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.