Discover

Pop is contemporary music and a common type of popular music (distinguished from classical or art music and from folk music^[1]). The term popular music does not refer specifically to a single genre or sound, and its meaning is different depending on the time and place. Within popular music, "pop music" is often distinguished from other subgenres by stylistic traits such as a danceable rhythm or beat, simple melodies and a repeating structure. Pop song lyrics are often emotional, commonly relating to love, loss, emotion, or dancing. This often differs from rock, where political themes are more common.
Pop music may include elements of rock, hip hop, reggae, dance, R&B, jazz, electronic, and sometimes folk music and various other styles. For example, in the 1920s–50s pop music drew influence mainly from jazz, beginning in the 1950s from rock and R&B, and since the 1980s, from hip hop. The broad appeal of pop music is seen to distinguish it from more specific types of popular music, and pop music performers and recordings are among the best-selling and most widely known in many regions of the world.
Today distributed by major record companies as part of a global music market, pop music often involves mass marketing through radio, television and other media, making it a part of many people's daily life. As such, it has also faced criticism.

Contents

Songwriting, recording and distribution formats

Sound and themes

Videos and performances

Demographics of pop music

History of Pop Music

1890s through 1920s

1930s and 1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

Criticism of pop music

See also

References

Songwriting, recording and distribution formats

When the singer and the writer of a song are different people, it is the singer who is considered the "pop star", with the writer working behind the scenes. Pop stars have sometimes been criticized for not writing—or in some cases, even singing—their own material by fans of genres where such a practice is usual (such as rock bands, rap MCs, or singer songwriters). On the other hand, pop singers have sometimes been criticized for a lack of artistic training and technique by listeners of classical music—where performers usually interpret music written by others.
The development of recording methods is seen as a major influence on the sound of pop, distinguishing it from classical music and jazz, as well as from some types of popular music which may seek a more "natural" sound. Pop music performers typically make use of state-of-the-art technology and recording studios to achieve the sound they want, and record producers may have a heavy influence.
In the recorded music era, the single (a single song) and the album (a collection of songs) are the usual methods of distributing pop music. It has been distributed in many formats included vinyl records, cassette tapes, compact discs, and Internet downloads.

Sound and themes

Pop music generally uses a simple, memorable melody and emphasizes the rhythm, often with syncopation, and stripped down to a basic riff or loop which repeats throughout much of the song. Pop songs usually have a verse and a chorus, each with different musical material, well as a bridge connecting them in many cases.
Transposing up the main chorus and verse by a semitone or two towards the end to build up the tension is also common in many pop songs.
The vocal style found in much pop music has been heavily influenced by African American musical traditions such as rhythm and blues (R&B), soul music, and gospel. The rhythms and the sound of pop music have been heavily influenced by swing jazz, rock and roll, reggae, funk, disco, and is currently influenced by hip hop in many cases.
The songs are often about love, or about dancing. Many pop songs are also self-referential, talking about the performer and referencing their own performance of the song.

Videos and performances

Music videos and live performances are often used for exposure in the media, and artists may have extravagant stage shows and use choreographed dance routines. Videos take on a particularly important role in this type of music since it is the most commercially sucessful one, and videos are an important means of reaching wider audiences.

Demographics of pop music

As records, CDs and DVDs became cheaper, the ''age'' of the average consumer of pop music dropped dramatically. In the early years of recordings, artists like Frank Sinatra sang about affairs, champagne and night clubs; lyrics that appealed to investors, business, and "classy" market. As records became cheaper, teenagers were able to influence the market, especially during the promotion of the worldwide Beatles tours. In recent years, children have become one of the largest music markets, reducing the age of the average consumer of pop music drastically.
Young people have always been interested in fashion, and spend their money on new artists. Whereas the previous generation tend to keep to their favorite artists, young people conform more to peer-pressure. This conforming creates waves of commercial support for particular artists, and establishes pop music as an important mediator of youth culture. Because of this, pop music has historically been the source of numerous moral panics; parents viewing explicit and suggestive lyrics as gateways to immorality and blaming pop music for perceived increases in objectionable behavior within youth culture.

