Styles of pop music

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Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. [1] The terms popular music and pop music are often used interchangeably, although the former describes all music that is popular and includes many disparate styles. During the 1950s and 1960s, pop music encompassed rock and roll and the youth-oriented styles it influenced. Rock and pop music remained roughly synonymous until the late 1960s, after which pop became associated with music that was more commercial, ephemeral, and accessible.

Contents

Although much of the music that appears on record charts is seen as pop music, the genre is distinguished from chart music. Identifying factors usually include repeated choruses and hooks, short to medium-length songs written in a basic format (often the verse-chorus structure), and rhythms or tempos that can be easily danced to. Much pop music also borrows elements from other styles such as rock, urban, dance, Latin, and country.

Below is a list of styles of pop music.

Stylistic origins

Traditional pop

Traditional pop (also known as classic pop and pre-rock and roll pop) is Western popular music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards or American standards. The works of these songwriters and composers are usually considered part of the canon known as the "Great American Songbook". More generally, the term "standard" can be applied to any popular song that has become very widely known within mainstream culture.

AllMusic defines traditional pop as "post-big band and pre-rock & roll pop music". [2]

Rock and roll

Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. [3] It originated from black American music such as gospel, jump blues, jazz, boogie woogie, rhythm and blues, [4] as well as country music. [5] While rock and roll's formative elements can be heard in blues records from the 1920s [6] and in country records of the 1930s, [5] the genre did not acquire its name until 1954. [7]

Earliest form

Early pop music drew on the sentimental ballad for its form, gained its use of vocal harmonies from gospel and soul music, instrumentation from jazz and rock music, orchestration from classical music, tempo from dance music, backing from electronic music, rhythmic elements from hip-hop music, and spoken passages from rap. [1] [ verification needed ]

Subgenres

Below are genres that exclusively considered as subgenres of pop.

Note that music styles like dance, electronic, opera, and orchestra are not considered as standalone genres.

Art pop

Brill Building

Bubblegum pop

City pop

Cringe pop

Dance-pop

Electropop

Indie pop

Bedroom pop

Sapphic pop

Twee pop

Operatic pop

Orchestral pop

Schlager

Sophisti-pop

Sunshine pop

Teen pop

Wonky pop

Dark pop

Dark pop (often typeset with a hyphen) is a subgenre of pop music that combines elements of alternative and indie with pop music. It is characterized by its dark melancholic sound and minimalistic electronic production. Often dark pop features heavy synths, distorted guitars, and electronic drums. [8]

The trend began in the 1980's with grunge, a genre that also dealt with depressing topics about heartbreak, loss and loneliness, similar to topics expressed in dark pop. By the 1990s, dark pop drew from trip-hop, gothic rock, and avant-garde traditions, evolving and disengaging into a distinct style that emphasized atmospheric texture and introspective storytelling. However dark pop isn't avant-garde, often having a more mainstream sound. Many artists also started to incorporate dark pop with punk, rap and electronic sounds. During the 2010's, these innfusions became prominent as it gained mainstream traction by well known artists such as Rina Sawayama who infused it with electronic club music. A notable dark pop song, that also incorporated electronic sounds is singer and social media personality Bella Poarch's debut single "Build a Bitch". [9] [10] [11] [12]

Fusion genres

Below are styles of pop music that mixed with other standalone genres.

Ambient pop

Country pop

Dancehall pop

Disco-pop

[ citation needed ]

Rolling Stone and The New York Times have used the term disco-pop as early as 1976 and 1978 respectively. The publications referring to songs such as "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" by Elton John and Kiki Dee and "Heart of Gold" by Boney M. while stating the music of the Salsoul Orchestra was "material and arrangements are unalloyed disco pop." [13] [14] Retrospectively, albums such as Michael Jackson's Off the Wall have been referred to as the genre. [15] With the release of Saturday Night Fever 's film and album leading disco music to explode in popularity in 1978. This led to thousands of discotheque moguls and their patrons to mimic what hcontorted versions of dance culture. Tim Lawrence wrote on this phenomnen as interesting, but that "while the initial experience was thrilling, the effect soon began to fade or, worse still, jar. By 1979 the combination of the shrill white disco pop that had come to dominate the charts". [16]

