If you haven’t heard the song “Royals” on the radio or in a shopping center over the past few weeks, you probably have not gone out much. The song is everywhere, currently ranking #12 on itunes, but will almost certainly ascend even higher up the list. The singer to this unconventional pop hit is Ella Yelich-O’Connor, known by her stage name, Lorde. In the New York Times Arts Section this week, there was an article about her by Jon Pareles, and when I glanced at it, I had to find out more about this 16 year old star.
The article mainly focused about her background (she started writing music at age 12 and was discovered in a talent show) and her style of music (mostly pop ballads with low undertones). However, the article made one very intriguing contrast between this girl on the brink of stardom and othe female vocalists who have benn at the zenith of pop for the past few years(Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry). “Royals” and other Lorde songs such as “Glory and Gore” and “Buzzcut Season” portray images such as a grossly divided economic situation, the temptations of partying, and “refuge and reassurance”. Conversely, all Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus and other female stars sing about is heart break with boy friends and their responses.
It got me thinking is pop today – forget about male or female – all starting to sound the same? While there are many talented performers and original acts that arise in all genres of music every year, I feel that the specific area of pop is becoming a little too easy to break into. Just a catchy beat and some lyrics about a lover is all anyone needs to climb the ladder to fame and success. The article even sited a figure in the music industry, named Dr. Luke, that has collaborated on many successful hits all dealing with this topic. Two of these songs include, you guessed it, “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus and “Roar” by Katy Perry. Other hits such as Maroon 5’s “Love Somebody” could also be categorized as “easy” because of their witless lyrics and unoriginal beats.
It’s also disappointing to see this because music is something that can be original and popular (see every Kanye West album), so for the kings and queens of pop to succumb to just selling as many records as possible by using a simple formula cheats not only their own creative ability but also the listeners as well.
The article continued on by saying that Lorde’s performance at Webster Hall this week was just her, a keyboardist, a drummer, and her recorded tracks in the background. Compared to other musicians who has twelve piece bands and auto tune/voice fix ups, it’s a breath of fresh air for music fans who crave a raw talent.
Let me know how you all feel: Is pop all sounding the same, or is it in a good place? Have your heard the song “Royals” and do you think it’s original? Perhaps most importantly, can this teenage star, with her serious demeanor and deep lyrics, create real music that will make an impact?
Works Cited:
Jon Pareles, New York Times Art Section, “She’s 16, but Not Thinking Sweet”, October 1, 2013, web. October 2, 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/02/arts/music/shes-16-but-not-thinking-of-sweet.html?ref=arts&_r=0>
Itunes Chart, web. October 2, 2013. <http://www.apple.com/itunes/charts/songs/>
My two friends made me listen to Lorde a couple of months ago and I “fell in love at first sound.” She has a beautiful voice and, as your blog post states, the subject matter of her lyrics is fresh and mature, especially for an artist her age. I get really excited when artists like her hit it off on the pop music scene and I hope she sticks around for awhile.
I also really appreciate Lorde for her ability to captivate an audience sans nudity and controversy. (Ahem Miley Cyrus) The video for her song, “Tennis Courts,” literally just shows her face and how she reacts to her lyrics as she sings. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8Ymd-OCucs
I first heard the song ” Royals” by Lorde at a restaurant with my girlfriend. It was so different from every other song that we both took out our phones to Shazaam it and find out more about it. Even though restaurants use music as background noise for their customers conversations, this song was so different and the voice was so beautiful that it totally caught my attention.
I do feel, and have felt, that pop is becoming somewhat of a joke as the songs are all the same in beat and crappy, low-depth lyrics. It really is an insult to the listeners and the writers because people follow their favorite artists, buy an album for 15$ and then are completely disappointed with the lack of authenticity. It has always been that you can start with different music to get famous and then sell-out, but now you can start by selling-out and still become famous. It really seems ridiculous to me that people continue to buy these songs.
I don’t think anything sums this up more than the YouTube hit by Rebecca Black on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfVsfOSbJY0
Lorde is definitely a new type of popular artist, especially for a girl. It’s a nice change to have a female ‘pop star’ become famous because of her lyrics instead of nudity and cliche love songs.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the Katy Perry or Taylor Swift pop music. If that is what you enjoy then by all means listen to it. But I think it is important to listen to more than just this genre. Music can make us feel safe and comfortable with easy, familiar lyrics but sometimes it also needs to challenge us. I think that Lorde is a step in the right direction of making music that can be ‘popular’ and at the same time make us think.
I actually had to look up this song after reading your post because I haven’t heard it before. What struck me about it was her subject matter. As opposed to singing about love, or partying, or drugs and alcohol, she croons about growing up and living in poverty. She sings about what today’s music is all about; riches and parties and lavishness, none of which she has ever experienced. This is such a refreshing change from the mainstream songs out there. To find a song on the radio with substance instead of shallow complaints about a lost love is difficult nowadays. Music used to be about inspiring change and bringing attention to controversial topics in a creative manner, not mass-production of electronically altered trills from a scantily clad artist. In my opinion, the quality of music has degraded these past few years but I hope with the introduction of Lorde she can remind listeners and artists what music is supposed to be about.
