Music Analysis: Pop Music
Pop Music
73% of teens in America listen to popular music, which is also known as ‘pop’ music (Murray). There are so many different music genres in the world and it’s amazing how pop music can capture 73 percent of the teen’s attention. Pop music offers an endless variety of styles and meanings to the listening audience. Although I listen to many other music genres, I listen to pop music a lot more often. And there are reasons why 73 percent of other teens do too. Pop music is such a diverse genre that you will rarely ever hear the same message sung in different ways. Other genres like hip-hop will focus on the topics of money, sex, and “starting from the bottom.” Music genres like that is all the same just put into different words every …show more content…
time. I find that pop music has to offer more variety than any other genre of music. Regardless of the negative feedback pop music gets; I have chosen 5 songs in which shows the diversity I am referring too. Each song is different than the others. This music offers different meanings, messages, ways and opportunities for the audience to connect too in the way that will make them feel like their not alone.
All five pop songs I will be presenting each reflect a different message.
But who says music needs to have meaningful messages? People like myself also look for music we can dance too, music that is just fun to listen to. In one of the songs I will be presenting will show that the audience also wants something they can “jam” too, regardless of it’s pointless lyrics. The audience of these songs is listeners from radio stations, iTunes and the web. The pop artists that I am about to present to you offer good quality and represent this genre very well. All the songs I have chosen were all released within the year of 2013. Which have also been on the top 100 on iTunes and top tracks on YouTube. The songs I picked are all part of the pop culture because it is significant in a way that everyone is able to connect too. Most people go through or will go through the situations in each of the five songs. We like to know we are not …show more content…
alone. Currently number 7 on top tracks on iTunes is Wake Me Up by Avicii. This song has a very strong message, and the video to this song just adds more power to it. The video shows two young girls who are seen as outcasts by their town. The girls then get tired of being judged constantly so they decide to move somewhere where they are accepted for who they are. This song is mostly targeted to young teens who are confused about who they are. Many people are pressured to “fit in” and be like everyone else. So Avicii is sending a message through the song that it is ok to be different. Anything that anyone does for the pleasure of someone other than himself or herself is the start of unhappiness.
Demi Lovato directs her songs towards younger teens as well. One example is the song Warrior, which was released early May of 2013. It is about a girl going through heartbreak and instead of getting weak, she gets stronger by learning from it. “I’m stronger than I’ve ever been”. Those lyrics show that she isn’t broken by the heartbreak but made into a “warrior”. The cultural message I think she is trying to convey is that when you go through struggles you shouldn’t let it bring you down but bring you to be a stronger person. After all, learning from mistakes makes you more of a “warrior” than being too scared to try anything out of ones comfort zone and not stepping out of ones own shadow.
Wake me up, and Warrior are both songs that majority of teenagers can relate too. Each message shows similar situations that an average teenager will experience, which is why the audience of these artists is by young people who are seeking for advice and inspiration by these artists that have already gone through those situations. Yet the songs have very different messages, such as love versus self-confidence.
Having inspirational messages to the audience is very important because it stimulates positive influence. “On top of the world,” by Imagine Dragons is one of my favorites out of all the 5 songs I will have present by the end. This song is about a man who has gone through many obstacles throughout his life and always avoiding them in order to not be affected. Then he realizes he needs to take some risks because not everything will fall how you want it to. “I always tried to take the easy way out” is a part of the song that stood out to me the most. I think everyone is afraid to take some risk because we don’t know what can come of it. The message I get from this song is that “you don’t know until you try”. He’s telling the audience to take chances and don’t let opportunities pass you by. This song is different than the two previous songs I talked about because this isn’t focused towards young teens. The artist wants this message to be heard by everyone. It does not matter how old you are because no matter what something will always come in your way and its up to you to decide whether to “take the easy way out” or to take chances.
Choosing to “take the easy way out” is usually the most picked choice because it’s just easier. It’s also less scary than to not know the result of that decision. In the song, “Counting Stars,” One Republic chose to take “the easy way out.” The Song is about a man who basically lets big opportunities pass him by. Throught he says, “Lately I’ve been losing sleep, dreaming about the things that we could be.” He is referring to a girl who he is in love with but loving her back would cause problems. The girl lives far from him and she wants him to come live with her but he literally can’t afford to because he’s struggling with money. He’s letting this opportunity pass him by because he is scared and is uncertain of what will become. In the article, “Lorde storms the throne of pop music” by Haley Blum; young pop artist Lorde says, “so much of the music that’s on top 40 radio is so dumb.” Lorde believes that most of the music on the radio is irrelevant to the audience. Lorde’s new single Royals will tell you all about her beliefs on pop music. But one belief she has is that most pop artists think money is everything. In this case, One Republic does wonder if money is more important than happiness. This song is significant because like the previous songs it’s something people go through; it’s reality.
