Lyric Intelligence In Popular Music: A Ten Year Analysis

Lyric Intelligence In Popular Music: A Ten Year Analysis

Popular music lyrics are dumb. No really, I’m not just saying that. As easy as it is to mock the quality of lyrics today, there’s some real science behind looking at how dumb they truly are.
That’s why I set out to answer the big questions. Which genre is the most sophisticated? (Prepare to be disappointed.) Which artists are the dumbest? (Prepare to be surprised.) And, can any hit songs be comfortably read by a 1st grader? (Yes, they can.)
How exactly did I go about this?
I turned to the Readability Score. It uses writing analysis tools like the Flesch-Kincaid grade index and many others to create an average of the US reading level of a piece of text. I plugged in song lyrics (punctuation added by me, since most songs lack it altogether) and out of the machine popped out average grade level, word count, and other very interesting metrics.
All told, I analyzed 225 songs in 4 different datasets, resulting in 2,000+ individual data points. How’d I choose them? If they spent at least a few weeks (3+) at #1 on the Billboard charts for Pop, Country, Rock, and R&B/Hip-Hop for any given year, they made the list.
While the results are certainly enlightening, it’s important to note that this data doesn’t touch on the meaning of a song, the metaphors, how the words connect with the artist’s personal story, etc. to create deeper meaning. These numbers are fun and interesting, so just enjoy them.
What did the data tell us?

Is We Really Getting Dumber?

Well, this research is, if nothing else, great news for third graders. They may have a long way to go in terms of unlocking the deeper meanings of great literature, but hit music lyrics are right in their zone.
Did you miss that? Yes, I said third graders. Because only 2005 and 2006 would have given a reasonably competent third grader a tough time. Sure, we know hit music lyrics aren’t the peak of sophistication, but who knew the bar was this low?
Well, the bar is actually getting lower. These averages have really been on the decline over the last 10 years. And keep in mind that we’re looking at all the data from Pop, Rock, R&B/Hip Hop, and Country combined to show the overall trend.
So it’s clear we’re on the way down, but if you’re wondering “Was it men or women dragging the music down?” you’re not the only one. I was just as curious to find out.

 Who Wins the Battle of the Sexes?

The short answer is that everybody is getting dumber, it’s not really a gender thing.  Overall, my data showed that men talk more (higher word count), but women have slightly more intelligent things to say (higher average grade level).
Let’s take a look the average grade level over time to see how men and women fare.

It looks like hit music in general has settled on some formulas: Men should stick to roughly a 3rd grade reading level and women shouldn’t sing rock songs at all (more about that later).
What does it all mean exactly? Well, women seem to be a bit smarter than men, except for when they’re not (i.e., 2008-2009). Ultimately, the genre and the artist matter much more than the gender.
Granted, it’s not exactly a team effort. Certain artists do more than their fair share to bring their gender and genre group down or up through the years. So now it’s time to break down this data a bit more by genre and see who really sets the standard for dumb.

A Deeper Look into Genres

Does Country really have the “smartest” Lyrics?
Yes, yes, it does. In fact, if you average out all the hit songs in each category for the last 10 years, you get:
Average US Reading Level by Grade:
Country: 3.3
Pop: 2.9 (tie)
Rock: 2.9 (tie)
R&B/Hip Hop: 2.6
There are a lot of reasons for this. Remember that I mentioned that word length plays a role? Well, Country is the only genre generally devoid of words like “oh” or “yeah” repeated 20 times in a row. Sorry everyone else, but if you say it in the song, it’s counted as a “lyric.”
But it’s also about the syllables. Country music is full of words like Hallelujah, cigarettes, hillbilly, and tacklebox. Add to that long place names like Cincinnati, Louisville, Mississippi, and Louisiana, and Country has a serious advantage over the competition.
Unfortunately for Pop and R&B/Hip-Hop, places like L.A. and New York just don’t score that many points. But take a song like Dani California, and you’ll see that throwing in the word “California” more than a dozen times can make a real difference.
In 2007, Rock and R&B/Hip-Hop both plunged with the help of songs like “Buy U a Drank” by T-Pain (which just made it above a 1st grade reading level) and “I Don’t Wanna Stop” by Ozzy Osbourne (a more respectable 1.6 average grade level).
Then, in 2009, it was Country and Pop’s turn, when they each hit their own record lows with the help of songs like “Boom Boom Pow” by the Black Eyed Peas (2.0 grade level) and “Then” by Brad Paisley (which wasn’t much higher at a 2.2 grade level).
Was it the housing boom and bust that got people in the mood for listening to the simpler songs in life? Hard to say, but what’s for sure is that the people have spoken. No matter what the year and the economic situation, they do not want to listen to anything a third grader would find challenging.
Looking at the overall trend, it seems things have leveled off since 2010, with all four major genres resting comfortably into the 2nd-3rd grade range and R&B/Hip Hop ranking last in 5 of the past 10 years. Sorry 1st graders, but you’ll have to settle for R&B and Hip Hop from 2007.
Still, besides those grade level averages, how do elements like word count play into the picture?