Around the 2000s, some new songs were described as disco-pop, including "Sing It Back" by Moloko, "Murder on the Dancefloor" by Sophie Ellis-Bextor. [17] [18] [19]

Allure stated in 2020 that there was a disco-pop revival in music, such as Dua Lipa's Future Nostalgia and Lady Gaga's Chromatica . [20] Other artists who contributed to the revival included Doja Cat, Victoria Monet, and Jessie Ware. [21]

Folk-pop

Hip pop

House-pop

House-pop (sometimes also called "pop-house") [22] is a crossover of house and dance-pop music that emerged in early '90s. [23] The genre was created to make house music more radio friendly. [24] The characteristic of house-pop is similar to diva house music, like over-the-top vocal acrobatics, bubbly synth riffs, and four-on-the-floor rhythm. House-pop also has hip-hop influence. [23]

Jazz pop

Pop-R&B

Pop rock

Baroque pop

Cowboy pop

Emo pop

Goth pop

Jangle pop

Pop metal

Pop punk

Power pop

Pop soul / Motown

Pop soul / Motown is a genre of soul music that has upbeat tempo and given a commercially viable, crossover production. [26] The vocals are still raw, but the material and the sound of the record could easily fit onto pop radio stations' playlists. Motown was the pioneering label of pop soul, and through much of the 1960s, it was one of the most popular pop music genres. In the 1970s, pop soul became slicker, and it eventually metamorphosed into disco. [27] Luther Vandross is an example of pop soul musician. [28]

Beach pop

Psychedelic pop

Hypnagogic pop

Reggae-pop

Space age pop

Street pop

Street pop, or street hop, is an experimental, hybrid rap genre that blends Nigerian street music, Nigerian hip hop, Afrobeats and pop with African and Western electronic dance music elements like gqom. It features uptempo beats, including slower-paced beats and variation styles. The genre combines Western and Nigerian pop influences to create a distinctive, evolving sound. Key musical artists like Olamide, Asake, Zinoleesky, Naira Marley and Seyi Vibez, highlight its fusion of traditional and modern elements. [29] [30] [31]

Synth-pop

Worldbeat

Below are pop music that related to avant-garde culture.

Experimental pop

Hyperpop

Industrial pop

Noise pop

Progressive pop

Regional scenes and subgenres

Contemporary Christian music

Motown

New wave

Rock music

Smooth jazz

Smooth soul

Other genres

Below are 'pop' genres that are not considered as pop musics.

Avant-pop

Bitpop

Britpop

Chamber pop

Dream pop

Futurepop

Swamp pop

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disco</span> Music genre

Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric piano, synthesizers, and electric rhythm guitars.

House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground club culture that consisted of Black gay men and evolved slowly in the early/mid 1980s as DJs began altering disco songs to give them a more mechanical beat. By early 1988, House became mainstream and supplanted the typical 80s music beat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soul music</span> Genre of music

Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became popular for dancing and listening, and U.S. record labels such as Motown, Atlantic and Stax were influential in its proliferation during the civil rights movement. Soul also became popular worldwide, directly influencing rock music and the music of Africa. It had a resurgence in the mid-to late 1990s with the subgenre neo soul, which incorporated modern production elements and hip hop influences.

Synth-pop is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic, art rock, disco, and particularly the Krautrock of bands like Kraftwerk. It arose as a distinct genre in Japan and the United Kingdom in the post-punk era as part of the new wave movement of the late 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of the United States</span> Music based in the United states

The United States' multi-ethnic population is reflected through a diverse array of styles of music. It is a mixture of music influenced by the music of Europe, Indigenous peoples, West Africa, Latin America, Middle East, North Africa, amongst many other places. The country's most internationally renowned genres are traditional pop, jazz, blues, country, bluegrass, rock, rock and roll, R&B, pop, hip-hop/rap, soul, funk, religious, disco, house, techno, ragtime, doo-wop, folk, americana, boogaloo, tejano, surf, and salsa, amongst many others. American music is heard around the world. Since the beginning of the 20th century, some forms of American popular music have gained a near global audience.

