The Science of Sticky Songs

Songwriters and advertisers have long understood earworm mechanics by instinct. Advertising jingles are built to lodge in your memory: short, repetitive, with a melodic hook that leaves a loop feeling unfinished.

Songwriter Max Martin (behind hits for Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, and The Weeknd) is a master of earworm engineering. His choruses use melodic intervals that land just outside the most predictable path, creating that perfect balance of expectation and surprise.