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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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Articles and Writing Issues from other Songwriters and Instructors
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Cat Cohen and the phrase "Anatomy of a Hit" are trademarks of Cat Cohen UnLimited

 

Thank You
Title
Dido
  Artist
Album No Angel

Buy this Album

No Angel
 
D. Armstrong, P. Herman
  Songwriters
 
Rollo & Dido
  Producers

Listen to Song Excerpt
(Windows Media Format)

Listen to Song Excerpt
(Real Audio Format)

Concept
Singer expresses gratitude to friend/lover for lifting her out of her dark moods into a brighter one
Lyric

Lyrics paints a typical bad day.

My tea's grown cold, I'm wondering why I got up out of bed at all, The morning rain clouds up my window and I just can't see at all, And even if I could it'd all be gray

But because her friend/ lover/relative is around she feels much better.

But your picture's on the wall and it reminds me it's not so bad, not so bad

This is followed by a series of "thank you"s for giving her the best day of her life.

Groove
The groove is a mid-tempo pop-rock 8th note feel with gentle rolling 16ths which are echoed in the 16th phrasing of the melody. This keeps the song both laid back and moving along.
Melody
The evocative expressive melody line has a few small leaps which give it distinction. They build slowly in the verse and jump up in range for the higher brighter hooky chorus section
Harmony
Harmonically, the dark minor based triads of the verse contrast very effectively with the brighter chords set in the relative major scale found in the chorus. This dramatic change makes perfect prosody with the dark to bright lyrics.
Structure
This is an excellent example of asong that has only two sections and doesn't need any more. AAB AB Instr B works so well because the the two sections are strongly contrasted and set up each one follwing the other.
Signature
Moody minor arpeggios set up both the first and second verses..
Production
The delicate guitar and keyboard textures over the gentle groove and contrasting harmonies create a very effective background for her detached haunting vocal.
Predicted Longevity
Classic and universal in its appeal, this recording got a big lift literally from being sampled in Eminem's "Stan". However, it became a hit on its own merits. I predict at least a Grammy nomination. I wouldn't be surprised if it outlives its lifter.

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