New York, London, Paris, Munich... everybody talk about pop music!
For the last few years the music world has been dominated by pop. Pop music is a kind of music that is only supposed to be interesting for a very short time, like a soap bubble that goes ‘pop!’. It’s basically throwaway music. The lyrics are not very literate or layered and the music is not very innovative or sophisticated. However, there seems to be a kind of professionalisation happening in the music world. People have studied the lessons of the past and now there are more people than ever able to write a good pop song, with good harmonies, hooks, licks, riffs, etc. Not to mention the influence of marketing. This has caused a great levelling out of quality. Now nearly everyone can be a pop star. It takes an incredible amount of personality and talent to rise above that. Madonna has it – that’s why she’s lasted so long. And the current crop of pop has such a talent too: Beyoncé. Not only can she actually sing (that is, without the aid of computer enhancement and playback tapes) – she can sing incredibly well. Not only does she have the technique of someone like Mariah Carey, unlike Mariah she uses it to full effect too. Her songs are not just pop songs, they are more like anthems. Not only are they memorable and effective pop songs, they even have some sort of message. And then there are the looks. People like Britney and Christina have tried to adopt a more urban style, but it only made them look skanky. Beyoncé can not only pull it off, she rises above it. She could wear a garbage bag and get away with it. It’s not something that comes naturally (apparently she’s on a very strict diet) but there’s nothing fake about her. And it shows. Everything about her is flawless and looks effortless at the same time. And if that’s not a sign of greatness, I don’t know what is.
11:37:32 PM 
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