Post by alexandria2001 on May 11, 2024 19:46:54 GMT -5
By this time in the 2010s, there were multiple different sounds defining the decade as it was going on. Electro Pop, Progressive House, Brostep, the DJ Mustard sound... Tropical House and the minimalistic pop/mono pop sound Lorde inspired was kicking off.
The same happened with previous decades and their own styles. We know each decade has their own unique sounds. The 10s ended up being Trap Rap/Pop, for the 00s it was Pop Punk, for the 90s it was Grunge, for the 80s it was Synth Pop and so on. Sometimes sounds come about later on in a decade, like with the 10s starting to sound like the 10s in 2015 when Trap Rap/Pop and Tropical House/Pop started to get more popular. The 00s started to sound like the 00s in 2004 when Pop Punk was fully dominating and Crunk, along with Ur Bling, had blown up, as another example. The early parts of both decades had their own thing going. The first half of the 10s was louder and synthy with influence from Electro House, Euro Pop, and Progressive House, the second half was minimalistic and had Trap, Tropical House, and Future Bass influences.
Since this decade isn't close to being done yet, we most likely don't yet know what this decade's most defining sound is, so what is its most defining sound so far?
Whatever it is, it's been overshadowed by the popularity of Retro Pop. Pop hits are taking on different decades' sounds. 70s Disco, 80s Synth Pop, 00s Pop Rock, etc. The most prominent sound of today style is Trap. Although it dipped in popularity and influence in 2021, there have been Trap smashes since. Wait For U, Heat Waves, abcdefu, I Like You (A Happier Song), Paint The Town Red etc. However, that can't strictly be attributed to the 2020s, due to it being known as a 2010s sound already. Rock influenced Trap, like in Mood and Rapstar, however, was definitely a 2020s thing.
Minimalistic Pop/Mono Pop has continued to be thing. In 2020, it still sounded very 2010s chill (Savage Love, Bones, Circles.) In 2021, it took a synthier turn with minimalistic, sometimes lo-fi esque synths. (Kiss Me More, I Like You (A Happier Song) (which of course is also Trap Pop,) Peaches (which I'd argue isn't really Retro Pop, but instead modernized into a sort of sound of today.)
2023 - present Country is the first upswing that feels like something huge, although it's not a new sound at all. Last Night could've worked in 2017, I Remember Everything reminds me of older Country... there are only a couple Country hits right now that I can say sound current, and they don't sound more than a little unique.
Indie has gone through two big upswing this decade so far, and both had very 2010s sounding hits. I Ain't Worried sounded very 2014 whistle Indie and Too Sweet could've been a thing in 2015, for example. Bad Habits is one of the only exceptions.
EDM hits started off unique, with Slap House in 2020 - 2022, but went in the Retro direction by calling back to 90s House, Y2K DnB, and Y2K Trance. Strangers by Kenya Grace, at least, despite its beat being very DnB, has a modern minimalistic vibe and, in some parts, synths I've heard in plenty of Deep House songs from this decade so far.
Then there's Phonk/Drift Phonk, a popular genre with Gen Z. Songs in this genre get millions of likes, millions of streams... METAMORPHOSIS by INTERWORLD, released in 2021, currently has 600 Million streams on Spotify. It sounds pretty unique to this decade/modern to me, even despite the common bell preset being called "Retro Cowbell." However, the streams don't seem to be high enough for these songs to chart high on Spotify daily charts. Still though, those total numbers don't lie.
Rage is another genre that sounds unique to this decade. Playboi Carti, Trippie Redd, and Yeat are the forefront of it. Songs of this genre manage to chart on the Hot 100, although the most popular one, FE!N by Travis Scott and Playboi Carti, has 500 Million streams on Spotify.
I must also mention Jersey Club, since there have been three hit songs of the genre. Boys a liar pt. 2 is the biggest example with 800 Million streams on Spotify. Deli and Drake's Sticky are the other two.
Afrobeat is another genre that's blowing up and sounds like it could be a staple of this decade, with a couple of moderate-sized hits so far. Essence, Calm Down, and Water are the ones. Calm Down is the biggest with 1.3 Billion Streams on Spotify. Essence has 200 Million and Water has 600 Million.
Then there's Latin Pop/Dancehall, which still has the sound it embraced in the mid or late 2010s. Of course leftovers can still be a modern sound for their time as long as they're still relevant, but this is about sounds that can be considered unique to the 2020s. And yes, there can be multiple. There always have been. But I'm curious about what the most definitive one is.