Catchy song, Treasure by Bruno Mars is different than the other songs I talked about.
The song is from a male point of view and is singing about a female. It is objectifying women with every lyric he sings. One example is, “I gotta tell you a little something about yourself.” In other words, he’s saying women need someone to tell them what they are worth and who they are. Some women have actually complained about the song. The message Bruno Mars is trying to convey is obvious with this song. Men are more worthy than women. Regardless, women still listen to the song. Why? Because of the catchy beat, and lyrics. Earlier I explained that not all pop music would offer great meaning but instead offer a good beat to listen to. The article, “Pops drop from Madonna to Miley” by Camille Paglia is evidence that a songs lyrics isn’t all that important. This article is about how pop singers Madonna and Miley Cyrus both are known as being very explicit. Pop music is seen poorly in this article because of the way they flaunt their music. Regardless of all the negative comments and views on such artists, they are still seen as pop icons. Pop artists like that get thrown many negative feed back, but in the end they still have their music played everywhere such as the radio, TV, and all over the
internet.
Popular music is more often times seen as meaningless music, but the songs I presented prove otherwise. All music has messages that the artist intends to convey, but I believe that its up to the audience on how they want to receive it. Pop music gives the audience a variety of different styles of music to pick from, since its not all the same. Pop music can be of many other genres, such as country, hip-hop, soul, etc. This genre of music offers more than just a good beat that makes people listen to it, which is why it is pop(ular).
Works Cited
Avicii, “Wake me up.” YouTube. YouTube, 17 June 2013. Web. 2 October 2013.
Blum, Haley. “Lorde storms the throne of pop music.” USA Today, 25 September 2013. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 October 2013.
Imagine Dragons, “On top of the world.” YouTube. YouTube, 18 March 2013. Web. 2 October 2013.
Lovato, Demi. “Warrior.” YouTube. YouTube, 14 May 2013. Web. 2 October 2013.
Mars, Bruno. “Treasure.” YouTube. YouTube, 10 May 2013. Web. 2 October 2013.
Murray, Matthew. “10 popular performers that prove modern pop isn’t all that bad.” Whatculture.com. N.p. 3 May 2013. Web. 2 October 2013.
One republic. “Counting stars.” YouTube. YouTube, 14 June 2013. Web. 2 October 2013.
Paglia, Camille. “Pop’s drop: From Madonna to Miley.” Time 9 September 2013. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 October 2013.
73% of teens in America listen to popular music, which is also known as ‘pop’ music (Murray). There are so many different music genres in the world and it’s amazing how pop music can capture 73 percent of the teen’s attention. Pop music offers an endless variety of styles and meanings to the listening audience. Although I listen to many other music genres, I listen to pop music a lot more often. And there are reasons why 73 percent of other teens do too. Pop music is such a diverse genre that you will rarely ever hear the same message sung in different ways. Other genres like hip-hop will focus on the topics of money, sex, and “starting from the bottom.” Music genres like that is all the same just put into different words every …show more content…
time. I find that pop music has to offer more variety than any other genre of music. Regardless of the negative feedback pop music gets; I have chosen 5 songs in which shows the diversity I am referring too. Each song is different than the others. This music offers different meanings, messages, ways and opportunities for the audience to connect too in the way that will make them feel like their not alone.
All five pop songs I will be presenting each reflect a different message.
But who says music needs to have meaningful messages? People like myself also look for music we can dance too, music that is just fun to listen to. In one of the songs I will be presenting will show that the audience also wants something they can “jam” too, regardless of it’s pointless lyrics. The audience of these songs is listeners from radio stations, iTunes and the web. The pop artists that I am about to present to you offer good quality and represent this genre very well. All the songs I have chosen were all released within the year of 2013. Which have also been on the top 100 on iTunes and top tracks on YouTube. The songs I picked are all part of the pop culture because it is significant in a way that everyone is able to connect too. Most people go through or will go through the situations in each of the five songs. We like to know we are not …show more content…
alone. Currently number 7 on top tracks on iTunes is Wake Me Up by Avicii. This song has a very strong message, and the video to this song just adds more power to it. The video shows two young girls who are seen as outcasts by their town. The girls then get tired of being judged constantly so they decide to move somewhere where they are accepted for who they are. This song is mostly targeted to young teens who are confused about who they are. Many people are pressured to “fit in” and be like everyone else. So Avicii is sending a message through the song that it is ok to be different. Anything that anyone does for the pleasure of someone other than himself or herself is the start of unhappiness.
Demi Lovato directs her songs towards younger teens as well. One example is the song Warrior, which was released early May of 2013. It is about a girl going through heartbreak and instead of getting weak, she gets stronger by learning from it. “I’m stronger than I’ve ever been”. Those lyrics show that she isn’t broken by the heartbreak but made into a “warrior”. The cultural message I think she is trying to convey is that when you go through struggles you shouldn’t let it bring you down but bring you to be a stronger person. After all, learning from mistakes makes you more of a “warrior” than being too scared to try anything out of ones comfort zone and not stepping out of ones own shadow.
