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This article mainly describes "pop" as used in its more recent sense, as a subgenre of popular music.
Pop music is a common part of popular music, generally featuring memorable melodies with catchy refrains. There is no true form of the genre, being that pop songs are always composed of the most mainstream-friendly, or "poppy", form of another genre just as many popular genres often incorporate elements of the pop mainsteam into their music. Thus, most popular music(in the more general sense)genre's artists generally owe much of their mainstream success to pop music as it does to them. Pop songs often have a 'hook', or one or more musical ideas intended to gain a listener's interest. A hook can be any part of the song: the music, the vocals, the lyrics, or, as is often the case, a combination of all of these. Pop music is usually very accessible to people with a wide range of musical experience.
Etymology and origins
'Pop music', in its more general and older (but also now rarer) sense is a very broad umbrella term. It was created as a synonym of "rock 'n' roll" during the birth of the rock era in the 1950s, in order to separate the then new and controversial form of music from the jazz, gospel, big band music, and classical music that had come before it. Eventually "pop" or "rock 'n' roll" would branch out into many subgenres, subcultures and movements, including progressive rock, punk, disco, hip hop, funk, metal, alternative rock, New Wave, techno, New Age, and soul, and the pop music subgenre primarily discussed in this article.
Image
The image of pop performers is often regarded as being as important as (or, some would say, more important than) their music. Consequently, many pop performers and their managers make elaborate efforts to project a desired image through their clothing, music video clips, the press, and similar methods. Recent boy bands and girl groups have been especially skillful in this regard, with members often chosen and tailored to certain roles and to appeal to different fan bases. Normally, in boys bands each 'boy' is assigned a certain role, like 'the rebel' or 'young one', and these roles determine how they are seen in the media. For example, the rebel will normally do anything that makes him stand out from the group, like wear shirts with rock bands on them or have many tattoos. As for the female's the groups tend to work the same as the boy bands only less extreme. Solo females tend to be dancers and wear shirts that show off their toned stomachs. They are usually innocent about their image at first and as they age become more of a sex symbol.
Production
The production techniques of pop music generally follow the prevailing musical fashions. Generally, underground, non-mainstream music sub-genres have the biggest influence on mainstream pop production. The most sought-after producers of today are quite often those at the forefront of very left-field culture. Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and other pop artists from recent years have strong hip hop and R&B influences, which further gave way to urban pop. One current underground influence at present is the re-emergence of synthesizers.
The success of pop music
Successful pop music may be measured in terms of its commercial success. As a result, it is often performed by charismatic performers who look attractive, are fashionable, and are able to dance well. Songwriting and arranging is sometimes done by professional songwriters rather than the performers themselves, (although it should be noted that the performers just as often do their own writing and arranging) and some producers have influence in the production and presentation of the final product.
Criticism of pop music
Perhaps due to its increasing commercialization, pop music is often criticized for being entertaining while lacking serious musical value and artistic significance. This is typically attributed by detractors to record companies' financial considerations being placed above artistic considerations, by hand-picking the artists and songs that will have a broad appeal and maximise profits. Sometimes - in the case of the British pop group Hear'Say, for example - young and fashionable people who have little or no prior knowledge of the music industry are transformed into a band that sells music and related merchandise to a preteen or teenage audience. A consequence of this commercialization is that genres which attain credibility as styles in their own right are often no longer considered 'pop'; artists within that genre, as well as their fans, sometimes strive to separate themselves from the commercial aspect of current pop music.
Lip-synching
Lip-synching is a particular target of criticism from pop detractors. The performers often argue that it is not an issue of them lacking singing talent. Rather, they say, it is difficult to dance, perform, and sing simultaneously and satisfactorily, so they play recorded music in the background in order to ensure that the performance is aurally consistent. However, some critics maintain that, in a live performance, the creation of music (be it sung, instrumental, or both) should receive precedence over other factors, such as dancing or theatrics. One singing Group often criticised for the lip-synch approach is Milli Vanilli, which was one of the most famous lip-synching scandal ever. in 1980, when Frank Farian experimented with having one group of people sing the songs, and another, more telegenic, group perform at concerts and advertise the band. The result, Milli Vanilli, was very popular until it was revealed that the band did not actually sing on their stage performances or recordings. Several notable allegations of lip-synching have been recently targeted at Ashlee Simpson (due to her poor performances on Saturday Night Live and the 2005 Orange Bowl), Eminem (accused of lip-synching on SNL the week after Simpson's performance), and Lindsay Lohan (who was booed off a karaoke stage while singing her hit single "Rumors").
Themes
The most popular subject for pop music is love; almost exclusively, heterosexual love. Typically, many pop songs express one person's love for another person, or show the artist's sorrow or sadness at losing a loved one or breaking up with a lover. Some other pop songs send a message of defiance to those who disapprove of the singer's affection for another. Still others project a lack of regret for a breakup or argument. Some more "raunchy" themes involve sex, sometimes expressing one person's desire to have sex with another(A typical example is the song "Bad Touch" by the band called "The Bloodhound Gang").
Well-known artists
Well-known pop musicians include Michael Jackson (known as the King of Pop), Madonna (Queen of Pop), Kylie Minogue (Princess of Pop), Cher, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey and from earlier days Barry Manilow, Barbra Streisand, Paul Whiteman, and Rudy Vallee. Many of today's pop stars have either modeled themselves or been modeled after these famous and successful stars due to their commercial popularity.
There has also been a strong tendency among specific genres in different time periods to have artists "cross over" into the mainstream (i.e. CCM in the 80s and country music in the 90s). Crossover artists who have enjoyed mainstream success include Amy Grant, Shania Twain, Faith Hill, and Sam Cooke. Still other artists are able to enjoy mainstream success without deliberately trying to cross over.
Now, many teenage artists, like Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan have emerged in the music scene, and are well-received by teenage girls. Televised singing competitions like Pop Idol and American Idol are also well-received.
See also
External links
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
- Pop and Rock - an analysis of pop and rock music forms and techniques.
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