How important are the song titles?

[lovefilmmusic]

Hi all,
I was wondering in reality how important are the titles in a commercial sense.

In all the songwriting books, I suppose the authors would all say that you have to make your title unique, interesting, etc.

However, is it true in real life? For example, below is the list of most of No. 1 songs in the UK in 2013 so far:

Impossible
Scream & Shout
Get Up (Rattle)
Thrift Shop
I Could Be The One
One Way Or Another
Mirrors
What About Us
Let's Get Ready To Rhumble
Need U
Waiting All Night
Get Lucky
La La La
Blurred Lines
Love Me Again
Wake Me Up
Do you think if these songs are sent for a professional critique, the titles would be praised as being excellent or having commercial potential?

[Kolstad]

A title is just one small part of a song, and even a complete lyric.
There's really no way of knowing what will catch on.

A title can sometimes capture what you will write about, an emotion, a situation, an action or a character ect.
Sometimes it can give you a concept, or belong in a concept, that allow you a certain palette of images.
That's important if you start to write from the title.

But given your examples, it's more important to make the well known themes (new love, lost love ect.) your own.
Like exploring them from your own mind, maybe with new words and metaphors, or turn them around a bit, adding new angles or perspectives to the songs that are already written and published. This is an advice given by Robin Frederick in her book on hit songwriting. http://www.amazon.com/Shortcuts-Hit-Son ... 0982004001

Those things you can't read from titles alone. This doesn't make titles unimportant. It just reminds you that everything belongs in a context, and that it is the context that gives words, lines and phrases their meaning.

[Len911]

A title is like a motive or motif, it's the main idea, theme, and mood. After that, it's how well that theme is developed. So ultimately the title is of very little significance compared to the development, unless you're paid on a per click type basis or something.

Do you think if these songs are sent for a professional critique, the titles would be praised as being excellent or having commercial potential?

I could be wrong, but I can't imagine a professional critique praising the title alone, "great title, rewrite the song", in essence.

Writing a song beginning with the title may very well keep the theme focused, but after the song is complete it might be necessary to revise the title.

[Kolstad]

Do you think if these songs are sent for a professional critique, the titles would be praised as being excellent or having commercial potential?

Maybe some, but it's a whole different ballgame being an artist and being a songwriter for other artists. As an artist, you already have a fanbase, and can get away with much more experimenting. As a songwriter, you need to write songs that stands out in the eyes of A&R, managers ect. and those crowds evaluate more by craftmanship and professional criteria than artists sometimes does themselves. Sometimes artists put out songs simply because it feels great to do, or because they can, and some of those things turns out great. Some don't, but as a songwriter for others, you'll never get away with some of those things.

[lovefilmmusic]

Wow, great advice as always. I really appreciate your kind and insightful opinions.