https://www.timesunion.com/news/education/article/Singing-the-blues-Study-of-pop-music-finds-rise-12917330.php
Singing the blues: Study of pop music finds rise in sadness
Updated 12:42 am, Wednesday, May 16, 2018
Whitney Houston - 1992
Written and originally recorded by country star Dolly Parton in 1974. Featured in the movie “Bodyguard.” Won Grammys for record of the year and female pop vocal performance.
Weeks at No. 1: Fourteen
Sales: 12 million
“I hope life treats you kind. And I hope you have all you’ve dreamed of. And I wish to you, joy and happiness. But above all this, I wish you love.”
Whitney Houston - 1992
Written and originally recorded by country star Dolly Parton in 1974. Featured in the movie “Bodyguard.” Won Grammys for record of the year and female pop vocal
Bryan Adams - 1991
Featured in the movie “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.” Won a Grammy for song written specifically for a motion picture.
Weeks at No. 1: Seven. Spent 16 weeks at No. 1 in the U.K.
Sales: 10 million
“Look into my eyes, you will see what you mean to me. Search your heart, search your soul and when you find me there, you’ll search no more.”
Bryan Adams - 1991
Featured in the movie “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.” Won a Grammy for song written specifically for a motion picture.
Weeks at No. 1: Seven. Spent 16
The Beatles - 1963
The Beatles’ first U.S. No. 1 single was released in the U.S. the day after Christmas in 1963.
Weeks at No. 1: Seven
Sales: 11 million
“And when I touch you I feel happy inside. It’s such a feeling that my love I can’t hide.”
The Beatles - 1963
The Beatles’ first U.S. No. 1 single was released in the U.S. the day after Christmas in 1963.
Weeks at No. 1: Seven
Sales: 11 million
“And when I touch you I feel
John Travolta and Olvia Newton-John - 1978
Featured in the movie “Grease.” Is the fifth-best- selling single of all time in the U.K.
Weeks at No. 1: One. Spent nine weeks at No. 1 in the U.K.
Sales: 6.5 million
“If you’re filled with affection and you’re too shy to convey. Meditate my direction – feel your way.”
John Travolta and Olvia Newton-John - 1978
Featured in the movie “Grease.” Is the fifth-best- selling single of all time in the U.K.
Weeks at No. 1: One. Spent nine weeks at No. 1
Adele - 2011
Spent 65 weeks on Billboard’s singles chart. Won Grammys for record of the year, song of the year and short- form music video.
Weeks at No. 1: Seven
Sales: 14 million – 8.2 million digital
“The scars of your love remind me of us. They keep me thinking that we almost had it all. The scars of your love, they leave me breathless. I can’t help feeling we could have had it all.”
Adele - 2011
Spent 65 weeks on Billboard’s singles chart. Won Grammys for record of the year, song of the year and short- form music video.
Weeks at No. 1: Seven
Sales: 14 million – 8.2
Stevie Wonder - 1984
Featured in the movie “The Woman in Red.”
Weeks at No. 1: Three
Sales: 4.3 million
“No April rain, no flowers bloom. No wedding Saturday within the month of June. But what it is, is something true made up of these three words that I must say to you.”
Stevie Wonder - 1984
Featured in the movie “The Woman in Red.”
Weeks at No. 1: Three
Sales: 4.3 million
“No April rain, no flowers bloom. No wedding Saturday within the month of
Carly Rae Jepsen - 2012
Named MTV’s song of the year. Was iTunes’ top-selling song for the year.
Weeks at No. 1: Nine
Sales: 18 million
“And all the other boys try to chase me. But here’s my number, so call me maybe.”
Carly Rae Jepsen - 2012
Named MTV’s song of the year. Was iTunes’ top-selling song for the year.
Weeks at No. 1: Nine
Sales: 18 million
“And all the other boys try to chase me. But here’s my
Celine Dion - 1997
Featured in the movie “Titanic.” Won an Academy Award for best original song and Grammys for record of the year, song of the year and best female pop vocal performance.
Weeks at No. 1: Two
Sales: 15 million
“Love can touch us one time and last for a lifetime. And never let go ’til we’re gone.”
Celine Dion - 1997
Featured in the movie “Titanic.” Won an Academy Award for best original song and Grammys for record of the year, song of the year and best female pop vocal
Barbra Streisand - 1980
Written by Barry and Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees.
Weeks at No. 1: Three
Sales: 4 million
“I am a woman in love and I’ll do anything to get you into my world and hold you within. It’s a right I defend over and over again.”
