..Pop

Pop music (or "pop") is a subgenre of contemporary popular music that typically has a danceable rhythm or beat, simple melodies and a repeating structure. Pop song lyrics are often emotional, commonly relating to love, loss, emotion, or dancing. The term does not refer to a single genre or sound, and its meaning is different depending on the time and place.
Pop music is distinguished from classical (or art music) and from folk music[1]). Pop songs are often written by songwriters, unlike other popular music genres, such as rock andhip hop, where singers often write their own songs.
Pop is distributed by major record companies as part of a global music market through mass marketing through radio, television.In the recorded music era, the single (a single song) and the album (a collection of songs) are the usual methods of distributing pop music. Pop has been distributed in many formats included vinyl records, cassette tapes, compact discs, and Internet downloads.

Sound and themes

Pop music generally uses a simple, memorable melody and emphasizes the rhythm, often with syncopation, and stripped down to a basic riff or loop which repeats throughout much of the song. Pop songs usually have a verse and a chorus, each with different musical material, well as a bridge connecting them in many cases. The lyrics often concern romance and relationships.
The vocal style found in much pop music has been heavily influenced by African American musical traditions such as rhythm and blues (R&B), soul music, and gospel. The rhythms and the sound of pop music have been heavily influenced by swing jazz, rock and roll, reggae, funk, disco, and is currently influenced by hip hop in many cases.
Music videos and live performances are often used for exposure in the media, and artists may have extravagant stage shows and use choreographed dance routines. Videos take on a particularly important role in this type of music since it is the most commercially sucessful one, and videos are an important means of reaching wider audiences.

Demographics of pop music

As records, CDs and DVDs became cheaper, the age of the average consumer of pop music dropped dramatically. In the early years of recordings, artists like Frank Sinatra sang about affairs, champagne and night clubs; lyrics that appealed to investors, business, and "classy" market. As records became cheaper, teenagers were able to influence the market, especially during the promotion of the worldwide Beatles tours. In recent years, children have become one of the largest music markets, reducing the age of the average consumer of pop music drastically.
Young people have always been interested in fashion, and spend their money on new artists. Whereas the previous generation tend to keep to their favorite artists, young people conform more to peer-pressure. This conforming creates waves of commercial support for particular artists, and establishes pop music as an important mediator of youth culture. Because of this, pop music has historically been the source of numerous moral panics; parents viewing explicit and suggestive lyrics as gateways to immorality and blaming pop music for perceived increases in objectionable behavior within youth culture.

History

1930s and 1940s

Styles influencing the later development of pop include the Blues, also originating in African-American communities (for example: electric guitar Blues in Chicago and Texas), and Country coming also from "hillbilly music" of poor folk, white and black (Sun Records in Tennessee), which blended to become Rockabilly. The most important ingredient in early Rock n' Roll was, however, the type of Jump blues / R&B led by Louis Jordan who occasionally broke through into the pop charts. The music later on was mixed with gospel handclaps, boogie woogie and larger emphasis on backbeat, by artists such as The Treniers, which created Rock 'n' Roll. The rise of the crying and emotional singers in the late 1940s such as Mario Lanza began the pop music vocal style.

1950s

Early Western Pop music artists include Tommy Steele, Marty Wilde, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bobbejaan Schoepen, and Peggy Lee, but other artists like Bill Haley and his Comets, James Brown, Ray Conniff, Ray Charles, Everly Brothers, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley. became popular with the younger generation. In Australia there was Johnny O'Keefe, Col Joy and Bobby Darin. Italian singers such as Mario Lanza sang tunes people could identify and sing along to.

1960s

Western pop music teen idols of the 1960s include the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who and Beach Boys. Other successful pop musicians of this era included Elvis Presley, Simon & Garfunkel, Burt Bacharach, Neil Diamond, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, and Peter, Paul & Mary. The 1960s also saw the emergence of bands created by the recording industry, the most famous from this era being The Monkees.

