Adult contemporary tends to have lush, soothing and highly polished qualities where emphasis on melody and harmonies is accentuated. It is usually melodic enough to get a listener's attention, and is inoffensive and pleasurable enough to work well as background music. Like most of pop music, its songs tend to be written in a basic format employing a verse–chorus structure.
Along with harmonies, what aspect of music is emphasized in adult contemporary? What is the typical structure of an adult contemporary song? With what broader style of music does adult contemporary share its structure? Along with being pleasurable, what trait makes adult contemporary appropriate for background music?