Wake me up, and Warrior are both songs that majority of teenagers can relate too. Each message shows similar situations that an average teenager will experience, which is why the audience of these artists is by young people who are seeking for advice and inspiration by these artists that have already gone through those situations. Yet the songs have very different messages, such as love versus self-confidence.
Having inspirational messages to the audience is very important because it stimulates positive influence. “On top of the world,” by Imagine Dragons is one of my favorites out of all the 5 songs I will have present by the end. This song is about a man who has gone through many obstacles throughout his life and always avoiding them in order to not be affected. Then he realizes he needs to take some risks because not everything will fall how you want it to. “I always tried to take the easy way out” is a part of the song that stood out to me the most. I think everyone is afraid to take some risk because we don’t know what can come of it. The message I get from this song is that “you don’t know until you try”. He’s telling the audience to take chances and don’t let opportunities pass you by. This song is different than the two previous songs I talked about because this isn’t focused towards young teens. The artist wants this message to be heard by everyone. It does not matter how old you are because no matter what something will always come in your way and its up to you to decide whether to “take the easy way out” or to take chances.
Choosing to “take the easy way out” is usually the most picked choice because it’s just easier. It’s also less scary than to not know the result of that decision. In the song, “Counting Stars,” One Republic chose to take “the easy way out.” The Song is about a man who basically lets big opportunities pass him by. Throught he says, “Lately I’ve been losing sleep, dreaming about the things that we could be.” He is referring to a girl who he is in love with but loving her back would cause problems. The girl lives far from him and she wants him to come live with her but he literally can’t afford to because he’s struggling with money. He’s letting this opportunity pass him by because he is scared and is uncertain of what will become. In the article, “Lorde storms the throne of pop music” by Haley Blum; young pop artist Lorde says, “so much of the music that’s on top 40 radio is so dumb.” Lorde believes that most of the music on the radio is irrelevant to the audience. Lorde’s new single Royals will tell you all about her beliefs on pop music. But one belief she has is that most pop artists think money is everything. In this case, One Republic does wonder if money is more important than happiness. This song is significant because like the previous songs it’s something people go through; it’s reality.
Catchy song, Treasure by Bruno Mars is different than the other songs I talked about.
The song is from a male point of view and is singing about a female. It is objectifying women with every lyric he sings. One example is, “I gotta tell you a little something about yourself.” In other words, he’s saying women need someone to tell them what they are worth and who they are. Some women have actually complained about the song. The message Bruno Mars is trying to convey is obvious with this song. Men are more worthy than women. Regardless, women still listen to the song. Why? Because of the catchy beat, and lyrics. Earlier I explained that not all pop music would offer great meaning but instead offer a good beat to listen to. The article, “Pops drop from Madonna to Miley” by Camille Paglia is evidence that a songs lyrics isn’t all that important. This article is about how pop singers Madonna and Miley Cyrus both are known as being very explicit. Pop music is seen poorly in this article because of the way they flaunt their music. Regardless of all the negative comments and views on such artists, they are still seen as pop icons. Pop artists like that get thrown many negative feed back, but in the end they still have their music played everywhere such as the radio, TV, and all over the
internet.
Popular music is more often times seen as meaningless music, but the songs I presented prove otherwise. All music has messages that the artist intends to convey, but I believe that its up to the audience on how they want to receive it. Pop music gives the audience a variety of different styles of music to pick from, since its not all the same. Pop music can be of many other genres, such as country, hip-hop, soul, etc. This genre of music offers more than just a good beat that makes people listen to it, which is why it is pop(ular).
Works Cited
Avicii, “Wake me up.” YouTube. YouTube, 17 June 2013. Web. 2 October 2013.
Blum, Haley. “Lorde storms the throne of pop music.” USA Today, 25 September 2013. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 October 2013.
Imagine Dragons, “On top of the world.” YouTube. YouTube, 18 March 2013. Web. 2 October 2013.
Lovato, Demi. “Warrior.” YouTube. YouTube, 14 May 2013. Web. 2 October 2013.
Mars, Bruno. “Treasure.” YouTube. YouTube, 10 May 2013. Web. 2 October 2013.
Murray, Matthew. “10 popular performers that prove modern pop isn’t all that bad.” Whatculture.com. N.p. 3 May 2013. Web. 2 October 2013.
One republic. “Counting stars.” YouTube. YouTube, 14 June 2013. Web. 2 October 2013.
Paglia, Camille. “Pop’s drop: From Madonna to Miley.” Time 9 September 2013. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 October 2013.