Interestingly enough, there’s a definite correlation here between the average length of song and the average grade level. Problem is, it’s an inverse relationship — shorter songs actually have a higher grade level.
Shockingly, R&B/Hip Hop and Pop seem to be talking a lot and not saying much.
Country and Rock, on the other hand, certainly seem to have a winning formula: keep it short, while not skimping on word or grammar complexity, and you have nicely aged song. It’s surprising what you can fit into less than 300 words.
What’s clear is that over time, not a lot has changed. Aside from normal fluctuations, all the genres seem to have a standard level they stick to. Frankly, having listened to my fair share of radio for the past 10 years, that’s not exactly surprising.

Artist VS. Artist: How Low Can They Go?

Hint: Very Low.
I went through each category and picked 7 of the top artists based on their number of hit songs and how long those songs stayed at #1. So without further ado, here are the facts about the artists whose voices we hear most often in each genre:

This is probably a good time to reiterate that these are the numbers, plain and simple, and that all Beyoncé partisans should address their complaints to the people at the Readability Score. We can’t hide the facts: of these 7 top R&B and Hip Hop artists, she has the second smallest average word count and the least sophisticated lyrics.
Who’s the standout? None other than Slim Shady himself, with Nicki Minaj and Macklemore following up in the number 2 and 3 spots. Is Kanye West talking a lot and not saying anything? Yes. Should you be surprised?
Wait, I’mma Let You Finish. No.

The Country data here seems to be telling us something. The more devoted teenage girls are to an artist, the more poorly these artists score. Okay, that wasn’t exactly fair, but Taylor Swift, Rascal Flatts, and Florida Georgia Line are bottom of the pack here in terms of average grade level at 3.4, 3.2 and 2.93.
The queen of Country, however, is definitely Carrie Underwood with a grade level of 3.72. Blake Shelton (3.63) and Brad Paisley (3.54) are close behind. If there’s one trend clearly at play here, it’s that (again) longer lyrics don’t exactly translate into more sophisticated lyrics. But, perhaps Rock has something to say about that.

Yes, Rock has plenty to say about the “longer lyrics = less sophisticated lyrics” trend. Not just any Rock either, we’re talking about Nickelback. Yes, the Canadian rock band so many love to hate manages to get the longest AND most sophisticated lyrics in the Rock category.
Just as surprising, Linkin Park came in with the shortest lyrics and the second most sophisticated. Who knew? Still, on the whole, major Rock artists and groups stay pretty firmly in the 2nd and occasionally 3rd grade. I guess guitars can compensate for just about anything.
If there’s a single stunning fact about this genre, it still has to be that not a single female singer made it onto the Rock list. That means not a single lady stayed at the top of the charts for four or more weeks during the entire last 10 years. Why that might be frankly deserves its own post.
But how does this all compare to what’s maybe the most generic, the most ubiquitous, and the most popular category of all? Ke$ha fans, prepare yourselves…

As promised, Ke$ha does manage to score the worst of any major artist I looked more closely at. Not just a little worse either, although Lady Gaga makes a valiant effort to keep up (keep down?).
Unlike the other genres, the Pop stars who stand out are a bit less surprising with the gold, silver, and bronze going to Mariah Carey, Adele, and Justin Timberlake, respectively.
Pop actually holds its own pretty well with Mariah Carey scoring higher than anyone in the other three categories. Bravo Mariah, bravo!
But how do artists and their songs compare across genres?

