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It's no doubt that music is a big part of our lives, and is probably the biggest cornerstone that keeps the entertainment industry afloat and on its toes.
Music trends have always managed to dictate how music is interpreted by artists and what grabs the audiences' attention and rhythm. What I’ve picked up from our generation of music trends is that electro has pretty much taken over the world; being versatile works in any artist's favour and gimmicks works in the artist's favour almost all the time, to the point where artists are known for their craziness more than their music.
There’s no doubt that the electro sound has taken over the world of music.
Recent findings bear testimony to this fact, noting that some of the highest paid DJs are found within the electro music space.
And one great thing about the electro movement is that not only is it trendy and glamorous with lots of colour and fireworks, but artists from all styles of music can find their own unique voice in the music.
And as trends would have it, artists end up sounding the same, regurgitating the same sound, image and even lyrics. But nonetheless, artists and DJs know full well that if they want to make big bucks and appeal to a mass audience, electro is the way forward.
The duality of Drake
Nowadays, being an artist that can rap and sing while being backed up by banging beats and a super glam or different image equals big bucks and wide ranging popularity.
And the first artist who I can say is the modern day face of rapping and singing is Drake.
It's gotten to a point where if any artist ventures into rapping and singing, they're instantaneously compared to and even nicknamed as Drake. And on the female side, Nicki Minaj is definitely holding it down as a talented rapper/singer who, by the way, also ventured out into the electro space when she collaborated with David Guetta on the hit track Turn Me On.
Surprisingly, the pop group Karmin is doing quite well in putting a modern twist on the genre with a combo of rapping and singing in their music. I actually like this style of performance because it adds a fresh twist to how artists perform songs and it's always good to be versatile; it gives artists that extra uber-cool, uber-swagger factor that makes them stand out amongst the rest.
Colour me crazy
And what is artist branding and general artistic craziness without gimmicks? Being colourful, outlandish, neon and seriously 'in your face' is something that has always been there in music, but what seems to be happening is that new school artists are taking it to a whole new level of craziness and colour.
Think LMFAO and Jack Parow. The first thing that draws your attention to these guys is their loud, coloured and crazy fashion style, which matches perfectly with their sound of music.
Then there are artists who've caused equal waves on the fashion side as much as they have on the music side; think Lady Gaga and her crazy and sometimes meaty outfits. Gimmicks give audiences something to talk about and in this pop culture society that we live in, the more colourful and out-there an artist is, the more likely the artist is to capture the interest and the attention of audiences, and from that, their popularity (more than anything) grows and they set trends.
These are just some of the trends that are prominent in the music and entertainment world today. Today's generation isn't actually too different from the previous generation in terms of setting trends; the loudness, colourfulness and fun-filled entertainment is still there.
A modern twist to this artistic space was quite necessary as it's characteristic of our generation, so let's raise our glasses to that while partying up a storm.
Lebo Matshego is a music compiler at Yfm. Follow her on Twitter here.
Music trends have always managed to dictate how music is interpreted by artists and what grabs the audiences' attention and rhythm. What I’ve picked up from our generation of music trends is that electro has pretty much taken over the world; being versatile works in any artist's favour and gimmicks works in the artist's favour almost all the time, to the point where artists are known for their craziness more than their music.
There’s no doubt that the electro sound has taken over the world of music.
Recent findings bear testimony to this fact, noting that some of the highest paid DJs are found within the electro music space.
And one great thing about the electro movement is that not only is it trendy and glamorous with lots of colour and fireworks, but artists from all styles of music can find their own unique voice in the music.
And as trends would have it, artists end up sounding the same, regurgitating the same sound, image and even lyrics. But nonetheless, artists and DJs know full well that if they want to make big bucks and appeal to a mass audience, electro is the way forward.
The duality of Drake
Nowadays, being an artist that can rap and sing while being backed up by banging beats and a super glam or different image equals big bucks and wide ranging popularity.
And the first artist who I can say is the modern day face of rapping and singing is Drake.
It's gotten to a point where if any artist ventures into rapping and singing, they're instantaneously compared to and even nicknamed as Drake. And on the female side, Nicki Minaj is definitely holding it down as a talented rapper/singer who, by the way, also ventured out into the electro space when she collaborated with David Guetta on the hit track Turn Me On.
Surprisingly, the pop group Karmin is doing quite well in putting a modern twist on the genre with a combo of rapping and singing in their music. I actually like this style of performance because it adds a fresh twist to how artists perform songs and it's always good to be versatile; it gives artists that extra uber-cool, uber-swagger factor that makes them stand out amongst the rest.
Colour me crazy
And what is artist branding and general artistic craziness without gimmicks? Being colourful, outlandish, neon and seriously 'in your face' is something that has always been there in music, but what seems to be happening is that new school artists are taking it to a whole new level of craziness and colour.
Think LMFAO and Jack Parow. The first thing that draws your attention to these guys is their loud, coloured and crazy fashion style, which matches perfectly with their sound of music.
Then there are artists who've caused equal waves on the fashion side as much as they have on the music side; think Lady Gaga and her crazy and sometimes meaty outfits. Gimmicks give audiences something to talk about and in this pop culture society that we live in, the more colourful and out-there an artist is, the more likely the artist is to capture the interest and the attention of audiences, and from that, their popularity (more than anything) grows and they set trends.
These are just some of the trends that are prominent in the music and entertainment world today. Today's generation isn't actually too different from the previous generation in terms of setting trends; the loudness, colourfulness and fun-filled entertainment is still there.
A modern twist to this artistic space was quite necessary as it's characteristic of our generation, so let's raise our glasses to that while partying up a storm.
Lebo Matshego is a music compiler at Yfm. Follow her on Twitter here.
