It is hard to find anybody on this planet who doesn’t love pop music. Pop music is more than just melodies; it’s an emotion that sets you on an endless rollercoaster. When we speak of the pop genre, we actually discuss modern music and the continuous advancements that dwell in popular music. The term ‘pop’ music simply means popular music. It was coined in the mid-1950s while a group of avant-garde musicians presented a rebellious form of music in the United States and the United Kingdom. Though many people consider popular music to be something different, the meaning of pop music is more or less the same. Popular music is generally what’s trending in the music community and it dabbles in different styles of music, keeping the option of variation always open. When you look a few decades back, during the period between the 1950s and 1960s, you can clearly see how other genres impacted pop music. It included everything from rock and roll to what the youths of the first world countries were jiving along. There was a shear connection between the rock and pop genres at the beginning. They were roughly similar to one another but that concept changed in the late 1960s. Since then pop started to revolve around more commercial tunes which easily penetrated the market. People seemed to accept the accessible genre more than anything.
Now people call pop music whatever they hear on the radio and the music charts. But you can’t mix it with songs on record charts because it has a distinctive style that often sounds very different. It is easy to spot a pop song with repeated choruses and stunning hooks. Pop music has a different pattern; sometimes the length of the compositions is short and sometimes it gets medium to long. It is the most danceable genre that combines the music flow of rock, slow electronic beats, urban style, dancehall, Latin, and country vibes.
Definition of pop music:
After the brief introduction, it’s not hard to understand the elements of pop music. The definition of pop changes from time to time. David Hatch and Stephen Millward believed that pop music is “a body of music which is distinguishable from popular, jazz, and folk music”.
Pete Seeger defines pop music as “professional music which draws upon both folk music and fine arts music”. People find pop music is only about chartbusting numbers but the singles on the charts are not the epitome of the genre. These days, music charts have access to classical, folk, jazz, and novelty songs, making them popular in the music community. So, you can’t mistakenly come to believe all the popular songs are from the same genre, pop. Pop is a separate genre that exists with the accumulation of diversified musicality. Pop music is designed to become universally appealing and most songs target teenagers as its audience. As time is changing, the course of pop music is also evolving. That’s why the music writer Bill Lamb has come with another definition for this music genre. He defined it as “the music since industrialization in the 1800s that is most in line with the tastes and interests of the urban middle class.”
History of pop music from the scratch:
The term “pop music” was coined in 1926 in a clear sense which only meant “having popular appeal” for a specific kind of music. Hatch and Millward remind us that some events can be mentioned from the history of music in the 920s which directly lead us to the birth of modern pop music. The trend of recording in the country, jazz, blues, and hillbilly music has its part in making the music industry that we call pop industry nowadays.
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians has found out that the phrase “pop music” has actually come from the description of rock and roll. It was obtained in Britain during the mid-1950s. A major part of the youth was highly influenced by pop music. On the other hand, the Oxford Dictionary of Music confirmed that pop music was considered “concerts appealing to a wide audience”. Later (around the late 1950s), it took a special definition that was associated with non-classical music “usually in the form of songs, performed by such artists as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, ABBA, etc.” Grove Music Online has disclosed the same fact that “pop music” came to existence in the early 1960s and it was widely known as ‘beat music’ in England whereas it was considered ‘rock n roll’ in the US.
The distinction of the pop genre was made during the late 1960s when people started using the term in opposition to rock music. Finally, that was the cue to divide two genres gaining separate generic importance in the music industry. Rock was supposed to inspire authenticity and the possibility to popularize music. Pop music started to associate with more commercial, ephemeral and common musicality. The British musicologist Simon Frith believed that pop music was created as “a matter of enterprise not art”. It is “designed to appeal to everyone” but “doesn’t come from any particular place or mark off any particular taste”. According to him, pop music is produced with the sheer interest of making a profit. With commercial music, the artist started to obtain commercial rewards. The pop industry grew with the help of top-tier record companies, radio programmers, and concert promoters instead of making music from independent uprising artists. Pop is not labeled as do-it-yourself music; rather it is ‘produced and packaged’.
The early version of pop music was popular in England around the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It is enjoyed mostly by common people. After the print revolution, a new era arrived with the broadside ballads which were available at cheap rates and in enormous numbers. With technological and social advancement, pop music changed its form in the nineteenth century. The brass band was the forerunner of the accessible and communal form of music. New gigs and music halls came forward to offer new kinds of entertainment suitable for urban societies while dwelling with the existing formula of popularizing music among the youth. Back in the 1930s, the rise of American Jazz led to the beginning of a new chapter in music with the introduction of British dance bands.
