Welcome to Your Monthly Hot 100 Top 10 Then and Now!
Where we take a look at how 2019 is stacking up to 2018.
So far this year – from January through May 2019 – there have been 30 songs that charted in the Top 10 of the Hot 100, seven of which occupied the top spot. In May, specifically, there were 15 songs that charted in the Top 10 and one #1 hit, Old Town Road.
All #1 hits have been Pop songs, with the exception of Old Town Road (though it has a pronounced Pop influence). Quite a different picture from 2018 when just 33% of #1 hits were Pop songs!
When looking specifically at the songs that charted in the Top 10 in May:
- 64% are Pop
- 64% have a Hip Hop Influence
- 64% feature exclusively male lead vocals
- 64% feature exclusively sung vocals
- 57% feature a single lead vocalist
- 57% feature a love/relationships lyrical theme
- 57% are in a minor key
- Average song length: 3:05 (43% are under 3:00)
- Average intro length: 0:12
- Average time to get to the first chorus: 0:40
- Average outro length: 0:21
So how is the 2019 Hot 100 Top 10 shaping up compared to 2018 at the compositional level? Below is a comparison between 2018 and 2019 YTD.
Note: This data includes Top 10 songs that carried over from 2018 into 2019.
As far as primary genres go, we’ve seen a pronounced shift from Hip Hop to Pop in the Hot 100 Top 10. While Hip Hop fell from 60% to 33%, Pop rose from 23% to 50%.
Hip Hop and Trap still remain the most popular influences across primary genres in the Top 10. However, Hip Hop is down from 89% to 73% and Trap is down from 76% to 63%.
A few notable influences on the rise in the Top 10 include:
- Funk: Increased from 4% to 20%
- Rock:Â Increased from 16% to 27%
- Dance/Club:Â Increased from 15% to 23%
- Dancehall:Â Increased from 3% to 10%
When it comes to lead vocal gender, 2019 is mostly in line with 2018 with men dominating the Top 10.
However, when looking exclusively at #1 hits, there has been a significant increase in female lead vocals, jumping from just 8% in 2018 up to 43% so far this year. On the flip side, the number of #1 hits that feature male/female duets dropped from 50% to 14%.
In 2018, songs with a combination of sung and rapped vocals were most popular. However, in 2019 this has not been the case. 57% of songs feature exclusively sung vocals, increasing from 31%in 2018.
Lifestyle, which was the most popular lyrical theme in 2018, dropped from 59% to 37% of songs so far this year. Love/relationships, however, increased from 40% to 57%.
88% of Pop songs feature a love/relationship theme, while only one Hip Hop song, Better Now, features the theme (though the song has a strong Pop influence).
The landscape as far as instruments go in the Top 10 is very similar to that of 2018, with the exception that we’re seeing an increase in songs using electric guitar. It’s up from 25% in 2018 to 43% in 2019.
Note: The above graph shows prominent instruments used in 20% of the Top 10 or more.
While the Top 10 is still predominantly minor, we’ve seen a significant decline in songs in a minor key. It dropped from 72% in 2018 to 60% year to date.
Average tempo has significantly increased so far this year, from 83 BPM to 93 BPM year to date.
47% of the Top 10 are 100 BPM or more.
Songs on average have been getting shorter in 2019. Average song length year to date is 3:15, down from 3:36 in 2018. 30% of Top 10 hits are under 3:00.
Shorter songs are even more prominent among #1 hits where the average landed at just 2:57.
Average intro length has gotten slightly shorter, down from 0:15 to 0:13.
The use of a pre-chorus has increased compared to last year, rising from 40% to 50%.
The number of songs with the chorus preceding first verse has decreased this year. In 2018, 45% of songs had the chorus preceding verse while this year only 30% do.
In direct contrast with songs getting shorter in 2019, it’s taking longer to get to the chorus. On average, the first chorus is hitting at 0:43, seven seconds longer than the 2018 average.
The use of a post chorus is up from 19% to 43% of the Top 10. This is mostly the case with Pop, R&B and Dance songs. None of the Hip Hop songs so far this year include a post chorus.
The use of “D” (departure) section(s) within the framework of a song has also increased, up from 48% to 63%.
80% of Pop songs this year possess at least on “D” section.