Catchiness is how easy it is for a song, tune, or phrase to be recalled. It is often taken into account when writing songs, catchphrases, advertising slogans, jingles etc. Alternatively, it can be defined as how difficult it is for one to forget it. Songs that embody high levels of remembrance or catchiness are literally known as "catchy songs" or "earworms". [1] While it is hard to scientifically explain what makes a song catchy, there are many documented techniques that recur throughout catchy music, such as repetition, hooks and alliteration. Selling Sounds: The Commercial Revolution in American Music says that "although there was no definition for what made a song catchy, all the songwriting guides agreed that simplicity and familiarity were vital". [2]
The physical symptoms of listening to a catchy song include "running [it] over in our heads or tapping a foot". [3] According to Todd Tremlin, catchy music "spread[s] because [it] resonates similarly from one mind to the next". [4]
In an article written by psychologist Tom Stafford for BBC, the psychology of "earworms" (catchy songs) is discussed. These songs are referred to as earworms due to their parasitic characteristics; their entrance and exit from our mind cannot be controlled and despite our best efforts they may refuse to leave. In that aspect, catchiness, depending on how digestible the music is to the listener, has a level of annoyance unlike anything else. In this article Stafford reviews the work of neurologist Oliver Sacks and the conclusion by Sacks that this catchiness is due to the inherent repetitiveness of popular music, which can affect our ability to remember a song. It is concluded that since memory is powerfully affected by repetition that this could be a significant contributing factor to catchiness, though certainly not the only aspect. A song's catchiness may also be due to the auditory "slave system" of our inner ear, much like the visual slave system of our "mind's eye." [5]
Often, a song with few qualities can still become immensely popular due to its catchiness. According to T.C.W. Blanning: "I would sacrifice everything – rhyme, reason, sense, and sentiment to catchiness. There is... a very great art in making rubbish acceptable". [6] A Billboard review explains that "any lack of originality (in the album The Remote Part ) is more than made up for by the... catchiness of the musical arrangement" [7]
For example, the 2011 song "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen has been identified as a catchy song. An article by ABC News listed some of its "catchiness factors." The article explains that it has a chorus which is "melodically easy on the ear, simple enough to stay in your head all day, and is topically appealing to Jepsen’s target pop demographic." It also briefly describes the concept of musical incongruity and its use within the song. In music, incongruity refers to the inclusion of varied or irregular musical and lyrical features, such as mispronounced words or unexpected syllable accentuation. These incongruities are intended to capture the listener's attention and to preserve their level of interest throughout the song, regardless of the simple and otherwise repetitive lyrical content. Songwriter/producer Eve Nelson was quoted saying, "a five-year-old could probably sing this, because it’s just so easy." As well as having lyrical hooks, the music itself can also be considered a hook. [8]
Musicologist Dr. Alison Pawley and psychologist Dr. Daniel Mullensiefen identified the following as factors of a song to incite singing along:
Based on these factors, the researchers listed "We Are the Champions" by the British rock band Queen as the number one "sing-along song" in the UK. [9]
A 2014 study by the University of Amsterdam and the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester found "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls to be the catchiest pop song of the last 60 years in the UK. [10] The study found that having a simple and relentless melody was the key to a song being "catchy". "We found, much to our surprise, that writing a very surprising and unusual hook is not the recipe for long term memorability,” musicologist Dr John Ashley Burgoyne explained. "Actually, the more conventional your melody in terms of the interval patterns that you use; in terms of the rhythms that you use, the easier the song is to remember over the long term. What makes Wannabe work so well is that it isn’t a difficult song to sing, it has a conventional melody that repeats itself a lot, and it’s just relentless." [11]
Additionally, the book FutureHit DNA by Jay Frank says "Wannabe felt like it should have been a 3+1⁄2- to 4-minute pop song, just like every other hit at that time. To create that feeling, the producers cut the song at the knees. The last thing heard in the song is the a cappella line, “If you wannabe my lover,” which is also the first lyric of the chorus. The audience has a natural desire to hear something to its completion. When they expect a song to go somewhere, they will not feel completely settled until that song resolves itself. “Wannabe” never resolves, and therefore creates a situation where the listener cannot get the song out of his head." [12]
The Spice Girls are an English girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Mel B ; Melanie C ; Emma Bunton ; Geri Halliwell ; and, Victoria Beckham. With their "girl power" mantra, they redefined the girl-group concept by targeting a young female fanbase. They led the teen pop resurgence of the 1990s, were a major part of the Cool Britannia era, and became pop culture icons of the decade.
