A love letter to Pop music and those who adore it
A love letter to the genre that allows us to lean into joy, escapism and softness in a world that wants us to work harder, be resilient and only highlight our suffering.
Nana Ansah
Showing your music is sharing an extension of yourself. It’s pulling back your skin and offering friends, lovers and strangers a glimpse into your heart, soul, body and mind. But, fundamentally, it is asking to belong and to be understood. A casually intimate practice we encounter every time we are given control of the queued tracks at a party or passed the aux on an uber ride home.
No wonder, then, that I am a little nervous every time I come across the opportunity to share my music taste with anyone. Not from the act itself but wary of the potential scrutiny a pop-heavy mix like mine may illicit. As speakers burst into life with SZA’s scorned ex in ‘Kill Bill’, we’re off to a good start. Even though the song was big on TikTok, it is undeniable that SZA is the poster child for Neo Soul and R&B. With the commercial success of her 2017 album ‘Ctrl’, work with and writing for household names from Kendrick Lamar to Rihanna and music for major franchises Black Panther and Game of Thrones, SZA has earned her place at the top over the last six years and proved her talent and broad appeal.
As SZA’s haunting vocals transition into the heartfelt guitar strum of ‘Ceilings’ by Lizzie McAlpine, cohesiveness begins to occur. And when we come to a close with the intoxicating rush of RAYE’s ‘Escapism - Sped Up’, you’d be forgiven for thinking this was a TikTok Best of Playlist. TikTok has influenced many of my liked songs, and although it gets a bad rep, I thank the app for the variety of music, especially from independent artists, it has exposed me to.
RAYE’s story showcases how TikTok can act as a career catalyst for an indie artist. After her label refused to release her album, RAYE fought for independence which she gained in the summer of 2021. The single Escapism found virality on TikTok last year, marking RAYE’s long-awaited and well-deserved rise to international acclaim and her first UK Number 1 single.
I recall a time when I was at a function and speedily raced to my phone to search for one obscure song which would have proven my ‘coolness’ to the crowd. I had shazamed a song from a TV show in 2017 and used it to desperately prove that ‘I do listen to other music’. While I do listen to the other music deemed to be of high value societally, I cannot help but primarily enjoy the fanatically and joyously ‘basic’ sounds deemed to be ‘popular’.
The top 5 artists of mine (on Spotify) in 2022 were Billie Eilish, Stormzy, Olivia Rodrigo, Doja Cat and Conan Gray. With over 171 million monthly listeners combined at the time of writing this, it’s obvious I am not in any tastemaking minority, and finally, I am proud to say this publicly. I love Pop music/chart music/commercial music, whatever you wish to call it. Folk-pop, pop-rock, sad-pop, dance-pop, hip-pop etc. you name it, I’ll stream it.
Pop’s biggest pull is that aside from being a genre in itself, it effortlessly blends artists and sounds across genres, from Afrobeat to Grime, Rock to the aforementioned Neo Soul. Often, it crosses languages and oceans, putting Non-English speaking artists in front of new audiences, opening gateways for listeners into other subgenres and similar artists.
Not only is ‘pop’ beautiful in its diversity but also in its celebration and encouragement of the breath of human emotions and expression. When Lewis Capaldi sang that he wasn’t ‘ready to find out you knew how to forget [him],’ I belted the words as if it were my own heartache. Seconds later, I’d (TikTok) dance along to Lizzo’s ‘About Damn Time’, a week's worth of highs and lows felt in less than 10 minutes. Both songs were a moment of joy and catharsis. In a world that wants Women, especially those who are Black and Brown, Fat, Queer, Transgender, Disabled or in any way outside what is deemed ‘acceptable’ or ‘attractive’, to take up less space, show less emotion and work harder to make those around them more comfortable—Pop acting as a source of pure uninhibited joy and expression is resistance and a gift that we so deserve.
Music as a reclamation of space for marginalised groups dates back to the synthy electronic pop and vogue-filled extravagance of the underground Ballrooms in the early 1900s. These balls were full of life, music, movement, freedom and family. They were a refuge for young Queer and Trans people of colour amidst heavy racial segregation and criminalisation of LGBTQ+ people and culture.
More recently, we look at icons like Whitney Houston, Destiny’s Child and Mariah Carey, whose careers carved out a space in music to celebrate (Black) women’s femininity, their love and heartbreak and most of all, their range. The fact they did so successfully despite barriers and public rejections is no small feat. Their empowering music still soundtrack nights out and euphoric karaoke sessions, proving there is no one way to be a woman or to express yourself.
As pop fans were increasingly portrayed as ‘hysterical’ and became musical outcasts, we found community and belonging in fandoms. Growing up a Directioner means I can reminisce on a shared youth and coming of age with someone who doesn't even share the same timezone simply by mentioning Kevin the Pigeon (Louis Tomlinson’s plastic pigeon pet who featured in the band’s video diaries series on their YouTube channel. A symbol of the early, playful days of One Direction before they became one of the biggest boy bands of all time).
Art and entertainment, much like life, are deeply personal but become heightened when part of a collective and shared experience. As someone who craves intimacy and closeness yet can be introverted and anxious, having art as a common ground takes away a lot of pressure and ambiguity in social settings. It allows me to communicate with and grow closer to other like-minded people.
All this is to say; this one goes out to the pop music makers, the pop fans and fan girls. And beyond music, this is for Marvel lovers, romance readers, ugg wearers and pumpkin spice latte sippers. This is to anyone who loves the same things as everyone else and finds themselves deemed uncool for doing so.
There is a great joy to be found in the mainstream. Pop culture and Pop music celebrate community in fandoms, create shared languages and moments, advocate for joy and expression as resistance, and unapologetically defy expectations placed upon you. Respectfully, we're done with gatekeeping, genre hierarchies and preconceived ideas of what a certain person can and should listen to. Music is a beautiful thing that we are so lucky to have. Listen to whatever makes your chest sing, love whichever artist makes your heart flutter and quite simply be whoever it is you wish to be.