Popular music of the United Kingdom in the 1980s built on the post-punk and new wave movements, incorporating different sources of inspiration from subgenres and what is now classed as world music in the shape of Jamaican and Indian music. It also explored the consequences of new technology and social change in the electronic music of synthpop. In the early years of the decade, while subgenres like heavy metal music continued to develop separately, there was a considerable crossover between rock and more commercial popular music, with a large number of more "serious" bands, like The Police and UB40, enjoying considerable single chart success.

Electro is a genre of electronic dance music directly influenced by the use of the Roland TR-808 drum machines, with an immediate origin in early hip hop and funk genres. Records in the genre typically feature heavy electronic sounds, usually without vocals; if vocals are present, they are delivered in a deadpan manner, often through electronic distortion such as vocoding and talkboxing. It palpably deviates from its predecessor boogie by being less vocal-oriented and more focused on electronic beats produced by drum machines.

Dance-pop is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a combination of dance and pop with influences of disco, post-disco and synth-pop, it is generally characterised by strong beats with easy, uncomplicated song structures which are generally more similar to pop music than the more free-form dance genre, with an emphasis on melody as well as catchy tunes. The genre, on the whole, tends to be producer-driven, despite some notable exceptions.

Contemporary R&B is a popular music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop, and electronic music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American popular music</span> Pop music in the united states

American popular music is popular music produced in the United States and is a part of American pop culture. Distinctive styles of American popular music emerged early in the 19th century, and in the 20th century the American music industry developed a series of new forms of music, using elements of blues and other genres. These popular styles included country, R&B, jazz and rock. The 1960s and 1970s saw a number of important changes in American popular music, including the development of a number of new styles, such as heavy metal, punk, soul, and hip hop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dance music</span> Music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing

Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance music. While there exist attestations of the combination of dance and music in ancient history, the earliest Western dance music that we can still reproduce with a degree of certainty are old-fashioned dances. In the Baroque period, the major dance styles were noble court dances. In the classical music era, the minuet was frequently used as a third movement, although in this context it would not accompany any dancing. The waltz also arose later in the classical era. Both remained part of the romantic music period, which also saw the rise of various other nationalistic dance forms like the barcarolle, mazurka, ecossaise, ballade and polonaise.

Nu-disco is a 21st-century dance music genre associated with a renewed interest in the late 1970s disco, synthesizer-heavy 1980s European dance music styles, and early 1990s electronic dance music. The genre was popular in the early 2000s, and experienced a mild resurgence in the 2010s.

Post-disco is a term and genre to describe an aftermath in popular music history circa 1979–1986, imprecisely beginning with the backlash against disco music in the United States, leading to civil unrest and a riot in Chicago known as the Disco Demolition Night on July 12, 1979, and indistinctly ending with the mainstream appearance of new wave in 1980. During its dying stage, disco displayed an increasingly electronic character that soon served as a stepping stone to new wave, old-school hip-hop, Euro disco, and was succeeded by an underground club music called hi-NRG, which was its direct continuation.

