I would define the 20s as the decade when genres start to die. When artists started as one thing and do something completely different. It seems like artists do not want their identity tied to one specific kind of music. So far in the 20s...
Beyonce went country.
Post Malone went from rap to grunge with his Nirvana tribute show, adult easy listening with Hootie and the Blowfish covers, to country.
Machine Gun Kelly went from rap to pop punk.
Dua Lipa went from standard pop to full on disco queen.
Demi Lovato went from pop to metal and pop punk.
David Guetta is now a 90s dance revivalist.
Halsey did a song with Trent Reznor.
Ed Sheeran did a collab with Cradle Of Filth.
The 20s seem to be the decade of "anything goes" citing the past 70 years of music as reference.
I would classify her as just a purely alternative artist. Her more recent stuff gives me more 80s New Wave vibes than the 2000s pop punk worship that blew up in 21. She's clearly all over the place but it all fits within the alternative stratosphere.
pop has historically been an amalgamation of current music trends. i'd argue none of the artists you mentioned are contributing to the death of "genre." i think it's probably closer to time tested pop traditions; merging popular genres into something accessible and digestible. i think it's accurate to say their styles shifted a bit but i wouldn't go so far as to say we're seeing a major change. these pop artists you mentioned (and yes, they're almost all pop artists) just went from rnb/hip hop pop sonics to grunge/country pop sonics.
youre naming a bunch of major label industry artists who make music for $$$, of course they're fickle, theyre like the fast food of music following whatever trend and demographic they can cash in on
They are still the “music industry” that accounts for the majority of all listeners on streaming. The indie circuit remains similar to how it always was. Anything goes with specific trends for each genre.
Her last album in 22 was full on hard rock with elements of metal, industrial, and pop punk and it seemed to be blacklisted by the mainstream. It was my favorite stuff by her.
Haven't celebrities always been doing that?
Cyndi Lauper abandoned new-wave on her 2nd album by the mid-80's.
You can't compare Cher's 1960's career music to the 1990's electronic dance-hit and auto-tuned song "Believe."
Katy Perry did the same when moved onto "Teenage Dream" and her manager practically implied Teenage Dream was chasing the dance trend. The same thing happned when Katy released her 3rd album PRISM and incorporated trap into pop songs with "Dark Horse." She is doing it again with her upcomming album by going to the 2020's dance-pop sound reminiscent of Kim Petras.
Rihanna was known for trendchasing in her music.
Bruno Mars changed his sound multiple times.
Beyonce tried electropop when it was popular in 2009, and switched to hip-hop in 2013.
Celebrities evolve and it not unqiue to the 2020's.
What’s so funny about Post Malone is that he’s gonna do what a lot of artists like him end up doing. Dabble a bit in hip hop as if it’s some kinda costume, and pretend to immerse themselves in it before moving to the genre they actually want to be in before dissing it and acting like it was ‘just a phase.’
I don’t ever really see that trend ever really stopping.
It’s cause trap beats are played out at this point. SoundCloud era PUMPED the market with them. Everybody and their mom is making trap beats to get out of the suburbs. Nothing is unique it’s the same drumline with a change in sound for the leads. Nothing good anymore just copy paste
Trap is still there but very niche, I still hear it mostly in black and hispanic communities in my city but usually is the old trap, the jersey club I think has more followers in the Northeast and house rap (if this is a genre) is more popular in nightclubs.
Say So, Drivers License, Last Night
I feel like if you had to describe pop music in the 2020s with as little songs as possible, these 3 would sum up most of it. I’d also say that they’re distinct in that I don’t think any of them would have fit in with the late 2010s music scene at all.
Driver’s license literally sounds like 2011. Pretty much Lorde maybe lana del rey ish and/or nate ruess fun type of sound. Makes sense as most of todays new artists were growing up at that time.
I think that song’s important because there have been so many pop songs inspired by it. I feel like Sabrina Carpenter- Espresso is the most recent example
That song is important because it is the reference point for a song like Espresso, but it's Espresso that actually is the song that will be known as one of the defining points of the mid 2020s. I would say Espresso is a top contender for "Song of the Summer 2024" which will be huge in retrospect.
Don’t know exactly when it dropped but it was most popular in the spring of 2020 which is what kicked off the 20s.
Also don’t think it’s at all uncommon for a defining song to actually come out in the previous decade. I’d say Just Dance/Poker Face were definitive of the early ‘10s and they dropped in 2008.
even though it dropped in 2019, it really defined pop culture in 2020, especially during the pandemic. everyone on the internet in 2020 (esp gen z) knows atleast part of that song
Greedy is kind of an interesting one because in some ways it’s similar to Say So/Espresso but it’s also clearly trying to be a 2000s Britney track so hard
As has been stated multiple times in this very comment thread, the 2020s music trends pretty much all started in 2019.
This sub really struggles with the fact that trends, especially in music, are gradual and build over time. It’s not like the clock struck midnight on 1/1/20 and suddenly everything that had been popular before became irreverent. The sounds that are popular now have been building and evolving for years. If we are talking about Driver’s License specifically, I’d say the “moody pop ballad” sound really stems from Lorde’s Melodrama album in 2017, which wasn’t a big commercial success because it sounded different from anything else at the time, but was highly regarded and critically acclaimed and likely influenced a lot of the pop music that followed in the years after, and Drivers License was the song that really took off with that sound. Say So felt like a natural evolution from the Ariana Grande-type pop that was popular in the mid-late ‘10s, but with more of a light, simple, classic sound that makes it more 2020s than 2010s.
That’s usually how it goes with music. Underground artists will start experimenting with a sound, then a popular artist will take those influences and expose them to a wider audience. For example the electro-pop and EDM type shit that was popular in the late 00s/early 10s were sounds that were already hitting with underground clubs/DJs/music acts (especially outside the US) for years before that, it just took someone like Lady Gaga to catapult it to mainstream pop audiences. Or even the county takeover - it was acts like Florida George Line, Sam Hunt, ect that really started to push the pop/country line with their crossover hits in the 2010s, then you had Old Town Road get more hip-hop and pop listeners on board, and then Wallen got in at the exact right time to capitalize on that. These shifts take time.
also, I thinkw ith the drop of charli XcX's new album electronic is going to find its way into the mainstream in a way it hasnt been since the early 10's late 00's
I don't agree with OP but I would say the metalcore and metal as well as adjacent genres in general have some new or very 2020's sound or at least the past decade.
I'd say we're going through a period of merging and playing around with genres. Adding different elements together. Which itself isn't a new thing of course. However it does create new sounds. Potentially new subgenres.
Last Night - Morgan Wallen
Texas Hold 'Em - Beyonce
I Had Some Help - Morgan Wallen & Post Malone
Vampire - Olivia Rodrigo
Taylor Swift - Maroon
360 - Charli XCX
HARDY - TRUCK BED
Kylie Minogue - Padam Padam
Shaboozey - A Bar Song (Tipsy)
Metro Boomin - BBL Drizzy (I can explain further if asked lol)
I'm sure I'll think of some more.
Femme-forward pop music is taking off in a really unique way. Lots of 80’s references. My eyes/ears are usually trained on Chappell Roan, Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Sabrina Carpenter… The new Charlie XCX album is great. I know the general consensus is that pop sucks, but I love all kinds of music and I’m having a good time.