Top Songs: The Good, The Bad, and The Very Ugly

Remember how I mentioned that Country has done very well? Well, here’s a bit of insight into why. Fully 5 of the top 10 smartest songs in this study are country songs. Only a single song (thanks Rihanna) made it from R&B/Hip Hop.

This of course brings us to the shame list, the dumbest 10 songs of the last 10 years. Here, Country has completely vanished, replaced by a fairly even representation of Pop, Rock, and R&B/Hip Hop.
Somehow, Three Days Grace and Maroon 5 managed to score on both charts. The former scoring the dumbest song in the entire study alongside the 3rd smartest.

Showing My Homework

For anyone who’s a bit more curious, here’s the full list of the four categories ranked by average grade level.

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Ranked by Grade Level

Average Grade Level	Title	Artist	Year	Weeks at #1	Word Count	Characters per Word	Syllables per Word
4.8	Diamonds	Rihanna	2012	11	382	4	1.4
4.1	Thrift Shop	Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Featuring Wanz	2013	14	725	3.9	1.3
3.9	Irreplaceable	Beyoncé	2006	9	549	3.5	1.2
3.9	Slow Down	Bobby Valentino	2005	4	452	3.8	1.2
3.8	Moment 4 Life	Nicki Minaj Featuring Drake	2011	5	648	3.7	1.2
3.7	The Monster	Eminem Featuring Rihanna	2013	13	710	3.7	1.2
3.7	We Belong Together	Mariah Carey	2005	14	418	3.5	1.2
3.4	Mercy	Kanye West, Big Sean, Pusha T, 2 Chainz	2012	4	968	3.9	1.2
3.4	I Remember	Keyshia Cole	2008	7	319	3.7	1.2
3.3	No One	Alicia Keys	2007	17	314	3.2	1.2
3.3	Let Me Love You	Mario	2005	11	477	3.7	1.2
3.2	Best I Ever Had	Drake	2009	7	811	3.5	1.2
3.2	Hold On, We’re Going Home	Drake Featuring Majid Jordan	2013	5	343	3.5	1.2
3.2	Pretty Wings	Maxwell	2009	14	267	3.9	1.2
3.2	Lotus Flower Bomb	Wale Featuring Miguel	2012	5	589	3.6	1.2
3.1	Be Without You	Mary J. Blige	2006	15	575	3.4	1.2
3	Anaconda	Nicki Minaj	2014	6	641	3.4	1.2
2.9	Deuces	Chris Brown Featuring Tyga & Kevin McCall	2010	9	596	3.4	1.2
2.8	I’m On One	DJ Khaled Featuring Drake, Rick Ross & Lil Wayne	2011	10	722	3.4	1.2
2.8	Motivation	Kelly Rowland Featuring Lil Wayne	2011	6	369	3.5	1.2
2.8	Heaven Sent	Keyshia Cole	2008	9	495	3.6	1.2
2.7	Look At Me Now	Chris Brown Featuring Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes	2011	8	906	3.4	1.2
2.7	Everything To Me	Monica	2010	7	201	3.5	1.2
2.7	Can’t Be Friends	Trey Songz	2010	11	358	3.2	1.1
2.7	Soul Survivor	Young Jeezy Featuring Akon	2005	4	792	3.4	1.2
2.6	She Will	Lil Wayne Featuring Drake	2011	4	794	3.5	1.2
2.6	Blurred Lines	Robin Thicke Featuring T.I. + Pharrell	2013	16	674	3.3	1.2
2.5	Candy Shop	50 Cent Featuring Olivia	2005	4	619	3.4	1.2
2.4	Ni**as in Paris	Jay Z Kanye West	2011	7	576	3.5	1.2
2.4	Can’t Hold Us	Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Featuring Ray Dalton	2013	7	758	3.4	1.2
2.4	Happy	Pharrell Williams	2014	12	544	3.5	1.2
2.4	Love In This Club	Usher Featuring Young Jeezy	2008	4	613	3.3	1.1
2.4	It’s Goin’ Down	Yung Joc	2006	8	589	3.5	1.2
2.2	Gold Digger	Kanye West Featuring Jamie Foxx	2005	4	774	3.5	1.1
2.2	Lollipop	Lil Wayne Featuring Static Major	2008	6	658	3.4	1.2
2.2	There Goes My Baby	Usher	2010	4	456	3.5	1.2
2.1	Un-Thinkable (I’m Ready)	Alicia Keys	2010	12	384	3.3	1.2
2.1	Black Widow	Iggy Azalea Featuring Rita Ora	2014	5	551	3.4	1.2
2.1	Climax	Usher	2012	10	326	3.4	1.2
2	Blame It	Jamie Foxx Featuring T-Pain	2009	14	803	3.3	1.2
2	Adorn	Miguel	2012	4	265	3.5	1.2
1.9	When I See U	Fantasia	2007	8	380	3.3	1.1
1.9	Fancy	Iggy Azalea Featuring Charli XCX	2014	13	535	3.4	1.2
1.8	Love On Top	Beyonce	2012	7	599	3.3	1.2
1.8	What You Know	T.I.	2006	6	870	3.5	1.2
1.7	No Lie	2 Chainz Featuring Drake	2012	5	783	3.3	1.1
1.6	Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)	Beyonce	2008	12	687	3	1.1
1.6	Say Goodbye	Chris Brown	2006	4	793	3.2	1.2
1.6	Bed	J. Holiday	2007	5	597	3.3	1.2
1.6	Need U Bad	Jazmine Sullivan	2008	4	479	3	1.1
1.2	Lost Without U	Robin Thicke	2007	11	396	3.3	1.2
1.2	Buy U A Drank (Shawty Snappin’)	T-Pain Featuring Yung Joc	2007	8	545	3.4	1.1
1	It Kills Me	Melanie Fiona	2010	9	316	3.3	1.1