What is the most definitive "sound of today" for the 2020s so far?
The same happened with previous decades and their own styles. We know each decade has their own unique sounds. The 10s ended up being Trap Rap/Pop, for the 00s it was Pop Punk, for the 90s it was Grunge, for the 80s it was Synth Pop and so on. Sometimes sounds come about later on in a decade, like with the 10s starting to sound like the 10s in 2015 when Trap Rap/Pop and Tropical House/Pop started to get more popular. The 00s started to sound like the 00s in 2004 when Pop Punk was fully dominating and Crunk, along with Ur Bling, had blown up, as another example. The early parts of both decades had their own thing going. The first half of the 10s was louder and synthy with influence from Electro House, Euro Pop, and Progressive House, the second half was minimalistic and had Trap, Tropical House, and Future Bass influences.
Since this decade isn't close to being done yet, we most likely don't yet know what this decade's most defining sound is, so what is its most defining sound so far?
Whatever it is, it's been overshadowed by the popularity of Retro Pop. Pop hits are taking on different decades' sounds. 70s Disco, 80s Synth Pop, 00s Pop Rock, etc. The most prominent sound of today style is Trap. Although it dipped in popularity and influence in 2021, there have been Trap smashes since. Wait For U, Heat Waves, abcdefu, I Like You (A Happier Song), Paint The Town Red etc. However, that can't strictly be attributed to the 2020s, due to it being known as a 2010s sound already. Rock influenced Trap, like in Mood and Rapstar, however, was definitely a 2020s thing.
Minimalistic Pop/Mono Pop has continued to be thing. In 2020, it still sounded very 2010s chill (Savage Love, Bones, Circles.) In 2021, it took a synthier turn with minimalistic, sometimes lo-fi esque synths. (Kiss Me More, I Like You (A Happier Song) (which of course is also Trap Pop,) Peaches (which I'd argue isn't really Retro Pop, but instead modernized into a sort of sound of today.)
2023 - present Country is the first upswing that feels like something huge, although it's not a new sound at all. Last Night could've worked in 2017, I Remember Everything reminds me of older Country... there are only a couple Country hits right now that I can say sound current, and they don't sound more than a little unique.
Indie has gone through two big upswing this decade so far, and both had very 2010s sounding hits. I Ain't Worried sounded very 2014 whistle Indie and Too Sweet could've been a thing in 2015, for example. Bad Habits is one of the only exceptions.
EDM hits started off unique, with Slap House in 2020 - 2022, but went in the Retro direction by calling back to 90s House, Y2K DnB, and Y2K Trance. Strangers by Kenya Grace, at least, despite its beat being very DnB, has a modern minimalistic vibe and, in some parts, synths I've heard in plenty of Deep House songs from this decade so far.
Then there's Phonk/Drift Phonk, a popular genre with Gen Z. Songs in this genre get millions of likes, millions of streams... METAMORPHOSIS by INTERWORLD, released in 2021, currently has 600 Million streams on Spotify. It sounds pretty unique to this decade/modern to me, even despite the common bell preset being called "Retro Cowbell." However, the streams don't seem to be high enough for these songs to chart high on Spotify daily charts. Still though, those total numbers don't lie.
Rage is another genre that sounds unique to this decade. Playboi Carti, Trippie Redd, and Yeat are the forefront of it. Songs of this genre manage to chart on the Hot 100, although the most popular one, FE!N by Travis Scott and Playboi Carti, has 500 Million streams on Spotify.
I must also mention Jersey Club, since there have been three hit songs of the genre. Boys a liar pt. 2 is the biggest example with 800 Million streams on Spotify. Deli and Drake's Sticky are the other two.
Afrobeat is another genre that's blowing up and sounds like it could be a staple of this decade, with a couple of moderate-sized hits so far. Essence, Calm Down, and Water are the ones. Calm Down is the biggest with 1.3 Billion Streams on Spotify. Essence has 200 Million and Water has 600 Million.
Then there's Latin Pop/Dancehall, which still has the sound it embraced in the mid or late 2010s. Of course leftovers can still be a modern sound for their time as long as they're still relevant, but this is about sounds that can be considered unique to the 2020s. And yes, there can be multiple. There always have been. But I'm curious about what the most definitive one is.
What is the most definitive "sound of today" for the 2020s so far?
