Defining Pop Music: Locating a genre in the era of trap, indie and Ariana

The word pop is an abbreviation of popular. Does the term “pop music” follow the same expansion?

Last year, I wrote a piece about how hip hop has ascended into the most popular music of the now. I used some Billboard numbers to point to how hip hop has had most of the recent number one albums. After another survey of the Billboard 200 (with six months of data) 14 of the last 26 (weekly) Billboard charts had a hip-hop album in the number one spot. There was no true outlier taking up most of those spots either, only a three-time topper, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie’s Hoodie SZN. This seems to solidify my point from my previous post that hip hop has taken over the pop genre. Specifically, the subgenre of “trap” rap has asserted dominance at the top of charts.

So, if there’s a type of music that, in its relatively short existence, is now being made in ways that capitalize its chances of charting, is it pop music?

Recent releases from more classic pop artists say no. In my research, I found four traditional pop artists with number one albums; Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, P!nk and Backstreet Boys. Three of those artists released their albums in the last three months.

Even with this recent push from pop artists, trap still rules. This is where we come to the question that presides over the entire debate. Is pop a sound or statistical quality?

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