What were the most notable points about the sonic characteristics of the hits Advertising signThe Radio Songs chart in 2023?
AI-powered hit song analytics platform ChartCipher released its latest report on March 15, highlighting key findings from Radio Songs surveys dating from January 7 to December 30, 2023.
In October 2023, ChartCipher went public, as jointly announced by MyPart and Hit Songs Deconstructed. The platform uses analytics from 10 of Advertising signMost Important Charts Dating to the Turn of the Century: Billboard Hot 100, Hot Country Songs, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, Pop Airplay, Country Airplay, Streaming Songs, Radio songs and digital song sales.
Here are three figures from Chart Cipher's new report, reflecting the Radio Songs chart for 2023.
Pop Topped, But Fell
“Pop was the top genre Advertising sign Radio Songs chart in 2023 with a 37% share” of all entries, ChartCipher's report notes. “Country followed close behind at 31% and hip-hop/rap rounded out the top three at 23%. Rock, R&B/soul, dance/club/electronic, and Latin followed closely behind, each accounting for 9% of songs or less.”
However, ChartCipher research reveals: “While pop has consistently held the top share of the chart for the past five years, its prominence has fallen from 54% in 2022 to 37% in 2023 – a low not seen since the beginning of 21st century.
“On the contrary, country [up from 27% to 31% year-over-year] and hip-hop/rap [up from 13% to 23%] Both saw gains in 2023.”
Despite its decline, pop boasts a double dominance, tying hip-hop/rap as the top Streaming Songs genres for 2023, each with a 27% share. Country claimed a 20% share and rock 19%, followed by R&B/soul (9%), Latin (6%) and dance/electronic (3%).
To recap, based on performance on each chart, here are the top three genres in both Radio Songs and Streaming Songs in 2023. Pop and Country each sport higher shares of radio songs than streaming songs, while hip-hop/rap did better in Streaming Songs than Radio Songs:
- Pop: 37% share, Radio Songs / 27%, Stream Songs
- Country: 31%, Radio Songs / 20%, Streaming Songs
- Hip-hop/rap: 23%, radio songs / 27%, streaming songs
Just Dance (Medium)
“Radio Songs' chart hits have become more danceable in recent years,” reports ChartCipher.
Not that the airwaves are awash with hits, hi-NRG hits: “Moderately danceable ones increased from half the songs in 2021 to just over two-thirds in 2023,” according to ChartCipher. “In contrast, songs with low danceability have declined over the same time period. At the other end of the spectrum, highly danceable (ie club-ready) songs continue to be few and far between.'
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ChartCipher cites examples of dance hits on the Radio Songs of 2023 including Dua Lipa's “Houdini” (high danceability), Taylor Swift's “Anti-Hero” (medium), and Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice's “Barbie World” with Aqua (low).
Meanwhile, with mediocre dance songs dominating, “Nearly two-thirds of Radio Songs hits [in 2023 had] tempo below 100 BPM,” according to ChartCipher. “Those with a tempo below 79 BPM saw a notable increase in prevalence, from 29% of songs in 2022 to 39% in 2023, their highest level in over a decade.”
No rhyme or reason
Analyzing the lyrics, “Rhyme density was a mixed bag in 2023, with an almost equal split of songs (sung in English) featuring low, medium, and high degrees of rhyme,” among the Radio Songs hits, ChartCipher analyzes. “However, there has been a recent trend towards high and very high rhyming density, which together account for almost half of the graph in 2023, compared to a third a few years earlier.”
ChartCipher cites “chart-toppers at both ends of the spectrum,” from Luke Combs' “Fast Car” (low rhyme density) to Rema and Selena Gomez's “Calm Down” (“very high”). .
