All Posts Tagged Pre-Chorus Vocal Melody

The pre-chorus vocal melody to Maroon 5's This Summer's Gonna Hurt Like a MotherF****r (released May 15, 2015) is similar to the chorus vocal melody to Rose Royce's R&B classic Wishing on a Star (released 1978). Essentially, Maroon 5 lowered the key a half-step (from Ab to G) and reversed the chord progression (from vi-ii to ii-vi).

This Summer's Gonna Hurt (:51) VS Wishing on a Star (:22)

This Summer's Gonna Hurt
Key: G major
Chord Progression:
A minor, E minor (ii-vi)
Vocal Melody (pre-chorus relative to root):
3-1-7-6-7-1-2-3 ("I see her dancing in the streets")
1-7-6-7-1-2-3 ("Sipping champagne on the beach")

Wishing on a Star
Key: Ab major
Chord Progression:
F minor, Bb minor (vi-ii)
Vocal Melody (chorus relative to root):
3-6-7-1-2-3 ("I'm wishing on a star")
3-6-7-1-2-3-2-1 ("To find out where you are")

The pre-chorus vocal melody to Tori Kelly's Nobody Love (released June 23, 2015) is very similar to the chorus vocal melody to Charles & Eddie's Would I Lie To You? (released August 4, 1992). Compare the vocal lines, Nobody Love: "I should be more cynical [...]" and Would I Lie To You?: "Look into my eyes, can't you see them open wide." While Nobody Love is in the key of E major, and WILTY is in the key of G major, both melodies feature ascending diatonic eighth notes that repeat twice each step (with one exception, WILTY plays the third step only once).

Nobody Love (:29) VS Would I Lie To You? (:23)

Honorable mention:
Hit Me With Your Best Shot (Pat Benatar) - identical verse chord progression
These Words (Natasha Bedingfield) - similar verse
No One (Alicia Keys) - similar verse
One Less Problem - Ariana Grande - similar chorus, SEE Whisper Song (Yin Yang Twins)

The pre-chorus to Meghan Trainor's self-acceptance chart-topper All About That Bass (released June 2, 2014) echoes melodies and chord progressions found in several earlier songs including Snowbird by Anne Murray (whose version was released in June 1970, the song was also recorded by Elvis Presley and Bing Crosby), Please Mister Please (released 1975) by Olivia Newton John, Contact (released August 26, 1992) by Phish, and Happy Mode (released 2006) by South Korean artists Koyote. All of the aforementioned songs follow some variation of a I-IM7-ii-V7-IM7 chord progression (the classic ii-V-I turnaround can be found in almost every genre of music), and they also all contain descending diatonic melodies that begin on the root note. AATB, Snowbird, and Koyote are all in A major, while Contact is in C major and Please Mister Please is in F major. Compare lines from AATB "Yeah my momma she told me 'Don't worry about your size/She says 'Boys like a little more booty to hold at night'," with Snowbird's "Beneath it's snowy mantle cold and clean/The unborn grass lies waiting for it's coat to turn to green," and Please Mister Please's "In the corner of the bar there stands a jukebox/With the best of country music old and new."

All About That Bass (:45) VS Snowbird (:14)

All About That Bass (:45) VS Please Mister Please (:13)
All About That Bass (:45) VS Happy Mode (:07)
All About That Bass (:45) VS Contact (:33)


Honorable mention:
Bobby Pickett's Monster Mash (2:13)