The Hit Songs Deconstructed Mid-Year Trend Report provides an in-depth look at the compositional trends for the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 during the first half of 2018.

What follows are select highlights pulled from our Mid-Year Trend Report. Hit Songs Deconstructed subscribers can access the full Hit Songs Deconstructed Mid-Year Report July 23rd.

Compositional trends are for songs that charted in the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 during Q1 and Q2 of 2018. Data and analytics for all findings (and more) are available in the Hit Songs Deconstructed IMMERSION Searchable Database.

During the first half of 2018 44 songs, 45 credited performing artists, 154 credited songwriters, 66 credited producers, and 12 record labels landed in the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10.

Seven songs charted at #1. They include five Hip Hop songs – God’s Plan (Drake), Nice For What (Drake), Psycho (Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign), Sad! (XXXTentacion) and This is America (Childish Gambino), and two Pop songs – Havana (Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug) and Perfect (Ed Sheeran featuring Beyoncé).

Drake was the top artist. He had the most #1 hits (2), spent the most time at #1 (18 weeks total: God’s Plan – 11 weeks, Nice For What – 7 weeks), and was tied with Cardi B for most Top 10 hits (6). He also had the most credits as a songwriter (7).

Primary Genres
Hip Hop’s prominence continues to reach new heights both as a primary genre and as an influence across genres. As a primary genre it accounted for 55% of the Top 10 during the first half of the year, which was up from 37% during the same time period in 2017.
In Q2 2018 Hip Hop accounted for 62% of the Top 10, while Pop accounted for only 24%.

 
Influences

Top 10 (All Songs)
As an influence shaping the sound and vibe of songs, Hip Hop played a role in 89% of all Top 10 hits, up from 63% during the same time period in 2017.

Top 10 (Excluding the Hip Hop Genre)
When looking exclusively at songs outside the Hip Hop/Rap genre, Hip Hop’s influence increased significantly as well. It played a role in 75% of those songs during the first half of 2018, which is up from 42% during the first half of 2017.

Lead Vocal Gender
Men continue to dominate the Top 10. 55% of songs that landed in the Top 10 during the first half of this year feature exclusively male lead vocals. Just 20% feature exclusively female vocals.

 
Lead Vocal Delivery
Songs that feature a combination of sung and rapped vocals continue to be the most popular, accounting for around half of the Top 10 in Q1 and Q2. When looking exclusively at songs outside the Hip Hop genre, 40% feature a combination of sung and rapped vocals.

Key
Minor keys continued to shape the vibe of the majority of songs in the Top 10 during the first half of 2018 (68%). However, five of the seven #1 hits from Q1 and Q2 are in a major key.

 
Lyrical Themes
Lifestyle surpassed Love/Relationships as the most popular lyrical theme during the first half of 2018, playing a role in 55% of Top 10 hits. However, when looking exclusively at songs outside the Hip Hop genre, Love/Relationships continues to be the most popular, playing a role in 75%.

Memes
A couple of memes that have decreased in prominence during the first half of 2018 are Snaps and Tropical (our blanket category for Reggae, Reggaeton, Dancehall, Trop House and Latin). In 2016 and 2017, approximately one quarter of the Top 10 featured Snaps or a Tropical influence. During the first half of 2018, they were featured in just 11% and 9% of songs, respectively.

Snaps

Tropical

 
Song Structure
The number of songs that have the chorus preceding the first verse surpassed those that don’t in Q2 2018. This is largely due to the increased prominence of Hip Hop in the Top 10.

Hit Songs Deconstructed subscribers can access the full Hit Songs Deconstructed Mid-Year Report at www.HitSongsDeconstructed.com July 23rd.

Below is a Spotify playlist with the 44 songs that charted in the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 during the first half of 2018.