Only a guy who has observed generation of hits come and go can tell you what it really is. Veteran On Air Personality Jacob Akinyemi – Johnson aka JAJ Da Meccadon tells all: Kids it’s class time.
"You can look at a hit song as a song that is widely accepted, it may be a party banger and may be not, but it has to do with sales. The definition of a hit song really would always be tied to sales however it’s kinda different here in Nigeria, a hit song is not tied to sales for obvious reasons, piracy on one hand, we have songs duplicated and played everywhere, in cars, in bars, at clubs…so in terms of sales it may not be selling as it should but it’s in the hands of a lotta people, the song is practically everywhere, (and liked by a lot of people). That’s one angle to look at it.
But also on another angle, a hit song is one that is qualitative and would stand the test of time and would remain a hit song for a very long time. Despite the fact that it might not be as popular as it was at one point, a song which after 25years, you can still listen and say that was a good song that is really the definition of a hit song.
So acceptance is one aspect, quality is another, and also longevity, these are the 3 basic qualities of a hit song.
Most songs really, become hits after release. It gets airplay on radio, the video gets played, it’s played in the party and clubs and bars, most songs that become like that are songs that you can sing along pretty easily, not songs that are hard or too complicated.
However there are songs that become hits even before release, for instance if a very popular artiste plays a song at all the gigs, such a song could become a hit song before it really drops into the market. A typical example will be Fela Anikulapo – Kuti who had a lotta hit songs he played at the shrine, and till he died some of them were never released and there were recordings of those songs in the hands of a lot of Fela fans back in the day.
There are songs in Nigeria that had been popular before airplay got it more popular, however you can’t really predict a hit song. Some of the best songs never turned out to be hit songs, some of the ones that you will least expect to be hit songs will be hit songs. So you can’t really predict, despite the fact that you might have all the elements needed to make a hit song.
Promoting a song is key, Promotion is getting that song played, and getting it played at different places. Been able to push the music is essential, however some songs are just so timely, just so right for the period so even with a little push or in some cases no push at all it becomes a hit song.
Of course there are many songs good enough to be a hit that never become one, there’s also the element of luck, that’s why I talked about it being timely, coming out at the right time. The mood of a nation could also influence a hit song. Like at a time when the economy is rock bottom and everybody is complaining about cash and some smart dude drops a song that could give some kinda comfort when you sing it, he may just have a hit.
You gotta have a good product first, even if you have all the other elements. It’s gotta be banging, and if it’s a ballad then it’s gotta be deep and really musical. You must have a quality song for starters, that is major despite the fact that that’s not enough to make it a hit but at least you would know that you’ve got a good product to start with and then you’ll let all the other elements and factors come to play and make it a hit, if it will become a hit.
Internationally for instance, some songs become hits before they record it. People have done advance booking for the song, to the tune of millions in some cases and such a song would be an immediate hit in terms of sales maybe not acceptance. It has worked wrongly for a lot of record labels, for example 50cent comes up with a great album on the mainstream, it’s so good 11million sold and there were advanced bookings for the second album the follow up of almost 3million copies before it dropped but we all know it wasn’t accepted as much as the first.
Right now I’m feeling Wande Coal songs, he’s a brilliant artiste nice delivery, some MI songs, I’m feeling Banky, and Illbliss too I’m a fan of Illbliss. There is a lotta crap out there that I wouldn’t listen to. As much as we have lotta good songs in circulation, we have more bad songs unfortunately.
Finally if we check the stats, it’ll show that music that turns instant hits do not last as long as the ones that grow on you. They come that fast, and most cases go that fast but the ones that grow on you stand a test of time and have longevity" HL
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