Features of pop music:
The main feature of pop music is that it should have an appealing factor that will encourage general people to tap into its grooves. It is nothing like a sub-culture or ideology; it is about influencing the major part of the general audience. Timothy Warner, an eminent music expert once said that pop songs are built on recording and high-quality productions with expensive technology rather than emphasizing the artistic exposure from any live performance. It reflects the existing patterns of music available in the market instead of dabbling into progressive developments. Pop music must use dance-centric rhythms to encourage the general audience.
Pop music generally flows in the form of groovy songs that take two to three minutes to incorporate all the sound elements in the projects. It is generally marked by repeated and continuous rhythmic altos following mainstream style. The chorus of a pop song is often led to “the drop” where the bass slows down and beats get heavy. It includes the amalgam of every form of music from jazz to country, rock to dance. Sheet music is another phenomenon in the pop industry and the publishers of sheet music formed companies to give out what the artists desired. Pop music is a simple form of the biggest accumulation of musical trends that is easily marketable, warm, and enjoyable. It may include vocals, lyrics or it can be simply based on melodies, compatible rhythms, groovy drops, and thick bass work.
Influential pop musicians:
The period of 1956 was dominated by one name in the music industry and that was Elvis Presley. He arrived in the 1950s as the most crowd-pleasing rock star with great rock and rock music. He is still considered the king of rock and roll. His contributions to the music industry make him the best-selling solo artist. 1957 is an important phase in the history of music because John Lennon came across Paul McCartney in March. John Lennon set up a band called Quarry Men and invited Paul McCartney to join his band. It couldn’t impress the audience before the promoter, Carroll Levis. Then a new saga of rock music emerged in The English music industry with the arrival of the rock band Beatles. Beatles was formed by John Lennon, PaulMcCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr in the decade 1960-70.
Tributes to Michael Jackson:
June 25, 2009, is the black day in the history of music. With the news of the death of Michael Jackson, the whole world of music crumbled to oblivion. He has acquired an irreplaceable spot in the music industry. Millions of pop fans crowded to mourn and said goodbye to the phenomenal musician on that day. The GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles did not take one moment to launch a special exhibit calling it Michel Jackson: A Musical Legacy.
It was a magical night when all the super-hit musicians and the Grammy winners Smokey Robinson, Celine Dion, Carrie Underwood, Usher, and Jennifer Hudson joined for an all-star 3-D version of “Earth Song” on the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards. It was a grand tribute to Jackson’s honor by guarding his contributions to music with Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Jackson’s moments of making history:
He is the most crazed pop artist of all time. Jackson sold more than 75 million albums in America, ranking No. 7 on the RIAA’s list of top-selling artists in history. Here is the list of achievements that symbolized his intense popularity.
1970: First Four No. 1 Hits:
Jackson flooded the market with his brothers in the Jackson 5. It was the official first pop group in history that gave out four hit singles that eventually landed on No.1. “I Want You Back,” “I’ll Be There,” “The Love You Save,” and “ABC are the famous songs that changed the course of pop music. But the epitome of fame was still due for the band. Later, they got the first Grammy nomination Best Contemporary Vocal Performance By A Duo, Group, Or Chorus.
1982: Thriller:
Hot on the heels of the release of the 1979 hit album Off The Wall, Jackson introduced the world to his savory addition Thriller on Nov. 30, 1982. Both albums had become part of the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame (opens in a new tab) in 2008. Thriller is still recognized as the most popular album under his hood.
1983: The Moonwalk:
Jackson embarked on his signature dance move, the Moonwalk while performing “Billie Jean” on May 16, 1983. On December 2, he changed the video when he decided to release the blockbuster video of ‘Thriller’. It was an epic act of 14-minute long that unlocked the best possibilities of pop music.
1984: Eight GRAMMYs, One Night:
He surprised the world with the 26th Annual Grammy Awards. He again created history as if he didn’t have enough! He became the first musician on this planet to win eight Grammy’s in a single night on Feb. 28, 1984.
1984: Hollywood Walk Of Fame X 2:
It turned out that Jackson was the first celebrity ever to achieve two stars in the same category on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1988: GRAMMY Solo Performance Debut:
Michael Jackson’s epiphanic moment was when he reared on the stage of the 30th Annual Grammy Awards. It was his grand solo entry on the stage to perform “The Way You Make Me Feel” and “Man In The Mirror” for the audience in New York on March 2, 1988.
1993: GRAMMY Legend Award:
So far, only fifteen artists were honored with the prestigious GRAMMY Legend Award and certainly, he is one of them. He was the 10th addition to earn prestige in 1993.
2009: 2.6 Million tracks sold:
While the whole world was mourning over his unacceptable death, he set a new record for becoming the first artist to sell more than 1 million digital tracks in one week. It was over 2.6 million tracks that were sold in just one week.