What makes pop music so popular?  By John Tan   Growing up, I spent the majority of my time listening to famous pop tunes. I not...

The Skill Behind Pop Music


What makes pop music so popular? 



Growing up, I spent the majority of my time listening to famous pop tunes. I noticed the more I listened to them, the more I liked it. Something about it just kept me hooked on because somehow, it kept hitting on the right chords. Hence, I spent most of my days indulging in it and eventually, pop music became the soundtrack to my life. As I got older, I became intrigued in finding the geniuses behind these crafts. This led me to discover the genius that is Max Martin, the guy behind the works of my favorite artists.

Max Martin is no stranger to pop music. In fact, he is responsible for many of the hits that were produced in the last decade. From working with musical acts like Britney Spears to Taylor Swift, Martin has cemented his place in the music industry. To date, Martin has scored 22nd number ones on the Hot 100 charts. Besides that, he was even awarded the Polar Music Prize 2016 for being a veteran in the music business. Since pop music is a broad subject and considering Martin’s impact on the industry, it would be easier to solely focus on Martin’s work to identify the structures in pop music, in order to truly understand its popularity.

In 1876, German philosopher, Gustav Fechner discovered a psychological notion, known as the mere exposure effect. It suggests that people have a tendency of gravitating towards objects or individuals that are familiar to them. Also, repeated exposure increases familiarity. Years later, this concept was expanded by Robert Zajonc and it was revealed that familiarity enhances one’s liking towards an object or an individual. For pop music, music scholars argue that familiarity decides the listener’s response to the piece. The more they are familiar with the song, the higher the chances are for them to like it.

John Seabrook, New Yorker journalist, echoed similar remarks in his 2015 book ‘The Song Machine’, noting “the more I heard the songs, the more I liked them. How could that be? if you dislike the song the first time, surely you should loathe in the tenth. But apparently, that’s not how it works. Familiarity with the song increases one’s emotional investment in it, even if you don’t like it.  This happens gradually, in stages, the initially annoying bits become the very parts you look forward to most in the song.

Why?

Well, the rationale behind this formula can be explained with the perceptual fluency theory: how information is processed by the human brain. Repetitive songs are easier to recognize and process. This is because it takes less effort to do so and the less we effort we take to think about something, the higher the chances are for us to like it. When a song goes according to our expectations, it makes us feel better because it gives us confidence. Thus, repetition is an important ingredient in pop music.

Looking at Martin's discography, a lot of his songs are about simplicity. For example, when it comes to his songwriting, Martin has a tendency of using simple words that rhyme and he repeats them throughout a section of a song. 


Take for instance, CAN’T STOP THE FEELING!  By Justin Timberlake, the word ‘dance’ is repeated throughout the chorus and the post-chorus.


      Music video for Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop The Feeling" uploaded on 16th May 2016.


Chorus
So just imagine, just imagine, just imagine, just imagine
Nothing I can see but you when you dance, dance, dance
Feeling good, good, creeping up on you
So just dance, dance, dance, come on                
All those things I shouldn’t do
But you dance, dance, dance

Post chorus
I can’t stop the feeling
So just dance, dance, dance
I can’t stop the feeling
So just dance, dance, dance, come on



               Music video for Usher's "DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love" uploaded on 25th  Aug 2010.

Whereas in DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love by Usher, words like now, down and eyes are repeated in the second verse.

Second verse
Keep downing drinks like there’s no tomorrow there’s just right now, now, now, now, now, now
Gonna set the roof on fire
Gonna burn this motherfucker down, down, down, down, down
Hands up, when the music drops
We both put our hands up
Put your hands on my body
Swear I seen you before
I think I remember those eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes


                    Music video for Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" single released August 18th, 2014.

And finally, Shake It Off by Taylor Swift, where words like play, hate, shake and break are repeated in the chorus

Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off
Heart- breakers gonna break, break, break, break, break
And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake
Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off

In terms of his production, a lot of his materials are structured in the same instrumental arrangement. They have the same song structure, repetitive chords progression, and melodic structure. For instance, his songs usually consist of the verse, the chorus, the bridge and occasionally pre-chorus or post-chorus. Also, they often remain in the same three or four chords.

Once again, this is all works to create a sense of familiarity for the listener. In an interview with DiWEEKEND, Martin mentioned that;

“If the chords change a lot over the course of a song, it’s better to stay within the same melodic structure. Once again, it’s all about the balance. Another theory is that you can also sing the chorus melody as a verse. For instance, take “I Wanna Be Your Lover” with Prince. The verse and chorus of that song are exactly the same. But as a listener, you don’t really notice since the energy of the chorus is completely different compared to the verse. Once the chorus comes, you feel like you’ve heard it before. And you have! You’ve heard it in the verse. It automatically creates a sense of familiarity. Prince does this a lot. “Let’s Go Crazy,” same thing. I’ve used this trick a few times myself. In “Do You Know (What It Takes)” with Robyn, for instance.” 

The next aspect that is used in pop music is relatability. Since pop music primarily targets youths, the majority of its lyrical content revolves around topics that are relatable to them. Studies have shown that youths consume pop music because it assists them in the process of “finding themselves” and acts as an outlet for self-expression.

The reason being pop music exhibits ‘emotional realism’; youths are able to identify and relate to the collective representations and use them as guiding fictions. With that, they are able to create their personal mental perception of the world.

Following a report by Nielsen, the top 5 pop hits in 2017 were focused on relatable themes such as love (romantic relationships) and having a good time. Hence, it’s proven that the criteria for a good pop song would include making the listener feel a certain emotion. Quoting Martin;

 “A great pop song should be felt when you hear it,” Martin told Gradvall. “You can hear songs that are technically great, songs that tick all the boxes. But for a song to be felt, you need something else. Something that sticks to you, something that makes you feel: ‘I need to hear that song again’.

Going back to Martin’s catalog, the majority of his lyrics are relatable to youths, whether it’s a fast tempo piece or a slow emotional ballad. The lyrical content often focuses on simple themes such as love (heartbreak to falling in love), sex, self-discovery or having a good time- although there are some exceptions.

In conclusion, it’s no mystery that the pop music industry adheres to a certain formula when it comes to making a song. After all, it’s safe to stick to the same formula since it has been working in their favor, gaining commercial success after each hit song that is produced and released out to the general public.




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