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History and characteristics of pop singing

What does the famous The Beatles song “Here comes the sun” from 1969 have in common with Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” from 2009? Although they sound completely different, both are considered pop songs: The Beatles’ folk-pop on the one hand, and Lady Gaga’s electro-pop on the other. As you can see, it’s not easy to define the genre of pop music. Some say there isn’t even a real genre, because there are so many variations of pop music. But since pop singing has its own characteristics, let’s take a look at the somewhat confusing history of pop music and pop singing.

The confusion began in the 1950s: Pop singing was just evolving out of rock’n’roll, but it was not considered a separate genre. However, pop ballads could already be found at that time. In the 1960s, the genre became more independent with the use of backing groups or orchestral instruments – artists like The Beatles or The Beach Boys became famous at that time. If you search for them on the internet, you will find that they are often referred to as rock bands – this is because the difference between rock and pop had not yet been defined. The 1970s made pop more experimental by incorporating influences from other genres, the 1980s saw dance pop with singer Madonna, while the 1990s became the period of teen pop. Artists like Britney Spears or boy groups like the Backstreet Boys tried to reach a broad audience. In the end, pop music is often defined by popularity and the marketing and commercialization of music by record labels.

However, as this music could be summarized under the term popular music, there is a difference to the pop genre. Some of its characteristics are strong and danceable rhythms (especially in dance pop), an easily recognizable melody that everyone can sing along to, creating sticky tunes, a basic format with repeating choruses and verses, and a 4/4 or 12/8 beat. Many pop songs are also cut to a length of three minutes so they can be easily played on the radio. Also, the lyrics often deal with relatable topics such as love and relationships or strong emotions. Of course, there are always exceptions, such as pop ballads, which may have a different meter, or pop songs that are over six minutes long, such as Michael Jackson’s “Heal The World” from 1992. But in general, all pop songs aim to please a wide audience.
This is also a point of criticism: It is said that pop music is too commercialized and superficial. Western pop music has also been criticized for being part of cultural imperialism and so-called “Americanization” in many countries. However, pop music is also very diverse and nowadays includes influences from different cultures and styles: indie pop, country pop, operatic pop or pop-funk are just a few examples. These sub-genres combine elements of pop with elements of rock, classical, folk, reggae, hip-hop, R&B or electronic music. There are also independent genres with pop influences, such as K-pop, which also uses pop elements but has its roots in traditional South Korean music.

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The pop singing style too includes a wide variety of techniques. But the most common technique you will hear related to pop singing is the belting technique: It is used to create strong emotions and sounds similar to shouting, as you can hear in Whitney Houston’s great version of “I Will Always Love You”. While the sound is very impressive and emotional, it requires a lot of practice and a high degree of control over your voice because it puts a lot of pressure on your vocal cords. Speech quality singing can also be found in many pop songs, a technique that combines singing and speaking. Both chest and head voices are used in pop singing, often with a big difference in sound (as you can hear in Billie Eilish’s songs) or sharp and intended breaks between them, for example in some songs by the Australian singer Sia. Plus, many singers often add unique and impressive riffs to the melody to give it some variety.

All in all, there is a lot of debate and confusion about the pop genre and pop singing. Some think it is not a genre at all, some suggest to call the singing techniques just modern singing, some defend pop singing as a unique genre. Whatever we choose, pop singing techniques can be used for many famous songs that many people like – so if you want to perform your favourite artist’s song, pop singing or its techniques are most likely your choice. I hope this article has helped you get a clearer picture of the definition of pop and its different characteristics.

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