If you could ask a question of any successful hit songwriter, what would you want to know? You’d probably ask how they do it. In fact, you can ask that question and get an answer… just by taking an in-depth look at their hits.
WHY THIS SONG?
Brandi Carlile is not only a Grammy Award winning songwriter and performer, she has also written and performed songs featured in a wide range of motion pictures—from Barbie: the Movie to Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants—and hit television shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Ted Lasso. (Visit Tunefind.com for a long list.) “Carried Me With You” was written for the Pixar film Onward and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media.
“All On Me” is the breakthrough debut single for Country artist Devin Dawson. It zoomed up to #2 on the Nielsen Radio charts, topping 19 million views on YouTube and 95 million listens on Spotify (and still climbing). A remarkable achievement for a single by a brand new artist.
I love digging into songs that propel a brand new artist up the charts. Those artists don’t have a billion fans breathlessly waiting for their next release, guaranteeing it shoots like a rocket straight into the Top Ten. Nope. Their releases have to make it on the strength of the song and performance. It takes an exceptional song with a lot of appeal to make that happen and that’s what makes these songs so much fun to pull apart.
SONG GUIDE
“All On Me” – Devin Dawson
Writers: Devin Dawson, Jacob Robert Durrett, Austin Taylor Smith
TECHNIQUES TO HEAR AND TRY:
Use a lyric “measuring stick” to express emotion.
Fresh rhymes are happening in all mainstream genres.
Create a contemporary melody using phrase patterns.
Make your hook stand out with a rhythmic melody line.
Although I usually feature songs at the top of the mainstream music charts in this section, today I want to look at “The Other” by Lauv, an artist who took a different path to success and whose work and career provide plenty of inspiration for independent artists and songwriters.
Before huge hits like “I Like Me Better”—which has had over a billion and a half listens on Spotify—Lauv quietly released his self-produced single “The Other.” With one small break it launched his career.
Co-written with Michael Matosic, “The Other” debuted on a friend’s music blog and was picked up by other bloggers, spreading virally through blog aggregator Hype Machine. It just goes to prove that listeners WILL spread the word when they find good music.
I often suggest in my songwriting posts that you learn to sing and play (or just sing ) successful songs. But why is that so important? Because you miss so much when you don’t. It’s like the difference between zooming down a highway at 80 mph versus rolling slowly along with your head stuck out the window.
When you slow down, you notice things… road signs, blue sky. You feel every bump in the road and the smells on the breeze. At 80 miles-per-hour you can feel the emotional rush; when you slow down, you can learn what the rush is made of.
I thought it might be fun for you and I to slow down and go through the process of learning to play and sing a hit song together. I chose “Hello” by Adele because, as I listen to it, the 80 mile-per-hour experience is pretty good, and something tells me that if I slow down and take a closer look, there might be some good songwriting tips I could use to create that experience in songs of my own. So, let’s take it for a drive.
I think it’s safe to say there are more broken-hearted songs written every day than happy ones. For one thing, it’s easier to sound serious and deep (and cool) when you’re singing a thoughtful, angst-y, sad song than a happy, bright bit of fluff. And, of course, who wants to shut themselves up and work on a song when the good times are rolling.
The biggest problem, though, is how to avoid the kinds of generic, happy-face clichés that are the downfall of so many of these songs. Jason Mraz definitely has a knack for writing upbeat songs that don’t sound shallow. So, let’s take a look and see how he does it.
“I’m Yours” was a No. 1 Pop and Adult Contemporary hit that spent a record-breaking 76 weeks on Billboard’s Hot 100 music chart. It has a light reggae groove, a warm vocal, and lyrics that are seem both personal and universal. The catchy chorus has a sing-along vibe and, in fact, the final chorus on the recording features a gang vocal that adds a party vibe.
Upbeat songs have a lot of audience appeal. They not only work well for radio, they’re also sought after by TV series and advertisers. “I’m Yours” has been used in half a dozen TV series, two national TV commercials, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Song of the Year.
SONG STRUCTURE
The song has an interesting song structure with a couple of tricks you might want to try. VERSE / SHORT CHORUS VERSE / FULL CHORUS BRIDGE / VERSE 3 / SHORT CHORUS / FULL CHORUS (with Verse 1)
VERSES: The verses convey the theme of the song – “Love is wonderful.” Verse 1 begins with the line “Well, you done done me and you bet I felt it.” The first line of Verse 2 is “Well, open up your mind and see like me.” Verse 3 begins “I’ve been spending way too long checking my tongue in the mirror.”
The melody in Verse 2 is different from Verse 1 and Verse 3 although the chords are the same and it’s still recognizable as a verse. It adds playfulness and variety to the song.
CHORUS: The chorus always begins with the line “I won’t hesitate no more, no more. It cannot wait.” and ends with the title, “I’m yours.” Putting the title in the last line of the chorus is a big plus because that’s a line that listeners can hold onto and remember in the midst of this wordy lyric.
The first time Mraz sings the chorus, about 45 seconds into the song, he only sings the first and last lines. It’s almost as if he’s dishing up the best parts as a kind of appetizer. The second chorus is longer, doubling the length by adding three more lines that aren’t in the chorus the first time we hear it and rearranging the lyric so it still ends with “I’m yours.”
The final chorus is sung by a group of people who sound like they’re having a good time while Mraz sings a verse over the chorus. It creates a happy sing-along ending with lots of good-time energy.
The chorus lyric doesn’t change. It adds lines the second time around but repeats the essential first and last lines. This maintains the repeated chorus effect that listeners like to hear while building and adding shape to this upbeat song, keeping it interesting. Try something like this is a song of your own.
BRIDGE: The bridge starts with a scat vocal – “Doo-ja-doo-doo-doo-ja” – just about two minutes into the song.
– TRY IT NOW –
Listen to the song and notice where each song section begins. See if you can identify the verses, chorus, and bridge. Watch for the chorus and notice how the length and complexity changes as the song moves forward.