In the R&B/Hip Hop category, Rihanna’s Diamonds may seem like a surprising choice for sophistication, but throwing those rocks around got her average word length up to a full 4 characters. Macklemore’s high score, on the other hand, seems to speak for itself. Respect the Jammies is all I’m saying.
Then there’s Robin Thicke and Melanie Fiona… What can we say about the subtle metaphors and other intricacies which surely lie behind lines like “Tell me how you love my body?” Not a lot, really. Like Macklemore, they speak fairly well for themselves.

Top Country Songs Ranked by Grade Level

Average Grade Level	Song Title	Artist	Year	Weeks at #1	Word Count	Syllables per Word	Characters per Word
5.8	All About Tonight	Blake Shelton	2010	3	311	1.3	3.9
4.9	That’s What I Love About Sunday	Craig Morgan	2005	4	254	1.2	3.7
4.9	We Were Us	Keith Urban And Miranda Lambert	2013	3	283	1.3	3.9
4.7	Before He Cheats	Carrie Underwood	2006	5	304	1.2	3.8
4.6	Good Directions	Billy Currington	2007	3	303	1.2	3.8
4.6	The House That Built Me	Miranda Lambert	2010	4	310	1.2	3.7
4.5	We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together	Taylor Swift	2012	9	376	1.3	3.8
4.4	The World	Brad Paisley	2006	3	248	1.3	3.6
4.4	Summertime	Kenny Chesney	2006	5	294	1.2	3.6
4.1	Beer In Mexico	Kenny Chesney	2007	3	242	1.3	3.7
4	I’m Still A Guy	Brad Paisley	2008	3	364	1.1	3.5
4	Making Memories Of Us	Kieth Urban	2005	5	247	1.2	3.5
3.9	So Small	Carrie Underwood	2007	3	274	1.2	3.9
3.9	Take Me There	Rascal Flatts	2007	3	256	1.2	4
3.7	She’s Everything	Brad Paisley	2007	3	358	1.3	3.5
3.7	Consider Me Gone	Reba	2010	4	303	1.2	3.4
3.7	If You’re Going Through Hell (Before The Devil Even Knows)	Rodney Atkins	2006	4	362	1.1	3.6
3.6	Sure Be Cool If You Did	Blake Shelton	2013	5	371	1.2	3.6
3.6	Something In The Water	Carrie Underwood	2014	3	340	1.2	3.6
3.6	Watching You	Rodney Atkins	2007	4	398	1.2	3.5
3.5	Wasted	Carrie Underwood	2007	3	343	1.2	3.6
3.5	Better Life	Kieth Urban	2005	6	325	1.2	3.4
3.5	Shutgun Rider	Tim McGraw	2014	3	277	1.3	3.7
3.4	Letter To Me	Brad Paisley	2008	4	450	1.2	3.4
3.3	Don’t Blink	Kenny Chesney	2007	4	383	1.1	3.8
