Why has Mr Brightside stood the test of time? Scientists reveal the secret to ... trends now

With a guitar intro that sends wedding-goers running to the dancefloor and a scream-at-the-top-of-your-lungs chorus, 'Mr Brightside' has a firm grip on British hearts.

In fact, despite being released by The Killers 20 years ago, it is now the UK's biggest-selling single never to reach number one. 

The track has overtaken Oasis' 'Wonderwall' to claim the title, having amassed 530.3 million streams and 1.1 million copies sold.  

But why exactly has Mr Brightside stood the test of time? 

MailOnline spoke to scientists to understand the secret to the rock anthem's success.

Unexpected chord change 

In 2017, neuroscientists from Georgetown University in Washington, USA examined 545 top-selling pop songs to find out what made them so popular.

They analysed the harmonies chord-by-chord, and found that many of them contained an element of 'harmonic surprise'.

This is an unexpected chord change, which is thought to trigger a rush of dopamine in the brain similar to that created by food and sex.

This is the moment when people get 'chills' from a song, and the technique is used by the Beach Boys in the first 10 seconds of 'Wouldn't It Be Nice' as well as in the final chorus of the Beatles' classic 'Penny Lane'. 

The researchers say the top pop songs mostly have choruses with relatively low harmonic surprise, but are preceded by sections with many rare chords.

Co-author Norberto Grzywacz, professor of neuroscience at Georgetown University in Washington, said: 'We evaluated the role of a compositional element - the harmonic surprise.

'Surprise is important because it is a measure of new information - something that the reward centres of the brain recognise as being of value, leading to a positive emotional response.

'Therefore, our finding that the most popular songs tend to include surprising chords reflects our brain's in-built preference.'

'Mr Brightside' is primarily in the key of C# major, which contains the chords C#, D#, F, F#, G#, A#, C and C#.

It is common for a chorus to start and finish on the first chord of the key, as it is what our ears like to hear, and creates a pleasant sense that the song has returned 'home'.

However the chorus of The Killers' song, as well as the outro, ends with a G# rather than returning to the C#.

This adds tension, and is another example of harmonic surprise.

While our brains enjoy unpredictability to an extent, the neuroscientists found that part of the reward in the brain comes when a chord change returns to normal.

Dr Grzywacz added: 'The brain enjoys surprise only up to a point, because unexpected events indicate a failure of prediction.

'Hence, the release of tension from surprising sections of a song to common choruses is also signalled positively by the reward centres.'

Songwriters often rob the listener of the sense of resolution, as is done in 'Mr Brightside', as it can make them want to play the song again.

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Balance of predictability and surprise

Another study, from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Germany, found that the correct balance of predictability and surprise is crucial for a good pop song.

Researchers analysed 80,000 chords in 745 songs listed in the US Billboard 'Hot 100' chart between 1958 and 1991.

When a song or a piece of music is being played, the listener forms expectations on what sounds - or chords - to expect next.

Based on this understanding, the team developed a computer model to measure the predictive uncertainty and surprise in songs.

They then looked at the brain activity of 79 study participants listening to the music, using a technique known as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). 

It was found that the music evoked pleasure when it encouraged the listener 'to continuously generate and resolve expectations as the piece unfolds in time'. 

While 'Mr Brightside' does leave the listener hanging by ending its chorus on a G# chord, it balances it out with its fairly predictable verse.

The melody is largely a repeating C# note, occasionally dropping down to a C or going up to a D#, but always staying in a very close range of just five scale degrees.

It also consists of a repeating rhythm of six notes; 'com-ing out of my cage', 'I've been doing just fine', 'gott-a, gott-a be down' etc.

PhD student and lead author Vincent Cheung said: 'Songs that we find pleasant are likely those which strike a good balance between knowing what is going to happen next and surprising us with something we did not expect.'