History of Pop Music

1890s through 1920s

The dance music element of western pop music can be traced back to Ragtime, which was initially popular in African American communities, and mainly disseminated through sheet music and player pianos. Ragtime turned into Swing, an early form of Jazz that was enjoyed as much for its dance ability as its mutability. It is important to note that the clarity of the instruments (brass in particular) and punchy nature of the rhythm helped to ensure that these music forms were the first to be recorded and pressed onto primitive record discs. Both of these dance forms originated in African communities, and spread to white communities especially through venues that would hire black performers. Even early Jazz in Paris was influenced by Black and White Minstrels performing ragtime music.
Like Rock ’n’ Roll, widespread popularity in white communities to some extent did not take off until white performers could be found to perform it, and certain stylistic elements of it toned down. The crossing of race-based social boundaries around race, for ragtime, swing, and later Rock’n’Roll, was the source of many moral panics in America inspired by pop music.

1930s and 1940s

Styles influencing the later development of pop include the Blues, also originating in African-American communities (for example: electric guitar Blues in Chicago and Texas), and Country coming also from "hillbilly music" of poor folk, white and black (Sun Records in Tennessee), which blended to become Rockabilly. The most important ingredient in early Rock n' Roll was, however, the type of Jump blues / R&B led by Louis Jordan who occasionally broke through into the pop charts. The music later on was mixed with gospel handclaps, boogie woogie and larger emphasis on backbeat, by artists such as The Treniers, which created Rock 'n' Roll.
The rise of the crying and emotional singers in the late 1940s such as Mario Lanza began the pop music vocal style.

1950s

Early Western Pop music artists include Tommy Steele, Marty Wilde, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bobbejaan Schoepen, and Peggy Lee, but other artists like Bill Haley and his Comets, Platters, Fats Domino and Elvis Presley became popular with the younger generation. In Australia there was Johnny O'Keefe, Col Joy and Bobby Darin. Italian singers such as Mario Lanza sang tunes people could identify and sing along to.
In Iran, before the emergence in the early 1950s of Vigen Derderian (known as the "Sultan of Pop"), the music industry was dominated by Persian classical singers. He combined Persian melodies and Persian lyrics with Guitar. Compared by some fans to Elvis Presley, Vigen's good looks and tall, fine physique added to his appeal as Iran's first male pop star — especially among women at a time when ideas of emancipation were taking hold in the 1950s and 60s.^[2]
Fairuz faces her audience for the first time during the show "Ayyam Al Hassad" (Days of Harvest) where she sang "Lebnan Ya Akhdar Helou" (Lebanon the Beautiful Green) in Baalbeck.

1960s

Western Pop music teen idols of the 1960s included the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, Cliff Richard, Sandy Shaw, The Who, Lulu, The Small Faces, Gene Pitney, and The Shadows. Other pop musicians included, Neil Diamond, the Bee Gees, Elvis Presley, Burt Bacharach, Cat Stevens, Aretha Franklin, Isley Brothers, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, and some of The Beatles' repertoire. The 60's also saw the first emergence of what was later coined as being boy bands with the most famous from this era being The Monkees.
In 1960s Iran's most famous female pop singer ever, Googoosh^[3], found reputation by taking part in various international music festivals. She won the first prize and golden record for her French numbers, "Retour de la vie" and "J'entends crier Je t'aime", at the Cannes Festival in 1971. Her recording of twelve songs in Italian and Spanish for the Sanremo Music Festival in 1973 became an overnight success. She also won first prize at the Carthage Music Festival in 1972 and was honoured with the first medal of arts of Tunisia in the same year. Her Spanish song titled "Desde Hacies Tiempo" was an immediate hit in South America in 1973.
In 1962, the first Western popular melody with Turkish lyrics was released, İlham Gencer's "Bak Bir Varmış Bir Yokmuş" (Look Once Upon A Time)^[4]

