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Post by SharksFan99 on Dec 20, 2017 22:21:49 GMT 10
I have an interest in comparing the popularity/longevity of certain genres in different countries, so I wanted to create a thread where we could discuss how certain genres were embraced by different countries and how it contrasts with others. I actually wanted to create this as a thread on inthe00s a few months ago, however I figured that most of the people on there wouldn't care about a topic like this. As a result, I decided to create it on Popedia!  I understand if you may not be interested in a topic such as this. To be honest, this thread acts as a way for me to share my thoughts which I have about the pop cultures of different countries. Please feel free to add in any genres that I don't cover. It would be great to hear other people's opinions on this.
Hair Metal:US: 1983 - 1990 UK: 1983 - 1990?  (I think hair-metal had the same longevity in the UK as it did in the States. I'm not 100% sure though.) AUS: 1984 - 1994 NZ: 1984 - 1991? The "hair-metal" movement began with the release of Def Leppard's Pyromania, Quiet Riot's Metal Health and Motley Crue's Shout at the Devil. Down under, despite the emergence of alternative-rock in 1991, the genre maintained a sense of relevance for a few more years, due to strong releases by local groups such as Baby Animals, Roxus, The Screaming Jets and The Poor. '90s Alternative-Rock:US: Late 1991 - Early/Mid 1999 UK: Late 1991 - Early 1999 AUS: Early 1991 - 2005 (* more information on this below) NZ: Late 1991 - Early 2000 The origins of alternative-rock in the mainstream date back to as early as 1987, when R.E.M released the worldwide hit, "The One I Love" (although, it wasn't successful in Australia). However, the movement in the US didn't truly begin until Late 1991, when Nirvana released their generation-defining album, Nevermind. Songs such as "Save Tonight" and "She's So High" marked the end of the alternative-rock movement in the US in Early/Mid 1999, although you could possibly extend it to "Take a Picture" by Filter, which was a hit in Early 2000. In the UK, however, alternative-rock continued somewhat into the Early 2000s, namely due to strong releases from Garbage and Live. Mind you, alternate-rock ended as a movement around the same time as it did in the US. While Garbage and Live may have had a few successful singles in the Early 2000s, the UK music scene had moved on from the alternative-rock movement, which is why I personally consider Early 1999 to mark the end of alt-rock in the UK. Alternative-rock's history in Australia is a bit more complicated. Really, you could consider 1991-1999 and 2000-2005 as two separate alternative-rock eras, much like first-wave post grunge and "post" post-grunge. Even though Australians would not be exposed to alternative-rock until 1989 (through R.E.M's "Orange Crush"), the alternative-rock movement actually began earlier in Australia than it did in the US. These songs mark the start of the alt-rock movement in Australia: {Spoiler} It's worth noting that the three songs above were released and charted before Nirvana's Nevermind. "That Ain't Bad" and "Don't Go Now" actually topped the ARIA chart in Early 1991. The emergence of Silverchair in Late 1994 was essentially the second "alt-rock" breakthrough into the mainstream. While alt-rock had a presence on the charts prior to that, after Silverchair's 6-week run at the top of the chart, alternative-rock exploded in popularity. The 2000-2005 era of alternative-rock can be defined by compositions which contained elements of '90s alt-rock, but were generally much more polished in sound. Bands such as Pearl Jam, Garbage, Live, R.E.M and Oasis all continued to achieve Top-50 success well into the Early 2000s. On the Australian music front, Silverchair, Powderfinger and Spiderbait achieved the most success on the charts. Here are some examples of this era of alt-rock: {Spoiler}
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Post by #Infinity on Dec 21, 2017 0:50:32 GMT 10
Disco
US: 1974 - 1980
First Song: “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love Babe” by Barry White
Last Song: “Xanadu” by Olivia Newton-John
UK: 1974 - 1980
First Song: “You’re the First, You’re the Last, My Everything” by Barry White
Last Song: “Feels Like I’m in Love” by Kelly Marie
In pretty much both countries, regular disco as a movement began with Carl Douglas' "Kung Fu Fighting," as well as Barry White's "Can't Get Enough of Your Love Babe" in the United States and "You're the First, You're the Last, My Everything" in the UK. It began declining after Disco Demolition Night but had its last gasp in 1980.