1970s

A proliferation of new sounds from the disco era included the vocal overdubbed harmonies of the Bee Gees, and ABBA, and the piano-based pop of Billy Joel and Elton John. Other important pop musicians included Carole King, Olivia Newton-John, Stevie Wonder, and Donna Summer.
During the 1970s in Britain, New Wave and Punk brought bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees, Talking Heads, Ian Dury, Elvis Costello, The Police and The Stranglers into the pop charts. A mod revival spearheaded by The Jam and Madness followed and opened the way for The Specials, UB40 and Dexys Midnight Runners.

1980s

Highlights for pop music in the 1980s are Michael Jackson's second Epic label release, Thriller, which went on to become the best-selling album of all time. Jackson was the most successful artist of the 80s, spanning nine #1 singles in the United States alone during that decade, and selling over 136 million copies with only two albums — Thriller, and its follow-up Bad. Since the early nineties, Jackson has been often referred to and regarded as the "King of Pop".
Another important artist in the 1980s was Madonna. Considered the Queen of Pop Madonna have a unique style mixing pop music with different musical styles such as Techno, electronic and Hip-Hop. The albums Madonna, Like a Virgin, True Blue and Like a Prayer reached high positions in Europe and in the USA. The singles “Lucky Star”, “Like a Virgin”, “Material Girl”, “True Blue”, “La Isla Bonita”, “Like a Prayer” and “Cherish” also reached high positions in the USA and in the UK. She received a diamond certification for her album Like a Virgin by selling more than 10 million copies (Totally the album sold 20). MTV awarded her as the Artist of the Decade.
Prince also made a popular impact in the 1980s, and he was particularly adored by music critics. A large number of his albums and singles topped or held prominent positions on the yearly Village Voice Pazz and Jop Poll including albums 1999, Purple Rain, and Sign "o" the Times. Songs like "When Doves Cry" and "U Got the Look" were hits for Prince, as were songs he penned for others such as "Manic Monday" (performed by the Bangles) or "I Feel for You" (performed by Chaka Kahn).
Other top-selling artists included Tiffany, Janet Jackson, Huey Lewis & The News, Cyndi Lauper, U2, Simply Red, Whitney Houston, and George Michael (and Wham). Pop music in the 1980s was heavily influenced by an electronic sound with synthesizers and drum machines, and dance type music.

1990s

Among the most successful pop acts of the 1990s were R&B-influenced pop acts such as Salt N Pepa, MC Hammer, and C&C Music Factory. Non-R&B artists such as Alanis Morissette and Jewel were also successful. Mariah Carey became a popular artist of the 1990's, with many hits.
[[Boy band]s] and girl groups such as New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys , Hanson, *NSYNC, and the Spice Girls, "Pop princesses" included Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.
Australia had Kylie Minogue. The Latin pop explosion with Ricky Martin and Shakira. The 1990s also saw the beginnings of a surgence in pop into the Asian market, known as J-pop, as originated from Japan.

2000s

In the 2000s, pop music chart-toppers included Black Eyed Peas, Justin Timberlake, and Usher. Robbie Williams recorded the biggest sales worldwide for a male artist, though with limited success in North America. The divas included Madonna and Mariah Carey. Other trends included Teen pop singers such as Disney Channel star Hilary Duff. Pop punk acts such as Simple Plan and Fall Out Boy have become increasingly popular, as well as pop rock acts such as P!nk and Avril Lavigne.
The popular American reality program American Idol has produced many successful Pop artists, most notably Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Katharine McPhee, Chris Daughtry and country pop artists Carrie Underwood and Kellie Pickler. In Latin America, multi-platinum pop group RBD has achieved a great commercial success becoming the best-selling Latin act on the 2000s. R&B and pop music blended in music from Nelly Furtado and thePussycat Dolls.

Source
http://en.wikipedia.org/