1970s

A proliferation of new sounds from the disco era included the vocal overdubbed harmonies of Carpenters, ABBA, Donna Summer, the Bee Gees, the piano-based pop of Billy Joel and Elton John, the country stylings of the Eagles and the rock-influenced pop of Rod Stewart, Steely Dan and Fleetwood Mac. Other important pop musicians include Queen, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Supertramp, Styx, Deep Purple, Genesis, Neil Young, Barry Manilow, Rex Smith, Cat Stevens, Carole King, Jackson Five, The Miracles, Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond, Kenny Rogers, Roberta Flack, Carly Simon, Cher, Stevie Wonder,John Denver, Earth, Wind and Fire, KC and the Sunshine Band and Irene Cara. Australian artists John Farnham and Olivia Newton-John (of Grease the Musical fame) commanded big sales in their home market, with crossover into the UK and for Olivia Newton-John, also the US.
Arabesque-pop starting in the 1970s, immigration from predominantly south-eastern rural areas to big cities and particularly to Istanbul gave rise to a new cultural synthesis. The makeup of Istanbul was to change forever. The old taverns and music halls of fasıl music were to shut down in place of a new type of music Stokes, Martin. "Sounds of Anatolia" in the ''Rough Guide to World Music, Volume 1'', . These new urban residents brought their own taste of music, which due to their locality was largely middle eastern. Musicologists derogatively termed this genre as arabesque due to the high pitched wailing that is synonymous with Arabic singing. Its mainstream popularity rose so much in the 1980s that it even threatened the existence of Turkish pop, with rising stars such as Muslum Gurses.
This genre has underbeat forms that include Ottoman forms of belly-dancing music with performers like Orhan Gencebay who added Anglo-American rock and roll to arabesque music.
In Turkey, (light western)pop became very popular in the 1970s with stars such as Semiha Yanki, Kamuran Akkor, Ayla Dikmen, Erol Büyükburç, Fikret Şeneş, Gönül Akkor, Hümeyra, İlhan İrem, Nermin Candan, Asu Maralman, Yurdaer Doğulu, Zümrüt, Sezen Aksu, Nazan Öncel and Ajda Pekkan reaching superstar status domestically.
During the 1970s in Britain, New Wave and Punk brought bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees, Ian Dury, Elvis Costello, The Police and The Stranglers into the pop charts. A mod revival spearheaded by The Jam and Madness followed and opened the way for The Specials, UB40 and Dexys Midnight Runners.

1980s

Notable highlights for pop music in the 1980s are Michael Jackson's second ''Epic'' label release, ''Thriller'', which went on to become the best-selling album of all time. Jackson was the most successful artist of the 80s, spanning nine #1 singles in the United States alone during that decade, and selling over 133 million copies with only two albums — ''Thriller'', and its follow-up ''Bad''. Since the early nineties, Jackson has been often referred to and regarded as the "King of Pop".
Another important artist in the 1980s was Madonna. Considered the Queen of Pop Madonna have a unique style mixing pop music with different musical styles such as Techno, electronic and Hip-Hop. The albums Madonna, Like a Virgin, True Blue and Like a Prayer reached high positions in Europe and in the USA. The singles “Lucky Star”, “Like a Virgin”, “Material Girl”, “True Blue”, “La Isla Bonita”, “Like a Prayer” and “Cherish” also reached high positions in the USA and in the UK. She received a diamond certification for her album Like a Virgin by selling more than 10 million copies (Totally the album sold 20). MTV awarded her as the Artist of the Decade.

Prince also made a popular impact in the 1980s, and he was particularly adored by music critics. A large number of his albums and singles topped or held prominent positions on the yearly Village Voice Pazz and Jop Poll including albums ''1999'', ''Purple Rain'', and ''Sign "o" the Times''. Songs like "When Doves Cry" and "U Got the Look" were hits for Prince, as were songs he penned for others such as "Manic Monday" (performed by the Bangles) or "I Feel for You" (performed by Chaka Kahn). Other top-selling artists included Cher, Kim Wilde, Gloria Estefan, Paula Abdul, Tina Turner, Tiffany, Kylie Minogue, Janet Jackson,Pet Shop Boys,Olivia Newton-John, Queen, Duran Duran, The Go-Go's,Erasure, Huey Lewis & The News, Katrina and the Waves, The Police, Depeche Mode, Kenny Rogers, James Ingram, Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Tears for Fears, Rex Smith, Cyndi Lauper, Thompson Twins, Debbie Gibson, a-ha, Modern Talking, Whitney Houston, Juice Newton, Richard Marx, Phil Collins, Air Supply, Laura Branigan, Talking Heads, Eurythmics, The Bangles, Hall & Oates, David Slater, Kenny Loggins, Kenny Rankin, George Michael (and Wham), Rick Springfield, U2, Def Leppard, AC/DC, and Culture Club. The late 1980s saw the rise of the Swedish pop duo Roxette. Pop music in the 1980s was heavily influenced by an electronic sound with synthesizers and drum machines, and dance type music. Now in the present the 1980s is viewed as having many one-hit wonders (although the 1990s have just as many), and the style and fashion sense and "look" in the music videos has been influenced and has been brought back in present clothes and style.