Eurodance
US: 1993 - 1997
UK: 1992 - 1996
Germany: 1992 - 1997
Australia: 1993 - 1997
I personally consider Snap's "Rhythm Is a Dancer" the first true classic 90s style eurodance song; it was a hit in Europe in mid-1992 and blew up in the United States near the end of the year. 2 Unlimited would become major players in the movement, but in the early 90s had more a harder, rave-oriented sound. The United States didn't have a proper follow-up to "Rhythm Is a Dancer," however, until Captain Hollywood Project's "More and More" in mid-1993, whereas the UK embraced Cappella in the 1992-1993 school year while Germany produced many of these popular acts.
The genre began to decline at very different points, however, depending on where you lived. While still in its peak everywhere in 1995, the genre quickly began getting overtaken by a broad range of more modern, experimental electronic genres in 1996; this transition happened more quickly in Europe than elsewhere, as songs like "Insomnia" "Setting Sun," "Born Slippy," and "Stamp!" represented much of what was to come for the late 90s and early 2000s. By late 1996, eurodance was dead in the United Kingdom and was on its last legs in Germany. However, it was still going strong at the same time in Australia and the United States; it was only throughout the course of 1997 that the genre finally declined in those countries, the transition occurring a bit faster in America.
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Post by #Infinity on Dec 21, 2017 3:10:45 GMT 10
Y2K Teen Pop:
US: Early 1997 - Early 2002
First Song: “Wannabe” by Spice Girls
Last Song: “Can’t Fight the Moonlight” by LeAnn Rimes
UK: Mid-1996 - Mid-2003
First Song: “Wannabe” by Spice Girls
Last Song: “Say Goodbye” by S Club
In both the US and the UK, the turn-of-the-century teen pop movement started officially with the Spice Girls’ “Wannabe,” which finally made Americans embrace manufactured bubblegum pop whole-heartedly after the Milli Vanilli scandal at the start of the decade and quickly led to more light-hearted, cheesy pretty-faces dominating the top 40 for the coming few years. While teen idols and boybands existed in the UK in the mid-90s, it clearly entered a new wave in 1996, as that was the year that the juggernaut group Take That began a devade-long hiatus and East 17 started declining in overall significance; following the success of “Wannabe,” the UK charts were suddenly populated by the likes of Peter Andre, the Backstreet Boys, 911, Damage, N-Tyce, and the ilk, while old genres like pop-reggae and eurodance lost relevance.
The movement declined sharply in the United States following 9/11 and the gradual infiltration of millennial hip hop influences into general manufactured music, with the resurgence of LeAnn Rimes” “Can’t Fight the Moonlight” being the last instance of a serious hit single from the genre. In the UK, this movement of teen pop lasted a bit longer, as S Club remained hugely popular throughout the 2002-2003 school year and were accompanied by short-lived acts such as H & Claire, S Club 8, and LeAnn Rimes’ “Life Goes On” being much more successful there than it was in America. Though S Club 8’s “Sundown” came out slightly after “Say Goodbye,” I went with the original S Club’s sendoff single because it sounds more distinctly tied to the 90s (the production practically sounds mid-90s!), whereas “Sundown” sounds distinctly 2000s and would have sounded stylistically up-to-date as late as 2007, despite the singers being high school freshman-aged at the time.