An earworm or brainworm, also described as sticky music or stuck song syndrome, is a catchy or memorable piece of music or saying that continuously occupies a person's mind even after it is no longer being played or spoken about. Involuntary Musical Imagery (INMI) is most common after earworms, but INMI as a label is not solely restricted to earworms; musical hallucinations also fall into this category, although they are not the same thing. Earworms are considered to be a common type of involuntary cognition. Some of the phrases often used to describe earworms include "musical imagery repetition" and "involuntary musical imagery".
A hook is a musical idea, often a short riff, passage, or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to "catch the ear of the listener". The term generally applies to popular music, especially rock, R&B, hip hop, dance, and pop. In these genres, the hook is often found in, or consists of, the chorus. A hook can be either melodic or rhythmic, and often incorporates the main motif for a piece of music.
"Wannabe" is the debut single by the British girl group the Spice Girls, released on 26 June 1996. It was written by the Spice Girls, Matt Rowe and Richard "Biff" Stannard and produced by Rowe and Stannard for the group's debut album, Spice, released in November 1996. "Wannabe" is a dance-pop song that features Mel B and Geri Halliwell rapping. The lyrics, which address the value of female friendship over heterosexual relationships, became a symbol of female empowerment and the most emblematic song of the group's girl power philosophy. It was written and recorded quickly. The result was considered lacklustre by their label and was sent to be mixed by Dave Way. The Spice Girls were not pleased with the result, and the recording was mixed again, by Mark "Spike" Stent.
Song structure is the arrangement of a song, and is a part of the songwriting process. It is typically sectional, which uses repeating forms in songs. Common forms include bar form, 32-bar form, verse–chorus form, ternary form, strophic form, and the 12-bar blues. Popular music songs traditionally use the same music for each verse or stanza of lyrics. Pop and traditional forms can be used even with songs that have structural differences in melodies. The most common format in modern popular music is introduction (intro), verse, pre-chorus, chorus, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, bridge, and chorus. In rock music styles, notably heavy metal music, there is usually one or more guitar solos in the song, often found after the middle chorus part. In pop music, there may be a guitar solo, or a solo performed with another instrument such as a synthesizer or a saxophone.
"Stop" is a song by English girl group the Spice Girls from their second studio album, Spiceworld (1997). The group co-wrote the song with its producers, Paul Wilson and Andy Watkins of the Absolute production duo, during the filming of the film Spice World.
A drop or beat drop in music, made popular by electronic dance music (EDM) styles, is a point in a music track where a sudden change of rhythm or bass line occurs, which is preceded by a build-up section and break.
Repetition is important in music, where sounds or sequences are often repeated. It may be called restatement, such as the restatement of a theme. While it plays a role in all music, with noise and musical tones lying along a spectrum from irregular to periodic sounds, it is especially prominent in specific styles.
"Hook" is a song by American rock band Blues Traveler, from their fourth studio album, Four (1994). The title of the song is a reference to the term hook: "A hook is a musical idea, often a short riff, passage, or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to "catch the ear of the listener". The lyrics are a commentary on the banality and vacuousness of successful pop songs, making "Hook" both a hit song and a satire of a hit song. Commercially, "Hook" peaked at number 23 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 40 on the Canadian RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart.
Habits is the debut studio album by American rock band Neon Trees, released on March 16, 2010. The album's lead single, "Animal" was featured in several commercials, including those for Camp Vegas, and has reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Alternative Rock chart. "1983" received a music video, the single was released on September 28, 2010.
