i loved this essay so much. chappell roan is also one of my favorite pop singers at the moment. when it comes to camila, i think it's worth mentioning that she rose to stardom when she was in her mid teens, and spent so much of her life being controlled by a label, rather than getting the free time to develop her own artistic voice, and now she's stuck in this art-is-content mentality and approach to her music. i think it's interesting to imagine a camila that was able to develop fully as a person without the influence of the record label girl group rat race that defined her teens. what if she had enough space to develop a foundation of authenticity that she was able to bring her charisma and talent to?
Thanks Lily :) I like the point you bring up - something that probably could have been better emphasized in my essay towards the beginning. Camila definitely bypassed the self-made, internet following phase that so many middle tier pop stars are finding themselves in today, which probably would have better allowed her to find a unique voice. It's unfortunate that so many stars' voices/personas are controlled by larger entities, and after seeing the mistreatment that women like Britney and Kesha have undergone from labels/stakeholders, I hope that she has people in her life protecting her.
i love the “middle class pop” line, because i’ve definitely noticed recently how different singers/bands are HUGE in their own genre, but a random person on the street might have no clue who they are. depending on who i’m talking to, i could be discussing an obviously famous band or someone that the other person has no clue exists. i’m sure this isn’t entirely new, but i think that the extent of it is. i also definitely see how finding your own niche is important nowadays as a musician, especially with super fast trend cycles and the rise of -core aesthetics that get more and more specific. it definitely leaves room for people to fill, as long as they do so naturally and genuinely.
i love the middle class pop descriptor too - i borrowed it from that NYT piece i referenced! i think it also speaks to the way algorithms can really funnel you into niche fan communities - i become so absorbed with what's on my twitter feed that i forget other people have feeds devoted to artists i've never even heard of!
"A world in which said “content” is fodder for brand partnerships, a means of getting eyeballs on an advertiser, rather than poignant work in its own right." I just screamed
this is such a great essay!! i think it’s so interesting how artists nowadays have to develop personal brands, and really distinctive brands at that, to survive in the industry.
I’m actually writing about fan culture for uni atm and am reading about the connection between social media and forms of labour for both musician and fans. definitely have a look/read into it if your interested in this kinda stuff!!
This is a fantastic essay... whose conclusion I think is completely wrong :P Specifically, I do think that Camila Cabello's rebrand is very "cringe" - an obvious and inept attempt at genre/aesthetic appropriation. But the main difference between Cabello and her colleagues at the top of the pops is the ineptness, not the appropriation. It is very telling that this piece starts off by describing her as "entering a new 'era,'" explicitly putting her in the same lane as Taylor Swift, whose career has been marked by annual rebrands of this sort.
Or - put it this way. I think it's quite cool that Beyonce is performing country music now, in the same way I thought it was quite cool that Beyonce was performing house music now. (Certainly "Break My Soul" and "Texas Hold 'em" are killer singles!) But, even taking into account her Houstonian background, I feel her turn towards Americana was a calculated one? She's hardly at the vanguard of musicians reclaiming Black America's place in the country-western tradition. ("Old Town Road" is five years old, and even that was on some level a reaction to the "yeehaw agenda," not a cause of it.) Yes, it's cool that Beyonce is collaborating with someone like Rhiannon Giddens, but it's not a collaboration between musical equals - Giddens very overtly wants to raise the profile of her slice of the African-American musical tradition, and while Beyonce ostensibly wants that too, I hope I'm not being too cynical to suggest that she's mostly working with a Pulitzer-winning banjoist and folkie because it gives her western turn a stamp of authenticity.
That was a very long anecdote, oops :P So let me respond more directly to you: when I read a paragraph like...
> And while there may be a manufactured aspect of their craft, it’s their intense commitment to a particular niche that makes them soar. Successful mainstream artists today have found the identities that simultaneously look and sound good on them and set them apart artistically, and learn to occupy them at full volume.