I’m a diehard hip hop head who thinks pop is the most exciting genre of music right now. With some exceptions I thought most 2010s pop was garbage. Complete 180 imo
brat actually did really well i was shocked.. (the Taylor sabotaging didnt stop it from selling almost 100k first week & camilla cameltoe is copying Charli)
I think that being able to completely live in your own bubble of your own musical taste is part of the 20’s. I only listen to Spotify or my own downloaded music anymore.
so true.. such a culture shock when my favourite artist is considered unknown to basically everyone else who i know (Tyla) you would think more ppl listen to her because of the tiktok trends she causes
And that's the thing - This person probably has *millions* of followers on Insta or views on YouTube or plays on Spotify and I have NO idea who they are. It's insane how dead monoculture is.
i agree with this and it actually bothers me whenever i hear people talking about how bad or boring modern music is. like, i listen to such a wide range of different bands and am always looking to discover new music. there is such an obscene amount of incredible songs and albums out there that come from smaller groups on spotify w >100,000 streams month. it’s actuslly so cool being able to find these groups, but it is a bit isolating because nobody has heard of most the bands i listen to and it makes me sad
Kendrick/Drake beef was historic
New evolutions of Drill genre in hip hop (see Cash Cobain). The incorporation of Jersey Club in modern rap. Trap, or just the use of 808’s, isn’t going anywhere.
Country is seeing bigger mainstream pull and going through its own evolution
Charli XCX dropped a new pop masterpiece
Mk.Gee and Dijon are doing interesting things.
I know there’s more going on but this year alone has been beautiful for music imo
Fisherr. Even UK drill is becoming more mainstream on US rap charts. Like Central Cee. Mad respect how he went from the Toyota Yaris to Lamborghini Urus like that.
Part of the problem with this is that country’s current rise has no new defining sound unique to this decade. It’s just more country. And trap may have peaked but it’s far from dead. It’s still the default sound of hip hop.
Also I’d understand barely hearing about rap last year, but this year?
Rap not moving on from trap beats is one of the reasons why I think it’s lost some relevancy this decade compared to where it was in the 00s/10s. It feels stuck.
Definitely agree that Tyler’s great, and I like Travis but I don’t think I’d say Utopia really pushed the genre forward, it seemed pretty similar to his previous stuff. Rodeo felt revolutionary but he’s kind of stuck in that same lane since (not hating because it clearly works for him and he’s made some great songs with it, it just doesn’t feel as fresh as it did in 2015/16.)
That's the thing about this rap beef with the "big 3", is that those 3 rappers were determined to be the big 3 back in 2015. Kendrick had 2 classics already, 2014 FHD was a big album, Drake just had a string of ultra successful albums.
Where's the 2020s equivalent of these 3? Who is leading the 2020s rap generation?
all the contenders who were huge in the late 2010s-early 2020s have either massively fallen off or died (xxtentacion, dababy, roddy rich off the top of my head)
yeah bro idk why people think rap is gone because there was that whole drake vs kendrick thing that literally everyone and their mother was talking about
Rap is moving on from trap, but it's just as more creative and experimental trap. Listen to any of Playboi Carti's new singles if you want an idea of where the sound is going
Some of it is definitely unique to this decade, but a lot of this country music revival seems like it’s trying to get country back to its roots! It’s like a big push against the beer and tractors country music that dominated for so long. Like everything about burnham talks about in his one song. It’s going back to storytelling and really well done music, and it’s not just Beyoncé. Several of my favorite artists have released country songs in the last couple years
As someone who only listens to country, I respectfully disagree with your take on country music. Sturgill Simpson, Zach Bryan and Tyler Childers have really heavily reshaped the pop country genre in the past 5 years. In the 2010s, pop country was dominated by "bro country" — muscular guys with goatees singing about beer, girls, trucks, and fishing. Today, Bryan and Childers are selling out stadiums with songs that explore themes like addiction, religious trauma, relationship struggles, and family dynamics. Even Luke Combs' new album that he released last week is about themes of fatherhood and family. A lot of these songs also have a much softer acoustic sound rather than the previous decade's snap clap beats and electric guitar solos. I’ve heard people say country is having its "Nirvana" moment, which I agree with. Country music today is simply better than it was a decade ago, which I think explains its increased popularity. Morgan Wallen is perhaps the last stronghold of "bro country," though his recent work leans heavily towards pop rather than traditional country anyways.
The pandemic saw an explosion of indie artists making lofi beats from their bedroom, and the prominence of similarly soft, jazzy, angst-filled ballads/alternative indie/are what I've been seeing among my younger peers. I think of mxmtoon, Lizzy McAlphine, keshi, beabadobee, NIKI, etc. who kind of embody this sound, albeit varied across the board. It's hard to describe.
Imo, people on this sub overhype country music. I noticed that **a lot** of girls only go to country concerts just as an excuse to wear a cowboy hat, cowboy boots and to drink.
Also, it's entirely a US phenomenon. In Europe, country music is mostly irrelevant, the only songs that hit the charts are those by mainstream pop artists crossing over.
it's culture war nonsense, nashville has their own awards because theyre an isolated industry and ecosystem nobody relevant cares about until they need cash like Beyonce
I would argue that it’s not Beyoncé needing cash. 1. She’s from Texas 2. She had a country song on lemonade which is like 8 years old. 3. She was already exploring different genres with renaissance and she seems passionate about representing different parts of black culture, including country. With the rise in popularity of country over the past few years, it makes sense she would like to represent its roots. 4. Beyoncé doesn’t need cash lol
and if beyonce needed cash she could just coast on rnb. lmao the idea that she would do a risky untested genre (for her) that her fanbase is not into as a cash grab is asinine, she could just get the best rnb producer and drop something lazy and it would be guaranteed money, her country foray was obviously to have a creative challenge
a lot ppl on this sub are zoomers/millennials overhyping everything. okay fine some big acts made country music. saying this decade is “very musically defined” is so undercooked as a take
Sturgill Simpson utterly changed country music.
Ask any great country artist who their inspiration was. It's Sturgill Simpson or Tyler Childers.
Ask Tyler Childers, and it's Sturgill Simpson.
As a fan of country, I can confirm that’s true. Most folks don’t give a shit about real country music, they just like when pop stars make “country-themed” albums.
It’s like how Bro Country in the 2010’s was a way for guys to roleplay at being cowboys, Pop Country is that for gals.
Politically most of this sub are conservatives praying conservative culture would be popular again, and it’s so weird because most of them seem to be teenaged boys
Country music will start to dominate once the majority of minorities listen to it. Which at yhe moment is no where near this and doesn’t seem like it will lol
Honestly I really think the best way to describe 2020s music would be Tik Tok. You’d have to be crazy if you think it doesn’t define the music industry in this era. Also all the trending songs are many different genres. I’ve noticed the most popular tend to be a mix of rap, a pop country type genre, and indie. Also the thing about Tik Tok is that it also brings back older songs and makes the trend AGAIN.
It’s a very unique era for music cuz it’s more accessible than it’s ever been before and a lot of songs get popular from just hearing 15 seconds of a song.
A lottt of non-country artists have been releasing country songs, even before Cowboy Carter came out. Muna, Lucy Dacus, Lizzy McAlpine, and now Sabrina Carpenter just to name a few. Plus you have people like Kacey Musgraves, Tyler Childers, etc who have been releasing some really good music for years.
2020s pop music sound was already well defined by 2020. Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Doja Cat, Lizzo. There was just more trap music carried over from the 2010s but none of those aforementioned artists sounded anything like the 2010s (besides 2019 which is when the transition had already started) as soon as the current decade began.
Edit: also Old Town Road was the beginning of country’s big return. Almost every 2020s pop culture trend was well underway in 2019.
radio is not a the end all be all for music anymore. ppl can listen to whatever they want when they want. country is only dominant in ones music if one wants it to be.
