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Anatomy of a Hit

Anatomy of a Hit
Hit song analysis
View all Anatomy of a Hit Articles

Coming Soon:
Beyonce—Irreplaceable
Corrine Bailey Rae—Put Your Records On
KT Tunstall—Suddenly I See

Nelly Furtado–Promiscuous
Ne-Yo—So Sick
James Blunt—You're Beautiful
Rascal Flatts–What Hurts The Most
Eminem—Lose Yourself

Norah Jones —Don't Know Why
Avril Lavigne —Complicated
Alan Jackson—Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning?

Pink—Get the Party Started
Craig David—Fill Me In
Alicia Keys—Fallin'
Train—Drops of Jupiter
Janet Jackson—All For You
Dido—Thank You
Sisqo—Incomplete
Macy Grey—I Try
Faith Hill—Breathe
Destiny's Child—Say My Name
Santana/Rob Thomas—Smooth
Ricky Martin—La Vida Loca

More Anatomy of a Hit Articles...

Classic Songcraft Articles
Reprints from Cat's columns in The Music Connection and LASS/NAS Musepaper

Outside vs. Inside Songwriting
Cat describes the change of opportunities in today's songwriting scene from Outside Songwriting for established artists to Inside Songwriting for original acts.

Grabbers and Shakers
Cat lists many of hue characteristics that make a pop song a hit song including what grabs a listener's attention and what keeps an audience involved all the way through to the end.

A Songwriter's New Year's Resolutions
Cat lists some goals and resolves we as songwriters can make to improve our writing and our careers for the coming year.

Other Classic Articles

The Hispanic Invasion
Today's pop scene has much in common with that of the mid-'60s. American pop music is being invaded by foreigners. Only this time the British aren't coming, it's the Hispanics.

1999: A Year of Retro and Recycling
Cat looks at the year 1999 in pop music and saw a return to recordings with older more melodic writing and more romantic dance styles including latin dance styles. Hot and sexy began to replace alienation and rebellion as the millennium turned.

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Livin' La Vida Loca
Title
Ricky Martin
  Artist
Album Ricky Martin

Buy this Album

Ricky Martin
 
Robi Rosa, Desmond Child
  Songwriters
 
Robi Rosa, Desmond Child
  Producers
Play Song Excerpt Help with Real Audio
Concept
Describes crazy and passionate lifestyle with music that is a salsa & rock crossover.
Lyric

Full of crazy and superstitious imagery;

Black cats and voodoo dolls, the wild abandonment of taking ones clothes off and going dancing in the rain.

Waking up the next morning after being "had", but wanting more.

The girl with a "skin of color mocha" adds a Hispanic identity to the lyric.

Groove

8th note straight ahead rock groove in verse alternates with 8th note heavily syncopated salsa figures, especially in melody, predominant in pre-hook and chorus.

Melody

Minor scales, both 7-tone in the melody and rock minor pentatonic scale guitar fills, are used to color both Latin and rock styles.

Melodic motion is mostly stepwise in the verse and pre-hook and very monotone in the chorus.

The range is modest, less than an octave.

The phrasing is short in the verse, long in the prehook, and medium in the chorus.

Harmony

Mostly triadic with the verse all on the tonic or I chord.

Prehook ramps up with a diatonic iv v bVI bVII V progression.

The chorus alternates between i and bVI chords. All three song sections have simple but contrasting harmonic structures.

Structure
Three-part song form with largest contrast in the pre-hook inserted between verse and chorus.
Signature
(Instrumental riff taken from verse) A (verse) A (verse) B (pre-hook) C (chorus) Signature A B C solo C C
Production

Fast paced dance tempo echoes the wildness in the lyrics.

The '60s go-go style guitar riffs combine a rock element with an up-tempo 8th salsa feel and Latin orchestra horn figures.

Predicted Longevity

Livin' La Vida Loca has all the elements of a pop hit that could last for years and years; a strong hook, concept and groove.

Ricky Martin is a flashy singer with good vocal.

The Song concept will epitomize the year 1999 for many people, a year where gypsy-like passion and craziness became big on the pop charts.

 


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