References

  1. 1 2 S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, The Cambridge Companion to Pop and Rock (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), ISBN   0-521-55660-0, pp. 95–105.
  2. ↑ "Traditional Pop | Music Highlights". AllMusic . Archived from the original on 2017-10-19. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  3. ↑ Farley, Christopher John (July 6, 2004). "Elvis Rocks But He's Not the First". Time . Archived from the original on August 17, 2013. Retrieved July 3, 2009.
  4. ↑ Christ-Janer, Albert, Charles W. Hughes, and Carleton Sprague Smith, American Hymns Old and New (New York: Columbia University Press, 1980), p. 364, ISBN   0-231-03458-X.
  5. 1 2 Peterson, Richard A. Creating Country Music: Fabricating Authenticity (1999), p. 9, ISBN   0-226-66285-3.
  6. ↑ Davis, Francis. The History of the Blues (New York: Hyperion, 1995), ISBN   0-7868-8124-0.
  7. ↑ "The Roots of Rock 'n' Roll 1946–1954". 2004. Universal Music Enterprises.
  8. ↑ "Dark Pop artists, songs, albums, playlists and listeners – volt.fm". volt.fm. Archived from the original on 13 December 2024. Retrieved 2024-12-15.
  9. ↑ Murray, Robin (May 15, 2021). "Bella Poarch's 'Build A Bitch' Is A Phenomenon". Clash . Archived from the original on May 14, 2021.
  10. ↑ Darus, Alex. "10 dark-pop artists who are proving that genres are best when blended". Alternative Press Magazine. Archived from the original on May 5, 2023. Retrieved 2024-12-15.
  11. ↑ Administrator (2011-06-06). "Dark pop • Inside Story". Inside Story. Archived from the original on March 31, 2015. Retrieved 2024-12-15.
  12. ↑ RecentMusic.com. RecentMusic - Latest Dark Pop Releases. Archived from the original on 15 December 2024. Retrieved 2024-12-15– via recentmusic.com.
  13. ↑ Jahr, Cliff (1976-10-07). "Elton John Comes Out as Bisexual in Rolling Stone's 1976 Cover Story". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
  14. ↑ Rockwell, John (1978-12-01). "The Pop Life". The New York Times.
  15. ↑ "100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
  16. ↑ Lawrence, Tim (2006), "In Defence Of Disco (Again)", New Formations: A Journal of Culture, Theory, Politics (58): 128–146 – via UEL Research Repository
  17. ↑ Dalton, Stephen (2005-09-12). "Moloko : Sing it back". NME . Archived from the original on 2024-06-25. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
  18. ↑ Campbell, Tina (2024-04-20). "Sophie Ellis-Bextor working on 'happy disco music' amid Saltburn success". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 2024-06-25. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
  19. ↑ Zellner, Xander (2024-01-09). "Hot 100 First-Timers: Sophie Ellis-Bextor Debuts With 'Murder on the Dancefloor' Thanks to 'Saltburn'". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2024-06-25. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
  20. ↑ S, Anjana (2021-02-16). "The 'Disco Pop' Revival And Its Top Contributors" . Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  21. ↑ "Love To Love Them, Baby: From Donna Summer To Dua Lipa, Meet The Women Singers Who Shaped (And Continue to Shape) Dance Music | GRAMMY.com". grammy.com. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  22. ↑ "R3HAB Releases "My Pony," A Dancefloor and Radio Friendly Soulful House-Pop Gem". 12 April 2022.
  23. 1 2 "A Brief History of House Pop, Inspired by Robyn's Honey". Pitchfork . 5 November 2018. Archived from the original on 4 July 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  24. ↑ "The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time". Slant Magazine . 15 June 2020. Archived from the original on 22 April 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  25. ↑ "Beach Music Genre Overview". AllMusic . Archived from the original on 2021-11-27. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  26. ↑ "30 Pop Soul Anthem Songs (Playlist)". 19 May 2016. Archived from the original on 27 November 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  27. ↑ "Pop-Soul Music Genre Overview". AllMusic . Archived from the original on 2021-12-27. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  28. ↑ Holden, Stephen (3 October 1982). "Luther Vandross: Pop-Soul Pyrotechnics". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 30 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  29. ↑ "The rise of street-hop, Lagos' evolving dance sound". DJ Mag. 2021-04-15. Archived from the original on 2024-07-31. Retrieved 2024-08-11.
  30. ↑ "Sounds From This Side Street Pop". The NATIVE. Archived from the original on 2021-09-02. Retrieved 2024-08-11.
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