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POP MUSICWeek 13MSIT 2013

+Origins of the Pop Genre

The term "pop song" is first recorded as being used in 1926, in the sense of a piece of music "having popular appeal”.

According to Grove Music Online, the term "pop music" "originated in Britain in the mid-1950s as a description for rock and roll and the new youth music styles that it influenced”

Pop music is generally thought of as a genre which is commercially recorded and desires to have a mass audience appeal

Whereas rock aspired to authenticity and an expansion of the possibilities of popular music, pop was more commercial and accessible.

Pop music is produced "as a matter of enterprise not art” and is "designed to appeal to everyone”

It is "not driven by any significant ambition except profit and commercial reward

Pop is not a do-it-yourself music but is professionally produced and packaged".

+Pop Music Early History

The most significant feature of the emergent popular music industry of the late 18th and early 19th centuries was the extent of its focus on the commodity form of sheet music. The availability of inexpensive, widely-available sheet music versions of popular songs and instrumental music pieces made it possible for music to be disseminated to a wide audience of amateur music-makers, who could play and sing popular music at home.

In addition to the influence of sheet music, another factor was the increasing availability during the late 18th and early 19th century of public popular music performances in pleasure gardens and dance halls, popular theatres and concert rooms.

+Influences and Development of Pop Early pop music drew on the sentimental ballad for its form Gained its use of vocal harmonies from gospel Another technological change was the widespread availability of

television in the 1950s; with televised performances, "pop stars had to have a visual presence”.

In the 1960s, the introduction of inexpensive, portable transistor radios meant that teenagers could listen to music outside of the home.

By the early 1980s, the promotion of pop music had been greatly affected by the rise of Music Television channels like MTV, which favoured those artists such as Michael Jackson and Madonna who had a strong visual appeal.

+Characteristics of Pop Music

An aim of appealing to a general audience, rather than to a particular sub-culture or ideology

An emphasis on craftsmanship rather than formal "artistic" qualities An emphasis on recording, production, and technology, over live

performance A tendency to reflect existing trends rather than progressive

developments Much pop music is intended to encourage dancing, or it uses dance-

oriented beats or rhythms The lyrics of modern pop songs typically focus on simple themes –

often love and romantic relationships

+Core Elements of Pop Music

Generally short-to-medium length songs Written in a basic format (often the verse-chorus

structure), Employment of repeated choruses Melodic tunes Catchy hooks Usually really good looking beautiful people

+Pop Music 90’s and Today

In the 1990s, the consolidation trend took a new turn: inter-media consolidation. This trend saw music recording companies being consolidated with film, television, magazines, and other media companies, an approach which facilitated cross-marketing promotion between subsidiaries. For example, a record company's singing star could be cross-promoted by the firm's television and magazine arms.

By the 2000s, another trend which affected popular music was the increasing availability and use of computers and Internet connections, which facilitated the dissemination—both legal and illegal—of digital recordings and digital versions of sheet music and lyrics.

+Pop Music Facts

A "chilling fact" about the '90s: In any given week of the decade, there was a 10 percent chance the No.1 song was by Boyz II Men, Add Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and Bryan Adams, and chances hit 24 percent. Americans spent a quarter of a decade listening to this sort of thing: big, lavish ballads, built to charm middle-aged and middle-school listeners alike.

In this past decade, though, a quarter of the hits came from the combined works of Usher, Beyoncé, the Black Eyed Peas, and Nelly. Their hits were pointed at a very different kind of public environment: They were club songs.

+Artist Spotlight: The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960 and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music.

Rooted in skiffle and 1950s rock and roll, the group later worked in many genres ranging from pop ballads to psychedelic rock, often incorporating classical and other elements in innovative ways.

Their enormous popularity first emerged as "Beatlemania"; as their songwriting grew in sophistication, by the late 1960s they came to be perceived by many fans and cultural observers as an embodiment of the ideals shared by the era's sociocultural revolutions.

“Money Can’t Buy You Love”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMwZsFKIXa8

+Artist Spotlight: Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular

American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "the King".

