R & P Post 8: Possible tracks for the single

(Please click to enlarge) 
We sent a selection of
possible tracks to each
other early in the process.

At the start of the project, we shared numerous potential songs which we could use for our artist's single. We clarified that it would be best if we had a female vocalist for practical reasons due to the group dynamic, and also due to our research into audience & industry trends. We also didn't have much trouble in finding a genre, as our tastes in music were relatively similar. I particularly enjoyed that we not only maintained a very clear idea of the type of artist and song we were looking for, but also that we immediately set out both possible ideas as well as positives & negatives for each:

Chainsmokers ft. Daya - Don't Let Me Down

Positives:

-Pop and EDM elements to the song increase the likelihood of the song being successful, as both genres are currently very popular in the UK and elsewhere.

-Strong beat makes the song both catchy and easy to cut video to.

-Daya is an upcoming female solo artist with strong vocals - matching our initial ideas.

Negatives:

-The song is already extremely popular, reaching no. 1 on the UK dance chart, and 2 on the UK singles chart. It has over 350 million YouTube views.

-The song may be a little too long at 3:38.

-The existing video uses spectacular visual effects, and has a clear association with the song. It would thus be very difficult to construct something as memorable.

Zedd - Addicted To A Memory ft. Bahari

Positives:

-Interesting rhythm & delicate lyrics, which create a graceful, space-like vibe and could provide inspiration for our video.

-At present, the song has no accompanying video - so we could use our own creativity without worry of overlapping with, or trying to improve on an existing video.

-Again, the EDM genre & a clear beat mean the song is likely to be popular and easy to cut to.

Negatives:

-The song is far too long. At 5:02 it would be way too complicated to shorten, and even if we tried to it may sound disjointed and unnatural.

-The lack of lyrics means that a narrative or concept is quite hard to convey through a potential music video.

-It becomes repetitive at stages, which may lessen audience interest and puts more impetus on creating a memorable music video.

Daya - Sit Still, Look Pretty

Positives:

-Another Daya song - using an upcoming female solo artist would conform to our initial ideas.

-The beat is clear, making it catchy and easier to cut video to.

-The lyrics convey a strong feminist message, and would be potentially great to use as inspiration for the video: "I don't wanna be the puppet that you're playing on a string... dream of picket fences and trophy wives". Intertextual references could also be achieved easily to create a post-modernist video: "Barbie world, Snow White"

Negatives:

-Daya has since released her own video for the song which has over 2 million views.

-The song may be slightly too long at 3:38, though due to its simple structure we could cut a chorus out to shorten it easily.

-The feminist message may be conveyed too strongly, which could alienate part of the male contingent of the pop audience.