Pop stars trying something "Different/Experimental"

[Quark 7,016]

o<(0_0)>o

Recently many pop stars have bee applauded for trying new things with their music or for trying something different or "experimental". For example, Pop stars like Beyonce, Rihanna, and Britney have tried a new urban/trap sound with their recent releases. And apparently Taylor Swift will also hop over to the urban sound for her next album. But the reality is that these pop stars are simply following trends. I mean, they are trying something different for themselves, but this urban/trap sound has been going strong since about 2014. Gaga is a true example of someone who truly does whatever she wants regardless of trends. Just listen to Joanne and then go listen to the radio and you will see my point. I just simply feel like these pop stars are trying to seem different and edgy when in reality they are just becoming more mainstream. I will end this with this question, If urban/trap wasn't as big as it is now, how many of these pop stars would have genuinely gone for this sound?

[Drin Lon 7,875]

I know, and it hurts 

[lifeasgeorge 9,427]

I argue this to my friends allllllll the time and they still think that Beyonce is so much more risky and groundbreaking even though she stays on musical and political trends  

Spoiler

Don't come for me, Beyonce deserves all her success and is a great performer. Just overhyped af

 

[Quark 7,016]

3 minutes ago, lifeasgeorge said:

I argue this to my friends allllllll the time and they still think that Beyonce is so much more risky and groundbreaking even though she stays on musical and political trends  

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Don't come for me, Beyonce deserves all her success and is a great performer. Just overhyped af

 

This. Both Beyonce and Lemonade contained many sounds that are pretty much typical in today's mainstream music. When it listened to them I didn't really feel that she was being "experimental". Now listen to songs like A-YO and Dancing In Cirlces. Songs that have country, electronic, Bollywood, and tropical all within the same song. But Gaga simply does not get the credit she deserves.

[Snow 1,582]

Except none of these Popstars, not even Gaga, are truly experimenting and genre bending from one album/era to another... There's only one who truly mastered that reinvention to its full potential, and thats Madonna. So yeah, absolutely nothing"New" about The subject, except thats it more "trendy" to pseudo-do it these days.

[Quark 7,016]

1 minute ago, Snow said:

Except none of these Popstars, not even Gaga, are truly experimenting and genre bending from one album/era to another... There's only one who truly mastered that reinvention to its full potential, and thats Madonna. So yeah, absolutely nothing"New" about The subject, except thats it more "trendy" to pseudo-do it these days.

Going from TFM to BTW was very drastic, as was going from BTW to ARTPOP, and specially going from ARTPOP to Joanne. The only similar sounding albums were TF and TFM.

[Snow 1,582]

Just now, Enigma said:

Going from TFM to BTW was very drastic, as was going from BTW to ARTPOP, and specially going from ARTPOP to Joanne. The only similar sounding albums were TF and TFM.

Don't really agree. On musical sence they pretty much go to The same genre. And absolutely nothing wrong with that, might I say. 

So not that much of a change. Well Joanne is obviously going much further

[StrawberryBlond 13,297]

Yes, I've been saying the same thing. Just because it's different for them doesn't make it experimental in general. Because it's funny how an 'experiment' always ends up being the same genre as a current trend, right? Taylor Swift in particular isn't doing anything groundbreaking with 1989. I'm in the camp that believes that she listened to Carly Rae Jepsen's Kiss album and decided to make one like it. The timelines match up. Turned out Carly made an album that genuinely sounded like it was made in the 80's last year, so, go figure. I always imagined that the album sounded like what Taylor was trying to go for and failed. And Beyonce only came back to true urban music when it started to become popular again. Even Rihanna dared to make urban albums in 2011 and 2012, when dance pop was ruling the charts, so even she's more experimental than Beyonce. Gaga comes along with a genuinely experimental album that sounds unlike anything on the radio right now and yet the critics say she's being inauthentic. These so-called professional reviewers need to do their music history and examine trends. I can see all these things but I'm apparently not qualified like them, so what does my opinion matter, right?

[Bloody 64,631]

@StrawberryBlond out of topic, but have you reviewed joanne?

I would like a lot to read it

[StrawberryBlond 13,297]

3 minutes ago, Bloody said:

@StrawberryBlond out of topic, but have you reviewed joanne?

I would like a lot to read it

Yes, it's on page 9 of the Joanne reviews megathread.

[display name 4,360]

It is amusing that the trend now is to attempt to break trends. A true reverse trendy exhibition. And yeah, people are too quick to hurl out the word "experimental." Several artists are doing their own thing now and getting their inspirations from less contemporary places, while Gaga's been doing so from the start, yet Gaga gets less praise than some of the others. Hm...

[The Child 18,994]

5 hours ago, Enigma said:

lIf urban/trap wasn't as big as it is now, how many of these pop stars would have genuinely gone for this sound?

To answer to your questions, I think Britney really did try and she achieved it in my eyes to do something fresh even if she was influenced by what is trendy and mainstream right now. When you compare Glory to her 2 latest albums, it's so refreshing and much better.

So yes she would have done an urban album wether it was trendy or not, her fans have been dying for an urban influenced album for years and she's been wanting to do one since years too.

[Epione 10,896]

The real question is: what will Katy do with her next album? 

[Chiunzhan 996]

Not a pop girl, but Björk is the Queen of experimental music. Every single album is different (except for Vulnicura that is kind of a mix from all her previous efforts).

[Bio 23,538]

Beyoncé and Rihanna have always been urban, what are you talking about? The difference is that they tried to go for a poppier sound sometime in their career but they came right back to where they shine. Beyoncé came back to the urban sound in 4 (2011) and Rihanna in Unapologetic (2012).