Three monstrous radio hits that didn’t come from radio
Carly Rae Jepsen is suddenly a pop star thanks to one insanely catchy song "Call Me Maybe." Can she transcend the one-hit wonder label, though? CREDIT: AP
Loading ...None of the three of the most memorable pop songs of 2012 originated from traditional radio, once the place where most hits were born.
In the old days, record companies pitched songs. Radio stations would test them. The ones that stuck became hits. When MTV came along in the early 1980s, it had a major influence on shaping hits, too. (See Duran Duran, Flock of Seagulls, Paula Abdul, M.C. Hammer) By the 1990s, its influence waned as it reduced music video airplay.
Now credit YouTube, “Glee,” and Justin Bieber for fueling three delightfully fun pop songs to ubiquity this year: Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know,” Fun.’s “We are Young” and Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe.”
Radio reacted after the fact, giving these songs enough airplay to help propel them all to the top of the pop charts the past four months. (Gotye has been the most played song in Atlanta for the past month, with Fun. and Jepsen getting their fair share of spins on Star 94, B98.5, Q100 and Wild 105.7.)
As this AVclub story noted, none of the three songs veer far from the formula for hit songs. They’re all incredibly catchy with memorable hooks and interesting yet universal lyrical story arcs. After hearing all three songs at least a couple hundred times now, I am not sick of any of them.
I have a college roommate who had given up on top 40 three years ago but admitted on Facebook this week that he actually liked the top 5 songs this week (which include “Payphone” by Maroon 5 and “Starships” by Nicki Minaj, two more great pop songs that came up the traditional radio way.)
- Gotye’s original version is notable for its lack of a regular drumbeat and use of the xylophone. Remixes with a dance beat pushed the song to the top of the dance chart. It had such broad appeal, it also topped the alternative and pop charts. It was covered on “Glee,” “The Voice” and “American Idol.” The quirky official video has been seen an astounding 264 million times and is in the top 10 of most uploaded songs of all time on YouTube. (No. 1? “Baby” by Bieber.) It hit No. 1 for eight weeks in April and May. Want to know how it became a worldwide smash? Billboard chronicles the climb and Gotye himself explains the appeal:
Gotye credits the plaintive combination of his voice alongside Kimbra’s, coupled with the song’s “anti-pop elements,” as the reason why it has connected on a global scale. “It has a very soft, understated way of building toward the payoff with the chorus,” he says. “I get a sense that people lose themselves in it.”
- A few months ago, Carly Rae Jepsen was a struggling Canadian singer who had come in third on “Canadian Idol.” Canadian native Justin Bieber (who lived in Atlanta for a time before he broke it big) heard the song in Canada over Christmas and Tweeted about it. He then did a spoof, lip-syncing version and away the song went. So far, it’s been seen 185 million times, and that doesn’t count the countless parodies. The Bieber/Selena Gomez/Ashley Tisdale version alone has drawn 43 million. It just hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. (She’s now managed by Atlantan Scooter Braun, who discovered Bieber.)
- Fun. (yes, the band has a period at the end of its name) released the song last fall and almost died on the vine. But after a Chevrolet ad aired during the Super Bowl with the song and “Glee” covered it, sales rocketed and radio airplay followed. The New York Times wrote about the song’s rising acclaim in March. It was on the top of the charts for six weeks.
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By Rodney Ho, Radio & TV Talk
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62 comments Add your comment
j
June 27th, 2012
1:51 pm
I am an avid music lover. There are many singers and groups that I love. Two my favorites that are alive today are Gladys Knight and Chaka Khan. They both had there own distinct styles of singing. Once you here the first note from both you know who they are right away. I think that is what’s missing from music today, everyone sound like the next person. Plus both of these women paid there dues. They may have had troubles in their personal lives, but they alway stayed focused on the music and managed to keep them separate, which is one of the reasons why they are so admired to this day.
@evansdawg,
I kinda of agree with you. I am a fan of British Soul and one of my favorite singers in the UK is Alice Russell.
blkshepherd
June 27th, 2012
2:05 pm
@Peggy
I thought it was me. You hit the nail right on the head. They act like Luther and Michael only had two hits. The oldies R&B 104.1 Young Blood has a limited supply of records(I should let him spin some of my old 45s because he plays the same songs saturday after saturday. Actuallyl when he Quit for more money the music was Better because atleast they played a variety of artists instead of the Same like he does now..how boring) the Rock n Roll Real Oldies. 106.7 started off great then suddenly I realized they were playing the Same 20 songs daily
Radio is DEAD. If you want to listen to good old music. Go to Youtube. type in a song..copy it to your hardrive, create a playlist. and throw your radio in the trash. Radio has died a slow painful death. I download all my favorite old songs and artists from my computor. My radio dont get Near the Love my Computor(which is a World within itself) gets all of my attention. Radio died when the 2000s began. LONG LIVE OLD SCHOOL Music On YOUTUBE.