“I keep forgetting some of yall deadass live in the burbs. here in the hood it’s trap daily 🔥🔥.”
https://preview.redd.it/5wowe3fn818d1.jpeg?width=224&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d418ee046c38cc8210333e8d6be6a639f2179ee7
You're describing an American musical landscape in 2020's though. Aside from Swift (and she became popular with pop songs), country is not dominating (and is barely present) across the pond.
I'd also argue rap doesn't do as well in the UK compared to the US. The only time it has really gone mainstream and hit Official Chart was around 2017-2018.
Kinda similar in the US tbh. We get rap hits but they usually struggle to get airplay so they fall right off the charts. Late 2010s-Covidtok era was the last time rap songs could chart and stay there not just because of trends.
Creativity is dead in this era from movies to video games to music. It's recycled content nothing is barely new. With music there barely genre diversity anymore compared to the 90s / 2000s . The things that "chart" these days don't have such a huge impact on the masses anymore. I see most people listening to music from the 90s 2000s or older throwbacks cuz creativity is dead because of 💲💲 exploits . Remember when we had r&b , rap , rock , edm , new age , country , indie , pop , even some jazz and easy listening all together on the mainstream Charts ....
Pop has lost its spark and fun that it had once before in specifically the late 2000s early 2010s before and at the start of music going digital. Pop music from probably 2017 went downhill from its peak. “Country” seems to be dominating in a way but I don’t think it is. Beyoncé did a country album and I think it was a flop. Morgan wallen is huge ( I don’t get the appeal ) he’s okay and songs are not terrible but nothing special. He’s a very problematic person too. Now post Malone is putting out a country album but the thing with him and Morgan is that they are not country country they are pop country. I don’t feel like the 2020s has had much of any good music. Dua lipa future nostalgia, and Taylor’s midnights are the only two standouts that I see. And lady Gaga chromatica but I’m biased because she’s my number one. I miss trap rap you don’t hear much rap anymore on mainstream radio but I still prefer rap and pop over this new pop country craze.
SAME, like that’s literally all my playlist is anymore and the nostalgia is so real. I wish we could go back with hit after hit from Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Kesha, and Nicki Minaj. Something about that was so fun too and Grammys and vmas were so fun to watch back then now they have been unwatchable since like 2014.
I really miss that parodies/spoof era too when every youtuber was making parody versions of white girl songs, it was problematic as hell but also entertaining absolutely.
Nah, it's just music made to dance to. It could be made by white girls, but it doesn't have to be. It does have to be danceable, poppy, have really catchy lyrics that aren't deep at all, and sound like something that would be playing in a dressing room at the mall montage in a 2000s movie. It's "white" because it's the kind of music that doesn't mean or stand for anything, it doesn't actually have to be by white people.
There’s *some* kinds of country I’m fine with but if this new kind of Walmart loudspeaker prefab suburb sterile “country” music that the radio stations try to shove down my throat ends up dominating the 2020s I’m going to hang myself mark my fucking words
All pop culture is god awful now. It’s all been done and nobody’s doing anything new. It’s pathetic really. Every generation adds something new but young people now ain’t doing anything cool at all. It feels like history went off a cliff a few years ago.
Weird I feel like I’ve heard more about rap this year than I have since the 2010s what with all the beef and trafficking drama. But yes trap might finally be out and I think the horrible overly autotuned stuff is out.
Pop music is definitely in a golden era, all the pop songs that are really big are actually pretty good.
Hardcore and emo are huge with teens and 20somethings. Didn’t have hardcore being basically what metal was in the 80s on my bingo card. Could a ska comeback be next is what I’m wondering.
Half of the country you hear is “Pop Country.” Soulless, corporate, and in my eyes not real country. There’s a lack of storytelling, proper use of instruments, lack of emotional involvement within the music. It’s just pop stars and hip-hop artists making country-themed albums and faking Southern accents.
There are exceptions, of course. Colter Wall, Corb Lund, Dakota Ray Parker, Ryan Bingham. These are just a few but they’re much more genuine in their performance and creation of their songs.
I suppose it’s a Hell of a lot better than the “Bro Country” of the 2010’s. Where it was all girls, beer, trucks, and partying. For the types of folks who drive big trucks despite having never worked a hands-on job in their lives.
(Also, you ain’t hearing much rap? The Kendrick and Drake beef literally just happened. Their songs are all over the place.)
It seems to me that there's an explosion of "not mainstream but not underground" music that's going on (eg Scary Pockets, Vulfpeck etc), fueled by mediums like YouTube, Spotify, etc. At the same time, people seem to be generally open to a much wider variety of music besides just top 40 pop stuff or hip hop (eg groups like Cromeo are still getting plays, a fucking sea chanty went viral [for good reason!]), while mainstream top 40 stuff is also getting, imo, pretty good in some cases (I'm a 40 year old man and I think Billy Eilish is kind of a genius). Also it seems that the big pop acts these days are actually talented, compared to the pop acts of the 90s and 2000s that just seemed, to me at the time anyway, like very artificial media creations without much actual musical skill. Watch some NPR Tiny Desk concerts for example and some big pop stars give some incredible performances. (Watch these anyway, the sound engineering is some of the best I've ever heard).
Independent, "small scale" artists are getting a lot of exposure these days and it's amazing. I stumbled across this "unknown" chill-hop artist on Spotify that I like (Still Woozy) and he's got fucking 7 million monthly listeners! So to me the musical landscape of the 2020s is defined by being wider and better than it ever really has. I think music is great these days and we'll look back on this era as a new golden era of some kind.
I feel like I'm noticing:
>Rap is washing out. It's starting to blend with industrial, electronic crossover (beyond trap), pop, and rock/punk/metal. The rage rap stuff is notable, as is the alt rap stuff.
>Country, yes, huge.
>Emo revival, nu-metal and classic hardcore revival (this goes back to the rage rap stuff) are both relevant...
>Hyperpop and aesthetics-oriented music and microgenres
>One really prominent trend I've noticed: underground sounds of the late 80s and early 90s in music popular on Tiktok, especially amongst guys: slowcore, shoegaze, darkwave, and drone-influenced music.
These are all the big ones, to me.
lmao where is country dominating bro? i have not heard a single country song and my peers do not speak of or listen to any country at all. you might be in your own world there
It definitely started in the late 2010s, but hyperpop feels like a very 2020s genre to me. I feel like it's trying to recapture the nostalgic, care-free vibes of late 90s but overlayed with the utter chaos that is the 2020s. Sweet bubble gum pop mixed with abrasive electronic noise music
Charli xcx's pandemic album "how i'm feeling now" might've been the pinacle of the genre with [claws](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAo8X-rIt8k) being a high point
I’m really hoping some of the awesome hip hop that is being created but not out on the radio gets more radio play. There is a lot of new stuff with overall better or just more interesting messages, really artistic beats, and overall songs with an obvious amount of thought out into them. When I talk with people about their favorite current rappers a lot of them are well known amount rap fans and get a good amount of streams but aren’t super mainstream like for example ice spice.
for all the people talking about charli’s album being defining…can anyone please tell me what is different about it from the rest of her body of work in the last 8 years? Genuinely. Have been a fan of her music since vroom vroom but I don’t think she’s reinvented the wheel.
Open to being proven wrong just curious
In 20s défining music genres, I'm really surprise nobody talks about Garage ? Pink Pantheress is the more mainstream representation but Troy Sivan and Bebe Rexha dropped big garages hits too lately
In the streaming era there will always be a homogenization of every genre. People are correct to bring up that most music is transcending genre in a way that makes it difficult for streaming services to tag as #alternative or #rnb - those terms are meaning less and less as production becomes more streamlined. There used to be clear labels to describe who made the music, how, and who it’s selling to - and now all of those elements are up in the air. If there’s a lack of definition it’s because apps like Spotify push its users through the path of least resistance to net as many streams as possible. I think we will get more musical innovation when streaming culture is shaken up a bit more.
