What does it take to make a pop hit now?

“Five years ago, you had to have a massive chorus. Now, it’s not the rule” - Camille Purcell, who releases music as Kamille, told Guardian about writing potential hits now - it’s all about interesting beats, not hooks. Purcell cites the dominance of hip-hop as the cause of this trend, adding how she takes inspiration from the “viral-led language” of social media posts and memes. Pop lyrics are becoming “so much more real and to the point – super conversational”, she concludes. Breaking through with a song is about the catching a listener’s ear before they hit skip – which, on Spotify, happens to a quarter of songs in the first five seconds. Speaking about the sound of music, writer Ali Tamposi says "there’s more pressure to be experimental. Mixing urban with country, Latin with pop – people are taking more sonic risks".