2024 was a big year for pop music. Over the last few months, the musical genre has taken the world by storm and been embraced by the teen demographic more than ever before, with refreshingly catchy hits like “HOT TO GO!” by Chappell Roan and Charli XCX’s “360.” These two up-and-coming pop music artists have released many of the new hits that have blown up among younger generations, bringing the genre back to life.
Some say that Roan and Charli XCX have become so popular because of the trends and aesthetics that coincide with their images and music. Freshman Everly Coleman of Middletown believes that they have gained stardom due to the unique sound they possess compared to other current mainstream music.
“I feel like it’s because their music is just so new and fresh compared to Taylor Swift and Katy Perry, what we’ve been hearing our whole childhood,” Coleman said. “It’s just so different and that’s what’s just given them so much popularity.”
In previous years, many people have gotten tired of pop music’s generic sound. Sophomore Ruby Febbo of Middletown thinks that this is the first time in a while that pop music has felt enjoyable and new.
“I feel like pop music has been bad since 2016, and this is the first year in a while where it hasn’t sucked, and people have been actually listening to pop music again,” Febbo said.
Lately, a portion of the teenage demographic has developed a distaste for pop music because of the genre’s various repetitive-sounding albums. A recent example of this was Katy Perry’s newest album, “143.” The public’s reaction to the record has not been great, with many describing it as “forgettable” and “uninspired.” Many of her once-loyal listeners feel as if Perry has lost the fun, cheeky humor she had in her 2010 hits.
Coleman believes that the distaste towards this album comes from the sudden appeal of listening to “underground,” or less mainstream artists.
“I feel like a lot of controversy has arrived for a lot of popstars and I just feel like people have just seen pop as less cool and wanted to like more underground artists,” Coleman said.
Others disagree with the general judgment and have come to Perry’s defense. Junior Allison Lin of Lincroft believes most of the hate derives from the influence of the media and its tendency to blow negative opinions out of proportion.
“All of the songs are so upbeat and are similar to her previous music, so honestly I’m confused as to why it’s getting so much hate this time,” Lin said. “I think all of this backlash is probably just a result of social media, and everyone just jumping on the hate train because it’s trendy. I feel like that can be said for a lot of pop music, as lots of people think the genre is stupid and overplayed.”