If they cut out Youtube I dont know what I will do but I have created a playlist and already copied to my Mp3. So if youtube get wise TOO LATE. I already copied and Pasted! Yeahhh! Radio is Dead. Long Live YOUTUBE VIDEOS.
Blisscat
June 27th, 2012
2:09 pm
Young people today don’t really “own” any musical legacy. Everything they like is an offshoot of the pop, rock, r&b and rap which were all created by their parent’s generation.
If you want to hear something a million miles away from mass consumption musical product, here’s a song my (local ATL) band recorded about the rise in wannabe/poser fame (American Idol, RockBand etc). Our singer wouldn’t even make the cut on American Idol. And we couldn’t care less. Oh, and we’re all over 50.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTqArFiGvw8&feature=relmfu
Billy
June 27th, 2012
2:18 pm
I’m with Danny at the top of this board. Most music out these days is noise. And since the Atlanta music stations can’t stop the musical chairs, “Elaine Zittac,” idiocy of firing, hiring, firing, hiring DJs and other on air staff, Satellite radio is the wave of the future.
Rock in the 70s and 80s was a fixture of everyday life. Now, it’s a footnote. Thanks to rap and grunge, the great music machine is dead in the water.
They should bring back free Napster; LOL, there’s nothing worth stealing anymore except 20+ year old music…
Billy
June 27th, 2012
2:24 pm
PS, to DC and all the other “experts” out there that argue that the music today is on par with yesterday’s music: you have no clue what you’re talking about. I’d say more, but it would fall on completely deaf ears…
Clark Howard
June 27th, 2012
2:35 pm
To all of you complaining that music today is worse: You are looking in the wrong places. A ton of great stuff is being produced and distributed but if you keep looking in the same places (like most terrestrial radio) then you will only hear bubblegum pop. Atlanta radio is notoriously bad so not listening to it is a great start.
DC
June 27th, 2012
3:15 pm
Im not claiming to be an expert but…to say today’s music is pure garbage is a generalized statement…of course if you listen to FM radio only I agree with you 100%. But if you step out of the box and dig a little deeper than what is spoon fed there are alot of music out there that is of quality. Its not what YOU grew up with..its not the sound YOU grew up with..
I always wonder if I will feel the same way some of you do in 20 years…I bet I will..if the dubstep trend continues there is no doubt i will hah
Whatever
June 27th, 2012
3:37 pm
I listen to the Beatles albums on cd in my car and enjoy the Beatles live videos on youtube. I know I am old so don’t tell me, but I also listen to the Eagles and watch their videos.
The radio today is crap and the popular music I hear today does not sound like it is made by people with a lot of talent or origionality. I can understand if younger people are drawn to it though because it is provided by people in their generation and they need to establis their own identity independent of their parents and grandparents. We did too.
BehindEnemyLines
June 27th, 2012
4:11 pm
Given this evidence, maybe it’s time radio starts generating hits again, because this is some of the most absurdly useless dreck in history. Then again, radio help spawn Gaga so perhaps it’s not the answer either.
Down with radio
June 27th, 2012
4:16 pm
I haven’t listened to the radio for 30 years. Got my records and cd’s and that’s all I listen to. Unfortunately, whenever I go into any kind of store what is playing is today’s crap, so I’m still exposed to it. Real musicians playing real instruments and writing their own material are not en vogue and probably never will be again in my lifetime. Today’s music is written to appeal to teenyboppers with no appreciation for real artists.
bmore chuck
June 27th, 2012
9:59 pm
with all these complaints I want to thank WCLK 91.9 for providing me with quality music all day long …Love you guys oh and I pay them with my membership dollars.
Hillbilly D
June 28th, 2012
10:01 am
I listen to Sirius/XM. Whatever I want to hear at the time, I can hear. I listen to bluegrass, country, rock, rhythm and blues, blues mainly. Just whatever mood I happen to be in at the time and I can listen to just what I want to hear. Of course, I don’t listen to all the stations on there but of the ones I listen to, you don’t hear the same song over and over, all day. Usually, you won’t hear a song more than once a day.