HOW TO MAKE A SONG POP

Modern pop songs are written by armies of writers and producers recycling old hits – but magic can still be hard to manufacture

By NEIL McCORMICK

WHAT does it take to write a pop song? Musically and lyrically speaking, it might not seem there’s much to it: two or three short verses, repeated choruses, a few hooks and melodic motifs, all wrapped up in about three minutes. Yet any examination of publishing credits would suggest huge teams of people are involved in concocting even the most trite contemporary hit. Cheerleader by Jamaican vocalist Omi, which in June held the top spot on South Africa’s Top 100 chart, is credited to five writers, two producers and a remixer. All this for a bouncy bubblegum ditty rhyming “cheerleader” with “I need her”. And these days this is the norm rather than the exception – it’s not unusual for the top 10 to feature 40 writers and 19 producers. You…

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You South Africa (Digital) - 1 Issue, 02 July 2015

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