When did mainstream music go downhill?
Above.
shareIt slowly started to decline around the year 2000 or so.
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MovieChat Forums > Music General > When did mainstream music go downhill?
early 1990's, that was when Top 40 music became less diverse and less interesting.
shareI'd say mainstream (pop/Top 40) music went into a rapid decline from 2001 - 2011, with a few exceptions:
Britney Spears
Green Day
Gnarls Barkley
"You're Beautiful" and "High" by James Blunt were fine at the time, but his one hit hasn't aged well
"Bad Day" by Daniel Powter was fine in 2006, but it hasn't aged well (Plus, I totally soured on it when Alvin & The Chipmunks butchered it in their horrible 2007 live action film)
Then again, back in those days, I was such a rockhead (especially classic rock) that most pop just didn't compare. Pop/Top 40 was going in a direction that I wasn't on board with.
Finally, in 2011, the good pop music finally started to outweigh the bad for the first time since 2001. There are still exceptions like Justin Bieber and the One Direction solo careers, but there's been gems like Halsey, Selena Gomez (I was skeptical due to her being Bieber's girlfriend, but she's surprisingly good), post-country Taylor Swift, Adele, Ariana Grande, Bruno Mars, The Weeknd, Shawn Mendes, Pharrell, The Chainsmokers, Daya...
Then there's stuff that's below the radar and/or attempted the break through, such as Eden xo (formerly Jessie and the Boy Toys / Jessie Malakouti), Melanie Martinez (huge fanbase; "Pity Party" was briefly a Top 40 radio hit; no Hot 100 entries), Bahari (California pop-rock band who almost made the Mediabase Top 50 with "Dancing on the Sun"), Aurora (Norwegian singer-songwriter who recently made her US TV debut on Jimmy Kimmel with a song called "Queendom").
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There's so much good stuff out now, that there's barely any room for it on the Top 40. And even when they do break through, they might become one hit wonders (Ruth B with "Lost Boy," for example, or Natalie La Rose with "Somebody"). Some artists might have a bunch of hits and disappear (Daya had hits with "Hide Away," "Sit Still Look Pretty," and The Chainsmokers' "Don't Let Me Down"; ironically, she had more hits as an indie than as a major-label artist, thus far. Her latest is called "Safe." Tove Lo had hits with "Habits (Stay High)," "Talking Body," Alesso's "Heroes (We Could Be)," and Nick Jonas's "Close." [Also as a songwriter, she scored another hit with Ellie Goulding's "Love Me Like You Do."] But her latest stuff is decidedly far less commercial.)
50's-90's all had equal amounts of great stuff. 2000's had good stuff but not as much great. 2010's has been pretty dire aside from a few artists.
shareWhen a freakshow called "Aerosmith" came along.
share[deleted]
When a freakshow called Aerosmith came to town.
shareDepends on who you ask, but realistically, it goes up and down. It's been in a down period for a few years now but hopefully it will get better again.
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