While reading Popjustice forum, I came across a very interesting discussion on the rising popularity of the trend in pop music where typical pop choruses have been replaced with some type of breakdown or instrumental solo. These types of choruses are being used more than ever before. Some of the most successful songs recently to use this trend are 'Crazy Stupid Love', 'Dark Horse', 'Problem' and 'Talk Dirty' among others. Obviously some of these examples have pre-choruses or a couple of lyrics within the 'instrumental chorus' but you know what I mean!

 

So why does this seem to be so popular with the public? And where did it actually begin? I'd this type of chorus hit the mainstream would have been Rihanna and Calvin Harris' 'We Found Love'. If this is the case, does this tell us that the rise in the popularity of these choruses has coincided with the rise in popularity of dance music in the charts and therefore allows pop stars to appeal to even more genre fanbases?

 

Finally, how long is this trend going to last for? Obviously a popular trend a couple of years ago was the 'dubstep breakdown', arguably brought to the charts first by Britney Spears and 'Hold It Against Me'. Further songs to use this were the likes of 'You Da One' by Rihanna, 'Freedom' by the Sugababes and, according to Robot, 'Amazing' by Danny Saucedo. However these breakdowns have definitely dwindled in popularity recently, possibly coinciding with the rise in the instrumental choruses. So how long will this latest trend last?

 

I personally really enjoy these instrumental choruses when used in the right way such as the example I gave in the first paragraph, but I do think that they could tire on me just like dubstep breakdowns eventually did.

I pretty much universally hate them, much as with dubstep breakdowns or drops or anything else of that nature. I just want a chorus to come after a verse, is that too much to ask?

Crazy Stupid Love's instrumental chorus is pretty bad, very weak and is one of the first examples of "chasing trends" with an instrumental chorus! It's a very small part of the song though and I've grown to really like the song as a whole.

 

The instrumental choruses of Problem, Dark Horse and especially Talk Dirty are among the best parts of the song but I hope they aren't shoehorned into tonnes of songs for the sake of it as that's what ended up happening to the dubstep breakdowns, but I see it probably happening!

With regards to 'We Found Love' an instrumental chorus just WORKS for songs like those. However when it comes to stuff like Cheryl's latest 'output', it really shows as being uncreative, almost a kind of 'oh this'll do' attitude. Pop songs like this just work so much better with an actual chorus.

Yeah, if anyone knows how to do an instrumental chorus then it's Calvin. 'Crazy Stupid Love' I'm not such a fan of. I don't mind songs with big buildups and a comedown in the chorus but that particular one is nothing great. I'm also not a fan of 'Dark Horse' though, so I can't think of a recent song like these that I liked :o

I can think of hits from the 90's and 00's which had instrumental choruses, but I agree it has become more common recently.

 

I think it might have started getting more common around 2008/2009 with songs like Basshunter - Now You're Gone, Black Eyed Peas - Boom Boom Pow, Sugababes - Get Sexy, etc. Also in 2010/2011 there were songs like LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem, Jay-Z/Kanye - Paris, Edward Maya - Stereo Love, Yolanda Be Cool - We No Speak Americano, Swedish House Mafia/Tinie Tempah - Miami 2 Ibiza.

Edited July 11, 201411 yr by Eric_Blob

Another big one at the moment is Coldplay's A Sky Full of Stars, which, as a song in general, has grown on me heaps.

Anything could happen has THE BEST instrumental chorus of any song because it doesnt go down a generic dancey beat. Its just anthemic, summery euphoria

Anything could happen has THE BEST instrumental chorus of any song because it doesnt go down a generic dancey beat. Its just anthemic, summery euphoria

 

I agree. It works incredibly well in a live setting as well. I remember when it premiered and reading comments about it being a bizarre song/single choice due to it 'lacking' a chorus, with an 'EEE EEE EEE' instrumental in its place. It was definitely a grower though.

I can think of hits from the 90's and 00's which had instrumental choruses, but I agree it has become more common recently.

 

I think it might have started getting more common around 2008/2009 with songs like Basshunter - Now You're Gone, Black Eyed Peas - Boom Boom Pow, Sugababes - Get Sexy, etc. Also in 2010/2011 there were songs like LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem, Jay-Z/Kanye - Paris, Edward Maya - Stereo Love, Yolanda Be Cool - We No Speak Americano, Swedish House Mafia/Tinie Tempah - Miami 2 Ibiza.

