You’re driving somewhere, maybe to a client’s event or perhaps to your 9-5 day job, and you’ve got the radio on low. The presenter has been chattering away but then he/she starts the next track and you turn it up a notch. It’s a new song, you think. You definitely haven’t heard this before.
Then the first chorus kicks in, there’s a melody there, and it’s catchy. And then you’re thinking: Hang on, have I heard this before? I have heard this before. I’m sure of it... Maybe I’ll keep listening, just to see. Maybe wait for the presenter to tell me who it’s by.
Before you know it, you’ve listened to the whole song. And you think you like it. You might even play it at your next gig, if you can track it down in time. Or perhaps you’ll add it to your latest Spotify playlist, to listen to later.
Sound familiar? This happens to me with pop songs all the time. I notice similarities between them, in the chord progressions or the vocal melodies or the drum beats. Sometimes to the point where I think I know the song, even by name, only to realise a few seconds later that it’s a new song, or something completely different to what I thought it was.
It was an American musician and journalist named Patrick Metzger who noticed this happening more and more frequently post-2010. And, following a hunch, he decided to delve deeper, analysing the musical DNA of the pop songs that he just couldn’t help but love. What he found was a two-note melodic hook that most often appears around the 1-minute mark in some of the 21st century’s biggest pop hits. He called this phenomenon the Millennial Whoop, in a 2016 blog post and then solidifying his ideas in a 2017 TED Talk. According to Metzger, the Millennial Whoop is symptomatic of society in the new millennium, where attention spans are short and the number of video plays or song streams an artist gets can make or break them. The idea is that this ‘whoop’ keeps us listening, it holds our attention through a vague sense of recognition, and, in the long run, the fact that we listen to the song means money for the record company and/or artist.
IQ crusher or secret weapon? THE MILLENNIAL WHOOP THE MILLENNIAL WHOOP40 You may even have noticed the Millennial Whoop yourself, creeping into songs by the likes of Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Owl City and Kelly Clarkson circa 2010. If you haven’t already, once you clock it you’ll start hearing it just about everywhere. Here’s what you’re listening out for, as described by Metzger himself: “A sequence of notes that alternates between the fifth and third notes of a major scale, typically starting on the fifth.
The rhythm is usually straight 8th-notes, but it may start on the downbeat or on the upbeat in different songs. A singer usually belts these notes with an ‘Oh’ phoneme, often in a ‘Waoh-wa-oh’ pattern. And it’s in so many pop songs it’s criminal.” To Whoop or Not to Whoop? Well, the naysayers will tell you that the Millennial Whoop is a dumbing down of pop music; part of a simplistic, predictable format and a style of carefully crafted songwriting that values the number of streams a song gets over the creativity of the writer or artist.
They say it saps life from the music; it’s just a part used in a manufactured product, like the wheels of a new car or the fader on your DJ controller. As some people have pointed out, in today’s digital world, it’s easier than ever before for producers to ‘mix and match’ elements until they get the ‘perfect song’ . One producer, Dr Luke, has actually cited neuroscience as an influence on his incredibly lucrative approach to production, by which the structure of a track can have a certain effect on the listener’s brain or draw a certain reaction from them (usually, to keep listening).
Perhaps not coincidentally, Dr Luke is a big fan of the Millennial Whoop, with a number of music fans pointing out his involvement in various chart-topping tracks that use it. So, is the Millennial Whoop all a big conspiracy, the brainchild of the record company executives to make us buy or stream more of their mass-produced music? I seriously doubt it, because if you listen a little closer, you’ll find that The Whoop crosses diverse musical genres and the concept applies to rock/indie bands and independent record labels just as much as it does to mainstream pop artists.
The more likely reason for this phenomenon is that somebody used the motif successfully, perhaps in the mid-2000s, and a number of other artists and songwriters started using it too, because, well, it worked. After all, musicians have been copying and influencing each other since forever. In the 1950s, rock ‘n’ roll exploded in the Western world, with countless hits using what music critics called the Bo Diddley Beat, named after the blues guitarist of that name.
Why? Because people couldn’t help but move to that beat! In electronic dance music, from the 1980s onwards, a drum sample known as the Amen Break – taken from The Winstons’ ‘Amen, Brother’ [1960] – was used widely and even formed the basis of entire sub-genres, including breakbeat and drum ‘n’ bass. In fact, most of our current pop music is based on the same four-chord progression used since the middle of the last century – so that’s nothing new, either.
The Power of The Whoop Of course, even now that we’re aware of the Millennial Whoop, it isn’t going to stop us enjoying those same pop songs. That’s the real positive for mobile DJs to take from the whole phenomenon. After all, the DJ plays what pleases the crowd; nobody can blame you, as the DJ, for playing the current hits of the time. And let’s face it, even if, as a punter, I know about The Whoop and think it’s a stupid pop hook, I’m unlikely to leave the dance-floor to go and sulk in a corner!
These are pop songs, for dancing and having fun to, and that’s exactly what the Millennial Whoop accommodates. Just as the Bo Diddley Beat sent teenagers crazy in the 1950s, the Millennial Whoop plays the same role in today’s culture. Those ‘woah-oh-ohs’ are responsible for countless hands-in-the-air moments, for thousands of drunken embraces, for solidifying friendships and romances across the world. And that’s why these songs are a secret weapon in your arsenal as a DJ.
