ST, Lemonade, Anti, Sweetener Metacritic Score

[JR Gg 12,985]

34 minutes ago, Nicogly said:

pop is  a very flexible term man... and it definitely fits both ANTi and Lemonade 

Yes pop is very flexible but those 2 albums are more urban than pop. Albums can be pop with urban influences but these 2 are mainly urban with pop influences. 

[Hoeanne 1,061]

Pop as a genre term has everything to do with structure and production style and nothing to do with the actual sounds involved. EDM, Euro-dance, and New Wave/Synth-Pop influenced music has no greater claim to the label Pop than RnB and Hip-Hop influenced music. By any rational definition Beyonce and Rihanna are Pop stars who make Pop music. There is no reason to draw a distinction between them and their more New Wave and Eurodance influenced contemporaries. The reason their music is getting praised like it is is because it's their best music yet. They are both more than a decade into their solo careers (Beyonce specifically has been in the industry since she was a child) and you can tell they've learned how to do their jobs and make/choose material that works for them.

[FGGrayson 9,670]

7 hours ago, ryanripley said:

@Silvestro Devacelli made several points, stay pressedT

[ryanripley 86,575]

2 minutes ago, FrankGutz said:

@Silvestro Devacelli made several points, stay pressedT

he made no points, stay pressedT

[Mr S 8,671]

To be honest, ST and ANTI deserved an 80+. As did Lemonade (not 90 though). THose are great albums.

But there is some truth to what you say. Urban music is edgy and cool. Critics have always liked that. They don't like safe. But urban music is basically pop music. It's as safe and mainstream as you can get. But it's still edgy and different from the more traditional pop.

I don't agree that any artist can do an urban album and get praised. LG would be bashed. Xtina has tried it and failed. You have to be good at it.

I'm perplexed about Ariana's praise. I don't think its that good nor do I think she pulls off urban well.