katy st. clair on how to recognize a good song

You pretty much know a song is great if you can add a quick “Cha-cha-cha!” to the end of it. For example, take Roy Orbison’s “Only the Lonely.” Wait for the extended “dumbydoowahhhh,” and then place a “cha-cha-cha!” after a beat. The trick even works on Whitney Houston’s version of “I Will Always Love You,” which closes with a long, soaring “youuuuuu … cha-cha-cha!” and “God Save the Queen”: “Nooo future, nooo future, nooo future … cha-cha-cha!”