I’ll come right out and say it; I’m a pop music lover. I like Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter, and much more. Does that make me “basic”? Maybe, but I don’t really care. But nowadays, you can’t listen to ANY type of music without being judged. I will argue, though, that one of the main hit takers of this is pop music. Sure, people dislike country, metal, blah blah blah. But personally I don’t think I’ve heard anyone hate on any genre of music more then I’ve heard people hate on pop music. Why is this? There’s a few reasons that I believe stick out as the main contenders as to why people hate pop.
The “pop” in pop music quite literally means popular. So what’s the deal? In mainstream culture, it often considered cool or edgy to not like things that are popular. Movies, tv shows, and music all apply. Sometimes, you do genuinely dislike a piece of media and that’s fine (for example, I really disliked Challengers but I get flamed every time I tell someone that). But to hate something simply because it’s popular is truly stupid. How do you think it got as popular as it did? Because it’s GOOD. People most of the time don’t allow something to gain that much popularity if it’s not at least decent (key words there were most of the time, there have been some questionable things that have become popular). Artists gain popularity thanks to their music becoming popular, so we should appreciate art becoming more mainstream so we can cheer on our favorite artists!
I also believe that issue that we’ve created as a society is treating pop music as some kind of scandalous pleasure. I saw a Tik Tok the other day of a girl who said she was ashamed that she liked Sabrina Carpenter’s newest album “Short N’ Sweet” and that just left me floored. Why are you ashamed to like it? It’s not like you’re admitting to liking some crazy album, it’s Sabrina Carpenter for crying out loud! I’ve seen MULTIPLE videos of people being embarrassed to admit they like other very mainstream artists such as Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Charli XCX and more. Why is that embarrassing? They make music. Are you not allowed to listen? I guess I don’t understand why liking something popular is shameful or embarrassing.
What I believe to be the main issue with pop music, at least nowadays, is that it’s mainly female run. Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, Beyonce, Chappell Roan, Charli XCX, Ariana Grande, Doja Cat, and so many other female artists are at the height of the career and people HATE that. Whether they realize they’re hating or not, people dislike when women are running an industry. Think back to when male artists dominated the industry; One Direction, Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and many other men were never hated as much at the height of their careers as much as women have been. It was never “embarrassing” to be a fan of the Beatles but it’s embarrassing to be a Swiftie? Why? Some of the Beatles fans were just as crazy as some Swifties has been, so what’s the difference? Men are allowed to scream and go crazy for their favorite sports team, but when women to it at a concert it’s crazy behavior? What is the difference? Exactly, there isn’t one. People, for the most part, are just misogynistic whether they realize it or not.
I won’t sit here and act like men have never gotten hate in their life. That whole incident with Harry Styles when he won a Grammy and said “this doesn’t happen to people like me” drove him to get mass amounts of hate (I’m still not exactly sure what he was trying to say there, though). But in my honest opinion, I don’t think I’ve heard of a mainstream pop male get as much hate as a woman. If they get into some scandal, it’s often forgot about a little bit after. While for a woman, she may never hear the end of it. I’m not saying either scandal should be forgiven, but the social implications of a scandal are just so much worse for a woman’s career then a mans. Shall we compare Drake and Ariana Grande? The level of their scandals was absolutely not held up to the same standard, despite both being in some pretty hot water. Drake had his scandal turned into a meme, for crying out loud. While I’ve seen memes come about for Ariana Grande as well, they are way harsher than anything I’ve ever seen for a man.
So, I would say the “issue” with pop music is non existent. Listen to whatever you want, because in the end it doesn’t matter. As long as you don’t hate on others for the type of music they listen to, you’re fine. Whether it be pop, country, metal, rap, or whatever else kind of music there might be, as long as you like it, that’s what matters!