“I Hope You Dance,” written by Mark D. Sanders and Tia Sillers, was originally recorded by American country singer Lee Ann Womack as the title track for her 2000 studio album. The song, which won the Grammy award (and many others) for Best Country song, became Womack’s signature hit and has sold over 2 million copies in the US.
American singer/songwriter Gladys Knight covered the tune for her 2013 album Another Journey. After beginning in G, Knight modulates up a whole step to A at 3:08.
“Innocent Eyes” is the title track on Australian singer/songwriter Delta Goodram’s 2003 debut album. Goodram said the song, which is autobiographical and dedicated to her family, is one of her favorites on the album, and it is one of five #1 singles from the record. Innocent Eyes is the second-best-selling Australian album of all time, and Goodrem has since followed it up with six more.
The track begins in Bb minor before a distinctive downward shift to A minor for the chorus at 0:22. It returns to Bb for the second verse at 1:07, and then remains in A minor from 1:29 to the end.
Louden Swain is an LA-based indie rock band that formed in 1997. The group has released 9 albums, and when their anticipated 2020 release was delayed by the pandemic, they decided to release one new single each month until they could get back on the road and support the creation of a full album.
“Present Time” is the lead track on the 2017 album No Time Like The Present. It begins in Eb and modulates up to F at 2:22.
“Gone Away” is featured 2021 album Noeasy, the second studio release by the South Korean boy band Stray Kids. Explaning the meaning of the title, band leader Bang Chen, who serves as a vocalist, rapper, dancer, and producer, said, “it [Noeasy] means that we want to leave a loud impact on the world with our music.” The album was widely recognized as one of the best K-pop releases of 2021. Writing for The Lantern, a student-run newspaper at Ohio State University, Chloe McGowan said,”Stray Kids fully utilizes the individual talent of each member on this album as they continue to push boundaries and expectations for K-pop while testing the limits and creative devices of their own sound.”
“Gone Away” begins in Db and dramatically shifts up a half step to D at 3:15
“Love Don’t A Reason” was written by Michael Callen, Peter Allen, and Marsha Malamet, and first performed at an AIDS Walk in New York City in 1987. Each of the composers subsequently recorded it for their own albums, and the song was also included in the 1998 musical The Boy From Oz. Callen’s cover, from his 1988 debut album Purple Heart, is featured here. The track begins in E and modulates up a whole step to F# at 2:43.
“Lost In Your Eyes” is featured on American singer Debbie Gibson’s second studio album, Electric Youth, released in 1989. The song, which Gibson wrote and produced, was her most successful single and sat atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart for three weeks. Writing for the former British music newspaper Record Mirror, critic Betty Page said, “Golden larynxed Debs hits us with the big moodsome ballad, proving that she’s shaping up to be the Barry Manilow of the Nineties.”
The track begins in C and modulates to D at 2:14.
“This is a song about moving on,” say songwriters Michael Kooman & Christopher Dimond on their blog. “Blue Horizon,” sung here by Broadway actress Heidi Blickenstaff, is featured on Kooman and Dimond’s 2011 studio album. The tune alternates between Bb major (verses) and G major (choruses) throughout.
Lady Gaga’s “Fashion of His Love” was featured on the singer’s 2011 Born This Way Special Edition album, and dedicated to the memory of Alexander McQueen, a fashion designer and close friend of Gaga who died by suicide in 2010. The track begins in E and shifts up to F at 2:51.
Big Big World is the title track of Swedish singer Emilia’s eponymous debut studio album, released in 1998. “Big, Big World…is gentle and arranged as a pseudo-procession tune,” wrote AllMusic editor Roxanne Branford in her review. “As if Emilia is taking her first cautious steps toward independence and adulthood.” The track was a #1 across Europe but wasn’t as successful in the United States. Emilia has gone on to record three subsequent albums.
The tune starts in C and modulates up to D at 2:29.
Written by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock for the 1986 film Top Gun, “Take My Breath Away” was recorded by the American new wave band Berlin.
There was tension within the group about whether to go forward with the song; lead singer Terri Nunn was all in, but John Crawford (the band’s founder, keyboardist and primary songwriter) was very resistant, not wanting outsiders to encroach on his turf. Ultimately the tune became one of their most popular hits, and won the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Original Song.
In 2017, ShortList named the song as having one of the best key changes in history. The unusual modulation, up a minor third from Ab to B, comes at 2:51.
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