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Post by SharksFan99 on Dec 21, 2017 12:49:47 GMT 10
Y2K-Era Pop Punk:US: Late 1998 -2002? [Peak: 2000] First Song: "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" by The Offspring
UK: Late 1998 - 2002? [Peak: 2000] First Song: "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" by The OffspringAustralia: Mid 1997 - Late 2003 [Peak: 1999] First Song: "Leaving Home" by JebediahLast Song: "Feeling This" by Blink-182
Although Green Day had already introduced Pop-Punk into the mainstream and Blink-182 achieved airplay success with "Dammit", the Y2K-Era Pop Punk didn't truly kick off in the US and UK until Late 1998, when The Offspring's "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" was released. I was going to list "Dammit" as the first song in the US, but I decided to go with "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy) instead, because "Dammit" did not actually chart on the Billboard Hot 100. In the UK, The Offspring achieved success with "All I Want" and "Gone Away" in 1996 and 1997 respectively, however those two songs are stylistically not apart of the "Y2K Era" movement. I personally don't consider "I Miss You" by Blink-182 to be apart of the Y2K-Era Pop Punk movement. By the time it charted in Early 2004, the Y2K-cultural era had already been phased out and there were really no other songs like it. Pop-Punk had mostly shaken off it's Y2K-Era influences by that point, as evident by Green Day's American Idiot album. The pop-punk movement was much more influential and successful in Australia. Pop-Punk exploded in popularity around Late 1997/Early 1998, primarily thanks to successful hits such as "Dammit", "Prisoner of Society" and "Just Ace". I would personally mark Late 2003 as the end point for the Y2K Era Pop-Punk, as Grinspoon had moved on from their Pop-Punk roots and Blink-182 were beginning to incorporate more "Emo scene" elements into their compositions. The Living End continued to achieve success for the rest of the decade, however they too would gradually evolve from their Pop-Punk origins. The movement declined sharply in the United States following 9/11 and the gradual infiltration of millennial hip hop influences into general manufactured music, with the resurgence of LeAnn Rimes” “Can’t Fight the Moonlight” being the last instance of a serious hit single from the genre. In the UK, this movement of teen pop lasted a bit longer, as S Club remained hugely popular throughout the 2002-2003 school year and were accompanied by short-lived acts such as H & Claire, S Club 8, and LeAnn Rimes’ “Life Goes On” being much more successful there than it was in America. Though S Club 8’s “Sundown” came out slightly after “Say Goodbye,” I went with the original S Club’s sendoff single because it sounds more distinctly tied to the 90s (the production practically sounds mid-90s!), whereas “Sundown” sounds distinctly 2000s and would have sounded stylistically up-to-date as late as 2007, despite the singers being high school freshman-aged at the time. Just out of curiosity, had 9/11 not happened, do you believe Y2K-era teen-pop would have lasted a bit longer in the United States? I personally don't think 9/11 influenced the pop culture scene to a large extent, although, given that teen-pop is characteristically such a stark contrast from American society's general outlook on life following 9/11, I believe it did play a part in the longevity of the genre.
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Post by #Infinity on Dec 21, 2017 13:08:14 GMT 10
Just out of curiosity, had 9/11 not happened, do you believe Y2K-era teen-pop would have lasted a bit longer in the United States? I personally don't think 9/11 influenced the pop culture scene to a large extent, although, given that teen-pop is characteristically such a stark contrast from American society's general outlook on life following 9/11, I believe it did play a part in the longevity of the genre. It might have lasted a little longer, but not honestly by a whole lot. *NSYNC's Celebrity album, released in the summer of 2001, was already a pretty significant departure from their first two records and integrated way more r&b influences than in the past, while Britney Spears' "I'm a Slave 4 U," recorded in July 2001 despite being released a couple weeks after 9/11, officially shed off the former teen pop queen's Y2K image for a raunchier, more 2000s-oriented style. Even S Club were able to remain commercially successful in the UK throughout the entirety of the 2000s particularly because their last album was much more sonically experimental than their early work, which was mostly typical 90s-style Y2K-era pop. I can't exactly imagine "Alive" being made in 2000, except maybe by a more traditional electronic act going for a more radio-friendly single than usual.
SharksFan99 likes this
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Post by #Infinity on Dec 21, 2017 13:20:30 GMT 10
This movement was still relevant as late as 2004, when songs like "1985," "5 Colours in Her Hair," "Predictable," and "Ocean Avenue" became big hits. I'm also not really sure I'd count "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" the inaugural song of the movement because it's far more of a novelty song that more closely resembles "Come Out and Play" than it does your usual hits by Blink-182, Good Charlotte, Bowling for Soup, and so on. I would really say Blink-182's "What's My Age Again?" was the first real hit of the late 90s/early 2000s pop punk movement, though "All the Small Things" was the track that cemented the genre as a cultural phenomenon. "All I Want" isn't any less Y2K than "Pretty Fly," considering its prominence in Crazy Taxi. Plus, the Ixnay on the Hombre era was when The Offspring signed to Columbia Records and first adopted their modern, spikey-haired look. I don't consider Ixnay stylistically identical to early 2000s pop punk, but Americana, with its grungey riffs and Gen-X'ish tone, certainly isn't, either.It wasn't in its peak anymore by 2004, but it wasn't fully dead until Blink-182 broke up in 2005 and Fall Out Boy released "Sugar, We're Going Down" that same year.
