Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 28,415
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Good For You & The Rise of Indie Pop Voice!
Quote:
How a phenomenon called “vowel breaking” became an epidemic in pop music.
If you’ve turned on the radio at all over the past few months, you’ve probably heard the song “Good for You” by Selena Gomez. Reaching the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100 this fall and racking up over 136 million plays on Spotify, it’s the former Disney star’s biggest hit to date — a slinky, coy coming-out party capped with a cameo verse from Harlem rapper A$AP Rocky, who gamely earns his appearance fee in the role of boorish Danny to Gomez’s prim Sandy. The song as a whole is not especially remarkable — it echoes the spare and moody strains in R&B and hip-hop that made Tinashe a thing — but there’s one part of it that is truly weird and utterly mesmerizing. Ever since I first heard it, it’s haunted me. And to this day, whenever I hear this part of the song, I can’t help but sing along — not because I’m moved by the lyrics or the melody, but because my mind and body are in awe of how a human being can produce the sounds. Maybe you’ve noticed it too.
Listen to the way Megan James, of the Canadian electro-pop duo Purity Ring, sings the word “stare” on the band’s recent single “Push Pull.”
And the way Bebe Rexha sings “just” on “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up.”
Now listen to Lorde, the superstar from New Zealand, sing “care” on her ubiquitous 2013 hit “Royals.”
But men may not be far behind. Exhibit A: teen pop sensation Shawn Mendes, whose new Billboard top 10 hit “Stitches” features the word “touch” whisked into a gossamer “tuh-eech.”
Members of this cohort seem to place a premium on individual character over established convention, a not-unreasonable position for artists at a time when competition is universal and attention spans are limited. Selena Gomez turning “good” into “guoid” isn’t natural, but being natural isn’t the point.
“I think a lot of these artists might come up with different affectations to promote an individual sound for themselves,” says Lawrence. “The industry has created an environment where it’s not enough to just be good, you have to be memorable.”
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full @ http://www.buzzfeed.com/reggieugwu/w...M1a#.ykRpw7JLR
Do you like the Indie Pop Voice, is it addictive?
Do you like the mentioned songs and is that the reason they are successful?
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