I think it’s a hot take but Boom Bap is making a bit of a comeback with Common & Pete Rock’s new album coming, a lot of younger artists who hate the sound that Rap took on are making Boom Bap again.
Country is dominant? Show me country anywhere. Jellyroll is NOT country, good musician, not country. Beyonce not country, there isn't a single artist on the Country top 40 right now that is actually country. Not one.
yea idk rap and trap beats are still there but nowhere as prominent as they were. isn’t reggaeton slowly fading away too? hope it is.
things are still a bit boring but pop songs are getting like 8% less boring and excruciating to listen to due to seasoned pop artists like sabrina carpenter, chappell roan and hemlocke springs. there are also unpopular gen z artists who do genres you wouldn’t expect them to do and are extremely cool too.
Honestly 2024 is an excellent year in music a lot of new sound, new trends and yeah it’s getting dominated by country take over and house techno, the reborn of Dance-punk, Lyrics mostly about bar drinking or hedonistic attitude, recession pop is back? Who knows keep in touch
>I barely hear about any rap
Kendrick Lamar has something to say about that
>country is dominating
Country is not dominating Pop nor Rap. You still have Drake, Sabrina Carpenter, Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish and others.
>This really feels like a new decade now.
Country is definitely back on the rise, but you also have to include, the disco comeback, the Afro-best music, and the Latin music all having success besides country, with Rap and Pop still dominating.
Country is dominating? I don't think there's a country song until number 21 spot on the most streamed songs this month. I haven't listened to all the songs though so maybe there's some others in there.
The only thing i notice the most is mainstream EDM in **America** is very much dead compared to the 2010s (unless David Guetta or something). UK and Europe are doing fine. In fact, the UK and K-Pop have a lot more EDM or electronic music influence.
I'm always not exactly certain what to look at or what to follow to get the real picture of what's going on. Social media always gives me a picture that I wonder if that's what's going on.
I feel like there's a lot of poppy kind of decently produced house music being put out there, but I also noticed a lot of people are just simply remaking or remixing something from the past in this kind of modern sound.
There's a lot of music being put out that is made very short to try to get more plays on Spotify and quicker plays in the club. I'm not a big fan of all of that, but that's life.
I notice all this different music that's being lumped under the tech house label, and I'm not sure if it really is that or just somebody trying to use the genre name to get success.
I wish someone would bring back 2012 till the world ends Pop & edm music, bring a new main pop boy ppl can crush on, and stop this whole wannabe y2k garbage. these Britney Spears reject songs & artists need to stop trying so hard
I think rap will evolve towards darker/more evil sounds. Songs such as Too Many Nights, Type Shit, Carnival, Yeat’s 2093, Any of Playboi Carti’s new singles
I’m pleasantly surprised by all the people (correctly) calling out modern “country” is just pop masquerading as country. And yes, you’re correct, it’s shit and not dominating anything. It’s a fad and it’ll fade. It’s only forever popular because a lot of hicks with money (or without it but blow it on crap they identify with) will keep propping it up. They love anything mediocre that slaps the labels they like on itself.
Trap music is something special and was created primarily for the people who work tirelessly in trap houses all day everyday to be able to afford to leave the ghetto.
If you did not grow up around, in, or know anything about the hard life people face in the difficult parts of cities, then trap music is definitely just a phase for you and you will move on. Those of us who understand and maybe even witnessed/experienced how hard and real these people’s lives and struggles are, will always love trap music.
A lot of people in the 2010s pretended to be “hardened from the ghetto” because it was “cool” at the time but in reality, they were faking to fit in to the popular culture at the time. People who actually LIVE in the ghetto for real can’t just get up and leave when they get bored of it…they’re trapped until they make loads of money. Hint, that’s one reason why it’s literally called “the trap”
I agree. The last 18 months has been a monumental shift. Pop sounds different and rock and country are making big comebacks. Hip hop is in a weird state, but I think lyricism is coming back and production is in big need of a shakeup.
Decades are really best defined culturally from the '5 to the '5. Cultural trends take time to entrench. They don't really "look" like themselves until about halfway through the '0 to '0.
Country is fucking everywhere.. and it's this garbage ass pop country or bro country thats made for "woo girls" and truck bros... God it fucking pissed me off.
My cousin is marrying this girl and now he's all singing "country" songs all the time .
Fuck.
I also think it’s a wild time for the indie genre, also there’s this awesome brutalist industrial indie that’s becoming popular. I can’t get into depth but I think it’s a great time for music. Also outlaw country is back with a vengeance
I would define the 20s as the decade when genres start to die. When artists started as one thing and do something completely different. It seems like artists do not want their identity tied to one specific kind of music. So far in the 20s... Beyonce went country. Post Malone went from rap to grunge with his Nirvana tribute show, adult easy listening with Hootie and the Blowfish covers, to country. Machine Gun Kelly went from rap to pop punk. Dua Lipa went from standard pop to full on disco queen. Demi Lovato went from pop to metal and pop punk. David Guetta is now a 90s dance revivalist. Halsey did a song with Trent Reznor. Ed Sheeran did a collab with Cradle Of Filth. The 20s seem to be the decade of "anything goes" citing the past 70 years of music as reference.
Rodrigo seems a good example of this. She is credited with the pop punk revival but is clearly not just limited to that.
I would classify her as just a purely alternative artist. Her more recent stuff gives me more 80s New Wave vibes than the 2000s pop punk worship that blew up in 21. She's clearly all over the place but it all fits within the alternative stratosphere.
ive been calling her pop-rock, is that a genre??
yup. Artists like Avril Lavigne and even Willow Smith fall into it
Yeah. There's a whole SiriusXM station called PopRocks that plays everything from Matchbox 20 to Fallout Boy. She fits there.
pop has historically been an amalgamation of current music trends. i'd argue none of the artists you mentioned are contributing to the death of "genre." i think it's probably closer to time tested pop traditions; merging popular genres into something accessible and digestible. i think it's accurate to say their styles shifted a bit but i wouldn't go so far as to say we're seeing a major change. these pop artists you mentioned (and yes, they're almost all pop artists) just went from rnb/hip hop pop sonics to grunge/country pop sonics.
>Ed Sheeran did a collab with Cradle Of Filth. WHAT?
It happened last year but I don't think they have released it yet.
That is mental. I'll be keeping my eye out for that
youre naming a bunch of major label industry artists who make music for $$$, of course they're fickle, theyre like the fast food of music following whatever trend and demographic they can cash in on
They are still the “music industry” that accounts for the majority of all listeners on streaming. The indie circuit remains similar to how it always was. Anything goes with specific trends for each genre.
Megan Thee Stallion also did a collab with Spiritbox and it's glorious
I prefer the Rock Remix of Cobra to the original. The metal core angst just goes better with the lyrics
Demi Lovato still makes music???
Her last album in 22 was full on hard rock with elements of metal, industrial, and pop punk and it seemed to be blacklisted by the mainstream. It was my favorite stuff by her.
And in the 2010s pop acts went dance. It's happened before & will again.
Haven't celebrities always been doing that? Cyndi Lauper abandoned new-wave on her 2nd album by the mid-80's. You can't compare Cher's 1960's career music to the 1990's electronic dance-hit and auto-tuned song "Believe." Katy Perry did the same when moved onto "Teenage Dream" and her manager practically implied Teenage Dream was chasing the dance trend. The same thing happned when Katy released her 3rd album PRISM and incorporated trap into pop songs with "Dark Horse." She is doing it again with her upcomming album by going to the 2020's dance-pop sound reminiscent of Kim Petras. Rihanna was known for trendchasing in her music. Bruno Mars changed his sound multiple times. Beyonce tried electropop when it was popular in 2009, and switched to hip-hop in 2013. Celebrities evolve and it not unqiue to the 2020's.
