Portal:Pop music

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The Pop Portal

Michael Jackson, often referred as the King of Pop
Pop music (a term that originally derives from an abbreviation of "popular") is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented towards a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes. Pop music has absorbed influences from most other forms of popular music, but as a genre is particularly associated with the rock and roll and later rock style.

Hatch and Millward define pop music as "a body of music which is distinguishable from popular, jazz and folk musics". Although pop music is often seen as oriented towards the singles charts it is not the sum of all chart music, which has always contained songs from a variety of sources, including classical, jazz, rock, and novelty songs, while pop music as a genre is usually seen as existing and developing separately. Thus "pop music" may be used to describe a distinct genre, aimed at a youth market, often characterized as a softer alternative to rock and roll.

Selected artist

Janet Jackson (born 1966) is an American recording artist and actress. Born in Gary, Indiana, and raised in Encino, Los Angeles, California, she is the youngest child of the Jackson family of musicians. She first performed on stage with her family beginning at the age of seven, and later started her career as an actress with the variety television series The Jacksons in 1976. She went on to star in other television shows throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, including Good Times and Diff'rent Strokes. At age sixteen in 1982, Jackson signed a recording contract with A&M, releasing her self-titled debut album the same year. She faced criticism for her limited vocal range, and for being yet another member of the Jackson family to become a recording artist. Beginning with her third studio album Control (1986), Jackson began a long-term collaboration with record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Her music with Jam and Lewis incorporated contemporary R&B with elements of rap music, sample loop, triplet swing and industrial beats, which led to crossover appeal in popular music. By the end of the decade, Jackson was named the second most successful recording artist of the 1990s. Jackson is ranked by Billboard magazine as one of the top ten best-selling music artists in the history of contemporary music, having sold over 100 million albums worldwide.

Selected album

Bad is the seventh studio album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. The album was released on August 31, 1987 by Epic Records, nearly five years after Jackson's previous studio album, Thriller, which went on to become the world's best-selling album. Bad itself has sold around 30 million copies worldwide, shipped 8 million units in the United States alone, and has been cited as the fifth best selling album of all time. The album produced five Hot 100 number ones, the first album to do so. Similar to Jackson's previous music material, the album's music features elements of R&B, pop and rock. Bad was recorded during the first half of 1987. The lyrical themes on the record relate to paranoia, romance and self-improvement. Bad is widely regarded as having cemented Jackson's status as one of the most successful artists of the 1980s, as well as enhancing his solo career and being one of the best musical projects of his career.

Selected picture

Lina Rafn at Danish DJ Awards anno 2007.jpg
Credit: Jepsen
Lina Rafn (b. 1976) is a Danish singer, songwriter and producer active with the band Infernal. She had previously been a VJ on the show The Voice TV Danmark.

Selected song

"Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" is a song by American recording artist Beyoncé Knowles from her third studio album, I Am... Sasha Fierce (2008). It was the album's lead single alongside "If I Were a Boy", contrasting Knowles' persona as herself and her aggressive onstage alter ego Sasha Fierce. Following her secret marriage to Jay-Z in April 2008, Knowles was inspired to write "Single Ladies" to explore men's unwillingness to commit. It is a dance-pop song with R&B, dancehall, disco and bounce influences. According to the lyrics, the female protagonist is in a club to celebrate after a recent end to a poor relationship; her former lover is also present. The song and the repeated refrain, "If you like it then you should have put a ring on it", are directed to him. Critics praised the song for its smooth production. "Single Ladies" won three Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year. It peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The accompanying music video was shot in black-and-white and features the J-Setting dance choreography inspired by "Mexican Breakfast", a 1969 routine choreographed by Bob Fosse. The award-winning video has been parodied and imitated around the world.

Did you know...

David Bowie

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  • Wikipedia:WikiProject Pop music was created with the purpose of assembling writers and editors interested in Pop music.
  • The aim of this project is to standardize and improve articles related to the various genres of Pop music, as well as to create missing articles.
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