"Schoolin' Life" is a song that was recorded by American singer Beyoncé for the deluxe edition of her fourth studio album, 4 (2011). It was written by Knowles, Terius Nash, Shea Taylor as well as Carlos McKinney while production was handled by Knowles, The-Dream, and Los Da Mystro. Jordan Young, also known by his stage name DJ Swivel, mixed the song at New York's Jungle City Studios. Containing elements of disco and dance-pop music, "Schoolin' Life" is an uptempo R&B song, in which Knowles employs guttural vocals and uses her head voice. Having a retro nature, the song is built on a 1980s-inspired dance beat, and is instrumentally complete with old school synthesizers, drum kits, electric guitars, and horns.
"Call Me Maybe" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Carly Rae Jepsen from her EP Curiosity (2012) and later appeared on her second studio album and first international album Kiss (2012). The song was written by Jepsen and Tavish Crowe as a folk song, but its genre was modified to pop following the production by Josh Ramsay. It was released as the lead single from the EP on September 20, 2011 in the United States and Canada, through 604 Records, and later on July 10, 2012 in the International world. Jepsen was signed to Schoolboy Records, releasing her single in the United States through the label, as the first single from Kiss. Musically, "Call Me Maybe" is a teen pop, dance-pop and bubblegum pop track that alludes to the inconvenience that love at first sight brings to a girl who hopes for a call back from a new crush.
Curiosity is the second EP by Canadian singer Carly Rae Jepsen. It was released on February 14, 2012, by 604 Records. Initially listed on the iTunes Store with a full-length tracklist, Curiosity was cut down to a six-song EP just days before its release. The full-length album titled Kiss was released 7 months later containing only two songs from the EP on its standard edition. Musically, Curiosity is a pop album influenced by several genres such as dance-pop and R&B, while its lyrical content is mostly about love.
"Holding On to You" is a song by American musical duo Twenty One Pilots from their second studio album Regional at Best (2011). It was re-recorded and later included as the second song on the track-listing of their major-label debut album, Vessel (2013). "Holding On to You" features upbeat rhythms and bouncy suspended chords over which Tyler Joseph delivers scattershot raps with down-to-earth sentiments and sings grandiose, euphoric choruses. The track's indie-inspired synth-pop transforms from a sensitive ballad to a hip-hop number with rapped verses and codas. The song contains lyrical elements of "Lean wit It, Rock wit It" by Dem Franchize Boyz. Lyrically, "Holding on to You" is an ode to self-control. It addresses the claiming of one's own life and holding onto your values. The song's lyrics express introspective lines as well as a sentiment about taking back control of one's own mind, lost to mental health.
"Trouble" is the debut single recorded by British girl group Neon Jungle for their debut and only studio album, Welcome to the Jungle (2014). "Trouble" was released on 3 September 2013 by RCA Records, and was written and produced by CocknBullKid and Benjamin Berry. The song made its UK Singles Chart debut a week later at number twelve.
Manchester Science Festival is an annual science festival held in October in Manchester, England, and produced by the Museum of Science and Industry. It runs for eleven days, incorporating over 100 events across Greater Manchester for families and adults. Siemens has been the Festival’s headline sponsor since 2014, as part of its Curiosity Project.
"Nimble Bastard" is a single by American rock band Incubus, off of their eighth studio album 8. It peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart in April 2017.
"Beach House" is a song by the Canadian singer Carly Rae Jepsen. It was released as the second single from her sixth studio album, The Loneliest Time, on August 5, 2022. Jepsen wrote the track with Alex Hope and Nate Cyphert, the former of whom handled the production with SameSame. Inspired by a displeasing experience, the lyrics explore the uncertain and troubling side of finding love in dating apps and Jepsen's frustration with it. Musically, "Beach House" is a disco-pop tune driven by upbeat guitar and synthesizer instrumentation.
"Poland" is a song by American rapper Lil Yachty. It was released on October 11, 2022, through Quality Control Music and Motown Records.
Now We're Cookin' is the third studio album by Australian garage duo, Polish Club. It was announced on 21 May 2021, alongside the third single, "No Heaven" and released on 13 August 2021. The album peaked at number 8 on the ARIA Chart, becoming their highest chart position and first top ten release for the duo. The album was supported with the Now We're Tourin' tour, which commenced in Adelaide on 3 September 2021.
