Justin Timberlake’s infectious hit, “Can’t Stop The Feeling,” is more than just an earworm; it’s a masterclass in pop song construction. As content creators at payoffsong.com, we dive deep into the music theory behind chart-topping tracks to understand their magic. Today, we’re dissecting “Can’t Stop The Feeling” to explore the harmonic elements that make this song so irresistible. This analysis, focusing on the first part of the song’s structure, will reveal why this track works so well, blending summer vibes with club energy.
Overall Song Structure and Feel
“Can’t Stop The Feeling” is firmly rooted in C major, drawing heavily from funk and soul influences, a signature style for Justin Timberlake. This song is expertly crafted to be a dual-purpose hit – perfect for daytime радіо play and equally effective in a nightclub setting. The lyrical themes of sunshine, coupled with the energetic sound, make it ideal for daytime listening. Yet, lyrical cues like “under the lights when everything goes,” combined with production techniques such as filter sweeps and a driving four-on-the-floor bass drum, ensure its club appeal.
The lyrical content is straightforward and universally relatable: dancing, happiness, and carefree abandon. The music video reinforces this message by showcasing everyday people dancing in various everyday scenarios. This relatable and positive message – “you can dance, too, don’t care what others think” – is a key ingredient in the song’s widespread appeal and hit status. It’s a simple yet brilliant formula for connecting with a large audience.
Structurally, “Can’t Stop The Feeling” adheres to classic pop song conventions. Following a brief intro, the chorus is subtly introduced at a lower intensity. A verse then leads into a pre-chorus – arguably the most harmonically intriguing section – before launching into the full chorus. A notable pop song technique employed here is the lengthening of the second verse to twice the duration of the first. This shorter first verse is a deliberate choice to quickly reach the high-energy chorus, typically around the one-minute mark, while the extended second verse delays the second chorus, maintaining listener engagement. The song progresses through a bridge, another chorus, and concludes with a concise outro.
Let’s begin our detailed analysis by examining the intro and the initial, low-energy glimpse of the chorus.
Intro and Chorus Preview
The four-bar intro serves as a harmonic appetizer, presenting the core chord progression of the chorus:
This concise introduction familiarizes the listener with the central harmonic movement of the song. This allows the vocals and lyrics to take center stage from bar 5 onwards, as the ear is already acquainted with the foundational chord sequence. This technique of harmonic pre-emption is effective in grounding the listener and preparing them for the vocal melody.
The initial chorus presentation is intentionally subdued, omitting lower frequencies such as bass and kick drum. This technique, reminiscent of DJ high-pass filter effects, creates a sense of anticipation and tension. The listener subconsciously awaits the re-introduction of these lower frequencies to achieve sonic resolution and fullness. When the full instrumentation enters in the first verse, it creates a powerful impact, despite it being “just” the verse. This dynamic manipulation is a crucial compositional tool. By strategically holding back elements, songwriters can create dynamic contrast and avoid prematurely reaching the song’s peak intensity. Employing such dynamic variations is key to crafting engaging and evolving song arrangements.
Verse 1: Familiarity and Foundation
Verse 1 utilizes the same chord progression as the chorus, a common practice in pop songwriting. Repeating the chord changes between verse and chorus provides a sense of unity and cohesion. While other arrangement elements shift and evolve, the consistent harmonic foundation acts as a sonic glue, binding the verse and chorus together. Maintaining at least one consistent element between sections is crucial for preventing a song from sounding disjointed.
An alternative notation for these core chords offers further insight:
This slash chord notation highlights the voice leading, or in this case, the subtle lack thereof. It suggests a constant C major triad (more accurately a C6 chord with the added guitar note) played over a changing bassline. This technique, where a consistent upper structure is maintained over a moving bass, is explored in detail in analyses of other hits like Drake’s “Hotline Bling” and Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space,” demonstrating its effectiveness across different genres and styles. This creates a smooth, undulating harmonic foundation that is both familiar and subtly dynamic.
Pre-Chorus: Harmonic Elevation
The pre-chorus acts as a crucial bridge between the verse and chorus, serving as both a harmonic and dynamic ramp leading from one section to the next. While some might categorize it as an extension of the verse, its distinct harmonic function sets it apart. In “Can’t Stop The Feeling,” the pre-chorus is arguably the most theoretically rich and interesting section.
Here’s the chord progression of the pre-chorus:
Or, simplified using slash chord notation:
The pre-chorus initiates a temporary key change, preparing the listener for the chorus. Moving from C major in the verse, it shifts down a perfect fifth in the circle of fifths to F major. However, instead of beginning on an F major chord, it cleverly starts on a C chord, maintaining a sense of familiarity while subtly altering the mode to Mixolydian. The C7sus4(9) chord (or simplified Bb/C) functions as the dominant in C major, creating harmonic momentum. This move also retrospectively re-interprets the preceding Am7 chord at the end of the verse. From a iv chord in C major, it becomes a iii chord in the context of F major. This “re-interpretation” of chords within a new key is a sophisticated and common modulation technique, although its role is somewhat understated in this particular song.
The modulation to F major is particularly effective due to several factors:
- Root Note Continuity: The pre-chorus begins with the same root note (C) as the chords in the corresponding position in the verse, providing a sense of harmonic connection.
- Fifth Relationship: The new key (F major) is a fifth below the original key (C major), a strong and natural key relationship within Western harmony.
- Dominant Function: The opening chord of the pre-chorus is a dominant chord, inherently unstable and creating a desire for resolution and movement.
Thus, the pre-chorus balances expected and unexpected elements. Beyond the harmonic shifts, the arrangement also undergoes changes. Similar to the intro and initial chorus glimpse, the instrumentation thins out again, building tension. This section is also perfectly tailored for club environments. The filter effects and lyrics like “under the lights when everything goes” align directly with the conventions of club anthems.
Harmonically, the pre-chorus progresses to Bb, the subdominant of F major. However, in a nod to funk, soul, blues, and gospel traditions, this chord is treated as a dominant. Rooted in blues stylings, tonic, subdominant, and dominant chords are frequently voiced as dominant chords, incorporating a minor 7th. This stylistic choice is prevalent in gospel, funk, and soul music. To evoke these genres, consider interpreting I, IV, and V chords as dominants.
The transition from C7sus4(9) to Bb7sus4(9) can also be viewed as a simple downward shift of the chord voicing. Chord voicings can often be effectively transposed up or down by various intervals, even outside the current key, as long as the internal intervallic structure is maintained. This works because it adheres to the principle of retaining some elements (voicing structure) while altering others (key center).
The final two chords of the pre-chorus, Fm and Bb13sus4, form a cadence designed to lead back to the tonic of the chorus. Intriguingly, this Fm Bb13sus4 progression functions as a ii-V7 cadence in the key of Eb, raising the question of how it resolves to a C major tonic in the chorus. This harmonic puzzle will be unraveled in part 2 of this analysis.
End of Part 1
Hopefully, this initial exploration of “Can’t Stop The Feeling” has provided valuable insights into its musical construction. For more in-depth music theory analyses, be sure to explore our website payoffsong.com and look out for part 2 of this breakdown, where we’ll delve deeper into the harmonic resolution of the pre-chorus and other fascinating aspects of this hit song.