Surely a lot of those songs ('Get Sexy' and 'Party Rock Anthem', for example) go Verse - Chorus - Drop? Then some songs like 'We No Speak Americano', 'Stereo Love', 'Miami 2 Ibiza' and 'Now You're Gone' follow a more typical dance formula where 'instrumental choruses' are generally more popular anyway, though?

 

I think 'instrumental choruses' are only really rising in popularity in pop music as a side-effect to the increasing influence of dance music within pop music!

Yeah I agree that most of those songs you mention Eric are dance songs anyway rather than pop songs incorporating these instrumental elements usually associated with the type of dance songs you mention. I agree that 'Anything Could Happen' is a fantastic use of an 'instrumental' chorus. :wub:

I'd say Talk Dirty set the trend for Problem/Crazy Stupid Love, funny enough they all have a sax in the drop - which was obviously inspired by Thrift Shop (but that didn't have an instrumental chorus).

 

But then again we can't forget Dark Horse which was released around the same time as Talk Dirty so obviously wasn't following that trend, so it's difficult to pinpoint exactly which of these two songs was the more influential. Funny enough Derulo himself went down the Dark Horse route (trap beat, no sax) with Wiggle so it's not as if all the recent songs of this type are TD inspired.

 

As people said in this thread the trend has been around for a while but I'd say Dark Horse/Talk Dirty is the starting point for the most recent stage of the trend (i.e. when it crossed over to urban-pop songs).

 

I do quite like them, it's nice to have a break from the traditional pop song formula and some of the pre-choruses are really good (Dark Horse in particular). Of course the trend will die out soon and another will replace it, it's just the nature of pop music. By this time next year I think any song following this trend will be classed as a generic cheap attempt at a hit and won't go anywhere, just like how dubstep breakdowns don't score hits anymore.

Britney SPears did NOT bring dubstep breakdowns into the main stream by an stretch of the imagination (not least because it was her producers giving her the music, but that's another point entirely).

 

However, I think t sounds better, ti havea musical chorus with a focus on the beat, making it seem more organic, like piano lead real songs.

I have no real opinion on the instrumental choruses thing, but on the subject of 'dubstep breakdowns' how can we forget the most embarrassing attempt at this? :lol:

 

I have no real opinion on the instrumental choruses thing, but on the subject of 'dubstep breakdowns' how can we forget the most embarrassing attempt at this? :lol:

 

 

I didn't even realise this song had one lol!

I still like Kiss The Stars :o :lol:

Dubstep breakdowns were by and large awful generic things and these pop songs taking notes from dance songs with using instrumental choruses are at least a bit better if not amazing. Some good and imaginative use of instruments combined with pre-choruses (which can often be the best part of a song over and above a normal chorus) will be lovely if it keeps going, and it works well for many of the dance songs that Eric mentioned.

 

Several of these pop examples so far aren't the best songs if you take the instrumental parts out so I don't think it's right now really being used to its full potential, rather to put something extra into the song.

I think there's very much a difference between a euphoric instrumental chorus and an actual non-chorus. We Found Love/Anything Can Happen's instrumental hook's very obviously a different kettle of fish (and an identifiable chorus) compared with something like Dark Horse, which if anything revels in a blue-balling bridge building to...an instrumental trap which is hypnotising but clearly not a chorus. I'd say the difference is one attempts to soar and take the song higher; the new trend tries to pare things back at the chorus point.

 

But yeah, I'm not really a big fan of songs eschewing big choruses. Problem JUST about made it work, but generally I don't come to pop music for the VERSES (although Problem is forgiven given its verses are terrific)

I think there's very much a difference between a euphoric instrumental chorus and an actual non-chorus. We Found Love/Anything Can Happen's instrumental hook's very obviously a different kettle of fish (and an identifiable chorus) compared with something like Dark Horse, which if anything revels in a blue-balling bridge building to...an instrumental trap which is hypnotising but clearly not a chorus. I'd say the difference is one attempts to soar and take the song higher; the new trend tries to pare things back at the chorus point.

 

Very good point. 'We Found Love'/'Anything Could Happen' have alternative choruses, while 'Dark Horse' has an anti-chorus IMO.

I'd say Crazy Stupid Love and Dark Horse both have sung choruses, and Problem has a whispered chorus.