Summary Of The Song 'Hey Ya'

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“Hey Ya” is a song written, produced, and performed by Andre 3000 of the legendary hip hop group OutKast for their 2003 album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. Funk, rap, and rock music are potent influences to the sound of the record. It plays upbeat at a tempo of 159 beats per minute and is rhythmically hypnotic compelling the listener to tap their foot or clap along for the entire 3 minutes and 55 seconds. It is structured in verse - chorus - verse - chorus - bridge - conclusion method.“Hey Ya” was well received by the masses peaking at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and receiving a Grammy for “Best Urban/Alternative Performance” among other accolades in 2004. Billboard also named it as the 20th most successful song of the 2000s decade in the United States. …show more content…

For three measures the song uses a 4/4 or common time meter then deceptively changes to a 2/4 cadence on the fourth measure which subsequently reverts back to common time for the last two measures. This six measure phrase sequence is repeated throughout the entire song. Where most popular songs rely on strictly common time, “Hey Ya” mixes it up successfully without making dancing too difficult and in fact, unless they pay close attention, the average listener wouldn’t even pick up on the switch. This unique timing is one of the key reasons this song was a stand out hit. As far as dynamics, there aren’t many noticeable fluctuations used in the arrangement of the song. With intentions set on being lively and joyous, “Hey Ya” maintains a consistent level of loudness but no where near blasting the listener away. However towards the end of the song there’s a breakdown that solos the drums and vocals for a call and response section. Once complete, the full instrumentation of the chorus comes back in then slowly fades out to cap off the

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