Does today's singers suck?

[jojuun 4,159]

To the thread creator: I know you're probably a lot younger than I or some of the "older" folks on here (I'm in my twenties and you look like a teenager in your picture) so this might sound a little harsh, but please refrain yourself from making threads like these. We literally have these kinds of topics every week on GGD and it's just not necessary.

FYI, Kesha is not one of "today's peak stars" since 2012 and The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra, Cher, Whitney Houston, Donna Summer, ABBA, Cyndi Lauper and Madonna didn't start "20 years ago", they started a lot earlier. And all of them had backlash back in their career beginnings. Miley Cyrus did not enjoy success "because she twerk in the 2013 VMA" (what kind of sentence is that.) She enjoyed success because she was already a famous teenage popstar, who sexually overhauled her image. Just like Britney and Christina have done before her. And what's wrong with that? At least Miley OWNS her own sexuality and it is interjected with a lot of humour and positivity. Do you really think she was trying to be sexy in that VMA performance? She had pig tails on her head and wore a bear onesie. Since then she's advocated for LGBTQ rights and has done amazing work with her charity and is just doing her own thing, despite media backlash. 

20 years ago was 1995, the only people on your list that charted that year were Whitney and Madonna and they were both years into their careers. Oh and in 1995, a greatest hits album by the Beatles charted, who were basically inactive at that point, they're lead singer died 15 years before that. Back in their day, parents everywhere hated The Beatles when teenagers absolutely went crazy over them. They said the music was sh*t, they looked like hobo's and had a bad influence on kids. Madonna has endured bad press her entire career, so much that she's actually used in to her advantage. Let's not even get started on Whitney and the others.

So no, music today doesn't "suck" or is vastly different in terms of the kind of stars that are famous. Music and popculture are just in motion and ever-changing. Like it always has been, like it always will be. If you're talking about vocal abilities, yes, there's many popstars these days who are not gifted opera singers, but neither were some of the biggest pop stars of the Eighties and Nineties. Whatever year it is, there's always gifted singers you can listen to if you're in the mood for a vocal delight, or are you unaware of let's say Adele these days? If you're talking about performance abilities and star quality, yes Madonna for example (okay singer, amazing star quality) springs to mind. She's still around and slaying, so there's that and while a Selena Gomez for instance isn't a big personality like Madonna was/is, she's a different kind of star. She has a different kind of quality. She's relatable. In a social media obsessed world, that's important. A lot of people are interested in her because of who she is, not just what she does. She's a 360° celebrity. People care about what she's wearing, what she's drinking, who she's dating. They relate to her, or dream of her life. Why do you think the Kardashians are famous? Because they're personalities and we're interested in their lives. And that's not new, before reality TV and Instagram, we had Marilyn Monroe for example. Despite being an actress, singer and glamour model, she's mostly known for who she was, what she looked like, how she made-up her face and who she dated. It's always been like that and it always will be.

And "they don't make their art"? Do you think that up until 20 years ago, every artist wrote their own lyrics? They have always existed. Frank Sinatra's biggest hit wasn't written by him, by the way. Stylists, make-up artist, photographers, art directors and managers have become visible over the years, especially because of social media, but they have always been there too. All of them, even the men. Frank Sinatra had a a make up artist. Marilyn Monroe was one of the first to make hers famous (google "Allan Whitey Snyder".)

Also, all of this crap about "current artists cheating" is bull. Everyone keeps talking about autotune, and it isn't "recent" at all. Pitch-correction has existed for years and has been used since the seventies, older versions date back even further. So yes, people who aren't vocally 100% amazing have the ability to make records, how is that a bad thing? Madonna isn't Celine Dion vocally and thank god, could you imagine Like A Virgin or Hung Up with Celine's voice? Despite Celine having an amazing vocal range, she wouldn't pull it off. You need sass and a certain kind of vibe for songs like that. Which is why Justin, Selena, Taylor and all of the stars you named are "slaying the game". Because they appeal to people. Maybe not to you, but certainly to millions of others. 

+ You need to work a little on your English, not trying to be rude, just saying. "Because she twerk" is not correct and I could go on about the grammatical errors, but I won't. 

Not trying to be personal but it's just unnecessary to make threads like this. People always complain current artists aren't up to previous standards but if you look at Ariana Grande and Miley, they're just as naked as Christina and Britney. And before them there were others, and before that others and so on. Sure, historically there's a point where performers started to dress a lot more "naked" but that's an older revolution, it's been over 30 years since that happened. Just like the previous generation who now say "Remember when we had Madonna? Remember when we had the Backstreet Boys?", we'll say "Remember when we had One Direction? Remember when we had Lady Gaga?". It's just the natural evolution of popculture and commercial music. 

[Riot Poof 2,236]

18 hours ago, lmsalim said:

Guys this last months I got the conclusion that today's singers really suck. For example Bieber, Katy, Miley, Ke$ha, Rihanna, Lopez, Selena, Demi & Taylor are the peak singers of the moment and they don't deserve it. They sing horrible, they don't write their songs, they do playback, they don't play any instrument, they don't appreciate their fans, and their hole career is only for the money.

This is a gross (and in many cases, untrue) overgeneralization of these artists. Hell, Taylor was named one of the greatest songwriters ever by Rolling Stone. Who's that at #97? Your homegirl Gaga? Nope. It's that girl you love to hate. Tell me... how can you be recognized as a songwriter if you don't write your songs? Are you gonna accuse her of having ghost writers like another user on GGD? The lengths Tayters go through to discredit her work and achievements... 

Also, is Lopez supposed to be Jennifer Lopez? She's part of the late '90s/early '00s crew. Wrong time period.