3.2	Stay	Florida Georgia Line	2013	6	410	1.2	3.4
3.2	Somewhere With You	Kenny Chesney	2011	3	374	1.2	3.4
3.2	Drink A Beer	Luke Bryan	2014	5	176	1.2	3.6
3	Don’t You Wanna Stay	Jason Aldean With Kelly Clarkson	2011	3	222	1.2	3.6
3	Why Don’t We Just Dance	Josh Turner	2010	4	230	1.1	3.5
3	Living In Fast Forward	Kenny Chesney	2006	3	235	1.2	3.6
3	Play It Again	Luke Bryan	2014	9	436	1.2	3.5
2.9	Honey Bee	Blake Shelton	2011	4	355	1.2	3.3
2.9	Jesus, Take The Wheel	Carrie Underwood	2006	6	307	1.1	3.4
2.9	Cruise	Florida Georgia Line	2013	24	421	1.2	3.7
2.9	Bless The Broken Road	Rascal Flatts	2005	5	239	1.2	3.7
2.8	What Hurts The Most	Rascal Flatts	2006	4	280	1.2	3.6
2.7	This Is How We Roll	Florida Georgia Line Featuring Luke Bryan	2014	6	383	1.2	3.6
2.7	Burnin’ It Down	Jason Aldean	2014	14	436	1.2	3.7
2.7	That’s My Kind Of Night	Luke Bryan	2013	12	390	1.1	3.6
2.6	Never Wanted Nothing More	Kenny Chesney	2007	5	352	1.2	3.3
2.6	Felt Good On My Lips	Tim McGraw	2011	3	326	1.2	3.4
2.5	Big Green Tractor	Jason Aldean	2009	4	368	1.1	3.3
2.5	Need You Now	Lady Antebellum	2009	5	237	1.2	3.3
2.5	Our Song	Taylor Swift	2008	6	386	1.2	3.6
2.5	You’re Gonna Miss This	Trace Adkins	2008	3	317	1.2	3.5
2.5	Keep Me In Mind	Zac Brown Band	2012	4	287	1.2	3.4
2.3	It Won’t Be Like This For Long	Darius Rucker	2009	3	317	1.1	3.4
2.2	God Gave Me You	Blake Shelton	2011	3	274	1.1	3.3
2.2	Then	Brad Paisley	2009	3	285	1.1	3.5
2.1	The Man I Want To Be	Chris Young	2010	3	266	1.1	3.2
1.5	As Good As I Once Was	Toby Keith	2005	6	380	1.1	3.2

Country scored very well overall; what kind of lyrics could have made that happen?
Let’s just say they got some help from feel good pills and red Gatorade. I already mentioned the long words which brought country to the champion’s table (tackleboxes and cigarettes anyone?), but longer sentences also played a part (thanks Keith Urban).
Of course, even for Country, it wasn’t all roses and bourbon.
Toby Keith and Chris Young did the genre no favors with their pleads to God and their baby. These lyrics scored low with a combination of short phrases and clippy writing. If only they could have mentioned Mississippi more…

