With every evolving year, a myriad of musical variation surface as most notable. Returning stars periodically rise again, and new artists climb their way to the top of the charts. In retrospect 2014 contained many notable artists, however, it did not vary from the stereotypical pop genre popularity and redundancy.
Popular artists such as Taylor Swift, One Direction, Ed Sheeran, Nicki Minaj, Ariana Grande, Lana Del Rey, and Fergie thrilled loyal fans and attracted more with album releases and draw in plenty more. Grande and Swift emerged with more mature sounds, as anticipated, although they still primarily cater to the adolescent audience. Ed Sheeran maintained his soulful, somewhat indie aesthetic, and once again became a prevalent figure amongst top Album sales, as well as track sales for his single “Sing.” Pharrell also reasserted a fan base with his new release “Happy” that was consistently stuck in listeners’ heads throughout the year.
For others, the rise to fame continued throughout 2014. Iggy Azalea became a notable name in the female rap genre that seemed for a time as though it could rival Nicki Minaj. Her in popularity successively boosted Charlie XCX’s notability, with their work together on the chart-topping track “Fancy.” Bastille markedly rose in popularity as “Pompeii” graced a number of radio stations, and drew listeners to their freshman album Bad Blood which was released in 2013. Similarly, Vance Joy, the lone Indie artist of the mix, rose to fame via radio as a result of the single “Riptide” from his 2013 freshman album Dream Your Life Away.
2014 presented changing styles, old favorites, brazen newcomers, and generally average music. Although there we no significant advances in popular culture music of 2014, there was a fluid stream of variation and new releases from artists old and new.
Ratings of Artists by New Music of 2014:
1) Lana Del Rey
2) Taylor Swift
3) Nicki Minaj
4) Ed Sheeran
5) Ariana Grande
6) Vance Joy
7) One Direction
8) Iggy Azalea
9) Bastille
10) Charli XCX
11) Fergie
12) Pharrell
