Who is the Queen of Pop right now?

[leonagwen]

Who is the Queen of Pop right now? Taylor Swift? Dua Lipa? or someone else?

[Luckie Starchild]

Taylor... duh...

[jdanton2]

Taylor but there others more deserved .

[leonagwen]

Nov 18, 2023 10:51:37 GMT -5 Luckie Starchild said:

Taylor... duh...

You can make a case for others too.

[Ling-Ling]

It's obviously Taylor. She towers over everybody right now.

Doja Cat, Olivia and Dua are definitely the next tier though.

[Luckie Starchild]

Nov 18, 2023 12:24:32 GMT -5 leonagwen said:

Nov 18, 2023 10:51:37 GMT -5 Luckie Starchild said:

Taylor... duh...

You can make a case for others too.

It's cute that you think that...

[soulfulwings]

Definitely Taylor, she has the music industry in the palm of her hand.

[neel]

It's Taylor (obviously), as she has been for the last 10 years of pop culture. Interested who would succeed her.

[Ｓｏｕｎｄｃｌ🕤ｃｋ]

I hate those nicknames, but yes, Taylor is the biggest artist currently and of the decade so far. Dua Lipa? pls.......she has an ear for hits that's for sure, but I think people are there for her only because of that. Maybe it'll change with her upcoming project, who knows.

[Koochie]

Cupcakke

[Forever Winter]

Taylor and no one is more deserving of it 

[Glass Joe]

Yeah, it's definitely Taylor and no one else is even close. BUT that does beg some questions. Such as why? And for how long is that going to last?
Not for Taylor fans to jump on me, but you have to think about it logically. She already owned the 2010s decade, so shouldn't it be due to change? Usually when a new decade hits, a new star is on top.

It appeared at the start of the new decade that that person was going to be Billie Eilish. Then in the 2 years that followed, it looked like it was going to be Olivia Rodrigo. But, then as soon as Swift drops new material, everyone automatically reverts back to her. The others were only placeholders for people who were waiting for more Taylor material.

No one has ever had this long of a stay on top of the music world when you think about it. Even with her wild popularity, Madonna was only on top for the mid and late 80s (or roughly 1985 to 1990), and then by the 1991 to 1996 range, Mariah Carey was definitely on top. But even with her incredible vocal talent, her popularity faded out. And by the last year of the 90s and early 2000s, Britney was the top star!

So, what is it exactly that attributes to Taylor's insane and uncomparable popularity? She doesn't have the same vocal range and signing ability as Mariah. It's hard to say really what keeps people glued to her. But isn't it time for someone else to take over?

I think it is, but no one else seems to be resonating with the fans.

[neel]

Nov 19, 2023 12:29:15 GMT -5 Glass Joe said:

Yeah, it's definitely Taylor and no one else is even close. BUT that does beg some questions. Such as why? And for how long is that going to last?
Not for Taylor fans to jump on me, but you have to think about it logically. She already owned the 2010s decade, so shouldn't it be due to change? Usually when a new decade hits, a new star is on top.

It appeared at the start of the new decade that that person was going to be Billie Eilish. Then in the 2 years that followed, it looked like it was going to be Olivia Rodrigo. But, then as soon as Swift drops new material, everyone automatically reverts back to her. The others were only placeholders for people who were waiting for more Taylor material.

No one has ever had this long of a stay on top of the music world when you think about it. Even with her wild popularity, Madonna was only on top for the mid and late 80s (or roughly 1985 to 1990), and then by the 1991 to 1996 range, Mariah Carey was definitely on top. But even with her incredible vocal talent, her popularity faded out. And by the last year of the 90s and early 2000s, Britney was the top star!

So, what is it exactly that attributes to Taylor's insane and uncomparable popularity? She doesn't have the same vocal range and signing ability as Mariah. It's hard to say really what keeps people glued to her. But isn't it time for someone else to take over?

I think it is, but no one else seems to be resonating with the fans.

I know this is said a lot, but the pop girlies really aren’t popping like they used to. The early 2020s are pretty much over, and we only have Dua, Olivia, and Doja as the successful new pop girls in this initial phase of the decade.
Despite Billie dominating the last year of the 2010s and appearing poised to become the new Britney of the decade, her 2020 was modest. "Happier than Ever" then dropped and underperformed the commercial success of WWAFAWDWG.

