Why are main pop boys a rare breed these days?

[waterfall 820]

When I was younger I used to love both the pop girls and pop boys but lately im realizing the younger generation don’t rlly got a designated pop boy for them… like the classic pop boys who giving u a lil dance some stage presence selling that young bf kinda vibe ig.

Ik they not fully gone, just a new form. the guys now—sombr, benson, alex, role model—they all blend together for me. i can’t really differentiate them… they all feel like the same “not like other boys” popstar. id rather a gay popstar become the next real male popstar over them… lil nas x rlly had IT during that demonic era and then u guys right he went overboard and no one took him seriously no more. shame cuz i remember when industry baby came out, the gays but also the straights rlly liked that song… had the perfect balance to appeal to both but idk if much women were there tho.

anyways, back then it was easier to tell. bruno mars had real popstar performance energy and the groovy funk sound, justin was versatile (usually ppl associate constancy with a popstar, but i think with him, i associate the opposite ig cuz it always felt like a new him everytime he came back… like going from raw r&b jail era to complete 180 in sound and image for purpose and then his musty era with trap music changes which flopped so he did the whole Christian look holy pop for the next era ig) and gave us drama, and the weeknd feels like a popstar too because of his clear crafted eras (the visuals, mvs, multiple singles for long eras) and dark aesthetic.

i kinda wish we’d get a clone from them rather than the new shawn/ed/harry clones but im guessing it’s cuz the later are more safe and fit in the new gen dudes standards. most my muts moved to kpop a few years back because they sell the full popstar package better.

[hELXIG 44,522]

Idk. They're boring? Rise in conservatism means they are too afraid to push boundaries? And if they do it seems disingenuous?  I've always found men in music boring though. I've never believe in such things as an 'industry plant' but Sombr is the first time I started to wonder. Then I saw an interview in which he said he literally writes a hook, tests it on TikTok to see if it's worth making the full song, and then proceeded to pat himself on the back for being a marketing genius. If this is what they're doing now, instead of writing actual music to express themselves and their feelings and ideas, then it's no wonder they come across as generic with nothing to say

[Dr Fudge 8,665]

I think the Swiftologist explains it well. In short, they’re boring and reinvention often falls short for male pop stars both in execution as well as reception.

 

 

[weed 77,061]

Idk anything about anything but I feel like a lot of it falls on the consumer.. the people aren't streaming unique people

[Guillaume Hamon 6,778]

Nearly none is good aside the "'older ones" like Abel and Bruno as you said...

Main reason imo! 

[zevthepaparazzo 1,634]

As a wise midwestern princess once said:
Men don't make good art