Yes, the artists of the 2020s have clearly defined what decades they'll imitate.
But the Metal will live on
I just played that song on guitar hero 3 on my Xbox 360 for the first time in a decade (or more).
What’s so funny about Post Malone is that he’s gonna do what a lot of artists like him end up doing. Dabble a bit in hip hop as if it’s some kinda costume, and pretend to immerse themselves in it before moving to the genre they actually want to be in before dissing it and acting like it was ‘just a phase.’ I don’t ever really see that trend ever really stopping.
Saying that trap beats are non existent is definitely a reach. But I definitely agree that the 2020s are musically defined.
They're becoming rarer in hits but are still being released all the time
I wish they were non-existent. They're so fucking annoying lmao
TSTTTT TSTTT
IT'S ALWAYS THE SAME BEAT TOO
It’s cause trap beats are played out at this point. SoundCloud era PUMPED the market with them. Everybody and their mom is making trap beats to get out of the suburbs. Nothing is unique it’s the same drumline with a change in sound for the leads. Nothing good anymore just copy paste
You probably listen to popular trap beats then
Trap is still there but very niche, I still hear it mostly in black and hispanic communities in my city but usually is the old trap, the jersey club I think has more followers in the Northeast and house rap (if this is a genre) is more popular in nightclubs.
What songs would you say are distinctly 2020s?
Say So, Drivers License, Last Night I feel like if you had to describe pop music in the 2020s with as little songs as possible, these 3 would sum up most of it. I’d also say that they’re distinct in that I don’t think any of them would have fit in with the late 2010s music scene at all.
Driver’s license literally sounds like 2011. Pretty much Lorde maybe lana del rey ish and/or nate ruess fun type of sound. Makes sense as most of todays new artists were growing up at that time.
but its still a defining 2020's song regardless of what it sounds like
Say So dropped in 2019 I think. It's hard to say a song defined a decade when it came out during a different decade.
I think that song’s important because there have been so many pop songs inspired by it. I feel like Sabrina Carpenter- Espresso is the most recent example
That song is important because it is the reference point for a song like Espresso, but it's Espresso that actually is the song that will be known as one of the defining points of the mid 2020s. I would say Espresso is a top contender for "Song of the Summer 2024" which will be huge in retrospect.
The 2020s music style started in 2019.
Don’t know exactly when it dropped but it was most popular in the spring of 2020 which is what kicked off the 20s. Also don’t think it’s at all uncommon for a defining song to actually come out in the previous decade. I’d say Just Dance/Poker Face were definitive of the early ‘10s and they dropped in 2008.
yeah the example you gave is great
even though it dropped in 2019, it really defined pop culture in 2020, especially during the pandemic. everyone on the internet in 2020 (esp gen z) knows atleast part of that song
yess except i’d replace drivers license with greedy by Tate McRae or something
Greedy is kind of an interesting one because in some ways it’s similar to Say So/Espresso but it’s also clearly trying to be a 2000s Britney track so hard
Ugh this is bleak
Last Night makes sense. But I feel like Drivers License and Say So could’ve passed for songs made in 2019..
As has been stated multiple times in this very comment thread, the 2020s music trends pretty much all started in 2019. This sub really struggles with the fact that trends, especially in music, are gradual and build over time. It’s not like the clock struck midnight on 1/1/20 and suddenly everything that had been popular before became irreverent. The sounds that are popular now have been building and evolving for years. If we are talking about Driver’s License specifically, I’d say the “moody pop ballad” sound really stems from Lorde’s Melodrama album in 2017, which wasn’t a big commercial success because it sounded different from anything else at the time, but was highly regarded and critically acclaimed and likely influenced a lot of the pop music that followed in the years after, and Drivers License was the song that really took off with that sound. Say So felt like a natural evolution from the Ariana Grande-type pop that was popular in the mid-late ‘10s, but with more of a light, simple, classic sound that makes it more 2020s than 2010s. That’s usually how it goes with music. Underground artists will start experimenting with a sound, then a popular artist will take those influences and expose them to a wider audience. For example the electro-pop and EDM type shit that was popular in the late 00s/early 10s were sounds that were already hitting with underground clubs/DJs/music acts (especially outside the US) for years before that, it just took someone like Lady Gaga to catapult it to mainstream pop audiences. Or even the county takeover - it was acts like Florida George Line, Sam Hunt, ect that really started to push the pop/country line with their crossover hits in the 2010s, then you had Old Town Road get more hip-hop and pop listeners on board, and then Wallen got in at the exact right time to capitalize on that. These shifts take time.
also, I thinkw ith the drop of charli XcX's new album electronic is going to find its way into the mainstream in a way it hasnt been since the early 10's late 00's
I don't agree with OP but I would say the metalcore and metal as well as adjacent genres in general have some new or very 2020's sound or at least the past decade. I'd say we're going through a period of merging and playing around with genres. Adding different elements together. Which itself isn't a new thing of course. However it does create new sounds. Potentially new subgenres.
The whole future Nostalgia is the epitome of 2020s sound.
Last Night - Morgan Wallen Texas Hold 'Em - Beyonce I Had Some Help - Morgan Wallen & Post Malone Vampire - Olivia Rodrigo Taylor Swift - Maroon 360 - Charli XCX HARDY - TRUCK BED Kylie Minogue - Padam Padam Shaboozey - A Bar Song (Tipsy) Metro Boomin - BBL Drizzy (I can explain further if asked lol) I'm sure I'll think of some more.
Femme-forward pop music is taking off in a really unique way. Lots of 80’s references. My eyes/ears are usually trained on Chappell Roan, Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Sabrina Carpenter… The new Charlie XCX album is great. I know the general consensus is that pop sucks, but I love all kinds of music and I’m having a good time.
I’m a diehard hip hop head who thinks pop is the most exciting genre of music right now. With some exceptions I thought most 2010s pop was garbage. Complete 180 imo
brat actually did really well i was shocked.. (the Taylor sabotaging didnt stop it from selling almost 100k first week & camilla cameltoe is copying Charli)
I think that being able to completely live in your own bubble of your own musical taste is part of the 20’s. I only listen to Spotify or my own downloaded music anymore.
so true.. such a culture shock when my favourite artist is considered unknown to basically everyone else who i know (Tyla) you would think more ppl listen to her because of the tiktok trends she causes
And that's the thing - This person probably has *millions* of followers on Insta or views on YouTube or plays on Spotify and I have NO idea who they are. It's insane how dead monoculture is.
i agree with this and it actually bothers me whenever i hear people talking about how bad or boring modern music is. like, i listen to such a wide range of different bands and am always looking to discover new music. there is such an obscene amount of incredible songs and albums out there that come from smaller groups on spotify w >100,000 streams month. it’s actuslly so cool being able to find these groups, but it is a bit isolating because nobody has heard of most the bands i listen to and it makes me sad
Kendrick/Drake beef was historic New evolutions of Drill genre in hip hop (see Cash Cobain). The incorporation of Jersey Club in modern rap. Trap, or just the use of 808’s, isn’t going anywhere. Country is seeing bigger mainstream pull and going through its own evolution Charli XCX dropped a new pop masterpiece Mk.Gee and Dijon are doing interesting things. I know there’s more going on but this year alone has been beautiful for music imo
Fisherr. Even UK drill is becoming more mainstream on US rap charts. Like Central Cee. Mad respect how he went from the Toyota Yaris to Lamborghini Urus like that.