...all I can think is, this is an astute observation of what it means to be a pop star in 2024, but I have to retort - in the spirit of 2010s Tumblr - that "culture is not a costume!" Pop music, from the mega-stars on down to the "middle class," is only interested in other genres on the level of aesthetics, and I think that's to the detriment of music (and culture) as a whole.
You bring up some interesting points here Quiara - I'd be interested in reading an essay from you on this topic :) I don't necessarily think pop music is interested in other genres for solely aesthetic reasons - I enjoy Beyoncé's country music as well as Lady Gaga's "Joanne" - though I do think it should be done with care, and there's certainly countless artists who serve as examples of genre-bending without care. I do agree that Cabello's ineptitude also sets her back a few yards - perhaps her former role in Fifth Harmony has allowed her to retain main pop girl status? That paired with her more sanitary, commercially-appealing sound has likely allowed her to have a firm presence on radio airwaves - at least the ones that's I've intercepted.
Haha, maybe this essay will be the one that finally gets me to start my own 'Stack :P
Gaga is an interesting example here because towards the start of the '10s, the "smart" take on her was that the pop star persona she affected was a pomo joke, and that what she really wanted was to be a more "trad" artist. Hence Joanne but also collaborations with the likes of Tony Bennett. (This is the not-quite-subtext of casting her in "A Star is Born" as a roots-rocker-type who sells out when she becomes a pop star.) But then of course she was able to drop that and go back to the pop sound with Chromatica. Hard to tell which part of her career is the "authentic" one, or if that's even a relevant question!
This was kinda eery to read cos I was listening to chappel roans album for the first time on a walk today and also I made a note eaelier today defending camila 😭😭😭 fwiw I get ur perspective but also I think i luv it is catchy and stan twt is trying to find a reason to hate annnnd idk.
i loved this essay so much. chappell roan is also one of my favorite pop singers at the moment. when it comes to camila, i think it's worth mentioning that she rose to stardom when she was in her mid teens, and spent so much of her life being controlled by a label, rather than getting the free time to develop her own artistic voice, and now she's stuck in this art-is-content mentality and approach to her music. i think it's interesting to imagine a camila that was able to develop fully as a person without the influence of the record label girl group rat race that defined her teens. what if she had enough space to develop a foundation of authenticity that she was able to bring her charisma and talent to?
Thanks Lily :) I like the point you bring up - something that probably could have been better emphasized in my essay towards the beginning. Camila definitely bypassed the self-made, internet following phase that so many middle tier pop stars are finding themselves in today, which probably would have better allowed her to find a unique voice. It's unfortunate that so many stars' voices/personas are controlled by larger entities, and after seeing the mistreatment that women like Britney and Kesha have undergone from labels/stakeholders, I hope that she has people in her life protecting her.
i love the “middle class pop” line, because i’ve definitely noticed recently how different singers/bands are HUGE in their own genre, but a random person on the street might have no clue who they are. depending on who i’m talking to, i could be discussing an obviously famous band or someone that the other person has no clue exists. i’m sure this isn’t entirely new, but i think that the extent of it is. i also definitely see how finding your own niche is important nowadays as a musician, especially with super fast trend cycles and the rise of -core aesthetics that get more and more specific. it definitely leaves room for people to fill, as long as they do so naturally and genuinely.
i love the middle class pop descriptor too - i borrowed it from that NYT piece i referenced! i think it also speaks to the way algorithms can really funnel you into niche fan communities - i become so absorbed with what's on my twitter feed that i forget other people have feeds devoted to artists i've never even heard of!
i def do the same!
"A world in which said “content” is fodder for brand partnerships, a means of getting eyeballs on an advertiser, rather than poignant work in its own right." I just screamed
this is such a great essay!! i think it’s so interesting how artists nowadays have to develop personal brands, and really distinctive brands at that, to survive in the industry.