I don't know why the early ‘20s were so sluggish,(maybe COVID and TikTok, but even then...). Nevertheless, I think the field will improve in the next 5.5 years and hopefully. It would say something absolutely went wrong if it’s December 2029 and both Taylor Swift and Drake are crowned "Artist of the Decade".

[Luckie Starchild]

Nov 19, 2023 12:29:15 GMT -5 Glass Joe said:

So, what is it exactly that attributes to Taylor's insane and uncomparable popularity? She doesn't have the same vocal range and signing ability as Mariah. It's hard to say really what keeps people glued to her. But isn't it time for someone else to take over?

She has smart lyrics, a great stage presence, and a mutual love affair with her audience. In these ways, to me, Taylor's kinda like Bruce Springsteen and I see her filling huge venues for a long time to come. Her fans will stick with her.

[Glass Joe]

Nov 19, 2023 17:24:19 GMT -5 neel said:

Nov 19, 2023 12:29:15 GMT -5 Glass Joe said:

Yeah, it's definitely Taylor and no one else is even close. BUT that does beg some questions. Such as why? And for how long is that going to last?
Not for Taylor fans to jump on me, but you have to think about it logically. She already owned the 2010s decade, so shouldn't it be due to change? Usually when a new decade hits, a new star is on top.

It appeared at the start of the new decade that that person was going to be Billie Eilish. Then in the 2 years that followed, it looked like it was going to be Olivia Rodrigo. But, then as soon as Swift drops new material, everyone automatically reverts back to her. The others were only placeholders for people who were waiting for more Taylor material.

No one has ever had this long of a stay on top of the music world when you think about it. Even with her wild popularity, Madonna was only on top for the mid and late 80s (or roughly 1985 to 1990), and then by the 1991 to 1996 range, Mariah Carey was definitely on top. But even with her incredible vocal talent, her popularity faded out. And by the last year of the 90s and early 2000s, Britney was the top star!

So, what is it exactly that attributes to Taylor's insane and uncomparable popularity? She doesn't have the same vocal range and signing ability as Mariah. It's hard to say really what keeps people glued to her. But isn't it time for someone else to take over?

I think it is, but no one else seems to be resonating with the fans.

I know this is said a lot, but the pop girlies really aren’t popping like they used to. The early 2020s are pretty much over, and we only have Dua, Olivia, and Doja as the successful new pop girls in this initial phase of the decade.
Despite Billie dominating the last year of the 2010s and appearing poised to become the new Britney of the decade, her 2020 was modest. "Happier than Ever" then dropped and underperformed the commercial success of WWAFAWDWG.

I don't know why the early ‘20s were so sluggish,(maybe COVID and TikTok, but even then...). Nevertheless, I think the field will improve in the next 5.5 years and hopefully. It would say something absolutely went wrong if it’s December 2029 and both Taylor Swift and Drake are crowned "Artist of the Decade".

Those are all good points. It's definitely going to be interesting. Surely, there will be someone upcoming that will really catch on.

[Glass Joe]

Nov 19, 2023 18:58:05 GMT -5 Luckie Starchild said:

Nov 19, 2023 12:29:15 GMT -5 Glass Joe said:

So, what is it exactly that attributes to Taylor's insane and uncomparable popularity? She doesn't have the same vocal range and signing ability as Mariah. It's hard to say really what keeps people glued to her. But isn't it time for someone else to take over?

She has smart lyrics, a great stage presence, and a mutual love affair with her audience. In these ways, to me, Taylor's kinda like Bruce Springsteen and I see her filling huge venues for a long time to come. Her fans will stick with her.

No doubt about it. But, what's really interesting is that aside from holding on to her original fanbase who are now in the 20-40 age range, she continues to draw in new teens, pre-teens, and even younger audience too as new fans to her fanbase. Most great pop stars, like Pink and Kelly Clarkson, eventually became confined to Hot AC and AC charts and stations since the 2010s because they couldn't resonate with the teenage crowd anymore like they did in the 2000s. I thought Taylor would face the same thing as Pink and Kelly Clarkson, but she continues to dominate the Pop charts with such ease.

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

I think a lot of it is how people are engaging with music in recent years. A combination of streaming abd Tiktok has weakened the value of music. Not that people don’t enjoy it but music seems to be more of a passive or background interest so there’s not as much to get personally invested into unless there’s something about the celebrity to latch onto. Or there’s a community to be part of. That’s why fandom have become important because you become part of that first and that becomes the identity rather than latching onto the music. Lately I’ve been wondering, do younger people (teens and early 20s) feel an emotional connection to the music they love. What is it about music that draws them in. To me, there’s a lack of emotional value in newer music — it’s possible I’m just missing it but seeing how people talk about music…they kind of don’t? So is there a connection with it or is the connection with the persona and the fandom?