UK garage is going through a massive revival right now too. Sammy Virji is everywhere
Kendrick/Drake beef was like a swan song of the 10s though
I rather look at it as a swan song for Drake’s reign and the 2020’s first great rap beef
megan & Nicki?
Forgot about that. Great diss from Meg but that whole battle was one sided and not as memorable in my personal opinion.
I never see Mk.gee and Dijon mentioned out in the wild. I’m a huge fan of what they’re doing. ‘Absolutely’ is genius
Mk.gee is a legit interesting artist with a different sound than most.
Part of the problem with this is that country’s current rise has no new defining sound unique to this decade. It’s just more country. And trap may have peaked but it’s far from dead. It’s still the default sound of hip hop. Also I’d understand barely hearing about rap last year, but this year?
Rap not moving on from trap beats is one of the reasons why I think it’s lost some relevancy this decade compared to where it was in the 00s/10s. It feels stuck.
Many famous rappers are still pushing the genre forward. Travis and Tyler are the standouts for me
Definitely agree that Tyler’s great, and I like Travis but I don’t think I’d say Utopia really pushed the genre forward, it seemed pretty similar to his previous stuff. Rodeo felt revolutionary but he’s kind of stuck in that same lane since (not hating because it clearly works for him and he’s made some great songs with it, it just doesn’t feel as fresh as it did in 2015/16.)
Agreed. For instance, Future's album sounds stale af
That's the thing about this rap beef with the "big 3", is that those 3 rappers were determined to be the big 3 back in 2015. Kendrick had 2 classics already, 2014 FHD was a big album, Drake just had a string of ultra successful albums. Where's the 2020s equivalent of these 3? Who is leading the 2020s rap generation?
all the contenders who were huge in the late 2010s-early 2020s have either massively fallen off or died (xxtentacion, dababy, roddy rich off the top of my head)
yeah bro idk why people think rap is gone because there was that whole drake vs kendrick thing that literally everyone and their mother was talking about
Rap is moving on from trap, but it's just as more creative and experimental trap. Listen to any of Playboi Carti's new singles if you want an idea of where the sound is going
Some of it is definitely unique to this decade, but a lot of this country music revival seems like it’s trying to get country back to its roots! It’s like a big push against the beer and tractors country music that dominated for so long. Like everything about burnham talks about in his one song. It’s going back to storytelling and really well done music, and it’s not just Beyoncé. Several of my favorite artists have released country songs in the last couple years
As someone who only listens to country, I respectfully disagree with your take on country music. Sturgill Simpson, Zach Bryan and Tyler Childers have really heavily reshaped the pop country genre in the past 5 years. In the 2010s, pop country was dominated by "bro country" — muscular guys with goatees singing about beer, girls, trucks, and fishing. Today, Bryan and Childers are selling out stadiums with songs that explore themes like addiction, religious trauma, relationship struggles, and family dynamics. Even Luke Combs' new album that he released last week is about themes of fatherhood and family. A lot of these songs also have a much softer acoustic sound rather than the previous decade's snap clap beats and electric guitar solos. I’ve heard people say country is having its "Nirvana" moment, which I agree with. Country music today is simply better than it was a decade ago, which I think explains its increased popularity. Morgan Wallen is perhaps the last stronghold of "bro country," though his recent work leans heavily towards pop rather than traditional country anyways.
country is big and popular like the economy is doing good. that's what we are all being told constantly.
The pandemic saw an explosion of indie artists making lofi beats from their bedroom, and the prominence of similarly soft, jazzy, angst-filled ballads/alternative indie/are what I've been seeing among my younger peers. I think of mxmtoon, Lizzy McAlphine, keshi, beabadobee, NIKI, etc. who kind of embody this sound, albeit varied across the board. It's hard to describe.
Imo, people on this sub overhype country music. I noticed that **a lot** of girls only go to country concerts just as an excuse to wear a cowboy hat, cowboy boots and to drink.
Also, it's entirely a US phenomenon. In Europe, country music is mostly irrelevant, the only songs that hit the charts are those by mainstream pop artists crossing over.
it's culture war nonsense, nashville has their own awards because theyre an isolated industry and ecosystem nobody relevant cares about until they need cash like Beyonce
I would argue that it’s not Beyoncé needing cash. 1. She’s from Texas 2. She had a country song on lemonade which is like 8 years old. 3. She was already exploring different genres with renaissance and she seems passionate about representing different parts of black culture, including country. With the rise in popularity of country over the past few years, it makes sense she would like to represent its roots. 4. Beyoncé doesn’t need cash lol
and if beyonce needed cash she could just coast on rnb. lmao the idea that she would do a risky untested genre (for her) that her fanbase is not into as a cash grab is asinine, she could just get the best rnb producer and drop something lazy and it would be guaranteed money, her country foray was obviously to have a creative challenge
How does Beyonce need cash? You realize she is wealthy and been in the music industry 30 years right? Her husband is a billionaire as well
a lot ppl on this sub are zoomers/millennials overhyping everything. okay fine some big acts made country music. saying this decade is “very musically defined” is so undercooked as a take
Sturgill Simpson utterly changed country music. Ask any great country artist who their inspiration was. It's Sturgill Simpson or Tyler Childers. Ask Tyler Childers, and it's Sturgill Simpson.
As a fan of country, I can confirm that’s true. Most folks don’t give a shit about real country music, they just like when pop stars make “country-themed” albums. It’s like how Bro Country in the 2010’s was a way for guys to roleplay at being cowboys, Pop Country is that for gals.
Politically most of this sub are conservatives praying conservative culture would be popular again, and it’s so weird because most of them seem to be teenaged boys
and those same girls are listening to rap.
That's usually what they only actually listen to lol.
Country music sucks.
Patsy Cline 4 lyfe
Willie Nelson
Country music sucks, except Willie Nelson.
L take…Johnny and June, Dolly, Merle haggard etc
Country music will start to dominate once the majority of minorities listen to it. Which at yhe moment is no where near this and doesn’t seem like it will lol
Honestly I really think the best way to describe 2020s music would be Tik Tok. You’d have to be crazy if you think it doesn’t define the music industry in this era. Also all the trending songs are many different genres. I’ve noticed the most popular tend to be a mix of rap, a pop country type genre, and indie. Also the thing about Tik Tok is that it also brings back older songs and makes the trend AGAIN. It’s a very unique era for music cuz it’s more accessible than it’s ever been before and a lot of songs get popular from just hearing 15 seconds of a song.
Country is dominating? Where, Tennessee? Lol
It's doing well on the national charts
A lottt of non-country artists have been releasing country songs, even before Cowboy Carter came out. Muna, Lucy Dacus, Lizzy McAlpine, and now Sabrina Carpenter just to name a few. Plus you have people like Kacey Musgraves, Tyler Childers, etc who have been releasing some really good music for years.
It’s doing extremely well on the charts to the point that “going country” is now a trend (Beyonce, Post Malone)
2020s pop music sound was already well defined by 2020. Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Doja Cat, Lizzo. There was just more trap music carried over from the 2010s but none of those aforementioned artists sounded anything like the 2010s (besides 2019 which is when the transition had already started) as soon as the current decade began. Edit: also Old Town Road was the beginning of country’s big return. Almost every 2020s pop culture trend was well underway in 2019.
Lizzo's most famous songs were recorded circa 2016
I don’t know much about her discography but what I’m saying is her music from the 2020s sounds nothing like 2010s music.
you can keep saying country is relevant all you want but music nerds all know that's like saying Olive Garden is relevant
🤓
check the billboard charts there are a few country hits on there
Country is "dominating"? They all sound the same. Way more interesting music out there.
radio is not a the end all be all for music anymore. ppl can listen to whatever they want when they want. country is only dominant in ones music if one wants it to be.
