Akon - Don't Matter

LONGEVITY: 3/5

When I first heard "Don't Matter", I despised it. This was blatantly similar to R. Kelly's "Intuition" in the chorus, and I thought this song only made it big because Akon's been banging out the hits lately.

Well, it's a couple months since then, and I still feel the same way. The tune and singing style of the chorus is exactly the same as R. Kelly's, with the same echoing and pausing by both singers in the same relative spots. Perhaps some of the younger teens were not listening to R. Kelly back in 2003, and for them this would be considered innovative.

To its credit, the song does have a reggae flavor and Akon reveals his vocal potential to the listener. Unfortunately, he does little more than sing the same chorus over and over. It's about time that he learn from Usher and show off his soulful vocals. Then again, as previously mentioned, the guy has mastered the art of putting out hit singles. This is not a great song to blast out of a car stereo, but the chorus grows on you...even I, a detractor of the song, was singing it after a while.

Fergie - Glamorous

LONGEVITY: 2.5/5

It seems as if dreamy midtempo songs in minor scales have dominated the charts lately--consider Nelly Furtado's "Say It Right" and Rihanna's "Umbrella". "Glamorous", the third hit single from Fergie's debut solo album, is no exception.

Everyone criticizes Ms. Ferguson's tendency to spell out words in her songs, but G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S is only done during two parts of the song, clearly not as rampant as was in "Fergalicious". Let's focus on the actual song instead of a bunch of letters...this is not Sesame Street!

I came across a copy of the instrumental version of the song, and after hearing it I was literally about to fall asleep. Not because the song is boring, but because it has a new-age sound with a large-hall reverb. The synth strings, combined with Fergie's sexy harmonies and interesting accent (particularly on the word "flossy") are major contributors to the song's catchiness.

Another key to the song is the bleep-filled hook playing behind Fergie's vocals in the bridge and chorus. Come to think of it, bleeps are very "in" too. Hillary Duff's "With Love" and The Pussycat Dolls' "Beep" also made the square lead (a technical term for a synthesized bleep) in vogue.

One detractor to "Glamorous" is the drumbeat, which is bland at best. It is handclap-heavy, and does not quite fit the music.

The song is definitely a hit right now and pleasant to the ear, but Fergie seems to be afraid to sing without heavy vocal processing. It's about time she show off her real vocal talent (most of us young folk don't remember her Kids Incorporated days) and prove to the world that there's more to her than a hot body. I guess you'll have to wait for my review of Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry" to find out my assessment of her true vocals.

Timbaland - Give It To Me

LONGEVITY: 2.5/5

Before I actually analyze the song itself, here's a little game:

• First click here (or sit down in front of a piano/keyboard in your house).
• Scroll down to the piano, and play the following keys in this order:
  #G -(then pause for a second) - #D - #G - A - #D - #G

Sound familiar? Well, this is the background loop that plays throughout most of Timbaland's "Give It To Me". However, don't think I'm knocking this hit song due to its relative simplicity. What is clear about popular music nowadays is that hit songs are not necessarily the Beethoven masterpieces, but rather what's catchy and sounds good in the car with the bass pumped up. The Beethoven "equivalent" of the last two years is arguably Timbaland (neck and neck with Akon). He has been the defibrillator of Nelly Furtado's career, which was all but over ever since her "Turn Off The Light" and "I'm Like A Bird" fell off the charts.

Some may view Furtado--who is featured alongside Justin Timberlake on this track--as a sellout who forsook her good-girl image to sell more albums. My response: no wonder they call it the music business. Could I have written this song? Quite possibly. But as is the case in many industries: it's all about who you know. And Timbaland is quite the connection to have.

Truth is, any female pop star could have sung Furtado's chorus. Her voice is noticeably dubbed over at least once, and the tune itself does not allow for much vocal exploration.

All in all, the song's chorus and flute-flavored background sequence you played earlier are ear-catching and placed the song at the top of the charts.

Katharine McPhee - Over It

LONGEVITY: 2/5

I am not an avid American Idol fanatic, and I first discovered Katharine McPhee when "Over It" hit the airwaves.

Initially, I was not overly impressed with "Over It"; for some reason, I associated the chorus with a country song. Unaware that she was an Idol contestant, I thought some of the harmonies and Katharine's vocal techniques were reminiscent of Martina McBride or Shania Twain. Case in point: the portamento she applies in "that ain't" and the second "now I'm". Nevertheless, as is the case for most pop songs, the more airplay they get the more the songs grow on you. This song was stuck in my head for at least a couple days, and in the music video Katharine was kind of cute, er, hot!

Another aspect of the song that caught my attention was its striking similarity to JoJo's "Too Little Too Late". The introductory guitar riffs in both songs, along with similar beats and background effects, were the dead giveaway that the two were written and produced by Billy Steinberg. Josh Alexander, and Ruth-Anne Cunningham.

This song is far from a masterpiece, but Katharine's singing fits right into the mainstream pop mold as did her Idol predecessor Kelly Clarkson at the outset of her career.

Avril Lavigne - "Girlfriend"

LONGEVITY: 2/5

Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" is not quite her greatest hit, but synthesizes her new girly-girl image with her hard-rock roots to make this song the French Canadian's highest-ranking chart debut. Once again, Avril has found a way to appeal to her wide-ranging female audience with a pop-punk sound after several consecutive melodic singles. This is the powerful Avril many of her original fanbase missed for the past three years (minus the ties, of course). The song is fast-paced like "Sk8er Boi", but unlike Lavigne's second-ever hit single, the foundation of "Girlfriend" is Avril's multi-track vocals and her drummer (versus the dominant electric guitars in "Sk8er Boi").

