Want Me To Grill?

It was absolutely gorgeous in Colorado Springs today.  So warm and beautiful in fact that Karen suggested I fire up the grill (charcoal for us Cases) and she bought buns at the store for the kids' hot dogs.

I love my charcoal grill and have been getting better and better at cooking up tasty steaks (and burgers and hot dogs, etc.)  I am not bragging at all, as I am certain there are tens of thousands of better grill masters than myself.  I mention my comfort with steaks, burgers, and hot dogs because I am absolutely NOT comfortable enough to cook chicken or seafood yet, although I love both.

I am sure that this summer I will venture out of my comfort zone and add to the list of things I can grill, but for now I think we'll enjoy our steaks, burgers, and hot dogs.


Song Of The Day:
I recently heard the song "Try" by P!nk on the radio and it fits with this post ... because I really should just try to cook other things on the grill sometime.

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How Do You Know If A Song Is Going To Be A Huge Hit ?

I think it is obvious when a song is a "huge hit" ... but it must be very difficult to know before if a song is going to blow up the charts, sell millions of CDs or downloads, and either launch, springboard, or further cement the dominance of a singer's career.

I believe today's song of the day combines all of the most important keys to success that seem to suggest it will achieve "huge hit" status.  Herewith is my list of things that seem to make a BIG difference between good, great, and huge hit songs (in no particular order of importance):

 - Be about love (or love that is lost).
 - Include a "featuring" credit (bonus points if both the main artists and the 'feat.' artist are currently popular).
 - Have a catchy song intro (in this case a simple piano melody).
 - Allow the song to build to a climax, but end with the same tenor it began with.
 - Use instruments sparingly and only to emphasize key points or the beat.
 - Opposing points of view on the same situation, which work together in the chorus.
 - Strong voice solos from any/all artists who sing on the tune.
 - The presence of multiple "hooks" and/or possible song titles.
 - Appeal to a wide demographic (being about love usually helps with this).
 - Be unique enough to stand out from other recent songs, but not so unique that your song will seem out of place decades from now.
 - Produce a visually appealing video.
 - Generate word of mouth buzz and lots of radio airplay.

So I guess we'll see if this song becomes a huge hit or just stays as one of my recent favorites.  Time will tell, but I have to say I will be more surprised if this song flames out soon than if it is still played years from now on the radio.

Song Of The Day:
No, it is not titled 'Learn To Love Again' ... but it could have been.  Yes, those are two voices you are sure to recognize, but perhaps not the 'featured' artist's name.  Yes, it has a great hook, great video, is getting lots of airplay, and is about love lost (or in trouble at the very least).
Here is "Just Give Me A Reason" by P!nk, feat. Nate Ruess (he is the lead singer of the group Fun.)

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