Barbra Streisand - 1980
Written by Barry and Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees.
Weeks at No. 1: Three
Sales: 4 million
“I am a woman in love and I’ll do anything to get you into my world and hold you
Elvis Presley - 1960
Based on a 19th century Italian song, “O Sole Mio.” The final note of Presley’s performance is a G sharp.
Weeks at No. 1: Five
Sales: 22 million
“It’s now or never, come hold me tight. Kiss me my darling, be mine tonight. Tomorrow will be too late. It’s now or never. My love won’t wait.”
Elvis Presley - 1960
Based on a 19th century Italian song, “O Sole Mio.” The final note of Presley’s performance is a G sharp.
Weeks at No. 1: Five
Sales: 22 million
“It’s now or never,
Frank Sinatra - 1966
Sinatra’s first No. 1 song in 11 years won Grammys for record of the year, male vocal performance and arrangement accompanying a vocalist.
Weeks at No. 1: One
Sales: n/a
“Something in your eyes was so inviting. Something in your smile was so exciting. Something in my heart told me I must have you.”
Frank Sinatra - 1966
Sinatra’s first No. 1 song in 11 years won Grammys for record of the year, male vocal performance and arrangement accompanying a vocalist.
Weeks at No. 1: One
Sales:
Toni Braxton - 1996
Won a Grammy for best female pop vocal performance.
Weeks at No. 1: Eleven
Sales: 4 million
“Don’t leave me in all this pain. Don’t leave me out in the rain. Come back and bring back my smile. Come and take these tears away.”
Toni Braxton - 1996
Won a Grammy for best female pop vocal performance.
Weeks at No. 1: Eleven
Sales: 4 million
“Don’t leave me in all this pain. Don’t leave me out in the rain. Come back and
Heartbeat - Enrique Iglesias, featuring Nicole Scherzinger - 2010
The most amazingly sexy love song I’ve ever heard. There’s not a naughty word in it (although the video is a bit racy), but the song just oozes sex. It’s available at all the usual places, including iTunes and YouTube. Check it out.
Heartbeat - Enrique Iglesias, featuring Nicole Scherzinger - 2010
The most amazingly sexy love song I’ve ever heard. There’s not a naughty word in it (although the video is a bit racy), but
Billboard's most popular love songs
Billboard's most popular love songs
Loves songs most often downloaded from iTunes
Loves songs most often downloaded from iTunes
NEW YORK (AP) — A study of hundreds of thousands of popular songs over the past three decades has found a downward sonic trend in happiness and an increase in sadness, as the chirpy band Wham! gave way to the moody Sam Smith.
For the report in the journal Royal Society Open Science, researchers at the University of California at Irvine looked at 500,000 songs released in the UK between 1985 and 2015, and categorized them according to their mood.
"'Happiness' is going down, 'brightness' is going down, 'sadness' is going up, and at the same time, the songs are becoming more 'danceable' and more 'party-like,'" co-author Natalia L. Komarova told The Associated Press.
Of course, the researchers emphasize that a gradual decrease in the average "happiness" index does not mean that all successful songs in 1985 were happy and all successful songs in 2015 were sad. They were looking for average trends in the acoustic properties of the music and the moods describing the sounds.
Some songs with a low happiness index in 2014 include "Stay With Me" by Sam Smith, "Whispers" by Passenger and "Unmissable" by Gorgon City. Some from 1985 with a high happiness index include "Glory Days" by Bruce Springsteen, "Would I Lie to You?" by the Eurythmics, and "Freedom" by Wham!
"The public seems to prefer happier songs, even though more and more unhappy songs are being released each year," the researchers wrote. They also found the most successful genres of music were dance and pop, as well as a "clear downward trend" in the success of rock, starting in the early 2000s.
The overall mood shifts in the songs' musical features mirror other studies that have examined lyric changes over the years. They have found the use of positive emotions has declined and indicators of loneliness and social isolation have increased.
"So it looks like, while the overall mood is becoming less happy, people seem to want to forget it all and dance," emailed Komarova, who wrote the report with Myra Interiano, Kamyar Kazemi, LijiaWang, Jienian Yang and Zhaoxia Yu.
The researchers also found that the "maleness" of songs — the frequency of male singers in popular music — has decreased over the last 30 years. "Successful songs are characterized by a larger percentage of female artists compared to all songs," they write.
That finding comes at a time when the music industry is wrestling with the issue of gender inequality, and men overwhelmingly dominate the ranks of artists and songwriters.
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Online: rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org
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Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits
