The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the US, UK and Europe and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(March 2022) |
A signature song is the one song (or, in some cases, one of a few songs) that a popular and well-established recording artist or band is most closely identified with or best known for. This is generally differentiated from a one-hit wonder in that the artist usually has had success with other songs as well. A signature song may be a song that spearheads an artist's initial mainstream breakthrough, a song that revitalizes an artist's career, or a song that simply represents a high point in an artist's career. Often, a signature song will feature trademark characteristics of an artist and may encapsulate the artist's particular sound and style. Signature songs can be the result of spontaneous public identification, or a marketing tool developed by the music industry to promote artists, sell their recordings, and develop a fan base. [1] Artists and bands with a signature song are generally expected to perform it at every concert appearance, often as an encore on concert tours, sometimes being the last song of the setlist. [2]
John Clayton Mayer is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but he left for Atlanta in 1997 with fellow guitarist Clay Cook, with whom he formed the short-lived rock duo, Lo-Fi Masters. After their split, Mayer continued to play at local clubs, refining his skills and gaining a minor following. He performed at the 2000 South by Southwest festival, and was subsequently signed by Aware Records, an imprint of Columbia Records through which he released his debut extended play (EP), Inside Wants Out (1999). His first two studio albums—Room for Squares (2001) and Heavier Things (2003)—were both met with critical and commercial success; the former won a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for its single "Your Body Is a Wonderland", while the latter peaked atop the Billboard 200.
Lucinda Gayl Williams[a] is an American singer-songwriter and a solo guitarist. She recorded her first two albums, Ramblin' on My Mind (1979) and Happy Woman Blues (1980), in a traditional country and blues style that received critical praise but little public or radio attention. In 1988, she released her third album, Lucinda Williams, to widespread critical acclaim. Regarded as "an Americana classic", the album also features "Passionate Kisses", a song later recorded by Mary Chapin Carpenter for her 1992 album Come On Come On, which garnered Williams her first Grammy Award for Best Country Song in 1994. Known for working slowly, Williams released her fourth album, Sweet Old World, four years later in 1992. Sweet Old World was met with further critical acclaim, and was voted the 11th best album of 1992 in The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop, an annual poll of prominent music critics. Robert Christgau, the poll's creator, ranked it 6th on his own year-end list, later writing that the album, as well as Lucinda Williams, were "gorgeous, flawless, brilliant".
Anne Erin Clark, known professionally as St. Vincent, is an American musician and singer. Her guitar playing has been praised for its melodic style and use of distortion, and she has been listed among the best guitarists of the 21st century by multiple publications. Rolling Stone named Clark the 26th-greatest guitarist of all time in 2023.
"Bitter Sweet Symphony" is a song by the English rock band the Verve, from their third studio album, Urban Hymns (1997). It was produced by Youth and released on 16 June 1997 by Hut Recordings and Virgin Records as the album's lead single.
"Clocks" is a song by British rock band Coldplay, released on 17 March 2003 via Parlophone Records in the United Kingdom. It was written and composed as a collaboration among all the members of the band for their second album, A Rush of Blood to the Head. The song is built around a piano riff, and features cryptic lyrics concerning themes of contrast and urgency. Several remixes of the track exist, and its riff has been widely sampled.
Taylor Alison Swift is an American singer-songwriter. A subject of widespread public interest with a vast fanbase, she has influenced the music industry, popular culture, and politics through her songwriting, artistry, entrepreneurship, and advocacy.
Ariana Grande-Butera is an American singer and actress. Regarded as a pop icon and an influential figure in popular music, she is noted for her four-octave vocal range and her signature use of the whistle register. Grande's various awards include two Grammy Awards, one Brit Award, two Billboard Music Awards, three American Music Awards, nine MTV Video Music Awards, and 36 Guinness World Records. Rolling Stone named her one of the greatest vocalists of all time.
Speak Now is the third studio album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, released on October 25, 2010, by Big Machine Records. Swift wrote the album entirely herself within two years while touring to promote her second studio album, Fearless (2008), to reflect on her transition from adolescence to adulthood.
Imagine Dragons are an American pop rock band formed in 2008, based in Las Vegas, Nevada, and currently consisting of lead singer Dan Reynolds, guitarist Wayne Sermon, bassist Ben McKee and drummer Daniel Platzman. The band first gained exposure with the release of their single "It's Time", followed by their debut album Night Visions (2012), which resulted in the chart-topping singles "Radioactive" and "Demons". Rolling Stone named "Radioactive", which held the record for most weeks charted on the Billboard Hot 100, the "biggest rock hit of the year". MTV called them "the year's biggest breakout band", and Billboard named them their "Breakthrough Band of 2013" and "Biggest Band of 2017", and placed them at the top of their "Year in Rock" rankings for 2013, 2017, and 2018. Imagine Dragons topped the Billboard Year-End "Top Artists – Duo/Group" category in 2018.
"Rolling in the Deep" is a song by English singer-songwriter Adele from her second studio album, 21 (2011). It is the lead single and opening track on the album. The song was written by Adele and Paul Epworth. The singer herself describes it as a "dark blues-y gospel disco tune". In 2011, it was reportedly the biggest crossover hit in the United States since 1985; "Rolling in the Deep" gained radio airplay from many different radio formats. It was first released on 29 November 2010 as the lead single from 21 in digital download format. The lyrics describe the emotions of a scorned lover.
Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer and songwriter. Her music is noted for its cinematic quality and exploration of tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia, with frequent references to contemporary pop culture and 1950s–1970s Americana. Her vintage Hollywood glamour aesthetic is showcased in her music videos. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an MTV Video Music Award, three MTV Europe Music Awards, two Brit Awards, two Billboard Women in Music, and a Satellite Award, in addition to nominations for eleven Grammy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. Variety honored her at their Hitmakers Awards for being "one of the most influential singer-songwriters of the 21st century". Rolling Stone placed Del Rey on their list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time (2023), and Rolling Stone UK named her The Greatest American Songwriter of the 21st century (2023).
Charlotte Emma Aitchison, known professionally as Charli XCX, is an English singer and songwriter. Born in Cambridge and raised in Start Hill, Essex, she began posting songs on Myspace in 2008, which led to her discovery by a promoter who invited her to perform at warehouse raves. In 2010, she signed a recording contract with Asylum Records, releasing a series of singles and mixtapes throughout 2011 and 2012.
Red is the fourth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, released on October 22, 2012, by Big Machine Records. The title is the color to which Swift associated the tumultuous emotions she was experiencing from lost love while conceiving the album.
Kacey Lee Musgraves is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began her career in the early 2000s, when she self-released three solo albums and recorded another album as a member of the duo Texas Two Bits. In 2007, Musgraves appeared on the fifth season of the USA Network singing competition Nashville Star, where she finished in seventh place. In 2012, she signed with Mercury Nashville and released the hit single "Merry Go 'Round". Her major-label debut studio album, Same Trailer Different Park (2013), won the Grammy Award for Best Country Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards.
Jack Michael Antonoff is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Antonoff is the lead vocalist of rock band Bleachers. He was previously the guitarist and drummer for the pop rock band fun and the lead vocalist for the indie rock band Steel Train. Aside from his work with the three groups, Antonoff has been prolific in songwriting and production for various music industry acts, including Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, Sara Bareilles, the 1975, Lorde, St. Vincent, Florence and the Machine, Lana Del Rey, Fifth Harmony, Kevin Abstract, Carly Rae Jepsen, the Chicks, Tegan and Sara, and Clairo. Antonoff is credited with impact on the sound of contemporary popular music throughout the 2010s and 2020s.
The 1975 are an English pop rock band formed in Wilmslow, Cheshire in 2002. The band consists of Matty Healy, Adam Hann, Ross MacDonald (bass), and George Daniel. The name of the band was inspired by a page of scribblings found in Healy's copy of On the Road by Jack Kerouac that was dated "1 June, The 1975".
"Blank Space" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and the second single from her fifth studio album, 1989. Swift wrote the song with its producers, Max Martin and Shellback. Inspired by the media scrutiny on Swift's love life that affected her girl-next-door reputation, "Blank Space" portrays a flirtatious woman with multiple romantic attachments. It is an electropop track with a minimal arrangement consisting of synthesizers, hip hop-influenced beats, and layered vocals.
Ashley Nicolette Frangipane, known professionally as Halsey, is an American singer and songwriter. Noted for her distinctive singing voice, she has received several awards including three Billboard Music Awards, a Billboard Women in Music Award, an American Music Award and nominations for three Grammy Awards. She was included on Time's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2020.
Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell is an American singer and songwriter. She first gained public attention in 2015 with her debut single "Ocean Eyes", written and produced by her brother Finneas O'Connell, with whom she collaborates on music and live shows. In 2017, she released her debut extended play (EP), Don't Smile at Me. Commercially successful, it reached the top 15 of record charts in numerous countries, including the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.
Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, known professionally as Bad Bunny, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, and record producer. He is known as the "King of Latin Trap". Bad Bunny is the first non-English-language act to become Spotify's most streamed artist of the year. He holds the second-biggest streaming year of any artist in Spotify history, generating over 18.5 billion streams in 2022. As of December 2023, his album Un Verano Sin Ti is the most streamed album on Spotify with over 14 billion streams.
This practice soon began equating performers with signature songs as a way to promote and sell recordings and sheet music as well as establish a cult of fans to market these songs to.
And if there's a phrase ... or you have a signature song ... then your audience will probably be disappointed if you don't repeat yourself.
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: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)1979 Basie's signature tune, "One O'Clock Jump," is inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
"Bela Lugosi's Dead" not only became BAUHAUS' signature song, but an anthem for the gothic rock scene which the band is credited for having spawned.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)(Reuters) - British rock band Led Zeppelin on Monday effectively won a long-running legal battle over claims it stole the opening guitar riff from its signature 1971 song "Stairway to Heaven."
A signature song for Somerville
You can smell the truck stop coffee when you hear this lonely anthem that became one of Strait's signature songs after it was released in 1983.
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ignored (help)Randy Travis, who turned 60 on Saturday (May 4) made a rare public appearance that evening at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry, where he celebrated on stage with a big smile, and sang the final "Amen" in his signature song "Forever and Ever, Amen."