Have you ever been in a situation where you’re driving a car and a catchy song starts to play on the radio? You hum along subconsciously without being able to figure out why that song got your attention. Wondered why? One possible answer to this question is that you happened to be listening to a Pop song and you fell prey to its infectious catchiness.
‘Pop Music’ is derived from the term ‘popular music’, which often means a type of music that is popular at the time with many different styles. People like pop music for many reasons, but they love it mainly for its engaging rhythm, repetitive lyrics and a musical style that is easy to sing along to. Generally, Pop artists have simple patterns of rhythm incorporated into their songs because the human brain likes patterns and it’s easy to remember that which grabs the listener’s attention. Pop songs are known to sound louder than songs from other genres when played in the same volume because when the artists record their songs, the volume is amplified in the studios so that it can get people’s attention.
Often, people who don’t take Pop music seriously, call it a ‘guilty pleasure’ which means they would inevitably cringe while listening to this music. However, what these people don’t understand is that there is nothing wrong with listening to this genre. All genres are equal and there is a lot of depth to these ‘guilty pleasures’.
Pop Music has many different subgenres to it – indie-pop, electro-pop, folk-pop, country pop and Latin pop, making it one of the most diverse genres of all time. Another reason behind it being considered diverse is the kind of artists who make pop music. They range from high-pitched Ariana Grande to the haunting Billie Eilish. The range is impeccable which gives the listeners more options on their playlist.
Pop Music is also appealing because of its incredible production which is often melodic and easier to access than instrumentation used in other genres. Due to this, many people prefer listening to pop songs during stressful situations like before an exam to calm their nerves or on a happy occasion to celebrate or to have a good cry when they’re feeling down.
Artists that make Pop Music often make music videos to get more people to listen to their songs and it has influenced people into loving this genre even more. These music videos have captivating dance moves performed by the artists which make people want to dance. They often sport flashy costumes that heavily influence the audience’s style in clothes, especially teenagers. Some examples of famous music videos are “Thriller” by Michael Jackson that has some groovy dance moves that everyone tried their hands at, some succeeding and some failing miserably at it. Another example is Britney Spears music video for “Baby One More Time…” in which she wears a costume that has become a huge part of pop culture and a lot of girls have worn a replica of this outfit for occasions like Halloween.
Pop music has been around since the mid-1950s and will not be going anywhere anytime soon as it has become a part of a lot of people’s lives. It’s almost played on every occasion from a wedding to a sad breakup and it will help people get through life one guilty pleasure at a time.
Written by – Saathvik Shreyas
Image credits – Pinterest
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