Charli XCX and How to Make the Most Out of Three Minutes
Charli XCX seems to have a penchant for three-minute pop songs. Her most memorable songs end before or around the 3 minute mark: “Boom Clap” (2:49), “I Love It” (2:37), “No Angel” (3:06), but they strike that sweet spot of not leaving the listener hanging while still making them come back for more. Ironically, the song that employs all the songwriting techniques Charli XCX uses is actually the only single she doesn’t receive a writing credit for —the 2017 track “Boys”.
As a pop song, “Boys” is designed to be an earworm. Firstly, its writers employ a simple trick: putting the chorus at the beginning of the track. Musically, the intention behind this to hook the listener, like a trailer “previewing” the best part a song has to offer. Doing this also sets the tone for the song as the chorus is repeated the most times throughout the song to create a theme both musically and lyrically. Charli XCX does this in both “I Love It” and “Boom Clap,” though the latter uses a distilled, four-syllable version of its chorus, which is arguably even more effective.
The question, then, is why not just put the chorus at the beginning at every song? The answer to that is it must make sense lyrically in order for the trick to work. For instance, the recent single “No Angel” opens with a 10-second intro before the verse sets in. The synth-driven production is catchy enough to pull its own weight without a hook at the beginning, but more importantly the lyrics of the chorus makes little sense outside of the context set up in the verse. On contrary, the chorus of “Boys” provide a general context before the first verse goes into the details. Moreover, it contains certain cues that provide a background for the transition into the pre-chorus at the end of the verse: “I was busy thinking about boys” is the precursor to her missing her friends’ calls at the end of the verse and having to make up excuses in the pre-chorus.
This brings us to our second point: it’s a must to have a story. Regardless of the genre, unless there’s little or no lyrics, a song need something to tell the audience. The plot not only gives the impression of something happening, but also for how long it is happening. Because of the short length, one cannot add much to the story, and is better off adding details to whatever is in the plot. The brilliance of “Boys” lies in that it is based on such a simple premise, but there’s a myriad of details to see should one decides to look closer. The premise is mundane, a bit hard to believe even: one’s so busy thinking about boys that they forget about plans with their girl friends. But the details are plenty. Take the pre-chorus for example.
I’m sorry that I missed your party
I wish I had a better excuse like
I had to trash the hotel lobby
In the first pre-chorus, there’s a pause at the end of the second like, as if Charli is trying to make up an excuse on the spot, which ends in an embarrassment of an excuse “I had to trash the hotel lobby.” The second time around, she pauses again to think of another excuse, only to change her mind and make a confession, considering how bad the first excuse turned out to be: “I can’t even lie you got me.”
Meanwhile, the melody embodies the lyrics. The song consists almost entirely of conjunct motions, rarely ever goes further than two steps from a central note, giving the melody itself a conversational quality. The rare disjunct motions are placed at the end of each verse, where Charli drops her voice under her breath, like she’s bashfully making a confession, perfectly matching the lyrics. Furthermore, all the lines are comprised of eighth and sixteenth notes, which together with the fast tempo of 140bpm, create the impression that she’s babbling with her friends. In contrast to the fast-paced verses, every word “boys” in the chorus is delivered with an extended half note, together with a harmony to give a daydream-like feeling.
There’s another underlying premise here, that the guilty pleasure she’s admitting, of fantasizing about boys, is something actually relatable, acceptable, and nothing to be ashamed about. Why so? Because the chorus is repeated 5 times throughout the song. Why would she comes back to her daydream so willingly, even blatantly, if it’s condemnable? She doesn’t even bother with a proper bridge after the second chorus: the hook is abridged and all the beats are dropped to effectively create a middle-8 near the end of the song. Hence, in just 2 minutes 42 seconds, the chorus is repeated 5 times. On top of that, following each repetition of the title is a sample of a sound effect from Super Mario Bros, which, in conjunction with the light timbre instruments and the syncopated bass line, produces an overall bright and playful sound.
All in all, the success of “Boys” lies in that it is so deceptively simple. While “I Love It” uses maximalism to create an air-tight dance gem, “Boys” is minimalist pop. Each component of the song is simplistic and memorable: each verse, chorus, and even the bridge basically repeats a melodic line thrice. But to prevent the song from sounding overly repetitive, there are so many things actually happening. Pre-choruses are added to change the energy of the song, while the verse is sung only once rather than twice after the second chorus to change the pace; the contrasting pace between the verse and the chorus; the slight changes in the lyrics; the creation of a middle-8 from the hook;… “Boys” sounds like Charli XCX must have written it admist her daydream, but after all it took a team of six songwriters to write a pop song this addictive.