“Blue Suede Shoes”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1Ond-OwgU8

+Artist Spotlight: ABBA

ABBA was a Swedish pop/rock group formed in Stockholm in 1972

They became one of the most commercially successful acts in the history of pop music, topping the charts worldwide from 1972 to 1982.

“Waterloo”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sj_9CiNkkn4

+Artist Spotlight: Madonna

Madonna is an American singer, songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. She has sold more than 300 million records worldwide and is recognized as the world's top-selling female recording artist of all time.

“Express Yourself”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsVcUzP_O_8

+Artist Spotlight: Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording

artist, entertainer, and businessman. Often referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time.

“Billie Jean”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi_XLOBDo_Y&ob=av3e

+Artist Spotlight: Justin Bieber

Justin Drew Bieber. is a Canadian pop/R&B singer-songwriter, musician, and actor.

He became the first artist to have seven songs from a debut album chart on the Billboard Hot 100.

“Baby”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kffacxfA7G4

+Artist Spotlight: Rebecca Black Rebecca Renee Black is an American pop singer and

dancer who gained extensive media attention with the 2011 single "Friday". Her mother paid $4,000 to have the single and an accompanying music video put out.

After the video went viral on YouTube and other social media sites, "Friday" was derided by many music critics and viewers, who dubbed it "the worst song ever.”

The music video received around 167 million views, causing Black to gain international attention as a "viral star”.

“Friday”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfVsfOSbJY0

+Artist Spotlight: One Direction One Direction are a British-Irish boy band They signed to Simon Cowell's record label Syco

Records after being formed and placing third in the seventh series of The X Factor.

On 21 March 2012, Up All Night debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, making One Direction the first UK group in history to debut at number one with their first album.

“What Makes You Beautiful”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJO3ROT-A4E

+Brit-Pop

Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and was characterised by bands influenced by British guitar pop music of the 1960s and 1970s.

The movement developed as a reaction against various musical and cultural trends in the late 1980s and early 1990s, particularly the grunge phenomenon from the United States.

Britpop groups brought British alternative rock into the mainstream and formed the backbone of a larger British cultural movement called Cool Britannia.

+Artist Spotlight: Blur

Blur are an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989

The band helped to popularise the Britpop genre and achieved mass popularity in the UK, aided by a famous chart battle with rival band Oasis dubbed "The Battle of Britpop".

“Coffee and TV: ”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oqXVx3sBOk

+Artist Spotlight: Oasis

Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991

“Wonderwall”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hzrDeceEKc

+Australian Pop Artist Spotlight: Olivia Newtown John Olivia Newton-John is an Australian singer and actress.

She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles

Her music has been successful in multiple formats including pop, country and adult contemporary and has sold an estimated over 100 million albums worldwide.

“Summer Nights”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODOj2jBUKW0&feature=related

+Australian Pop Artist Spotlight: Men at Work

Men at Work are an Australian rock band who achieved international success in the 1980s. They are the only Australian artist to have a simultaneous #1 album and #1 single in the United States

“Down Under”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeG-hNXXy6I

+Australian Pop Artist Spotlight: The Seekers The Seekers are an Australian folk-influenced pop

music group which was originally formed in 1962. They were the first Australian popular music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the United States.

“The Carnival is Over”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nze8B39OB0k

+Australian Pop Artist Spotlight: Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue is an Australian singer, recording

artist, songwriter, showgirl, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing her career as a recording artist in 1987.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtzKhDK1_Xg

+Australian Pop Artist Spotlight: Savage Garden Savage Garden was an Australian pop rock performance and

songwriting duo. Darren Hayes (vocals) and Daniel Jones (keyboards, sequencing, guitar) formed the group in Logan, Queensland in 1994.

Their international success occurred between 1997 and 2001, including the number one hit singles "I Want You", "To the Moon and Back", "Truly Madly Deeply", "The Animal Song" and "I Knew I Loved You".

Their two studio albums, Savage Garden and Affirmation reached number one in Australia and peaked in the top ten in both United Kingdom and United States.

“To The Moon and Back”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhdajt0C1sE