Why are so many PG discographies getting worse?

[Smother Em Eh 7,327]

Katy for starters. Going from a great debut to THE Teenage Dream and Prism to Witness and then to release something like 143. Like how? 

Nicki with PF2 releasing a bunch of remixes to iconic songs from the 80’s. Where is the creativity? 

Next, is Xtina, her last album wasn’t great and just so forgettable and Lotus is 🗑️ aside from 2 songs. 

Taylor as well. TTPD was like a watered down version of most of the songs from midnights, TLOASG is NOT great and TLOASG Encore is a choice  

Honestly and sadly so Miley too considering she’s released some great projects. Like Plastic Hearts and Something Beautiful were solid. Honestly if I were Miley, I wouldn’t have even released BP and kept SB as my last album until I crafted up a better project. 

Same for Gwen and Ariana’s last one was a BIG disappointment too! 
 

Atleast Britney didn’t allow her last album to be BJ and got her spark back with Glory, Gaga picked up with Mayhem, Rihanna last album was solid. The other Artists I mentioned last albums were NOT great and I ask why? 

[ALonelyNight 864]

Yeah it's truly heartbreaking. They need to follow Cupcakke's lead and upgrade their discogs to XXX

[River 129,325]

Well.. they are like a long lasting tv series, at some point they have nothing more to say... 

[nATAH 58,584]

lukewarm take: katy's albums have never actually been that good from start to finish

there's such a huge difference in quality between the singles and album tracks, especially with teenage dream

when i heard the album back to front (when i was an actual casual fan), i was really surprised by how basic it was (same with OOTB) and i'd argue that Prism is a slight improvement and her best album

teenage dream does not deserve to be praised as one of the all time greats #sorry

[JohnPokerface 1,194]

The richer they get the worse the music becomes, they are not hungry anymore

[Smother Em Eh 7,327]

8 minutes ago, ALonelyNight said:

Yeah it's truly heartbreaking. They need to follow Cupcakke's lead and upgrade their discogs to XXX

Interesting way to put it  but yes

[gagzus 26,061]

It’s because of a few reasons, and artistic evolution is one of those. Popularity and exposure is another.

Katy’s albums for example seem good to those of us that were there because of things beyond the actual music quality, I’ve equally seen younger people who have said her music has, in fact, never been good. There’s also equally plenty of young people who say Gaga hasn’t had a single good album since The Fame Monster.

Creatively, now we have gone back to the 90s way of making music where we want people’s music to be current, introspective and written by them themselves. All the biggest pop stars now write their own music and make it introspective for fans.

Whereas people like Katy and even Rihanna have barely ever had personal input into their music, which worked back in the 2000s/early 10s. Not so much now.

Arguably that’s a reason why Rihanna hasn’t released music in a decade, because she has it made and written for her. And she and her label are probably scared about the possible reception which probably will go one of two ways; her being bigger than Taylor Swift—probably causing Taylor to battle it out tactically. Or it’ll do abysmal (like her Smurf’s song) and people will just say it simply isn’t as good as her old music.

Also nostalgia. Back in the day artists would use nostalgia but put their own spin on it. Nowadays, people directly use nostalgia without a spin on it.

Edited yesterday at 05:27 PM by gagzus

[bxr 3,225]

On the blink, there‘s a narrative distinction between the performers referenced in defense of your position, and the two who detour from the decline … Britney and Rihanna effectually went on hiatus / sabbatical / retirement from the industry, and both performers have seen some of the darkest aspects of the machine … Britney arguably went on a persona kamikaze mission to maintain some sense of fundamental integrity or at least personal agency in that push for independence 

Other than that, the first consideration that surfaced to mind was the cultural / social function of music … music has practical effects on psychology and biology … these effects translate into concepts of personal agency at the social, cultural, and political levels … music and the industry are mutually exclusive, but yoked in a sort of manufactured interdependence … but, that is just to consider that the industry has gradually suppressed the apparent creative development or artistic evolution of their more prominent “pop girls” for whatever reason

Jesse Mayshark published a book exploring his thesis of “Post Pop Cinema” … where the central tension in this 21st Century emergence of a more character-driven narrative format (a la Sofia Coppola, David Fincher), versus the plot-driven formulaic Tarantino style reflects the larger social shift from male-driven power structures, to the rise of women to positions of de facto cultural authority … and how individuals would move through that transformation at a personal level … so, almost like, how would the teen girls of the TRL age learn how to identify themselves as individuals with agency, and center their power in spaces beyond their physical bodies as objects for the male gaze and or industrial exploitation … and how would boys cope with their fall from passive power … pop culture, especially within the MTV generational scope, began to function as a sort of reality drama or docupop format where the persona and person became a hybrid iconography or a cultural figure that had that hidden-in-plain-sight feedback loop between the performing artist and their core audience‘s shared identity

 

TL;DR: All of that is just to consider the social / cultural / political function of music, and how the decline in “pop girl” discographies might reflect the interests or authority of the corporations or business networks who manage / navigate / dictate their work in the world … none of the pop girls referenced are independent, so I would level up to the powers the girls depend on for their career presence

But this is just riffing on the blink … and none of this might make a modicum of sense … still new, novice, and learning!

Edited yesterday at 05:44 PM by bxr

[Duella Dvil 12,327]

28 minutes ago, ALonelyNight said:

Yeah it's truly heartbreaking. They need to follow Cupcakke's lead and upgrade their discogs to XXX

If this is sarcasm, you chose the WRONG artist. Bakkery is THAT GURL

UFO SMASHES

The entire era has been so good and the tour was so fun!

[Lucas 31,686]

Music in general is getting worse, not just pop girls

[ALonelyNight 864]

6 minutes ago, Duella Dvil said:

If this is sarcasm, you chose the WRONG artist. Bakkery is THAT GURL

UFO SMASHES

The entire era has been so good and the tour was so fun!

Gurl I'm on your side, XXX is a compliment

[Duella Dvil 12,327]

3 minutes ago, ALonelyNight said:

Gurl I'm on your side, XXX is a compliment

Okay good, but like oh my god what a moment. 

I didn't know how Cupcakke was gonna top Dauntless Manifesto but miss gurl did THAT

[Hadrian 2,824]

My personal theory is that they start to devolve because they get surrounded by stans and yaaaas-kweens who cheer for whatever their fav happens to slop out.

Or they get surrounded by people pleasers who are afraid to hurt their feelings by being honest about their crappy songs LMFAO

[bxr 3,225]

22 minutes ago, Lucas said:

Music in general is getting worse, not just pop girls

Solid point; maybe it’s just simple class war … once you sign charismatic talent, just control their output and build their character to perform your narrative … no owner wants the workers to run the factory of cultural production … and some workers just want the work of cultural presence, regardless of the product 

Again though, new and novice … I’m just riffing on proximal references 

[FfFfFfFF 59,064]

46 minutes ago, JohnPokerface said:

The richer they get the worse the music becomes, they are not hungry anymore

Xtina can confirm!