The Pop Genre

I have chosen to research the pop genre. I am interested in the pop genre as I like that style of music. I became interested in pop music because of the radio station that I listen to which is 'Heart' where they play more pop music than any other genre. I also was influenced by the pop music as it is played more often in the background in TV Soaps such as on Corronation Street and Eastenders than any other genre; this is because it is catchy and recognisable. I was also influenced by it because of the TV show X-Factor where most of the music that the ‘wanna be’ musicians sing is pop music and the winning and running up contestants always end up having a pop album because they know the record labels know that it will sell well as there is always room for another pop artist/ group. I also think that I was influenced by friends because when they find a song that they like, they would ask other peoples opinion on that song or band and if I was to like it then I could be influenced by them and if it interested me and I liked it a lot then I would be more inclined to go and look for other songs in that style or other songs by that artist.

WHY AND HOW I HAVE BEEN INFLUENCED BY THE POP GENRE

Pop music has been around since the early 1680. The pop genre began in Napoli, Italy, when Alessandro Scarlatti composed his first opera. Pop music has been around in America since the mid 1920s, when it began with the publication of sheet music. But in 1979 when Michael Jackson went solo and did his first solo performance the style of pop changed. He reinvented it so that it became a lot more catchy and more people started to enjoy it. In the 1980's Michael Jackson became the biggest and most popular pop star. This is shown as he was referred to as 'The King Of Pop‘.The pop genre has changed over time because when it started of in 1680 it is not in the 21st century. This has changed because pop music has come over from different countries. Such as the pop genre has gone over to America.

HOW LONG HAS THE POP GENRE BEEN AROUND?

Glen Miller- Was an American big band musician, arranger, composer, and bandleader

Frank Sinatra-Sinatra- Became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist from the early to mid-1940s

Billy Cotton- The Billy Cotton Band Show was a popular Sunday lunchtime radio programme on the BBC Light Programme from 1949 to 1968.The band leader, Billy Cotton, was a larger-than-life Cockney character who started each show

POP GENRE IN THE 1940’S

POP GENRE IN THE 1950’SElvis Presley- An American singer and actor. A cultural icon, he is commonly known by the single name Elvis. One of the most popular musicians. He is commonly referred to as the ‘King’. Elvis Presley is regarded as one of the most important figures.

Buddy Holly- Buddy Holly, was an American singer- songwriter and a pioneer of rock and role and later pop. His works and innovations inspired and influenced contemporary and later musicians, notably The Beatles, Elvis Costelello, The Rolling Stones. Holly was among the first group of inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

POP GENRE IN THE 1960’S

The Beatles- Were an English band that became popular in the 1960’s. who became the most commercially successful in the history of popular music.

The Kinks- An English rock band categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, the Kinks are recognised as one of the most important rock groups of the era.

The Rolling Stones- English band that were formed in 1962. Became popular in Europe and then in North America.

Dave Clark Five- Was an English pop/ rock group who became widely popular in the 1960’s.

POP GENRE IN THE 1970’S The Osmonds- An American family music group with a long and varied career. Their music genre was; R&B, Pop, Disco, Country, Soft rock and funk.

The Bay City Rollers- were a Scottish pop band whose popularity was highest in the 1970s. Their music genre was pop and alternative pop.

Gary Glitter- An English former glam rock singer-songwriter and musician. His genre was rock ‘n’ roll, pop and glam rock.

T- Rex- British band formed in 1967 and they were classed as glam rock.

POP GENRE IN THE 1980’S

Madonna- An American singer, songwriter, actress, director, dancer, and entrepreneur. She focused on four different genres in her music that were; pop, rock electronic and dance.

The Smiths- The Smiths who were from Britain music genres were alternative rock and pop. In the 80’s they became very big and made their way to America.

Duran Duran- They were a pop rock band. They were an English new wave band and one of the most successful bands in the 1980’s.

Culture Club- An English pop band who were big in the 1980’s.

POP GENRE IN THE 1990’STake That- A British five-piece vocal pop group comprising Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams.The genres that they focussed on were; pop. Pop rock and dance. Their biggest years were 1990- 1996.

Oasis- Band formed in Manchester in 1991. The genre that the focus on is pop rock and rock.

Blur- They are an alternative rock band who have recently reproduced some of their previous songs.

E17- Were a pop boy band. The members included Anthony Michael Mortimer, Terry Coldwell, John Hendy and Brian Harvey.

20TH CENTURY

In the 20th century the pop genre has changed dramatically as other genres have been linking their style into the pop genre this is also because artist have been collaborating with each other to change the style of their music.

