Single-line melodies in modern pop songs?

Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina – Stereo Love

lol at two biebs tracks so early but "where are you now", definitely

but yeah the fact that people produce around the fact that people listen to music via YouTube on earbuds means that it's mostly drums and vox these days, with the harmonic content mixed low

Disclosure - White Noise.

ups Honestly, I hear 'Cheerleader' about 5 or 6 times a day at work and I'm having trouble recalling whether it has a topline hook. It's the sung chorus that sticks out the most when I hear it in my head.

'What Do You Mean' - yes there's a little bit of call and response between Biebs and that twiddly synth on the chorus, but I'm not sure how much it compares or counts, since it's more of a production embellishment than a segment away from the vocal that people would sing if asked to recall the song.

'Worth It' - definitely counts, and catchy because it sounds reminiscent of about 20 other things.

'Lean On' - yeah alright I'll give it to ya, even though it's more of a cool squirly noise than a melody

'Goin Down For Real' - not familiar with this one but it's definitely one.

'One Last Time' not sure - maybe? kind of trance, although the refrain is almost identical to the chorus line

Not to hop too heavily on the Biebs train, but "Sorry" is a clear example as well. I can barely remember how the rest of the song goes, but the little instrumental hook during the chorus, that I remember

I think the takeaway from the weird bieber dominance here is that nowadays u can find instrumental hooks mostly in "the drop"

Also is topline not a misnomer - I believe that term refers to the main vocal melody?

topline is the main melody, vocal or instrumental

yeah, you might be right. what should i be saying? one-note line? vamp? wordless hook?

Well, since everyone knows what you're talking about I guess it doesn't really matter. I feel no need to derail… But "instrumental hook" makes sense to me.

'One Last Time' not sure - maybe? kind of trance, although the refrain is almost identical to the chorus line

DJ Snake does it with all his tunes, the Alunageorge one and Turn Down For What? both have instrumental hooks (well, cut-up vocal snippets as melody) as the chorus.

Alex Adair Make Me Feel Better is a legit hit and has a cool (marimba?) hook but maybe too much of a club track. Barbra Streisandm Gecko or Sigma Nobody To Love too?

It's more tropical house than anything really - it's kind of interesting because the chorus is essentially the topline melody again, but sung.

Yeah, so I'm not sure it counts, since it's not quite a distinguishable melody from the vocal. Yeah that noise is DJ Snake's trademark. Not sure if I've heard Alex Adair track yet or the others.

Uptown Funk

how bizarre - omc

rap beats seem like the obvious answer, although often the instrumental hook is the only melodic element and it never stops, so i guess it's not quite the same thing. thinking of tracks that milk a super-catchy hook for everything it's worth like 'new slaves', 'i don't like', 'hard in da paint', etc

UOENO has one of the catchiest tunes in current hip hop. Not sure if it counts as chart pop in the UK or not tho.

not that that's a stipulation of course.

there are def a lot of hip hop examples. then again more recent stuff by Future and Young Thug feels a bit like the melodic elements are definitely there, but they're withdrawn into a relatively subtle production style. I only really notice them on third or fourth listen, and then I get hooked.

Anything MUSSAONDABEAT does the job.

That synth part of "What Do You Mean" IS the part I always get stuck in my head!

Feel like the dominance of EDM in pop music the last few years more than makes up for the non-EDM songs that don't have instrumental hooks. It never even occurred to me that it was lacking because I can recall so many EDM-type songs on the radio with strong instrumental hooks.