1990s

Among the most successful pop acts of the 1990s were R&B-influenced pop acts such as Mariah Carey, Destiny's Child, Boyz II Men, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, En Vogue, Salt N Pepa, MC Hammer, C&C Music Factory, Brandy, and TLC. Non-R&B artists such as ,Cher, Michael Bolton, Bryan Adams, Elton John, Alanis Morissette, George Michael, Madonna, Shania Twain, Bon Jovi, Selena, Ace of Base, Celine Dion, Nádine, Aqua, Sheryl Crow, Kim Wilde, Jewel, Depeche Mode were also phenomenonally successful during that decade.

The 1990s and 21st century were marked by a resurgence of boy band and girl group trends. The U.S. had New Edition, Color Me Badd, New Kids on the Block (in the late 1980s and early 1990s), followed by the Backstreet Boys often referred to as 'the bestselling boy band' of all time and their album Millennium which sold 40 million album worldwide [1] , Hanson,
★ NSYNC, 98 Degrees and the biggest pop girl band phenomenon of all time the Spice Girls, who are often credited by critics as the revival of pop music in the US.They are the most famous girl group of all time. Towards the turn of the millennium, the "pop princesses" appeared such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, Mandy Moore, Robyn, and Willa Ford. From the UK came the likes of Take That, Steps, Billie Piper and S Club 7, while Australia had Kylie Minogue and Savage Garden. Irish boy bands during this period included Boyzone and Westlife. 1999 saw the rise of the Latin pop explosion with Ricky Martin and Shakira at the forefront, followed by Jennifer Lopez, Thalía, Luis Miguel, Enrique Iglesias, Paulina Rubio, and Marc Anthony. Also, there were many pop bands from continental Europe that found their way to topping worldwide charts, such as Aqua (Denmark), a-ha (Norway), Los del Río (Spain), and A
★ Teens (Sweden).
The 1990s also saw the beginnings of a surgence in pop into the Asian market, known as J-pop, as originated from Japan. Utada Hikaru and Namie Amuro each sold over 50 million in their respective Asian markets.

2000s

In the 2000s, pop music paved the way for the multi-platinum successes of artists like Anastacia, Backstreet Boys, Destiny's Child, Beyoncé Knowles, Black Eyed Peas, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Ciara, Jessica Simpson, Ashlee Simpson, Hilary Duff, Lindsay Lohan, Kelly Clarkson, Gwen Stefani, Modern Talking, Mya, Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado, Shakira, NSync, Pussycat Dolls and Usher. Robbie Williams recorded the biggest sales for a male artist, mostly in the European market. In 2002 t.A.T.u. emerged from Russia to huge success which they still continue to have today as the best selling Russian act of all time.
The divas of the 90s artists, such as Madonna, and Mariah Carey presented albums that prolonged their rule of the music charts. Other trends included Teen pop singers such as Disney Channel star Hilary Duff. Pop punk acts such as Simple Plan and Fall Out Boy have become increasingly popular, as well as pop rock acts such as Ashlee Simpson and Avril Lavigne and emo music such as Hawthorne Heights, Lostprophets, and Dashboard Confessional.
The popular American reality program American Idol has produced many successful Pop artists, most notably Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Katharine McPhee, Chris Daughtry and country pop artists Carrie Underwood and Kellie Pickler.

