaneybaby 450]

katy perry ranked older than gaga.. this is 100% not accurate lmao i mean "you're gonna hear me roarrrrr" or "California girls were unforgettable" over basically any gaga lyrics.. no.I am not hating on katy but its common sense her songs r written for children and gaga are FAR higher brow 

 

 

[Yanko 9,860]

i wouldnt want my 3rd grader child reading nickis lyrics lol

and katy higher than gaga? lol 

[PartySick 144,361]

I can already call BS when Gaga, whose lyrics are full of personal and social references, metaphors, allusions, and clever word play scored lower than Katy.  

-inhales deeply- No.

[Dorothy Gale 7,575]

Mariah's songs are usually pretty basic lyrically though? 

[Nein 508]

The list  

[MaybeKermit 3,874]

Well, ARTPOP's lyrics (and just Gaga's whole discography) aren't THAT difficult 

[Yanko 9,860]

Mariah's songs are usually pretty basic lyrically though? 

her lyrics are great

http://www.azlyrics.com/m/mariahcarey.html

[Yanko 9,860]

Well, ARTPOP's lyrics (and just Gaga's whole discography) aren't THAT difficult 

​"you think im pretty without any make up on" do you ever feel like a plastic bag" isnt hard either

[Serendipity 7,821]

Mariah's songs are usually pretty basic lyrically though? 

​ How dare you come for Queen Mimi?

She has the best vocabulary and she can write songs so beautifully that puts even Shakespeare to shame

If she tried, she might have even bagged a Noble prize for literature

Tell me if these are basic

 

“I can’t be elusive with you honey
‘Cause it’s blatant that I’m feeling you
And it’s too hard for me to leave abruptly
‘Cause you’re the only thing I wanna do”

 

 

“Heartbreaker you’ve got the best of me
But I just keep on comin’ back incessantly”

 

 

“I finally found unvarnished truth
I was all by myself for the longest time
So cold inside
And the hurt from the heartache would not subside”

 

“So starry eyed
On the flowery hillside
Breathless and fervid
Amid the dandelions”

 

“I gravitated towards a patriarch
So young predictably
I was resigned to spend my life
With a maze of misery /
A boy and a girl befriended me
We’re bonded through despondency
I stayed so long but finally
I fled to save my sanity”

 

 

“I have learned that beauty
Has to flourish in the light
Wild horses run unbridled
Or their spirit dies”

 

 

[somnambulist 1,526]

I HIGHLY disagree with this list. So many Gaga songs are pretty complex which is a big reason why the GP is so split with her. People don't understand her lyrics, you're forced to actually listen and figure it out, it's not just formulaic and processed.

No second grader would understand lyrics like-

We are not just art for Michelangelo
To carve. He can't rewrite the agro of my furied heart.
I'll wait on mountain tops in Paris cold
J'veux pas mourir toute seule

[Redstreak 6,653]

I HIGHLY disagree with this list. So many Gaga songs are pretty complex which is a big reason why the GP is so split with her. People don't understand her lyrics, you're forced to actually listen and figure it out, it's not just formulaic and processed.

No second grader would understand lyrics like-

We are not just art for Michelangelo
To carve. He can't rewrite the agro of my furied heart.
I'll wait on mountain tops in Paris cold
J'veux pas mourir toute seule

Bloody Mary isn't a hit song though

 

anyway I find this whole thing pretty pointless. I care about the subject matter of what's being said, not if the difficulty of the individual lyrics make it sound like I'm reading a college dissertation. A song isn't better simply because it has more complex/bigger words.

[Bradley 56,851]

In the most biblical sense, I am beyond repentance, fame hooker prostitute wench, vomits her mind! But in the cultural sense, I just speak in future tense, Judas kiss me if offensed, of wear ear condom next time.

Are you ready for, ready for, a perfect storm, a perfect storm? Cause once you're mine, once you're mine, there's no going back.

I've overheard your theory, nostalgia's for geeks. I guess sir if you say so, some of just like to read.

I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire, cause I am a champion, and you're gonna hear me roar.

[Serendipity 7,821]

In the most biblical sense, I am beyond repentance, fame hooker prostitute wench, vomits her mind! But in the cultural sense, I just speak in future tense, Judas kiss me if offensed, of wear ear condom next time.

Are you ready for, ready for, a perfect storm, a perfect storm? Cause once you're mine, once you're mine, there's no going back.

I've overheard your theory, nostalgia's for geeks. I guess sir if you say so, some of just like to read.

I got the eye of the tiger, a fire, dancing through the fire, cause I am a champion, and you're gonna hear me roar.

It's "Or wear ear condom next time."

[Bradley 56,851]

It's "Or wear ear condom next time."

​I meant or it was a typo