18 hours ago, lmsalim said:

If you go back in time 20 years ago, you will see that singers and music was totally different, for the example the legends of the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra, Cher, Whitney Houston, Donna Summer, ABBA, Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, etc. They could sing, some of them could dance and they were on the peak. If you compare them with today's singers you could see that they suck and back in time the famous singers were really talented because they deserve it.

I'm so tired of the over-romanticization of the past. Vapid music coexisted with these musicians, but since only the best of the best are remembered, people seem to forget that. Only older people nostalgic for the (best bits of) the past and pretentious younger people longing for some anti-Millennial cred are reaching for this "new music sucks and older music is the best" argument. I can guarantee that you can find more modern genuine musicians if you do your own research. Just because they aren't as popular as people like Justin Bieber doesn't mean they don't deserve to be acknowledged. If you truly follow today's music (not just the BB Hot 100), you'd see that the current music scene has no shortage of talented musicians.

Also, most of these musicians you listed aren't even representative of the music scene of 1995 (aka the year that was 20 years ago). 1995 was the year of Alanis Morissette, Mariah Carey, and the Smashing Pumpkins (among others), to give you some perspective. Out of everyone you said, only Whitney and Madonna could really be associated with 1995.

18 hours ago, lmsalim said:

Finally I go to my conclusion that Today's artists suck and music is not the same as it was 20 years ago. What do you think about this? Reply.

Well, today's music is certainly not the same as it was 20 years ago. I'll give you that.

[Reality 71,878]

While I'm not a huge fan of singers today, I don't think they "suck". I think what we're experiencing is what older generations have experienced for years. I mean, think about it, when Gaga first came to the scene with The Fame and The Fame Monster eras, she seemed like another girl who just wanted her to use her body to get attention—even though she had an artistic purpose to it all. I'm sure when she and many singers during that time first became about older people were saying "What is this sh*t? Back in my day we had people who could really sing like...". We're merely experiencing the same thing, we just have bias towards artists like Gaga because that's who we grew up with.

On that note, I wouldn't condemn other artists because people think that they "can't sing". Look at Gaga, if you just heard Just Dance or Poker Face you may think the same: just another person in the music industry that uses her body and autotune to gain fame and attention. However, we know that's not the case, we know that Gaga can really sing. Looking at an aritst like Miley Cyrus, she can actually sing very well, people are just caught up with the whole Hannah Montana thing that they're too busy to realize that she has actual talent. Just because she's using her body and isn't the girl who we once knew doesn't mean she can't sing, in fact the complete opposite. 

So, no, I don't think that today's singers "suck"; I just think that we have a bias towards artists we grew up with. 

[Creyk 17,008]

17 hours ago, SubRosa said:

o<(+_+)>o

Is this Enigma's 2nd account?

 

 

I thought the exact same thing while reading the OP

[TEANUS 12,472]

Take Rihanna, Demi, and JLo out of that list and I'll agree with you 

Rihanna actually can sing, and idk why Demi was even in this list cause her voice is phenomenal so....

And JLo is over forty and still manages to perform better than half the current stars

 

[Pacify Him 9,073]

Today?

I'm listening to my faves so I don't know what you're saying 

[Bloody 64,631]

That's too general, there are many talented singers out there. 

[FlopSlut 1,190]

23 hours ago, llbcherry said:

I think Demi can actually sing. I've seen a few of her performances recently.... They were pretty great, especially in her upper register.

she yells a lot. I'm surprised her voice hasn't pulled a Mariah Carey

[Snow 1,582]

On 24.12.2015 at 2:02 AM, GloZell Green said:

Gaga is honestly one of the few full packages. She writes all of her songs alone (but gives credit to producers because she's too nice ), she can actually sing, she can dance, she can produce, her music videos are amazing... Overall she's talented. At this point, there's no one else in the pop game that meets the requirements. 

Woaw The delusion...

And Besides that noup, don't agree with The OP. Well sure autotune helps these days but other than that noup...

[Anderson123 35,607]

Some of them do. The ones you listed I don't consider them as singers, more like entertainers. There are several talented singers out there right now, Sam Smith comes to mind, even though I skipped most of 2013-2015 hit songs from the radio, I have to say that his voice is beautiful. Ed Sheeran also has some nice songs, Adele obviously, etc.

The ones you listed are the SUPER pop entertainers and of course, it's the music that is selling a lot right now, but you really should dig out there, because there are so many talented singers that are not as popular as some of the hit makers.

I have to agree that some of the legends that you listed were actually TALENTED and the music they made was just pure soul and heart and really good, compared to what we have today, that's because the digital era is run by teenagers now and young adults, which are the ones that make these songs a hit. 

[AlexanderLevi2 5,849]

No, but your grammar does 

 

Also, Demi as a bad singer? Don't think so.

And the people you cited are legends/icons. There were HORRIBLE singers in the past but they got weeded out. It will be the same in a few decades for us.

[GloZell Green 11,723]

3 hours ago, Snow said:

Woaw The delusion...

And Besides that noup, don't agree with The OP. Well sure autotune helps these days but other than that noup...

Okay list at least 3 people that fit under the description please.

[Snow 1,582]

58 minutes ago, GloZell Green said:

Okay list at least 3 people that fit under the description please.

Im pretty sure there's way more than three artist that can write, produce, sing and dance. And The delusion part was for Gaga's solo writing and raising her and her art to hights they do NOT deserve. She's one of The most talented today's mainstream Popstars, but not ALL that much in The grand scheme of things...

[bayonse 6,525]

suck what 

[Saint Laurent 4,862]

This is the most vocally talent group we've had in a while.