In Latin America, multi-platinum pop group RBD has achieved a great commercial success becoming the best-selling Latin act on the 2000s.
There has also been a major trend which has created multiple tiers of pop singers, with one designed for preteens and teenagers. While this is not necessarily a new development, it is seen by many as detrimental to music as a whole, as it has furthered the compartmentalization for music. Besides Hilary Duff, who is among the major teen pop singers, many other Disney Channel actors have become singers. These artists include teen idols Ashley Tisdale and Vanessa Hudgens. Other Disney artists include Jesse McCartney, Jordan Pruitt, Miley Cyrus, Hilary Duff, Corbin Bleu, Raven, Jonas Brothers and pop duo: Aly and AJ.
In the early 2000s, "pure" pop began to morph into a more blended style of music. 1990s pop stars such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera experienced somewhat diminished sales, and proceeded to change their image and sound to a more "R&B" style, largely due to the dominance of urban or hip-hop radio in the United States. As R&B and pop music blended, more and more "Pop / R&B" artists emerged, such as Mariah Carey, Ciara, Rihanna, Nelly Furtado, Christina Milian, Paula DeAnda, Ne-Yo, Akon, T-Pain, Justin Timberlake, Pussycat Dolls and JoJo who released a hit album at only age 13. This also happened with rock music with artists such as Avril Lavigne, Cheyenne Kimball and such. Music styles such as jazz and (neo)soul gained sudden popularity again, with acts such as Joss Stone, Amy Winehouse, Christina Aguilera and James Morrison.
Toward the late 1990s, Korean boy bands, such as H.O.T., lead to popularity with Korean music (K-pop). This was due to the fact that Asian music was now starting to sound more westernized. This saw the rise of K-pop within Asian markets, leading to the craze, hallyu. The hallyu craze has dominated the Asian markets since the early 2000s. With Korean artists such as BoA, Rain (Bi) and SE7EN, breaking records and sales throughout Asia, and having capabilities to sing not only in their native tongue (Korean), but also Japanese and Chinese (Mandarin dialect). This has only contributed to the popularity of K-pop, and has helped it stay on top throughout the 2000's.
Japanese Pop (J-Pop) has also achieved great popularity even outside Asia, having a relatively big importance in the U.S. and Europe. As with Korean Pop, the main reason of this is the more western sound of J-Pop and the inclusion of J-Pop songs in many videogames released worldwide with huge success between teenagers, rivalizing with other Asian and some Western singers, artists such Utada Hikaru, Koda Kumi, Ayumi Hamasaki or girl band Morning Musume, between others.

Criticism of pop music

Pop music is often criticized for being overly simple and repetitive, using simple musical techniques and refraining from the more explicitly experimental attributes of other genres (such as solos or odd time signatures). It is therefore often negatively compared to other styles of music as easier and therefore not as worthy.
It is usual for pop vocalists to not write their own music or play an instrument, buying tracks from producers, a system which is often criticized as overemphasing the central performer's vocals and image over the music itself. The common use of lip synching technology in performances is also often put into question or indicated as proof of lack of vocal talent or dedication.
The MTV music video "explosion" in the 1980s also led to an increase in popular music's focus on image as a means to appealing to audiences, which is viewed by critics as undermining the artistic value of music itself.

See also

★ Arabesque-pop music

★ Arabic pop music

★ Bubblegum pop

★ Dance-pop

★ Indie pop

★ Electropop

★ Europop

★
★ Austropop

★
★ Nederpop

★ K-pop

★ C-pop

★ J-pop

★ Jazz fusion

★ HK-pop

★ Indi-pop

★ Latin Pop

★ Mexican pop

★ Noise pop

★ Operatic pop

★ Orchestral pop

★ Pop punk

★ Pop rock

★ Russian pop

★ Sophisti-pop

★ Synthpop

★ Turbo-folk

★ Discography, informations of standard approaches to produce pop music.

References

1.
★ Frith, Simon (2001). Nobody likes pop, especially me. ''The Cambridge Companion to Pop and Rock'', p.94. ISBN 0-521-55660-0 .
2. Vigen Derderian: Pop idol of a musical revolution in Iran
3. "Googoosh"
4. Translations kindly provided by Ali Yildirim.