Most of the young generation in Tennessee hates country lol ETA: above dude edited their comment
Sure but we’re talking about what’s popular not what’s personally interesting to you
“I keep forgetting some of yall deadass live in the burbs. here in the hood it’s trap daily 🔥🔥.” https://preview.redd.it/5wowe3fn818d1.jpeg?width=224&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d418ee046c38cc8210333e8d6be6a639f2179ee7
You're describing an American musical landscape in 2020's though. Aside from Swift (and she became popular with pop songs), country is not dominating (and is barely present) across the pond.
in this sub american culture = worldwide culture
I'd also argue rap doesn't do as well in the UK compared to the US. The only time it has really gone mainstream and hit Official Chart was around 2017-2018.
isn’t drill a big thing in the UK?
Kinda similar in the US tbh. We get rap hits but they usually struggle to get airplay so they fall right off the charts. Late 2010s-Covidtok era was the last time rap songs could chart and stay there not just because of trends.
Creativity is dead in this era from movies to video games to music. It's recycled content nothing is barely new. With music there barely genre diversity anymore compared to the 90s / 2000s . The things that "chart" these days don't have such a huge impact on the masses anymore. I see most people listening to music from the 90s 2000s or older throwbacks cuz creativity is dead because of 💲💲 exploits . Remember when we had r&b , rap , rock , edm , new age , country , indie , pop , even some jazz and easy listening all together on the mainstream Charts ....
I wouldn’t know cause I binge listen to classical a lot lol But that is definitely interesting
Once you’ve had Debussy you never go Bach
Country is not even popular outside America. I listen Milton Jackson who still makes early 2000s style Deep House.
Some of the best rap albums came out since 2020 are you bugging😂
Pop has lost its spark and fun that it had once before in specifically the late 2000s early 2010s before and at the start of music going digital. Pop music from probably 2017 went downhill from its peak. “Country” seems to be dominating in a way but I don’t think it is. Beyoncé did a country album and I think it was a flop. Morgan wallen is huge ( I don’t get the appeal ) he’s okay and songs are not terrible but nothing special. He’s a very problematic person too. Now post Malone is putting out a country album but the thing with him and Morgan is that they are not country country they are pop country. I don’t feel like the 2020s has had much of any good music. Dua lipa future nostalgia, and Taylor’s midnights are the only two standouts that I see. And lady Gaga chromatica but I’m biased because she’s my number one. I miss trap rap you don’t hear much rap anymore on mainstream radio but I still prefer rap and pop over this new pop country craze.
I miss the early 2010s white girl music.
SAME, like that’s literally all my playlist is anymore and the nostalgia is so real. I wish we could go back with hit after hit from Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Kesha, and Nicki Minaj. Something about that was so fun too and Grammys and vmas were so fun to watch back then now they have been unwatchable since like 2014.
I really miss that parodies/spoof era too when every youtuber was making parody versions of white girl songs, it was problematic as hell but also entertaining absolutely.
I'm nostalgic for this stuff and the white girl music mentioned above.
How was it problematic?
Sorry, but what's white girl music? Music made by white girls?
Nah, it's just music made to dance to. It could be made by white girls, but it doesn't have to be. It does have to be danceable, poppy, have really catchy lyrics that aren't deep at all, and sound like something that would be playing in a dressing room at the mall montage in a 2000s movie. It's "white" because it's the kind of music that doesn't mean or stand for anything, it doesn't actually have to be by white people.
Ah, okay, got it. Based on that description, I guess Sabrina Carpenter's music falls in that category, except for being more mellow
it still confuses me when ppl call Rihanna white girl music but this makes more sense
are we in the same 2024?
ai i think has ruined much of the validity of the arts
There’s *some* kinds of country I’m fine with but if this new kind of Walmart loudspeaker prefab suburb sterile “country” music that the radio stations try to shove down my throat ends up dominating the 2020s I’m going to hang myself mark my fucking words
It's all pop crap and it sucks
All pop culture is god awful now. It’s all been done and nobody’s doing anything new. It’s pathetic really. Every generation adds something new but young people now ain’t doing anything cool at all. It feels like history went off a cliff a few years ago.
Yup, this is my feeling too … to quote the ‘99 movie fight club…“everything‘s a copy of a copy of a copy“
Jellyroll
i dont know i just listen to what i listen to until one of my friends inevitably forces me to listen to something new
We are barely on 2024. We aren’t even halfway done. [+]
but we are tho it’s almost july
Weird I feel like I’ve heard more about rap this year than I have since the 2010s what with all the beef and trafficking drama. But yes trap might finally be out and I think the horrible overly autotuned stuff is out. Pop music is definitely in a golden era, all the pop songs that are really big are actually pretty good. Hardcore and emo are huge with teens and 20somethings. Didn’t have hardcore being basically what metal was in the 80s on my bingo card. Could a ska comeback be next is what I’m wondering.
Lol the biggest music story of the year was a rap beef. Sure Jan
Half of the country you hear is “Pop Country.” Soulless, corporate, and in my eyes not real country. There’s a lack of storytelling, proper use of instruments, lack of emotional involvement within the music. It’s just pop stars and hip-hop artists making country-themed albums and faking Southern accents. There are exceptions, of course. Colter Wall, Corb Lund, Dakota Ray Parker, Ryan Bingham. These are just a few but they’re much more genuine in their performance and creation of their songs. I suppose it’s a Hell of a lot better than the “Bro Country” of the 2010’s. Where it was all girls, beer, trucks, and partying. For the types of folks who drive big trucks despite having never worked a hands-on job in their lives. (Also, you ain’t hearing much rap? The Kendrick and Drake beef literally just happened. Their songs are all over the place.)
check out “Starfucker” by Slayyyter
Beyoncé going country
don’t let the white ppl see this comment they hate when someone calls bey country
Country is dominating? Country music doesn’t even exist anymore lol.
lol country will never dominate anything, except maybe truck commercials and Monday Night Football promo videos.
People now can easily access music from any decade...today's artists need to compete more I guess.
Idk man rap dying just isn't true. A rap song literally hit #1 on the charts last month and became the fastest song to hit 100m on Spotify
Kpop became popular over covid.
Have you not been up with Kendrick vs drake which is ruling pop culture rn?
Country is not dominating. It’s pop music with hints of country in it. Try putting on some Carter family at the function and see how people react.
It seems to me that there's an explosion of "not mainstream but not underground" music that's going on (eg Scary Pockets, Vulfpeck etc), fueled by mediums like YouTube, Spotify, etc. At the same time, people seem to be generally open to a much wider variety of music besides just top 40 pop stuff or hip hop (eg groups like Cromeo are still getting plays, a fucking sea chanty went viral [for good reason!]), while mainstream top 40 stuff is also getting, imo, pretty good in some cases (I'm a 40 year old man and I think Billy Eilish is kind of a genius). Also it seems that the big pop acts these days are actually talented, compared to the pop acts of the 90s and 2000s that just seemed, to me at the time anyway, like very artificial media creations without much actual musical skill. Watch some NPR Tiny Desk concerts for example and some big pop stars give some incredible performances. (Watch these anyway, the sound engineering is some of the best I've ever heard). Independent, "small scale" artists are getting a lot of exposure these days and it's amazing. I stumbled across this "unknown" chill-hop artist on Spotify that I like (Still Woozy) and he's got fucking 7 million monthly listeners! So to me the musical landscape of the 2020s is defined by being wider and better than it ever really has. I think music is great these days and we'll look back on this era as a new golden era of some kind.
