Recession pop

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Recession pop
Stylistic origins
Cultural origins2007–2009 in the United States
Other topics

Recession pop is an informally defined style of music that emerged during the Great Recession in the United States and remained popular until the early 2010s. Predominately associated with dance-pop and hyper-pop, recession pop is characterized by fast BPMs, high-energy production, catchy melodies, and lyrics centered around embracing hedonism, youthfulness, freedom, and constant partying in the midst of an economic recession. Recession pop is often described as "feel-good" music.

American singers Kesha and Lady Gaga have been predominantly credited[by whom?] from the start[when?] for establishing the genre.

History and characteristics

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2008–2021: Origins and the Great Recession

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Lady Gaga performing during the Fame Ball Tour in March 2009.

A precursor to the term in hip-hop was The Recession (2008), an album from rapper Jeezy that referenced the Great Recession in the United States. It became a political message in support for the 2008 presidential campaign for Barack Obama.[1]

"Recession pop" first appeared in a 2009 Irish Independent article on the effects of an economic downturn heading in Ireland on popular music. It featured an interview with singer Lady Gaga, who agreed with the article's observations: "I think, in a lot of ways, my arrival on the scene is good timing, [which] in a full depression now, we could all use some time to smile."[2] The Fame (2008) was also credited for its synth-pop songfulness which satirize the Great Recession,[3] citing: "Poker Face" inspired by gambling,[4] with "LoveGame" receiving sexual attention at a nightclub,[5] and lastly "Just Dance" as a joyous-themed song appealing people going through tough times in their life.[6]

The term was once used again in a 2012 Pitchfork article highlighting various singers and producers whom left or dropped from their record labels; this list deemed them as independent musicians who are set to enter the mainstream media.[7]

2022–present: Reemergence and evolution

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Vice outlined the term as recession banger by connecting virality dances and catchy lyricism from electronic dance music (EDM), which derived from dance-pop in the late 1980s, and embraced dubstep in the early 2000s. The article praised the term to Renaissance (2022) by singer Beyoncé, inspired from the Ballroom scene and clubbing culture during the economic downturns caused in the 1970s.[8] Canadian singer Carly Rae Jepsen endeavored to recreate the informal term in her 2022 song "The Loneliest Time" but was criticized by student newspaper the Brown Daily Herald by imperfecting "to replicate the club elements of 2010s pop music" for the album of the same name.[9]

Charli XCX performing during the Brat Tour in November 2024.

After the commercial success for The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess (2023) and Brat (2024), it marked as their career breakthroughs for singers Charli XCX and Chappell Roan.[10] This made recession pop gained widespread recognition as retrospective nostalgia in 2024 through social media platform TikTok. CNBC reported how the term provided a sense of optimism and escapism as the Great Recession took unemployment and inflation surging globally in 2008, notably the United States and most Western countries.[11] Katy Perry soon returned the same year releasing "Woman's World" and received major negative criticism although NME described her as recession pop.[12]

Notable examples of recession pop songs includes: "I Gotta Feeling" (2009) by the Black Eyed Peas and "Teenage Dream" (2010) by Katy Perry.[13][14] The rise of recession pop is argued to be the response of the musical industry to the decreased state of general consumer spending wrought by the Great Recession. Record labels translated parallelly to cable networks in this era, with music channels such as MTV branding this new sound directly to consumers inflicted by economic hardship. This hence gave rise to a new generation of performers typified with high energy compositions and showmanship. Through this phenomenon, prominent artists during this era grew to stardom through chart-topping anthems considered as major contributors to recession pop such as Lady Gaga, Kesha, and Katy Perry.[15][16]

References

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  1. ^ "Obama hip-hop: From mixtapes to mainstream". National Public Radio. November 7, 2008. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
  2. ^ "Recession pop". Irish Independent. Mediahuis Ireland. March 5, 2009. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
  3. ^ Casino, Katrina (September 27, 2009). "U.S. goes 'Gaga' over pop stars". Eagle Online. Archived from the original on September 6, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2025.
  4. ^ McKay, Hollie (May 22, 2009). "Lady Gaga opens up about her preference for boys that look like girls". Fox News Channel. Archived from the original on May 24, 2009. Retrieved April 28, 2009.
  5. ^ Scaggs, Austin (February 19, 2009). "Lady Gaga worships queen and refuses to wear pants". Rolling Stone. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on February 2, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  6. ^ Melia, Daniel (April 15, 2009). "Lady Gaga: "Just Dance" took 10 minutes to write". Gigwise. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  7. ^ Battan, Carrie (October 31, 2012). "A small pop". Pitchfork. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on October 31, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
  8. ^ Jackson, Gita (August 4, 2022). "Beyoncé's Renaissance has brought back the recession banger". Vice. Vice Media. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  9. ^ Nadirashvili, Alex (October 24, 2024). "Carly Rae Jepsen's The Loneliest Time delivers soulless tunes dependent on nostalgia". The Brown Daily Herald. Archived from the original on March 2, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  10. ^ Bennett, Olivia J. (July 16, 2024). "Recession pop is making a comeback". Dazed. Archived from the original on July 17, 2024. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
  11. ^ Dickler, Jessica; Solá, Ana Teresa (July 21, 2024). "'Recession pop' is in: Why so many listeners are returning to music from darker economic times". CNBC. Archived from the original on January 26, 2025. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  12. ^ "Katy Perry: every single ranked in order of greatness". NME. July 18, 2024. Archived from the original on August 4, 2024. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  13. ^ Lee, Ryanna (February 23, 2025). "Recession pop is back: Three recession pop songs to check out in 2025". Her Campus. Archived from the original on April 26, 2025. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  14. ^ Lloyd, Kitty (August 23, 2024). "Why is recession pop so damn good?". Ensemble. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  15. ^ Capraro, Julia (April 1, 2025). "The 'recession pop' revival is a nostalgia myth". The Suffolk Journal. Archived from the original on April 2, 2025. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
  16. ^ Miyashita, Nina (September 11, 2024). "What exactly is "recession pop"?". Vogue Australia. News Corp Australia. Retrieved September 29, 2024.

Further reading

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