"Girlfriend" could very well become the song of the summer, and Avril certainly has a grasp as to adjusting her music and image with the times (unlike her then-rival Britney Spears).

Maroon 5 - "Makes Me Wonder"

LONGEVITY (i.e. Will adult contemporary stations play it? Will anyone remember it in 10 years?): 3.5/5

A record-breaking song that has topped the Billboard Hot 100 as well as A/C charts in just four weeks, Maroon 5's "Makes Me Wonder" is a feel good song with not-so-positive undertones. According to lead singer Adam Levine, he wrote the song to vent his anger with the current political state of affairs, particularly the Iraq war. I'm not going to let that sway my opinion of the song either way, because the war theme is virtually undetectable.
This song has an 80's sound to it, but actually reminds me somewhat of George Michael's 2003 hit "Amazing", with abundant seventh chords and falsetto interspersed throughout. You might say Levine resorts to falsetto too often, but I believe it to be his signature sound. There are certain artists that have mastered falsetto, including Justin Timberlake and Daniel Bedingfield. All too often have lead singers explored their quasi-feminine register and sounded utterly ridiculous, such as Dave Matthews in "Where Are You Going," and The Darkness' Justin Hawkins in "I Believe In A Thing Called Love" (the former peaked on the Hot 100 at #38, and the latter did not even chart in the U.S.). Mr. Levine makes it work, though the key of Maroon 5's songs is often too high for his normal vocal range and thereby forces him to go falsetto.
"She Will Be Loved" has clung to adult contemporary playlists since its release; "Makes Me Wonder" will likely be no different.

Before I begin...

Before I begin with my analysis of current hit songs, I would like to let you know my musical background.

• I began taking piano lessons at age 7 (I am now 22).
• I have been involved with MIDI composition since high school, and more recently purchased a Roland XV-5050 sound module. I have explored various digital audio workstations and virtual synths, and have composed tens of songs.
• I beatbox (a great site to get into beatboxing is www.humanbeatbox.com)
• To enhance my vocal abilities, I attended three cantorial classes at my school.
• I have nearly perfect pitch.

Growing up, I listened almost exclusively to classic rock. That changed somewhat in 1999, when I turned on Z100 for the first time and got a sampling of the big-names at that time (Britney Spears, N'Sync, Backstreet Boys, Christina Aguilera, etc.). At first these were merely guilty pleasures of mine, but upon entering high school I became fascinated with music composition and wanted to emulate these bands in terms of the actual music. I studied the effects they used (the effect in Cher's "Believe" was the first I researched) and styles employed, and wondered what made these songs so popular.

After years of listening to the chart-toppers, I began predicting the popularity of songs. Here are some of my predictions:

ARTISTS/BANDS I CORRECTLY PREDICTED WOULD MAKE IT BIG:
--Fergie (solo): She was the reason I listened to the Black Eyed Peas in the early 2000s.
--Beyonce (solo): The hottest and by far the most talented of the three Destiny's Child members.

ARTISTS/BANDS I CORRECTLY COUNTED OUT:
--Stacie Orrico: "Stuck On You" came right out of a manufacturing plant. Though her music has been somewhat successful in other countries, if you're not a household name in the U.S. you have not achieved greatness (Kylie Minogue, Anastacia, and Robbie Williams deserve similar criticism).
--Dream: None of the ladies were strikingly beautiful, and none had a spectacular voice either.
--Matisyahu: He definitely has a strong following and is very much respected in the beatboxing, reggae, and Jewish communities. However, the novelty of a Hasidic Jew in the mainstream has worn off and we will likely not hear him again on Top 40 stations.

ARTISTS/BANDS I WRONGLY PREDICTED WOULD MAKE IT BIG:
--Lillix: I was sure "It's About Time" would make these girls a shoe-in. We've hardly heard from them since.
--Daniel Bedingfield: "Gotta Get Thru This" was by far Daniel's (i.e. Natasha's older brother's)most famous hit. "If You're Not The One" should have had staying power too.

ARTISTS/BANDS I INCORRECTLY COUNTED OUT:
--Kelly Clarkson and Mariah Carey: Flops at the box office led me to believe it was over for both.
--Nelly Furtado: Hey, her career was over...until a Mr. Timbaland came along.
--Lumidee: Her singing in "Never Leave You" was...how shall I put this...AWFUL! Fortunately for her (she's very fortunate), Tony Sunshine's stellar performance and synth-heavy background music in "She's Like The Wind" saved her from the one-hit wonder syndrome.
--The Fray: Where did I go wrong...

Yes, most of the artists and bands listed above are female. Truth is, I enjoy male bands just as much. After all, I said I grew up listening to classic rock -- an extremely male-dominated genre.

Anyway....my next post will analyze the now #1 song, "Makes Me Wonder" by Maroon 5.

New Music - Reviews

Hi all. The purpose of this blog will be to analyze and rate chart-topping songs such as the ones maintaining high rankings on the Billboard Hot 100. I will introduce a slighty atypical methodology of analysis, with categories including a song's catchiness, why the song performs well in the U.S. vis-a-vis other countries' charts (or vice versa), and if (or how much) a song will be remembered in the future and/or receive airplay for many subsequent years.

Please feel free to comment on any of the posts, as long as the comments directly relate to the post. All other feedback should be sent to my e-mail address (AdamMCaplan@gmail.com).

Enjoy!