[Music] Pop Music

Hey there. Well, I have recently gotten addicted to Adele. I think she is a beautiful singer and I do not consider her to be a pop artist because she is better than everyone else in the pop genre. I consider her to be in "romance".

How do you define pop?

From modern artists, who would you consider to be pop artists and who would you not?

One of my guilty pleasures is trashy female pop like Ke$ha.

I do legitimately like Lady Gaga, though.

I guess pop means any music, artist, group, etc. that's "popular," right?
Like Katy Perry, the Biebs, Ke$ha- they're obviously pop.
Didn't the term "pop" come to light in the late 90s though with Britney Spears, N'Sync, etc. etc. etc? Because Nirvana was HUGE, as we all know, back in the day and they certainly weren't "pop" music.
Pop is weird, man. And I hate pop music nowadays because it all sounds the same and it's very uncreative.

wait a second what.
she is a pop artist. She may be better than other people in your opinion, but she still is a pop artist.
Anywhoo, I don't see why pop has sort of a bad name attached to it. It's good sometimes, and sometimes its not. Just because its mainstream doesnt mean it sucks.

I have never heard anyone say pop is bad because its mainstream. its always what people who listen to pop say when people say they dont like pop.

if i got a penny for every time people said i should be more openminded and start liking pop....

"Pop music" could be referring to numerous different things. There's the broad "Popular Music" not referring to status as being well-known or liked, but the more traditional definition of "popular" as being "from the people." Then there's "popular music" in the sense that it is music well-known or well-liked, but doesn't necessarily conform to any genre standard. Then there's "pop music" as a genre, which isn't necessarily popular in the sense that it is well-known or liked, and like with any genre has numerous different hallmarks and sub genres.

The first definition essentially refers to any piece of music made starting in the early 20th century when it became possible for mass production and consumption of music. In a broader sense, all recorded music is "popular music."

The second definition is the most flexible, since it is (or was) measured as a quantitative figure, based on album sales, radio rotation, and concert sales. It's basically another way to say "mainstream," but with the advent of the internet and all the music-related evolution that has came with it, the lines between mainstream and non-mainstream are blurring heavily.

"Pop music" as a genre has, like any genre, a variety of influences it draws from, and continues to evolve and change. Its earliest roots start from around the late 1950s, but it really took off in the 60s when bands like The Beatles and some of their contemporaries essentially defined many of the traditional pop conventions still used today.

In general (and I can't stress that enough, because there are numerous exceptions), pop songs conform to a standard length, verse-chorus structure, and places an emphasis on melody and hooks. Early on in the creation of pop there was a strong lyrical emphasis on love and romance, which still exists today, but lyrical themes have of course broadened with the times as well.


So as an example, Katy Perry is a popular (mainstream appeal) artist who performs pop music. Adele, I would say, is a popular artist, but one who tends to occupy the blue-eyed soul genre with some pop influence.

I love Marina & the Diamonds, Amy Winehouse and Lana Del Rey. They are my power trio and my babes. I tend to loathe certain pop musicians more than others but that is partly because of their exposure and partly because of my jealousy. Tulisa is just awful though.

Brtitpop is also fantastic and I never grew out of that. Blur, Pulp, Oasis and Elastica are all equally fantastic apart from Blur who are not equally fantastic but better.

Originally Posted by hijuliaa

I guess pop means any music, artist, group, etc. that's "popular," right?
Like Katy Perry, the Biebs, Ke$ha- they're obviously pop.
Didn't the term "pop" come to light in the late 90s though with Britney Spears, N'Sync, etc. etc. etc? Because Nirvana was HUGE, as we all know, back in the day and they certainly weren't "pop" music.
Pop is weird, man. And I hate pop music nowadays because it all sounds the same and it's very uncreative.

Pop started in the 50s.

As for my opinions on pop, I don't listen to it. If I want a small taste of Pop I'll listen to a Hot AC station, but yeah, I don't like pop music. Mostly because a lot of those artists aren't very talented.

"Pop" music is a broad statement. Tons of bands play pop music, but it usually isn't the only genre they use.

I like older pop music (The Beatles, Elton John, etc.). Then again, most of those bands/singers weren't specifically pop, instead, they held a wider genre (according to Wikipedia XD).

I really don't care for most modern pop music, but I really hate when people (granted, I was one of them) hate on people like Justin Bieber, Rebecca Black, etc. just because it's mainstream or "cool".

I don't know, maybe I'm over analyzing this.

I think 'pop' can often be more the definition of the artist than the music. Galedeep said it pretty well: I'd consider Adele to be a pop artist, but not necessarily her music. Justin Bieber is a pop artist, but he does acoustic, rap, etc. as well as pop.

In general, my definition of pop music is, unfortunately, a little negative. 'Pop music' brings to mind songs with no real meaning, just bubbly, catchy things with a set structure and a hook. But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy listening to it sometimes.