We measured pop music’s falsetto obsession

Summary

The video delves into the rise of male falsetto in pop music, exploring how artists like Bruno Mars, The Weeknd, and Justin Bieber have made high male voices iconic. The narrative highlights a year-long investigation using Pandora's music data to analyze vocal registers and falsetto usage across decades. Key trends reveal a sharp increase in falsetto use in the 1970s and 1980s, with a notable resurgence in 2015. The video emphasizes the impact of falsetto on song popularity and chart success, ultimately highlighting how high male voices have shaped music history, with the 2010s serving as a pivotal moment for the trend.

Takeaways

• 😀 The prevalence of male falsetto in pop music has been a notable trend, especially since 2015.
• 😀 Male pop stars often exploit their upper vocal registers, with artists like Bruno Mars, Shawn Mendes, and Justin Bieber exemplifying this trend.
• 😀 A year-long project by Matt Daniels and a team analyzed vocal data from Billboard Hot 100 songs, identifying key patterns in male falsetto use.
• 😀 Data from streaming platforms like Pandora and Spotify was used to explore trends in vocal range and falsetto over decades.
• 😀 Pandora’s detailed music library (2 million songs) provided more specific data on vocal registers and falsetto, relying on human-reviewed metadata.
• 😀 The dataset analyzed 42,000+ songs, including artists ranging from George P. Watson (1911) to Thom Yorke, offering a long historical perspective.
• 😀 Falsetto usage in pop music has fluctuated over time, with the 1980s seeing a sharp increase in higher vocal registers in male pop songs.
• 😀 The 1970s, particularly after 1975, marked a peak in falsetto use, driven by artists like the Bee Gees and Earth, Wind & Fire.
• 😀 Hip hop's rise in popularity post-1980s reduced the frequency of male falsetto in top-charting songs due to the genre’s focus on rap and less melodic singing.
• 😀 The highest years for falsetto in recent times were 1996 and 2015, with 2015 showing 66% of Top 10 hits featuring falsetto vocals.
• 😀 Songs featuring falsetto are more likely to chart higher and longer, with male falsetto becoming increasingly iconic in pop music over time.

Q & A

What trend did Matt Daniels notice in pop music that led to the creation of this chart?

Matt Daniels noticed that male pop stars were increasingly using their upper vocal register, particularly singing very high notes, which led to the creation of charts analyzing the prevalence of falsetto in pop music.

What was the challenge in obtaining the data for the analysis of falsetto in music?

The challenge was that different music streaming services use varying methods of tagging songs, making it difficult to find consistent data. Additionally, matching songs from the Billboard Hot 100 with the metadata provided by Pandora required manual work and the development of programs to confirm matches.

How did the data from Pandora contribute to the analysis?

Pandora provided vocal range data, which helped categorize songs based on whether they used falsetto and the vocal register. Pandora’s detailed metadata, which includes human-reviewed data on vocal attributes, was essential in studying the prevalence of falsetto in chart-topping songs.

What is the difference between 'falsetto' and 'vocal register' in the context of this analysis?

Falsetto refers to a specific singing technique where a male singer transitions from chest voice to head voice, often producing a breathy or light sound. Vocal register, on the other hand, measures a singer's ability to maintain a consistent pitch range. Songs with higher vocal registers may use falsetto to reach higher notes.

What was the significance of 2015 in terms of falsetto in pop music?

2015 was identified as a peak year for falsetto in pop music, with 66% of songs that peaked in the top 10 on the Billboard charts featuring falsetto. This highlighted a shift in the commercial viability of high male voices in music.

Why was the 1980s considered a turning point for the use of high male vocal registers?

The 1980s marked a period where high male vocal registers became more prominent in music, especially with the rise of hard rock and heavy metal. This period saw songs with higher vocal registers, with a significant shift occurring in 1988 when many chart-topping songs featured male singers with high vocal registers.

How did the Bee Gees influence the use of falsetto in music?

The Bee Gees had a profound influence on the use of falsetto in pop music, especially after 1975. Before then, their falsetto was minimal, but after that, they embraced it, and their use of falsetto became a defining characteristic of their sound, contributing to the rise of falsetto in pop music.

What was the role of human review in the data collection process?

Pandora’s data collection involved human reviewers who manually classified songs, providing detailed metadata. This allowed for more accurate analysis of vocal techniques, such as falsetto, which could not easily be detected by algorithms alone.

What does the term 'head voice' refer to in singing?

Head voice refers to the higher part of a singer's vocal range, typically used for high notes. In pop music, it often overlaps with falsetto, as both involve shifting from the chest voice (lower range) to the head voice (higher range), though they can sound differently depending on the technique.

What does the analysis suggest about the relationship between falsetto and a song's chart performance?

The analysis suggests that songs with falsetto are more likely to chart higher and remain on the charts longer. This trend holds true across various decades, indicating that high male voices, particularly those using falsetto, contribute to a song's commercial success.