They keep the dance-floor full, they keep feet moving and drinks flowing, and, ultimately, they help everybody have a good time! That, after all, is what clients want from you when you play out at their events. Manufactured or not, if a predictable pop hook like the Millennial Whoop helps you achieve that mission, then there’s little shame in it. But please handle carefully – these tracks are dangerously, annoyingly, frustratingly addictive.
But I guess that’s the point, right? "These are pop songs, for dancing and having fun to, and that’s exactly what the Millennial Whoop accommodates." 41THE MILLENNIAL WHOOP The Rasmus – In The Shadows [2003] First Whoop: 0:13 The original Millennial Whoop as we know it, though strangely in the rock genre as opposed to the plastic pop we’ve come to associate with the phenomenon. This song is so memorable and the hook so recognisable, that, prior to writing this piece, it popped into my head, at random, despite having not listened to the track in at least 10 years.
Now that’s staying power. Katy Perry ft. Snoop Dogg – California Gurls [2010] First Whoop: 1:08 You can thank Dr Luke for this one. As predicted, the whoop comes just after the 1-minute mark, but in all honesty, the song probably doesn’t need it; Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg created one of biggest summer of anthems of all time and it’s ridiculously catchy as it is.
According to Perry, the track was meant as the West Coast’s answer to ‘Empire State of Mind’ , Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ love letter to New York. Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen – Good Time [2012] First Whoop: 0:04 One of the more annoying songs on the list, you were probably sick of this pretty quickly upon its 2012 release. The track wastes absolutely no time, sending an almost-carbon copy of the ‘California Gurls’ whoop hurtling your way within five seconds!
Jepsen and Owl City’s Adam Young were later accused of copyright infringement by singer-songwriter Ally Burnett over a motif in her track ‘Ah, It’s a Love Song’ . The suit was eventually dropped and ‘Good Time’ was found to be an original composition, proving that nobody can really claim ownership of The Whoop. Chvrches – The Mother We Share [2012] First Whoop: 0:47 The indie kids aren’t exempt, either. Cooler-than-thou synth-pop trio Chvrches couldn’t resist a sneaky Millennial Whoop on their powerful, melancholic debut single, proving that this hook transcends genres and applies just as much to songs released by indie labels as it does to those put out by the big guns.
If you’ve got some alternative music fans in the house, drop this to get them on side and hope that the track’s chorus whoop keeps them there. Kings of Leon – Use Somebody [2008] First Whoop: 0:03 Speaking of indie bands, I bet you weren’t expecting these guys to come up. The four Nashville natives finally hit the big-time with the release of ‘Sex On Fire’ as the lead single from their fourth album in 2008. But it was this track that really sealed the deal, thanks in part to its catchy, arms-in-the-air, anthemic chorus.
As pointed out online, the song’s ‘woah-oh-oh’ refrain is in fact a Millennial Whoop, making its first appearance at a pretty hasty three seconds… 10 Millennial Whoopers for your music collection: Kelly Clarkson – I Do Not Hook Up [2009] First Whoop: 0:54 Written by none other than Katy Perry, who (see above) used the Millennial Whoop in her own smash hit, ‘California Gurls’ , this guitar-heavy track features a versatile vocal performance by American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson.
But with fairly subdued verses, it’s the chorus that really sticks in the brain, kicking off with Clarkson wailing an almighty Millennial Whoop. It seems Perry realised the power of this sneaky pop motif pretty early on... One Direction – Live While We’re Young [2012] First Whoop: 0:56 No surprise to see the Millennial Whoop cropping up in a One Direction song, what with them being one of the UK’s best-loved pop bands during their brief but hugely successful post-X-factor tenure.
Perhaps more surprising is that ‘Live While We’re Young’ – a feel-good, summery ode to youth and good times – is the group’s only major hit to use the motif. It’s still capable of drawing younger guests to the dance-floor for those hands-in-the-air moments. Tove Lo – Habits (Stay High) [2013] First Whoop: 0:49 Swedish singer-songwriter Tove Lo is no stranger to pop hooks, combining them with frank, autobiographical lyrics and dark production techniques to create a unique style that also happens to top charts and sell records.
It may be well disguised, but the chorus ‘oh-oh-ohs’ on her breakout single constitute a Millennial Whoop, making this a hard song to forget in a hurry. will.i.am ft. Britney Spears – Scream & Shout [2012] First Whoop: 0:52 Weirdly, without any real explanation as to why, this track starts with Britney Spears talking in a British accent, announcing “It’s Britney, bitch,” over glitchy club beats. Add will.i.am, a heavy helping of auto-tune and that trusty Millennial Whoop to the mix, and you’ve got yourself a 2012 chart-topper!
Fun fact: ‘Scream & Shout’ became Spears’ first UK number one since 2004. Baltimora – Tarzan Boy [1983] First Whoop: 0:19 This track (which I’d never heard before) cropped up in a couple of articles following Metzger’s blog post on the Millennial Whoop, so I gave it a listen. It’s fair to say that ‘Tarzan Boy’ is an absolute banger of an early-eighties pop song with a truly memorable chorus. Is that ‘woah-ay-oh-ay-oh-ayoh’ vocal hook imitating some sort of wild ‘jungle call’?
Or, as some have claimed, an example of the Millennial Whoop two decades early? I’ll let you decide, but this may be proof that the Millennial Whoop isn’t so millennial after all.