[mkarns]

Nov 19, 2023 22:09:10 GMT -5 Glass Joe said:

Nov 19, 2023 18:58:05 GMT -5 Luckie Starchild said:

She has smart lyrics, a great stage presence, and a mutual love affair with her audience. In these ways, to me, Taylor's kinda like Bruce Springsteen and I see her filling huge venues for a long time to come. Her fans will stick with her.

No doubt about it. But, what's really interesting is that aside from holding on to her original fanbase who are now in the 20-40 age range, she continues to draw in new teens, pre-teens, and even younger audience too as new fans to her fanbase. Most great pop stars, like Pink and Kelly Clarkson, eventually became confined to Hot AC and AC charts and stations since the 2010s because they couldn't resonate with the teenage crowd anymore like they did in the 2000s. I thought Taylor would face the same thing as Pink and Kelly Clarkson, but she continues to dominate the Pop charts with such ease.

While not on the same level as Taylor, Miley Cyrus of course first became popular as Hannah Montana in the 2000s, and I don't think most then anticipated that she'd still be having big hits into her 30s. And while R&B/Urban is Beyoncé's base, she still has pop hits over 20 years into her career and her tour this year was a phenomenon comparable to Taylor's.

But Taylor Swift is seemingly on a whole different level; as Ryan Seacrest pointed out on AT40 last week, she's charted there every year since 2007 and after 16 years her hitmaking is seemingly stronger than ever. This despite being in an era of streaming and TikTok which has been seemingly been favourable for more random one-hit (or at best one-era) wonders and fewer durably popular artists.

[Daenerys]

It definitely seems like there has been a missing gap in pop culture mainstays in recent years, which I think comes from the reality that there aren't too many pop stars or pop acts that are successful and are resonating with the public in terms of longevity. It reminds me of the interim period of 1988 - 1996/1997 where there weren't a lot of successful female pop stars and the likes of Debbie Gibson and Tiffany were short lived stars that struggled to find consistent success.

It sort of reminds me of the dry period of the 90's after the success of Madonna, Paul Abdul, Whitney, Janet, and Cyndi Lauper in the 80's, and how the 90's was reset with huge vocalists like Mariah, Toni Braxton, and Celine that Whitney and Janet thrived in, but Madonna struggled. It may just be the fact that the market is saturated with female artists right now today. There needs to be something different like Alanis was in the mid 90's and Britney was at the end of the decade.

I think in terms of pop female acts I tend to see it as Madonna reigning in the 80's, Mariah for most of the 90's, Britney for the first part of the 2000's, and then it was sort of was a shifting template between Kelly Clarkson, Rihanna, and Lady Gaga for the rest of the oughts until Adele smashed in at the top of the 10's.

I sort of disagree with the argument that Taylor was the defacto It Girl for a decade, to me that was sort of a four-way tie between Beyoncé, Katy Perry, Adele, and Taylor with Adele being the top female artist with her domination with both 21 and 25 which to me was the true decade record holder for the 2010's. Taylor maybe was a placeholder because Adele would take such long breaks, but Adele was outperforming her with 21 and 25, there's a bit of revisionist history here -- Reputation and Lover are sort of being retroactively seen as bigger than they were. It's clear though that Taylor has superseded Adele in the last couple years with Adele's under performance of 30. I guess in summary, 21 and 25 are bigger than pretty much every album Taylor released in the 2010's. Adele's fumble with 30 is retroactively making it seem like Taylor has been the biggest artist for decades now, and that's not really the case... Adele had the 2010's on lock in a way no other artist did.

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

People just need something to actually connect to in a way that differs to what's being offered now that we're somehow supposed to connect to. TikTok and the like offer quick fixes but that's it. It's fun but it's enough enough if we're expected to invest ourselves into something beyond a catchy 2-line chorus. I think that's why Taylor and Beyonce are succeeding the way they are because they've continued to give. I guess others are giving too but maybe listeners have become conditioned to expect an easy fix from their pop stars? Idk. In the end, I think it comes down to the laziness of major labels (and maybe of listeners too).

[HamedM1 💔]

Jelly Roll is the nu main pop girl, Need A Favor a pop HIT!!!

