Electric Dreams Reshape Pop
With the acclaimed comeback of many pop stars and international artists, we are hearing in the radio something different compared to the classic commercial music that usually passes by. Some electric (and electrifying) melodies are taking over the main pop instrumentals, creating a new huge space for the genre worldwide.
Dua Lipa by Tyrone Lebon
Naming just a few samples, the whole album “Radical Optimism” by Dua Lipa, recently released in the last spring, has been fully produced by the well-known electronic master Tame Impala, who is renowned for his musical genius for combining wide pitches and apparent contrasting instruments to create a cinematic composition experience.
Songs like “Training Season” and “Houdini” are a product of a fully immersed collaboration where lyrics fueled the electric base.
The beauty of this collaboration didn’t result just in the sound design aspect but visual as well; Tame Impala concerts are, in fact, like a prism where colors dissolve into each other through lasers that cross the stadiums from side to side.
A parallelism and a clear recall happened at the last Dua Lipa’s Grammys performance where she brought on stage her new dark femininity in a new shape, where this game of lights crowned her, embracing a new sensuality within her own moves.
And for all the nostalgic folks regarding times of viral memes, the song “Shooting Stars” was resurrected in a new era of commercial music through Troye Sivan’s interpretation, where queerness is freely celebrated in his new music video and the song became a proud symbolic flag for the LGBTQ community.
This new electronic wave also hit Charli XCX. The all-time electronic queen chose to mix this new wave in a house sphere, rebranding her artistic direction into the so-called BRAT era.
Her performance at the Boiler Room in Brooklyn, in collaboration with Addison Rae, took over the internet and went viral, proclaiming her as a new electro dance icon in the music scene and spicing up Addison Rae’s image as a (hyper)pop singer. Charli XCX’s innovative approach to blending electronic music with hyper-pop elements has set her apart from her contemporaries, pushing the boundaries of what commercial music can sound like and opening doors for other artists to experiment with their sound.
Last but not least to mention in the international panorama is Billie Eilish with her last album “Hit Me Hard And Soft”. She and Finneas changed the game once again and inebriated their songs with incredible choirs, violins, and synths, creating waves of suspense and release, especially in the single “Chihiro”, where the electric outro completely dominates the highest emotional point.
Billie Eilish’s unique ability to blend different genres and create something entirely new has solidified her position as one of the most innovative artists of her generation.
The power of metallic sounds seems to resonate with the strong contemporary messages that the new music generation is moving towards, creating that researched fierce lightness that generates serotonin on loop for the whole day into our everyday life.
This new wave of electronic influence in commercial and pop music is not just a fleeting trend but a significant shift in the industry. It reflects the evolving tastes of listeners who crave fresh and exciting sounds that break away from the traditional pop formula and not only listen to music as something “to use and throw away” but feel it as something “to experience”.
The integration of electronic elements into mainstream music has brought a new energy and dynamism to the genre, making it more vibrant and relevant than ever before.
As we continue to see the fusion of electronic music with pop, it's clear that this genre is here to stay. The innovation and creativity brought by new artists are paving the way for a new era of music that is both electrifying and emotionally resonant. This electrifying revolution in commercial and pop music is not just about the sounds; it's about the messages, the representation, and the emotional connections that these new musical landscapes create.
