Every song has a structure. In pop music, the structure is often the same. You can expect it to look something like this–intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, outro. If we look at pop song dynamics using a graph, the curve will most likely peak in the chorus. The chorus would be the catchiest part of the song, also known as the hook. It is probably also the most cathartic section which releases any tension built up during the verses. This structure can be modified in a lot of ways. For example, you could add a pre-chorus, a post-chorus, a breakdown or even remove the outro to create a sudden ending. It is not, by any means, obligatory for an artist to structure their song in this way–but when listening to Top 40 music, you will find that this is the most common way a song is structured. Perhaps, it is the formula for producing a mainstream record.

When it comes to non-pop music, songs usually don’t follow the verse-chorus-verse-chorus structure. Instead, it might look something like A-B-C-A-D-D, where it’s more appropriate to use alphabets to define each section. For example, “Fentanyl Tester” by JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown doesn’t have a hook, and every section is different to the one before it. You can argue that the song is structured in this way: intro-A-B-C-D-E-F.

Analysing a song of my choice

I’ll pick one that’s been on repeat throughout this week. “pretty isn’t pretty” by Olivia Rodrigo follows a pop song structure. It starts off with an 8-bar intro before the lyrics come in. Then it’s verse 1, chorus, post-chorus, verse 2, chorus, bridge, outro. The song itself is reminiscent of 2000s pop rock and it talks about Rodrigo feeling like she’s failing to achieve the impossible beauty standards of today.