Popular commercial music, with its audience mainly among the young, current since the late 1950s. In c.1900 the name pops was given to a series of concerts of light music promoted annually by the Boston Symphony Orchestra. But the singular, pop, refers to the kind of music inaugurated by rock and roll, and which has since diversified to such an extent that it is now most easily defined in terms of its market. The Beatles in the 1960s were one of the first groups to experiment radically with the basic rock format. Since then, pop music has taken in and adapted elements from a diverse range of musical sources, including blues, soul, reggae, country and western, and various ethnic styles. Pop musicians have also been very quick to exploit the possibilities of electronic music, particularly for such dance styles as hip-hop and rap music. Pop music is generally played, presented, and marketed for a teenage audience, with success measured in terms of the various pop charts (particularly in the UK the Music Week/Gallup/BBC chart, and in the USA the Billboard chart), which list records in order of sales attained.
Pop music is a genre of popular music distinguished from classical or art music and from folk music . The expression "pop music" may also be used to refer to particular subgenres (within the pop music genre) that are in some cases referred to as soft rock and pop/rock. The pop music genre also often involves mass marketing and consumer-driven efforts by major record companies, which makes it an often scorned genre by non-mainstream musicians.
The average consumer of pop music is often understood to be in his or her teenage years, making it an important mediator of youth culture. Partly because youth culture itself is an object of social concern, pop music has historically been the source of numerous moral panics, especially as many of the styles that influence it trickle up from minority groups (racial, ethnic, sexual or class-based) about which the dominant class holds negative stereotypes. In addition, many parents view explicit lyrics as gateways to sin, blaming pop music for increases in drug use, teen pregnancy, and violence. As a result, some conservative groups forbid children from attending social gatherings in which pop music may be played.
In addition, pop music stars can be controversial role models for teens;
History of pop music
1890s through 1920s
The dance music element of pop music can be traced back to Ragtime, which was initially popular in African American communities, and mainly disseminated through sheet music and player pianos. The crossing of race-based social boundaries around race, for ragtime, swing, and later Rock’n’Roll, was the source of many moral panics inspired by pop music.
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 Country coming also from "hillbilly music" of poor folk, white and black (Sun Records in Tennessee), which blended to become early Rock and Roll.
=== 1700 Early Pop music artists include Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bobby Darin, Bobbejaan Schoepen, and Peggy Lee, but other artists like Bill Haley and his Comets, Fats Domino and Elvis Presley became popular with the younger generation.
1960s
Pop music teen idols of the 1960s included Cliff Richard, Sandy Shaw, Lulu, The Rolling Stones, The Small Faces, Gene Pitney, and The Shadows.
1970s
A proliferation of new sounds from the disco era included the BeeGees and ABBA, the piano-based pop of Billy Joel and Elton John, the country stylings of the Eagles, and the rock-influenced pop of Rod Stewart, Steely Dan, and Fleetwood Mac. Other important pop musicians include Cat Stevens, The Carpenters, Jackson Five, The Miracles, Roberta Flack, Carly Simon, Cher, Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind and Fire, KC and the Sunshine Band and Donna Summer.
1980s
Notable 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. Michael Jackson was sometimes referred to as "The King of Pop" and Madonna was considered "The Queen of Pop".
1990s
Among the most successful pop acts of the 1990s were R&B-influenced pop acts such as Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men, Celine Dion, Michael Bolton, En Vogue, Salt N Pepa, Brandy, and TLC.
2000s
In the 2000s, hip-hop blended in with lemar, paving the way for the multi-platinum successes of artists like Nelly, Eminem, 50 Cent, Ludacris, Ciara, Beyoncé Knowles, Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado, the Pussycat Dolls, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani and especially Britney Spears are thought to be pop artists, but lack a key element, and therefore fall under the hip hop genre. Other trends included Teen pop acts such as Disney Channel star Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan, dance/pop/rock group Jump 5 being featured in various Disney and non-disney movie soundtracks (eg. Reggaeton style music such as Pitbull, and "pop punk" music, such as Avril Lavigne and Good Charlotte.
In the Arab world, familiar pop stars include Cheb Khaled, Cheb Mami and Samira Said (famous for her 2003 album Youm Wara Youm).
Sound and themes
Pop music generally uses a simple, memorable melody and may use stripped-down rhythms.
Music videos and live performances are often used for exposure in the media, and artists may have extravagant stage shows and use choreographed dancing.Pop followed by dancing
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