[leonagwen]

Nov 20, 2023 13:34:24 GMT -5 Devil Marlena Nylund said:

People just need something to actually connect to in a way that differs to what's being offered now that we're somehow supposed to connect to. TikTok and the like offer quick fixes but that's it. It's fun but it's enough enough if we're expected to invest ourselves into something beyond a catchy 2-line chorus. I think that's why Taylor and Beyoncé are succeeding the way they are because they've continued to give. I guess others are giving too but maybe listeners have become conditioned to expect an easy fix from their pop stars? Idk. In the end, I think it comes down to the laziness of major labels (and maybe of listeners too).

No need to make this thread complicated. Its a simple question and there's about 5 female artists that you can make a case for other than the obvious Taylor Swift.

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

Nov 20, 2023 23:33:47 GMT -5 leonagwen said:

Nov 20, 2023 13:34:24 GMT -5 Devil Marlena Nylund said:

People just need something to actually connect to in a way that differs to what's being offered now that we're somehow supposed to connect to. TikTok and the like offer quick fixes but that's it. It's fun but it's enough enough if we're expected to invest ourselves into something beyond a catchy 2-line chorus. I think that's why Taylor and Beyoncé are succeeding the way they are because they've continued to give. I guess others are giving too but maybe listeners have become conditioned to expect an easy fix from their pop stars? Idk. In the end, I think it comes down to the laziness of major labels (and maybe of listeners too).

No need to make this thread complicated. Its a simple question and there's about 5 female artists that you can make a case for other than the obvious Taylor Swift.

You keep saying that yet you’ve yet to make a case for anyone else. Taylor is the only answer for the present. /thread

[eyeofthestorm]

I was puzzled as to why people kept mentioning Dua's name in here. I legit thought she only had like 5-6 singles total. I had no idea she had twenty top 40 chr hits. 

[Az Paynter]

^ I-- what?! I can understand not knowing some of her debut era singles because it was an absolute fucking dragged-out mess that was all over the place (especially across territories given the number of non-US singles she had then) but like... all of her features and soundtrack singles? PLUS the US-released debut era singles and all of the 'Future Nostalgia' era? How does one miss all that.

[Joe1240]

Taylor Swift for sure! There is no one else out there at the moment.


Other ones-
Olivia Rodrigo
Billie Eilish
Doja Cat
Dua Lipa

Ariana Grande would of been an contender if she kept releasing albums after “Positions”

Veteran Artists who had comebacks recently-
Kylie Minogue
Shakira
Miley Cyrus

Tate McRae is an early contender at the moment with “Greedy” & “exes” if she has more hits beyond those.

[leonagwen]

Nov 22, 2023 7:37:43 GMT -5 Joe1240 said:

Taylor Swift for sure! There is no one else out there at the moment.


Other ones-
Olivia Rodrigo
Billie Eilish
Doja Cat
Dua Lipa

Ariana Grande would of been an contender if she kept releasing albums after “Positions”

Veteran Artists who had comebacks recently-
Kylie Minogue
Shakira
Miley Cyrus

Tate McRae is an early contender at the moment with “Greedy” & “exes” if she has more hits beyond those.

Have you heard of SZA?

[eyeofthestorm]

Nov 22, 2023 4:02:11 GMT -5 Az Paynter said:

^ I-- what?! I can understand not knowing some of her debut era singles because it was an absolute fucking dragged-out mess that was all over the place (especially across territories given the number of non-US singles she had then) but like... all of her features and soundtrack singles? PLUS the US-released debut era singles and all of the 'Future Nostalgia' era? How does one miss all that.

This was the first time I ever paid her any attention

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

Nov 20, 2023 23:59:34 GMT -5 Devil Marlena Nylund said:

Nov 20, 2023 23:33:47 GMT -5 leonagwen said:

No need to make this thread complicated. Its a simple question and there's about 5 female artists that you can make a case for other than the obvious Taylor Swift.

You keep saying that yet you’ve yet to make a case for anyone else. Taylor is the only answer for the present. /thread

Well? leonagwen ? Still waiting

[leonagwen]

Nov 22, 2023 18:10:37 GMT -5 Devil Marlena Nylund said:

Nov 20, 2023 23:59:34 GMT -5 Devil Marlena Nylund said:

You keep saying that yet you’ve yet to make a case for anyone else. Taylor is the only answer for the present. /thread

Well? leonagwen ? Still waiting

Taylor Swift, Doja Cat, Dua Lipa, SZA, Olivia Rodrigo, Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish.