The rise of popular music on a global scale has prompted researchers to predict standard features for creating the next hit songs. Previous studies have explored various acoustical/audio features and their relations to top-charting songs but fail to include the artists' voice in determining popular music patterns. As a result, this study had used a trend analysis to find consistent patterns over the selected period (1980-2019) by analyzing five distinct vocal features: vowel corruption, pitch, intensity, number of pulses, and voicing. Upon analyzation, a general increase in vowel corruption and a formant difference in vowels were observed. A stagnant level in intensity and extreme variation in pitch was also noted. Overall, this study was one of the first to find accurate trends, including vocal features in hit song prediction research. Among various implications, one would be introducing a new area of study regarding singing in contemporary music.

Multilingualism is the ability to use several languages with equal fluency by an individual. It has been seen to have various effects on one’s academic performance which is connected to reading speed. Through a two-part, mixed-method approach that consisted of a survey related to multilingualism and true experiment (an online reading speed quiz), data was collected from adults ages 30-59 in the United States. Both monolinguals and multilinguals participated in order to determine the effects multilingualism has on reading speed. Upon analyzing the reading speed times of the participants, it was found that multilingualism does not have a significant impact on individuals’ reading speed when compared to monolinguals. This study demonstrates that multilingualism may not be the most critical factor affecting academic performance. Among broader implications, a change in education systems to be geared toward advancing reading speed could be highly beneficial.