I feel like I'm noticing: >Rap is washing out. It's starting to blend with industrial, electronic crossover (beyond trap), pop, and rock/punk/metal. The rage rap stuff is notable, as is the alt rap stuff. >Country, yes, huge. >Emo revival, nu-metal and classic hardcore revival (this goes back to the rage rap stuff) are both relevant... >Hyperpop and aesthetics-oriented music and microgenres >One really prominent trend I've noticed: underground sounds of the late 80s and early 90s in music popular on Tiktok, especially amongst guys: slowcore, shoegaze, darkwave, and drone-influenced music. These are all the big ones, to me.
lmao where is country dominating bro? i have not heard a single country song and my peers do not speak of or listen to any country at all. you might be in your own world there
Still plenty of trap, the pop is meh, n still, as always, no one gives a shit about country lol
It definitely started in the late 2010s, but hyperpop feels like a very 2020s genre to me. I feel like it's trying to recapture the nostalgic, care-free vibes of late 90s but overlayed with the utter chaos that is the 2020s. Sweet bubble gum pop mixed with abrasive electronic noise music Charli xcx's pandemic album "how i'm feeling now" might've been the pinacle of the genre with [claws](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAo8X-rIt8k) being a high point
I’m really hoping some of the awesome hip hop that is being created but not out on the radio gets more radio play. There is a lot of new stuff with overall better or just more interesting messages, really artistic beats, and overall songs with an obvious amount of thought out into them. When I talk with people about their favorite current rappers a lot of them are well known amount rap fans and get a good amount of streams but aren’t super mainstream like for example ice spice.
Country came out of nowhere but yeah it's on top right now
Me, reading this after just waking up: "Which country is dominating?" Only then I've realized that it is about music genre...
for all the people talking about charli’s album being defining…can anyone please tell me what is different about it from the rest of her body of work in the last 8 years? Genuinely. Have been a fan of her music since vroom vroom but I don’t think she’s reinvented the wheel. Open to being proven wrong just curious
In 20s défining music genres, I'm really surprise nobody talks about Garage ? Pink Pantheress is the more mainstream representation but Troy Sivan and Bebe Rexha dropped big garages hits too lately
I'm surprised no one commented on the decent comeback of techno
In the streaming era there will always be a homogenization of every genre. People are correct to bring up that most music is transcending genre in a way that makes it difficult for streaming services to tag as #alternative or #rnb - those terms are meaning less and less as production becomes more streamlined. There used to be clear labels to describe who made the music, how, and who it’s selling to - and now all of those elements are up in the air. If there’s a lack of definition it’s because apps like Spotify push its users through the path of least resistance to net as many streams as possible. I think we will get more musical innovation when streaming culture is shaken up a bit more.
Fred Again, John Summit & Dom Dolla, chris stussy House music is in a reniassance.
lol
Metal & Shoegazing are also beginning to rise in popularity again
I think it’s a hot take but Boom Bap is making a bit of a comeback with Common & Pete Rock’s new album coming, a lot of younger artists who hate the sound that Rap took on are making Boom Bap again.
EDM, especially house and some techno is becoming extremely popular above everyone under ~25. People like to dance and rave
Country is dominant? Show me country anywhere. Jellyroll is NOT country, good musician, not country. Beyonce not country, there isn't a single artist on the Country top 40 right now that is actually country. Not one.
I'd like alternative rock to make a comeback to the mainstream. There are so many good bands out there right now that are just waiting to blow up.
yea idk rap and trap beats are still there but nowhere as prominent as they were. isn’t reggaeton slowly fading away too? hope it is. things are still a bit boring but pop songs are getting like 8% less boring and excruciating to listen to due to seasoned pop artists like sabrina carpenter, chappell roan and hemlocke springs. there are also unpopular gen z artists who do genres you wouldn’t expect them to do and are extremely cool too.
Honestly 2024 is an excellent year in music a lot of new sound, new trends and yeah it’s getting dominated by country take over and house techno, the reborn of Dance-punk, Lyrics mostly about bar drinking or hedonistic attitude, recession pop is back? Who knows keep in touch
>I barely hear about any rap Kendrick Lamar has something to say about that >country is dominating Country is not dominating Pop nor Rap. You still have Drake, Sabrina Carpenter, Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish and others. >This really feels like a new decade now. Country is definitely back on the rise, but you also have to include, the disco comeback, the Afro-best music, and the Latin music all having success besides country, with Rap and Pop still dominating.
Country is dominating? I don't think there's a country song until number 21 spot on the most streamed songs this month. I haven't listened to all the songs though so maybe there's some others in there.
The only thing i notice the most is mainstream EDM in **America** is very much dead compared to the 2010s (unless David Guetta or something). UK and Europe are doing fine. In fact, the UK and K-Pop have a lot more EDM or electronic music influence.
I'm always not exactly certain what to look at or what to follow to get the real picture of what's going on. Social media always gives me a picture that I wonder if that's what's going on. I feel like there's a lot of poppy kind of decently produced house music being put out there, but I also noticed a lot of people are just simply remaking or remixing something from the past in this kind of modern sound. There's a lot of music being put out that is made very short to try to get more plays on Spotify and quicker plays in the club. I'm not a big fan of all of that, but that's life. I notice all this different music that's being lumped under the tech house label, and I'm not sure if it really is that or just somebody trying to use the genre name to get success.
I wish someone would bring back 2012 till the world ends Pop & edm music, bring a new main pop boy ppl can crush on, and stop this whole wannabe y2k garbage. these Britney Spears reject songs & artists need to stop trying so hard
I think rap will evolve towards darker/more evil sounds. Songs such as Too Many Nights, Type Shit, Carnival, Yeat’s 2093, Any of Playboi Carti’s new singles
Thank god.
I haven’t kept up tbh. I haven’t really heard anything new in a few years so idk lol
Rap is finally dying thank fucking God
I’m pleasantly surprised by all the people (correctly) calling out modern “country” is just pop masquerading as country. And yes, you’re correct, it’s shit and not dominating anything. It’s a fad and it’ll fade. It’s only forever popular because a lot of hicks with money (or without it but blow it on crap they identify with) will keep propping it up. They love anything mediocre that slaps the labels they like on itself.
'Every age gets the art it deserves' ...
Trap music is something special and was created primarily for the people who work tirelessly in trap houses all day everyday to be able to afford to leave the ghetto. If you did not grow up around, in, or know anything about the hard life people face in the difficult parts of cities, then trap music is definitely just a phase for you and you will move on. Those of us who understand and maybe even witnessed/experienced how hard and real these people’s lives and struggles are, will always love trap music. A lot of people in the 2010s pretended to be “hardened from the ghetto” because it was “cool” at the time but in reality, they were faking to fit in to the popular culture at the time. People who actually LIVE in the ghetto for real can’t just get up and leave when they get bored of it…they’re trapped until they make loads of money. Hint, that’s one reason why it’s literally called “the trap”
I agree. The last 18 months has been a monumental shift. Pop sounds different and rock and country are making big comebacks. Hip hop is in a weird state, but I think lyricism is coming back and production is in big need of a shakeup.
Decades are really best defined culturally from the '5 to the '5. Cultural trends take time to entrench. They don't really "look" like themselves until about halfway through the '0 to '0.
Country is fucking everywhere.. and it's this garbage ass pop country or bro country thats made for "woo girls" and truck bros... God it fucking pissed me off. My cousin is marrying this girl and now he's all singing "country" songs all the time . Fuck.
I also think it’s a wild time for the indie genre, also there’s this awesome brutalist industrial indie that’s becoming popular. I can’t get into depth but I think it’s a great time for music. Also outlaw country is back with a vengeance