The spell off saccharine song such as Ace Lo Green’s “Forget You,” demonstrates the magical powers of a great song that captivates the senses of many people. Even my seven-year-old daughter gets excited whenever she hears the song “Forget You” playing over the airways. From the outset, I was also wooed by its spell. The message of the song redefines my experiences of past relationships as it struck a familiar chord with the melodramatic presentation of happy song about the heartaches of a relationship break-up.
Consequently, I chose, “Forget You” to write a song analysis with the goal to determine the compositional form of the song and to Identify how and why specific musical elements contribute to the shape and success of the song. The terms of reference for this song analysis are as follows: text, instrumentation, song form, vocal line, and style of the entire song. According to Wisped, free encyclopedia on the web, Ace Lo Green’s real name is Thomas De Carlo Galloway and the song “Forget You” was co-authored by Ace Lo Green, Christopher ‘Broody Brown, Peter Hernandez, Phillip Lawrence and Earl Levine.
The song was produced by the Singletons, which Is comprised of Bruno Mars, Phillip Lawrence, and Air. Levine. The source also states that the original title for this song is “Buck You” and that it is censored for the main media hence the change of name to “Forget You” for main stream audience. The uncensored version was released August 19, 2010 on Youth as the first single on Ace Loss third album entitled “Lady Killer. ” The gist of the song is captured plainly throughout the text, telling a story about a guy who Is In love with a girl who had left him for a wealthier lover.
One day, the Jilted lover sees his ex-glorified driving around with her new lover and begins his negative rants about the girl even telling the new lover that the girl is “a gold digger. ” So, the cliche “Forget You” fits aptly as the title for this catchy song. The text which is supported by a simple, but funny melodic line to capture the attention of any listener. A factor that makes the text popular Is the familiar uses of the words “forget you” or ‘”IF. ” The usage of words such as “Oxbow” and “Atari” In the context of name-calling resides well with young people and video players.
The text accomplishes the objective to celebrate every relationship break-up with the words “forget you. ” Or “IF. ” There are attempts to rhyme certain words such as “chest” and “best” in the chorus. In Verse 1, “Ferreira” rhymes with “Atari” and in Verse 2, the words “cheat” almost rhymes with “cheap. ” The instruments used in this song are piano, bass guitar, electric guitar, Congo drums, drums set, and tambourine. The piano and Congo drums begin as the featured Instruments for the first four measures of the music, and then the bass joins.
The drum-set and the electric guitar do not play the introduction or the iris chorus until Verse 1. The piano plays a dominant riff with the notes doubled up with the bass. This riff continues for the whole song except for the bridge, where blocked chords are played at first followed with broken chords in sixteenth meter, in the upper register of the piano. The electric guitar joins in Verse 1, with strumming except for the first part of the bridge. The funky rhythm of the song Is reinforced island-feeling of spunkiness.
The drum-set begins to play at Verse 1, which seems to suggest that the introduction and the opening chorus are Just warm-ups, and now, everyone is ready for the main performance. The tambourine plays a single syncopated beat on the fourth beat and this creates added interest. Although the structure of the song is in strophic form, it begins on the chorus, and then alternates with verse then chorus. The bridge follows the third chorus and the finale is with the fourth chorus. The introduction, riff of the chorus, as well as the verses are based on the same chord structure.
In reference to the attached chord tableware and lyrics for “Forget You” by J. Beer, the introduction, chorus and verses all have the same chord progression; C to DO to F. I find this chord progression very interesting, due to the fact that the chords represent three major chords used intentionally in this manner to reinforce the happy mood and the spunkiness of the song. The use of the Major DO chord seems to enhance the sass’ feel of Mouton. An example of the usage of this chord progression (C, DO, F) in that era is when Lulu sang the song from the movie of the same name “To Sir with Love. Additionally, the DO chord defies the rules of traditional music theory, where it teaches that a minor chord should be played on the second degree of the major scale. In effect, the use of the DO chord instead off D minor breaks the rules of music theory. Ironically, Ace Lo Green breaks the social rules with the use of profanity to make this hit single. I expected that appropriate sanctions would have been taken by music traditionalists as well as social conservatives, for the rebellious actions of Ace Lo Green, but the reality is far from the hue and cry- it is total euphoria. Forget You,” was an instant hit according to Wisped, with one Grammar award for “Best Urban/Alternative Performance” and five Grammar nominations at the 53rd Grammar awards, 2011. The bridge section of “Forget You” is constructed in the place of Verse 3 with a different harmonic structure. The chord changes reflect a more traditional style based on the Circle of Fifths, with a progression (3,6,2,5) namely E minor, A minor, D minor, G major, which repeats.
On the second round, the D minor chord is changed to D major to increase tension and excitement. In this same round, the rhythm changes with one-drop beats played on the bass drum to facilitate a “call and response” interplay between the instruments with back-up voices and the lead vocalist. As the lead vocalist spirals the tune towards a climax, the drum and the piano play an station rock beat to create more excitement for the climax. This ends with a descending piano glissando interrupted by the final chorus pitched higher than before.
The lyrics of the bridge are more melodramatic as the lead singer sings the words Why’ in a crying manner and then resolves his mixed emotions. He is still in love with his ex-girlfriend, despite his ambivalence towards her. The vocal line of the song is sung energetically by Ace Lo Green, Lead Vocalist with back-up singers ho echo particular words and phrases of the lyrics. This vocal line is typical of the sass’ Mouton era which utilized an array of back-up singers with groovy dance moves to embellish performances.
The tone of Ace Lo Green’s voice is whimsical, and he uses his scintillating voice to woo his audience even when he spoke the lyrics. For instance when he said, anemia go run and tell your little boyfriend. ” The clincher of the vocal line is how the lead singer perfectly uses vocalizes on the “o-oho-shoos” in singers provide great harmonic support by singing “SOHO” and “shahs. ” The Tyler of the whole song with the lead singer and tight back-up singing provides a nostalgic mood of the sass. The song is refreshing because it is a striking contrast to other contemporary styles.
I believe the popularity that has resulted despite the hidden meaning of the song title, is due to the compositional elements highlighted in this song analysis. “Forget You” perfectly capture a certain feeling and experience, where people can relate to the lyrics of a happy break-up song, as opposed to a bluesy, moping, and depressing song. The melody is repetitive, and people will catch he tune quickly and effortlessly. The harmonic structure using the same three simple major chords for the chorus and the verses resonate very well with any listener’s auditory perceptions.