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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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Lose Yourself
Title
Eminem
  Artist
Album Curtain Call

Buy This Album

Curtain Call Album Cover
 
Mathers
  Songwriters
 
Mathers
  Producers
Play Song Excerpt Help with Real Audio
Concept
Written for the film Eight Mile, the song is the expression of a nervous rapper entering a competition, the thoughts and fears that go through his head before his performance.
Lyric
The singer is a narrator who is describing a rapper's inner feelings as he performs for his big chance in a competition. We can't help but root for him as his nervousness and anxiety reflects what we would might feel in his position. .
Yo, His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy
There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti
He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready
To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgetting
What he wrote down, the whole crowd goes so loud
He opens his mouth, but the words won't come out
He's chokin, how everybody's chokin now
The clock's run out, time's up over, bloah!
Snap back to reality, Oh there goes gravity
Oh, there goes Rabbit, he choked
He's so mad, but he won't give up that easy
No, he won't have it , he knows his whole back city's ropes
It don't matter, he's dope
He knows that, but he's broke
He's so stacked that he knows
When he goes back to his mobile home, that's when it's
Back to the lab again yo
This whole rap city
He better go capture this moment and hope it don't pass him.
Groove
Sparse syncopated swung 16th note hip hop rhythms overlays steady 8th notes which gives this song both push and space which allows the rap a lot of room for expression . Strong accents on the downbeat differentiate the pre-chorus part of the rap and helps to set up the chorus effectively
Melody
The term melody doesn't apply here in the traditional sense as the song is spoken instead of sung. However, there are repeated hooks in both the pre-chorus and chorus sections.
Harmony
Moody minor sounds give the track both seriousnessand forboding. There are more looped riffs and lines in the track than a real progression of chords
Structure
3 song sections. Intro AABC Signature AABC-breakdown C. Intro Verse-Verse-PreChorus-Chorus, Verse-Verse-PreChorus-Chorus-Break-Chorus-Tag. The fact that it is easy to follow gives it more raio airplayability than most recordins in this genre..
Signature
Moody guitar and synth in the intro highlight the rapper's challenging situation.
Production
Clear production, grabbing the listener right from the beginning. The intensity builds and delivers whawt the intro promises. A rap/hip-hop crossover if there ever was one.
Predicted Longevity
Unique concept, strong vocal, effective groove and ambience, it should outive most of the other hit and run rap records. A Grammy candidate for sure, if not an outright winner.

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