What Makes Commercial Pop, Pop?

I’ve never found that trying to write for a market resulted in very authentic musical expression. If we deconstruct a commercial pop song, we’ll find many of the tendencies there that also classify the genre itself. But often, we can’t just copy the tendencies when we write and wind up with a great pop tune. I believe this is because genre classification tells us what is common amongst songs, not what is special, unique, or contributes something of particular value. That comes from the artist themself.

So why deconstruct songs to learn what makes them tick if we’re trying not to become them?

Because looking at tendencies of genre can help each one of us define our music better- why people get it and like it, and why they don’t. But it also helps us illuminate the tendencies we have in our own writing that suggest genre, so we can lean into them harder, or directly contrast with them by fusing various genres in interesting ways.

Understanding why we sound the way we do allows us to choose our next move. Some of us songwriters may realize we’ve been trying to be someone we’re not by trying to write for a genre that values a different skillset than we have. By doing what comes naturally musically or lyrically, we find ourselves in a different genre altogether, and ultimately, feeling more fulfilled and heard by our listeners.

I’d like to take a look at the tendencies of Commercial Pop and some exercises we can take away to become more of who we each are, and if we’re pop, contributing in positive ways to the commercial pop market.

Commercial Pop sometimes gets a bad wrap, like it’s the “Rom-Com” of music that takes all the unique elements an artist can offer and dilutes them. Certainly, the word ‘commercial’ unifies what is popular and easy to digest in order to appeal to the masses without regard to whether what is being sold contributes anything of longevity. But there are characteristics that whether we like them or not, begin with the songwriting itself.

I’ll describe five of the characteristics as ‘tendencies’ of commercial pop writing. The more strictly the song adheres to these tendencies, the more commercial the song may feel to us.

Oh, and by the way, this is all subjective. None of this is written law - one of the prime delights and frustrations of writing songs, and making art.

1. Melody is King

The first tendency is the prioritization of melody.

With commercial pop, we often experience exact repetition. Whatever that first line of lyric is, that melodic theme becomes the basis for the verse. It’s common to repeat it immediately in line two. 

Melody is king, and lyrics are its subjects. When it comes to compromises, lyric will always lose. Melody dictates the number of syllables, the rhythm and phrasing, and the placement of the rhyme

We also hear melodic themes recycled. This means that we may hear the same melody in the verse and chorus, with a brief pre-chorus to break the monotony. This ‘monotony’ may be translated in the pop world to mean ‘ear-worm.’ The memorability of commercial pop often relies on the ease with which we learn and recall the song.

Ed Sheeran’s song “Shape of You” is a great example of repetition, particularly in the chorus. But this kind of repetition is also true in various songs and song sections outside of commercial pop: 

• “Change the World” by Eric Clapton

• “The Joker” by Steve Miller Band

• “American Woman” by The Guess Who

So clearly commercial pop isn’t the only style with a tendency to repeat, and repeat, and repeat. But what is important for us writers to know, is that artists who vary the melody throughout the song begin to sound more singer/songwriter. Think Adele or John Mayer.

Melody in pop is often highly rhythmic, and can therefore get away from highly contoured shapes. An artist might sing a single pitch for much of the verse. This lets commercial pop carry tons of forward energy, rather than being introspective or reflective where more contoured melodies that are less rhythmic are used. Many artists will change their melody writing style from more rhythmic to more contoured when crossing over from pop into folk or singer/songwriter. For example, John Mayer or James Bay, or Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift can all create music that carries tendencies of commercial pop, but sounds more like singer/songwriter, alternative, and folk when they focus on less rhythmic melody writing.

2. The 50-Second Rule

Another tendency of Commercial Pop is to hit the chorus within the first 50 seconds. Cut the pre-chorus if you need to. Think Sabrina Carpenter’s song, “Taste.”

We can still see this occurring outside of commercial pop, such as with Foo Fighters “Monkey Wrench.”

Songwriters or artists who are more lyrically dense will break this rule most of the time in favor of saying what they want to say. Sara Bareilles may have a song or two that cuts right to the chorus, but she’d rather throw you two verses and a pre chorus before it if she can…and in her singer/songwriter world, she can.

3. Limit Your Melodic Themes

Another tendency is to use no more than 3-4 melodic parts per song, introducing one part at a time.

Remember Taylor Swift’s song, “Blank Space”? Who can forget. And that’s the whole point. Very few melodic themes in this one, with tons of repetition. But this is also true about great popular artists of the past, informed by blues, soul, and rock, such as “Bad” by Michael Jackson.

4. Simplify the Characters

A fourth tendency of Commercial Pop lies within the character we write.

We get to know a single character before being introduced to another.

When Pink delivers “I think of you,” it pretty much says it all. Two characters, one simple idea. But this is also true of legendary songs like “Cat’s in the Cradle” by Harry Chapin. All songs that really stand the test of time are focused around a single idea. Well, maybe not all…thanks to artists like Queen and Bowie.

5. Create Balance

Finally, the last major tendency I’d like to draw our eyes towards is balance. Max Martin describes balance as moving between sweet and salty. Basically, the idea is to make sure sections sitting right next to one another like a verse and a pre chorus, or a chorus and a bridge, don’t sound alike. If the verse is busy, make sure the chorus isn’t. We can do this with melody, or chords. Since many commercial pop songs change very little in their chord progressions from one section to another, it’s common to create balance through changing the melody.

Some good examples of this include Bruno Mars “Just The Way You Are,” and Pharrell Williams’, “Happy.”

When the harmonies begin to explore colors outside typical progressions, we move away from bubblegum pop and dance to something more sophisticated or experimental, or distinct to another genre, like soul or jazz. Some artists who push harmonic boundaries are Yebba and Lizzy McAlpine. I’m particularly fond of Lizzo, who plays with unpredictable chord movements within the dance pop genre with ‘2 Be Loved (Am I Ready).’

The more boxes we tick, the more commercial pop our sound. The fewer boxes, the less we fit the mold. 

And here’s where it gets interesting. Rather than identify a musical mold and try to fit it, we can do some exercises to release what is authentically us and then nudge it towards a genre suited for our natural talents. 

In my next article, I’ll delve into some useful exercises to explore our natural talents and observe what that skillset is telling us about the qualities within our music. Most of us can already guess why a listener might be drawn to our music and why they’re not. We know what we’re good at, and are self-conscious about the things we know our songs lack. Sometimes we just need a little nudge to listen to our own instincts.

If you’re interested in diving deeper into this process in a hands-on, immersive setting, consider joining me at one of my songwriting retreats.

Stay creative,