I’m actually writing about fan culture for uni atm and am reading about the connection between social media and forms of labour for both musician and fans. definitely have a look/read into it if your interested in this kinda stuff!!
keep up the good work my love!
Spoke my mind! So well written <3
obsessed with this omg
This is sooooooo good madison
Aww thank you so much jenni!!!
this was an amazing read! i just discovered your substack and i am absolutely LOVING it
Aw thank you so much 🥹 glad you’re enjoying it!
we love a pithy cultural criticism substack essay
This is a fantastic essay... whose conclusion I think is completely wrong :P Specifically, I do think that Camila Cabello's rebrand is very "cringe" - an obvious and inept attempt at genre/aesthetic appropriation. But the main difference between Cabello and her colleagues at the top of the pops is the ineptness, not the appropriation. It is very telling that this piece starts off by describing her as "entering a new 'era,'" explicitly putting her in the same lane as Taylor Swift, whose career has been marked by annual rebrands of this sort.
Or - put it this way. I think it's quite cool that Beyonce is performing country music now, in the same way I thought it was quite cool that Beyonce was performing house music now. (Certainly "Break My Soul" and "Texas Hold 'em" are killer singles!) But, even taking into account her Houstonian background, I feel her turn towards Americana was a calculated one? She's hardly at the vanguard of musicians reclaiming Black America's place in the country-western tradition. ("Old Town Road" is five years old, and even that was on some level a reaction to the "yeehaw agenda," not a cause of it.) Yes, it's cool that Beyonce is collaborating with someone like Rhiannon Giddens, but it's not a collaboration between musical equals - Giddens very overtly wants to raise the profile of her slice of the African-American musical tradition, and while Beyonce ostensibly wants that too, I hope I'm not being too cynical to suggest that she's mostly working with a Pulitzer-winning banjoist and folkie because it gives her western turn a stamp of authenticity.
That was a very long anecdote, oops :P So let me respond more directly to you: when I read a paragraph like...
> And while there may be a manufactured aspect of their craft, it’s their intense commitment to a particular niche that makes them soar. Successful mainstream artists today have found the identities that simultaneously look and sound good on them and set them apart artistically, and learn to occupy them at full volume.
...all I can think is, this is an astute observation of what it means to be a pop star in 2024, but I have to retort - in the spirit of 2010s Tumblr - that "culture is not a costume!" Pop music, from the mega-stars on down to the "middle class," is only interested in other genres on the level of aesthetics, and I think that's to the detriment of music (and culture) as a whole.
You bring up some interesting points here Quiara - I'd be interested in reading an essay from you on this topic :) I don't necessarily think pop music is interested in other genres for solely aesthetic reasons - I enjoy Beyoncé's country music as well as Lady Gaga's "Joanne" - though I do think it should be done with care, and there's certainly countless artists who serve as examples of genre-bending without care. I do agree that Cabello's ineptitude also sets her back a few yards - perhaps her former role in Fifth Harmony has allowed her to retain main pop girl status? That paired with her more sanitary, commercially-appealing sound has likely allowed her to have a firm presence on radio airwaves - at least the ones that's I've intercepted.
Haha, maybe this essay will be the one that finally gets me to start my own 'Stack :P
Gaga is an interesting example here because towards the start of the '10s, the "smart" take on her was that the pop star persona she affected was a pomo joke, and that what she really wanted was to be a more "trad" artist. Hence Joanne but also collaborations with the likes of Tony Bennett. (This is the not-quite-subtext of casting her in "A Star is Born" as a roots-rocker-type who sells out when she becomes a pop star.) But then of course she was able to drop that and go back to the pop sound with Chromatica. Hard to tell which part of her career is the "authentic" one, or if that's even a relevant question!
This was kinda eery to read cos I was listening to chappel roans album for the first time on a walk today and also I made a note eaelier today defending camila 😭😭😭 fwiw I get ur perspective but also I think i luv it is catchy and stan twt is trying to find a reason to hate annnnd idk.