Top Rock Songs Ranked by Grade Level

Average Grade Level	Title	Artist	Year	Weeks at #1	Word Count	Characters per Word	Syllables per Word
5.5	Dani California	Red Hot Chili Peppers	2006	12	296	4.2	1.5
5.2	Animal I Have Become	Three Days Grace	2006	7	258	3.9	1.4
4.5	Be Yourself	Audioslave	2005	7	194	3.9	1.3
4.5	Inside The Fire	Disturbed	2008	14	293	4	1.3
4.3	The Pot	Tool	2006	4	320	4.1	1.3
4.2	Check My Brain	Alice In Chains	2009	8	148	4	1.4
4.2	Isolation	Alter Bridge	2011	7	218	4.1	1.4
4.2	Another Way To Die	Disturbed	2010	8	321	3.9	1.3
4.2	Something In Your Mouth	Nickelback	2009	4	470	4.1	1.3
4	Say You’ll Haunt Me	Stone Sour	2010	8	369	3.8	1.3
3.9	Your Decision	Alice In Chains	2010	8	162	3.7	1.2
3.7	Boulevard Of Broken Dreams	Green Day	2005	14	289	3.5	1.2
3.5	New Divide	Linkin Park	2009	8	250	4	1.2
3.4	Psycho	Puddle Of Mudd	2008	9	338	3.6	1.3
3.4	Remedy	Seether	2005	5	355	3.5	1.1
3.4	Second Chance	Shinedown	2009	10	250	3.8	1.3
3.3	Speak	Godsmack	2006	6	181	3.7	1.1
3.2	Lifeline	Papa Roach	2009	6	283	3.7	1.3
3.2	Through Glass	Stone Sour	2006	7	520	3.8	1.2
3.1	Save Me	Shinedown	2005	12	199	3.8	1.3
3	Best Of You	Foo Fighters	2005	4	338	3.7	1.2
3	Break	Three Days Grace	2010	11	187	3.9	1.3
2.9	What I’ve Done	Linkin Park	2007	8	158	3.5	1.2
2.9	Animals	Nickelback	2006	6	480	3.6	1.2
2.9	Chalk Outline	Three Days Grace	2012	13	244	3.6	1.2
2.8	Walk	Foo Fighters	2011	4	305	3.7	1.3
2.8	Photograph	Nickelback	2005	7	489	3.5	1.2
2.8	Country Song	Seether	2011	10	411	3.5	1.1
2.7	The Pretender	Foo Fighters	2007	6	499	3.4	1.2
2.7	Cryin’ Like A Bitch!	Godsmack	2010	5	258	3.7	1.2
2.7	Painkiller	Three Days Grace	2014	4	249	3.5	1.2
2.6	Face To The Floor	Chevelle	2011	12	216	3.7	1.2
2.6	Fake It	Seether	2008	7	339	3.6	1.2
2.5	Shepherd Of Fire	Avenged Sevenfold	2014	7	273	3.6	1.2
2.4	Rope	Foo Fighters	2011	5	264	3.4	1.1
2.3	Trenches	Pop Evil	2013	4	287	3.5	1.1
2.3	Words As Weapons	Seether	2014	5	239	3.5	1.1
2.3	Been Away Too Long	Soundgarden	2013	5	239	3.6	1.2
2.2	Something From Nothing	Foo Fighters	2014	13	306	3.5	1.2
2.2	Live To Rise	Soundgarden	2012	6	225	3.5	1.1
2.1	Pain	Three Days Grace	2007	13	332	3.6	1.2
2	Hail To The King	Avenged Sevenfold	2013	10	246	3.8	1.1
1.9	Breath	Breaking Benjamin	2007	7	234	3.4	1.1
1.8	Never Too Late	Three Days Grace	2007	7	297	3.3	1.2
1.7	The Day That Never Comes	Metallica	2008	7	182	3.8	1.1
1.7	Heaven Knows	The Pretty Reckless	2014	5	338	3.6	1.2
1.6	I Don’t Wanna Stop	Ozzy Osbourne	2007	5	406	3	1.2
1.6	Bully	Shinedown	2012	12	369	3.3	1.2
1.6	World So Cold	Three Days Grace	2010	5	265	3.4	1.2
1.4	Unity	Shinedown	2012	4	372	3.3	1.1
1.2	Let Me Hear You Scream	Ozzy Osbourne	2010	4	340	3.3	1
0.8	The Good Life	Three Days Grace	2010	5	215	3.1	1.1