For instance Taylor Swifts music has changed over the last few years as she started of her music career with a country approach. And recently she has made her style of music more pop based. Her music gas now become a lot popular for the younger generation but before hand her music appealed to a bigger variety of people including the older generation as they tended to like that country genre approach.The wanted who released their first album in 2010 have become largely popular as their albums include pop music which is popular for the younger generation although their fanbases average age has dropped as children like their style of music more now than other types of people. Artists such as Jessie J show that pop music is one of the biggest genres out there and shows that it is popular in other parts of the world rather that just in Europe. She has proven this as she has made her mark in the states and has become big over there.

POP GENRE IN THE 20TH CENTURY AND HOW IT HAS CHANGED

Technology influences the pop genre in a variety of ways. Firstly social networking sights such as Facebook influence it because people talk about the pop genre and the artists of the pop genre a lot on there. You see a lot more pages that people have made that are dedicated to pop celebrities more than you do about rock and roll bands. An example of this is for One Direction. There are more pages linked to them then there are pages linked to bands such as You Me At Six. Other forms of technology such as Twitter has a major influence on the role of technology. For instance Twitter is a major form of technology that has an impact on the pop genre because Twitter users can follow all different celebrities. This has had an effect on the pop genre because people have become more involved in the lives of the celebrities. This shows that it has had an impact on the pop genre and shows how big it has become because if you look at the followers on Harry Styles Twitter who is from a pop boy band who has around seven million Twitter followers compared to a boy band from a rock genre such as You Me At Six who has under two hundred thousand you can see the difference in the popularity of the genres. Other forms of media such as YouTube have an affect on the pop genre, this is shown when the adverts are showed before the video begging, this attracts peoples attention and gets more people involved in what they are trying to show. This also makes people watch the advertisement because YouTube very rarely allows you to skip the advent until you have watched 20- 30 seconds of it and by then you become interested in the advert so you don't end up skipping it anyway.

WHAT INFLUENCETECHNOLOGY HAS HAD ON THE

POP GENRE

TV shows such as X- Factor and the voice has influenced the pop genre as most acts that audition on the X- Factor are pop acts where they perform a pop song and if they don’t sing a pop song then they are more likely to sing another song from a different genre and make it there own or change it slightly to make it more of a pop song. More people would find it enjoyable as the pop genre is one of the biggest genres. Also the winning acts and runner up acts always sing pop songs and they turn into pop artist for instance; Olly Murs, JLS, One Direction, Leona Lewis, Alexandra Burke and so on. This shows that there is always room for another pop act in the music industry. Older TV shows such as Pop Stars the Rivals focused on the pop genre as Girls Aloud was formed on there and had a successful pop career.In fashion magazines the clothing within them is normally modelled on celebrities that are from the pop genre such as Cheryl Cole or Rihanna. This shows that they are recognisable people because the music genre that they sing is popular and well known by the majority of the public. Also most gossip magazines involve stories about celebrities who are in the pop genre for instance there are a lot of stories about arists such as Cheryl Cole, Rihanna, Ed Sheeran and Beyonce. In a gossip magazine you don’t see them talking about rock artists or artists such as You Me At Six or Two Door Cinema Club

WHAT INFLUENCES OTHER MEDIA PLATFORMS HAVE HAD

The micro elements are the small parts that make a particular thing up and the macro elements are large things that makes something up like a magazine or a particular genre. The micro elements of the pop genre are the things like pace, tempo, pitch, lyrics, the pattern of the lyrics and the style of the music. Firstly, in the pop genre the music has a fast pace which makes it catchy and repetitive. This is one of the reasons that it makes the pop genre so popular. Secondly, the pitch in the pop genre is a lot more higher than it would be in a heavy rock band as that is a lot lower because that style of music is seen as a lot duller. The pitch makes the pop song catchy as most pop songs are usually happy songs or turn into happier songs if they start of depressingly such as some of Taylor Swift’s songs.Thirdly, the lyrics in a pop song are a lot more happier and shorter. This works well in a pop song because it is easier to sing along to whereas if long worse that aren't used very often were used in the majority of the song it would make it more difficult and people would loose interest in it. I would link this to my music magazine because I want my magazine to match the style of the music so I would link this to it by making it look catchy as the music sounds catchy I wild also make it look colourful because if pop music was to me a colour than it would be bright and colourful. In the same way I wouldn’t add long complicated words in it as they aren't in pop songs.Also fashion makes up the pop genre and that has changed over the years. In the 40’s- 60’s the colours in the clothes that they wore were dull and only a few colours were worn at once but since the 1960’s more colours have been worn and the outfits that they wear now are much more stylish but they have also become a lot more revealing which many people don’t like and many people believe that it isn't acceptable- especially the older generation.

MICRO ELEMENTS THAT MAKE UP THE POP GENRE