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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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Get The Party Started
Title
Pink
  Artist
Album Missundaztood

Buy this Album

Missundaztood
 
L. Perry
  Songwriters
 
L. Perry
  Producers
Play Song Excerpt Help with Real Audio
Concept
Party tune with attitude. When I show up, you better be ready to party.
Lyric

Groove tune about having a hot time at dance party starring, of course, the singer..

Get this party started on a Saturday night/ Everybody's waiting for me to arrive./ Sending out the message to all of my friends/We'll be looking flashy in my Mercedes-Benz.

Groove
Hot dance groove in 8th notes, a feel that has been absent from the charts for a while. It's a classic fast rock-disco beat with repeated riffs that don't stop.
Melody

There are two melodic sections with repeated riffs in each. The chorus riff is held and then followed with short lines while the verses are cookie cutter long lines. Because they contrast each other well our attention is kept and we keep on groovin' and dancing.

Harmony
Harmonically, there is only one chord. No chord changes at all. This is truly a riff based piece which doesn't need harmonic progression to keep us involved.
Structure
Chorus Verse Verse Chorus Verse Verse Chorus Chorus Tag
Signature
No signature. This starts right with the hooky chorus.
Production
Dance production works well, the vocals work well. It is simple unpretentious and effective.
Predicted Longevity
A hot song for 2001, but not necessarily an all-star recording. I think it will always signify the fall of this year to people who've grooved to it, a time marker, but not a classic tune.

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