If the Red Hot Chili Peppers do have to pay a price for that panorama, it’s not showing up here. “Dani California” performed extremely well with an average grade level of 5.5. Three Days Grace even bucked their overall poor score with “Animal I Have Become.”
None of this, however, can undo what Ozzy hath wrought. “Let Me Hear You Scream” set a pretty low bar (1.2 to be exact). His other song, “I Don’t Wanna Stop,” didn’t do much better, either at 1.6.
Then again, it would be a crime not to mention Three Days Grace’s other record setting song: The Good Life. With an average grade level of 0.8, it was the lowest scoring song of the hundreds analyzed. Who said the good life was complicated?

Top Pop Songs Ranked by Grade Level

Average Grade Level	Title	Artist	Year	Weeks at #1	Word Count	Syllables per Word	Characters per Word
5	She Will Be Loved	Maroon5	2004	4	351	1.2	3.7
4.8	E.T.	Katy Perry Featuring Kanye West	2011	6	293	1.4	4.1
4.6	Hips Don’t Lie	Shakira Featuring Wyclef Jean	2006	7	617	1.3	3.7
4.6	California Gurls	Katy Perry Featuring Snoop Dogg	2010	7	411	1.4	4.2
4.5	We Are Young	fun. Featuring Janelle Monae	2012	5	352	1.3	3.9
4.2	Shake It Off	Mariah Carey	2005	5	352	1.2	3.6
4.2	Forever	Chris Brown	2008	5	446	1.3	3.7
4.2	The Reason	Hoobastank	2004	8	231	1.2	3.2
3.9	Irreplaceable	Beyonce	2007	7	549	1.2	3.5
3.9	Leave (Get Out)	JoJo	2004	5	330	1.1	3.4
3.7	We Belong Together	Mariah Carey	2005	10	418	1.2	3.5
3.7	Boulevard Of Broken Dreams	Green Day	2005	4	289	1.2	3.5
3.7	The Monster	Eminem Featuring Rihanna	2014	5	710	1.2	3.7
3.6	Hollaback Girl	Gwen Stefani	2005	6	459	1.2	3.4
3.5	Set Fire To The Rain	Adele	2012	4	346	1.1	3.6
3.5	My Love	Justin Timberlake Featuring T.I.	2006	4	784	1.2	3.4
3.5	Over And Over	Nelly Featuring Tim McGraw	2004	8	546	1.2	3.3
3.4	Summer Love	Justin Timberlake	2007	4	642	1.1	3.3
3.3	No One	Alicia Keys	2008	5	314	1.2	3.2
3.3	Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)	Kelly Clarkson	2012	4	429	1.2	3.7
3.3	Animals	Maroon 5	2014	4	505	1.2	3.6
3.2	Big Girls Don’t Cry	Fergie	2007	8	400	1.2	3.4
3.2	Leavin’	Jesse McCartney	2008	5	403	1.2	3.4
3.2	Bleeding Love	Leona Lewis	2008	9	393	1.2	3.8
3.2	I Knew You Were Trouble.	Taylor Swift	2013	7	588	1.2	3.5
3.2	One More Night	Maroon 5	2012	8	492	1.2	3.4
3.1	Be Without You	Mary J. Blige	2006	4	575	1.2	3.4
3.1	Low	Flo Rida Featuring T-Pain	2008	6	731	1.1	3.7
3.1	All Of Me	John Legend	2014	5	374	1.2	3.4
3	Roar	Katy Perry	2013	5	445	1.1	3.2
3	Locked Out Of Heaven	Bruno Mars	2013	4	323	1.1	3.5
2.9	Rolling In The Deep	Adele	2011	5	574	1.2	3.6
2.9	Pieces Of Me	Ashlee Simpson	2004	5	326	1.2	3.5
2.8	Teenage Dream	Katy Perry	2010	4	421	1.2	3.5
2.8	We Found Love	Rihanna Featuring Calvin Harris	2011	8	292	1.2	3.8
2.8	Check On It	Beyonce Featuring Slim Thug	2006	6	617	1.1	3.2
2.8	Apologize	Timbaland Featuring OneRepublic	2007	7	219	1.2	3.2
