Part 2 – Austria Series
What do you do if you landed a surprise hit and now everyone is expecting you to repeat that level of success or even top it? Well, you could do one of two things. Either say “whatever, I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing” and cross your fingers that things will work out. Or you do your homework, reflect on what people want to hear, create something that fits the bill, and cross your fingers that you got it right. Either way, it’s never a surefire thing.
The Makemakes, a rock band from the district of Flachgau in Salzburg Province, took the latter approach. With their first single, “Lovercall” (2012), a groovy little number with a Maroon 5 vibe, the Makemakes achieved the virtually impossible: they got into the Austrian charts under their own steam, without a casting show behind them, as is usually the case in this country. So, what to do next? The Makemakes took their time in releasing a follow-up single and, knowing how important the second release is – being the moment of truth that either reveals the first success as a fluke, or confirms a band’s high quality – obviously put a lot of consideration into their next single, “Million Euro Smile” (2014). The result was a song that exceeded all expectations, reaching 2nd place in the Austrian Top 40. A truly remarkable achievement!
The art of writing a hit song
Writing a song with an explicit view to creating a hit is no easy feat. Many have tried, but crashed and burned. The fact is that there are certain obvious prerequisites, such as a catchy tune, and certain parameters you can follow, but ultimately audiences are fickle and there are no guarantees.
For “Million Euro Smile”, the Makemakes drew on Rock ’n’ Roll and classic Motown for inspiration. The music of the 50s/60s has provided inspiration for a great number of pop songs throughout the subsequent decades. I can think of a few off the top of my head: The 80s brought us Billy Joel’s album “An Innocent Man” (1983), including, most notably, “Uptown Girl” and “Tell Her About It”, and Soulsister’s “The Way to Your Heart” (1988). The UK seems to have a soft spot for this style of retro pop music, with “Give Me a Little More Time” (1996) by Gabrielle in the 90s, Amy Winehouse and Duffy in the noughties, and more recently “Black Heart” (2012) by Stooshe.
The advantage of referencing past styles is that people respond immediately because it sounds so familiar, which is a definite bonus. Songs that break new ground often don’t get the reception they deserve for the simple reason that they take getting used to.
Conformity vs deviation
“Million Euro Smile” is a pretty straightforward retro-style song: it has elements from doo-wop, rock ’n’ roll and classic Motown – e.g. the la-da-da intro, the frenzied chord repetitions in the piano part of the verse, the accentuated backbeat in the drums, the horn section (courtesy of the legendary LaBrassBanda from Bavaria). The list could go on and on.
It might be more interesting to note the elements that DON’T adhere to the retro blueprint. Firstly, the band chose to give the vocals a highly compressed and saturated sound – I don’t think they were going for a vintage sound, but rather wanted to make the voice a bit edgier, so that the song wouldn’t end up overly sweet and naive (unfortunately, at the expense of intelligibility). Secondly, there’s this short bit at the end of the second chorus (from 2:02) where the song suddenly goes into a halftime feeling and there is a long delay on the vocals. The more contemporary vibe makes this bit stand out and listeners can, just for a few moments, catch their breath before being plunged straight back into the nostalgic rollercoaster ride.
The third thing that deviates from the blueprint is the lyrics. Tradition would have it that the lyrics of songs in this style should deal with love exclusively, and at first glance “Million Euro Smile” would seem to oblige. But, as I later learned, the lyrics are in fact about the Euro. Yup, you read right. Dodo Muhrer, the band’s lead singer and songwriter, said in an interview that “the song was written at a time when the EU Member States were thinking about how the whole situation with the euro should go on.” Personally, I’d prefer the straightforward approach with regard to the lyrics. But then again, the band’s intention was probably to offset the song’s retro sound by giving it lyrics with a contemporary context.
Conclusion
The Makemakes managed to create a song that became a hit in Austria. Following up on a first-time hit is always daunting, but they took a calculated risk and were rewarded. For me, though, knowing that these guys can really rock, I’m hoping that they’ll show us more of that on their album, which is scheduled for release in autumn.
Watch their video here.
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