I think Lorde is a completely refreshing music artist. Her songs are original and she truly does create real music. When I listen to music I tend to pay more attention to the lyrics rather than the beat because I want to know that an artist is expressing meaningful messages through their music. Not only does Lorde accomplish this, but her music is very original and unique to listen to.
I do agree that a lot of pop nowadays sounds the same, which is unfortunate. Many people want to hear or see the same things because they are not used to change in musical taste. When someone new comes around, like Lorde, it’s always interesting to see how people react because they either completely love it or are afraid to listen because they might not like it. I hope Lorde leaves an impact on both listeners and other artists because the musical industry needs a breathe of new, fresh air.
When I first listened to Lorde I was trying to find some new music that i hadn’t heard before, and believe me, I had never heard of Lorde. I thought the song was absolutely beautiful. “Royals” wasn’t just catchy but it was lyrically beautiful, the voice was original, and the sound was new. I put it on repeat and just kept listening to it. When her full album came out “Pure Heorine” I was really excited because it was something new to other music. I got the album on Spotify and have listened the whole album. Each song had a strong and independent meaning behind it and they were all different while still holding a note of similarity. My favorites are “Buzzcut Session,” “Team,” and “Ribs.” For now I hope that she really does well because she’s very level headed especially in this interview she gave you just feel that she is humble and finds the whole pop stardum thing as a normal everyday activity. It sounds kind of pretentious, but I think she’s just showing how she’s still a person and a teen at that and that this doesn’t really change her it only changes how others view her. Throughout everything I think and I hope she keeps the mindset that she doesn’t have to change and that we could have a real role model of an artist that shows what humility and being humble is.
http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/29/q-a-the-teenage-singing-sensation-lorde-on-overnight-stardom/
Lorde’s music is definitely different. I heard Royals on Spotify and I decided to check her music out. She’s incredibly talented for 16 years old; I couldn’t believe she was so young when I first listened to her. My favorite is her song “Tennis Courts.” I can definitely see a future star in the works.
I used to be really into pop music – I would wake up to Z100 and listen whenever I was in the car. That has slowly changed throughout the past few years. I definitely have noticed the similarities between pop music. Listen to Z100 for more than a few minutes and you’ll come to realize everything sounds the same, or the lyrics are all very similar. I read an article a few days ago on CNN. What caught my eye was the title: “Is Lorde’s ‘Royals,’ the top song on the Billboard Hot 100, racist?” I think it’s really interesting that this pop song, which like you said is lyrically different from most pop songs out there right now, is being subject to the racism question. Lorde responded to these accusations, stating the lyrics to the song are simply a response to the messages the pop songs she grew up listening were about.
Pop music is definitely something you’re either going to love or hate. I believe they’re always going to sound the same, because these artists are going to want to sing about what is “popular,” hence the name of the genre. I’m excited to see Lorde’s career expand as she gets older.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/09/showbiz/lorde-royals-racism-spat/index.html
http://www.metrolyrics.com/royals-lyrics-lorde.html
To start off, I absolutely love the song “Royals.” When I first heard it on the radio, I went home and played it on repeat. I completely agree with your reference to Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry; nowadays it seems like all songs are about love, breakups, or something of that sort. The combination of meaningful lyrics and original beat caused “Royals” to stand out in today’s mainstream music.
I was shocked to find out that Lorde is only 16-years-old because not only does her voice sound more mature, but also she talks about important issues in “Royals.” I think Lorde’s music will continue to thrive because people are getting bored of cliché mainstream music and crave something new.
I found an interesting article that discusses today’s music (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/01/mainstream-music-is-about_n_1069230.html). It says that “pop and rap music has evolved into a shallow, image-obsessed industry that conforms to what the public wants to hear and see, eliminating the focus on the actual music” (Mainstream Music: Where did all the good artists go?). I agree with this because the main topics in today’s mainstream music revolve around love, sex, and drugs. Lorde’s musics is a refreshing change.
I’ve never heard of the song “Royal” until I looked it up just now. I agree that it’s a lot different from the pop that we’re generally used to, and it’s amazing that she has so much talent for a young adult. She’s certainly mature, and I think that’s what allows her to create such deep and meaningful lyrics. But I don’t think we should be putting down the rest of the pop scene simply because it’s all repetitive now.
I agree that pop songs share familiar beats and lyrics, and maybe that makes breaking into the industry easier, but there is no real or fake music. Music is an outlet; Lorde sang about poverty while other artists sang about love. I believe that most artists get inspiration from the world around them, whether it only includes the life they live or also includes societal issues, and love is an overrated, but nonetheless frontal, inspiration. It’s relatable for everyone, and that’s why it’s “mainstream.”