2.7	Firework	Katy Perry	2011	4	391	1.2	3.6
2.7	Cupid’s Chokehold	Gym Class Heroes Featuring Patrick Stump	2007	5	668	1.1	3.1
2.6	Telephone	Lady Gaga Featuring Beyonce	2010	4	664	1.2	3.3
2.6	Payphone	Maroon 5 Featuring Wiz Khalifa	2012	4	589	1.1	3.5
2.6	Blurred Lines	Robin Thicke Featuring T.I. + Pharrell	2013	10	674	1.2	3.3
2.6	Dynamite	Taio Cruz	2010	4	413	1.1	3.3
2.5	Toxic	Britney Spears	2004	4	289	1.2	3.2
2.5	U + Ur Hand	Pink	2007	4	478	1.2	3.5
2.5	Promiscuous	Nelly Furtado Featuring Timbaland	2006	8	588	1.2	3.3
2.4	Can’t Hold Us	Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Featuring Ray Dalton	2013	4	758	1.2	3.4
2.4	Happy	Pharrell Williams	2014	5	544	1.2	3.5
2.3	Dark Horse	Katy Perry Featuring Juicy J	2014	5	470	1.2	3.5
2.2	Say It Right	Nelly Furtado	2007	4	247	1.1	3.2
2.2	I Gotta Feeling	Black Eyed Peas	2009	7	646	1.2	3.2
2.1	Whatcha Say	Jason DeRulo	2009	4	544	1.1	3.6
2.1	SexyBack	Justin Timberlake	2006	5	644	1.2	3.3
2	Since U Been Gone	Kelly Clarkson	2005	7	288	1.1	3.3
2	Boom Boom Pow	The Black Eyed Peas	2009	7	526	1.1	3.6
1.9	Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)	Katy Perry	2011	6	460	1.2	3.6
1.9	Grenade	Bruno Mars	2011	5	447	1.1	3.3
1.9	Run It!	Chris Brown	2005	4	706	1.1	3.3
1.8	Hey Ya!	OutKast	2004	6	497	1.2	3.4
1.8	Gives You Hell	The All-American Rejects	2009	4	463	1.1	3.4
1.7	Poker Face	Lady GaGa	2009	5	573	1.1	2.9
1.5	Wide Awake	Katy Perry	2012	4	354	1.2	3.4
1.5	TiK ToK	Ke$ha	2010	7	499	1.1	3.4
1.4	So What	Pink	2008	5	494	1.1	2.9
1.2	Moves Like Jagger	Maroon 5 Featuring Christina Aguilera	2011	6	469	1.1	3.3

Now I finally arrive at Pop. Maroon 5 really put it best when they pointed out that “it’s not always rainbows and butterflies.” That line may have gotten them high points, but their odd tongue-centered request was enough to undo it all.
Katy Perry is in a similar position, with high and low scoring songs leaving her averaging out somewhere in a muddled middle. On the other hand, maybe we can just attribute her higher scoring songs to Snoop.
Pink on the other hand is a much simpler picture. True, her repeated use of words like “nah” puts her in good company (The Beatles, for example); but in terms of “smart” lyrics, she doesn’t do herself any favors.

Okay Children, What Have We Learned?

What have we learned here? Well, the concept of creating for the lowest common denominator is certainly going strong. So what if popular music doesn’t tend to lend itself to sophistication? Are most of these songs still great? Definitely.
Perhaps we can be a little less judgemental of elementary schoolers (you know who you are). It also wouldn’t hurt to be a little more judgemental of contemporary songwriters. More than anything, these findings are a reminder of just how fun dumb can be. In the end, there’s nothing wrong with that.