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Post by SharksFan99 on Dec 22, 2017 17:28:55 GMT 10
This movement was still relevant as late as 2004, when songs like "1985," "5 Colours in Her Hair," "Predictable," and "Ocean Avenue" became big hits. I'm also not really sure I'd count "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" the inaugural song of the movement because it's far more of a novelty song that more closely resembles "Come Out and Play" than it does your usual hits by Blink-182, Good Charlotte, Bowling for Soup, and so on. I would really say Blink-182's "What's My Age Again?" was the first real hit of the late 90s/early 2000s pop punk movement, though "All the Small Things" was the track that cemented the genre as a cultural phenomenon. I see your point. Admittedly, I wasn't exactly sure which song truly heralded in the movement in the US/UK, because Y2K-Era Pop-Punk is quite often described as emerging onto the scene sometime in 1997/1998 (around the time other Millennial cultural trends were emerging in the States), yet Blink-182 didn't achieve Billboard Hot 100 success until Early/Mid 1999. I do agree that "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" isn't a good candidate for the "first song" of the movement, however I genuinely couldn't think of anything else which would have matched the information I have read in the past. It might have lasted a little longer, but not honestly by a whole lot. *NSYNC's Celebrity album, released in the summer of 2001, was already a pretty significant departure from their first two records and integrated way more r&b influences than in the past, while Britney Spears' "I'm a Slave 4 U," recorded in July 2001 despite being released a couple weeks after 9/11, officially shed off the former teen pop queen's Y2K image for a raunchier, more 2000s-oriented style. Even S Club were able to remain commercially successful in the UK throughout the entirety of the 2000s particularly because their last album was much more sonically experimental than their early work, which was mostly typical 90s-style Y2K-era pop. I can't exactly imagine "Alive" being made in 2000, except maybe by a more traditional electronic act going for a more radio-friendly single than usual. I agree. Considering that the genre first emerged onto the scene almost 5 years prior to 9/11, it was always likely that the genre would fall out of favour in the not too-distant future.
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Post by longaotian on Dec 22, 2017 18:46:42 GMT 10
Just out of curiosity, had 9/11 not happened, do you believe Y2K-era teen-pop would have lasted a bit longer in the United States? I personally don't think 9/11 influenced the pop culture scene to a large extent, although, given that teen-pop is characteristically such a stark contrast from American society's general outlook on life following 9/11, I believe it did play a part in the longevity of the genre. Here in NZ I don't think 9/11 had any influence as the genre was still popular well into 2003.
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Post by SharksFan99 on Dec 22, 2017 18:49:31 GMT 10
Just out of curiosity, had 9/11 not happened, do you believe Y2K-era teen-pop would have lasted a bit longer in the United States? I personally don't think 9/11 influenced the pop culture scene to a large extent, although, given that teen-pop is characteristically such a stark contrast from American society's general outlook on life following 9/11, I believe it did play a part in the longevity of the genre. Here in NZ I don't think 9/11 had any influence as the genre was still popular well into 2003. What teen-pop songs were popular in NZ in 2003?
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Post by SharksFan99 on Dec 28, 2017 0:32:57 GMT 10
It seems like the alternative-rock scene remained popular in New Zealand until at least 2000. The single of this song was released in July 1999 and it managed to peak at #11 on the New Zealand Chart. "Violent" stayed on the chart for 15 weeks and it won the award for "Single of the Year" at the 2000 Tui Awards.
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Post by longaotian on Dec 31, 2017 11:25:50 GMT 10
Here in NZ I don't think 9/11 had any influence as the genre was still popular well into 2003. What teen-pop songs were popular in NZ in 2003? "Life Goes On" by LeAnn Rimes was one of the biggest songs of 2003
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Post by SharksFan99 on Dec 31, 2017 11:29:50 GMT 10
What teen-pop songs were popular in NZ in 2003? "Life Goes On" by LeAnn Rimes was one of the biggest songs of 2003 That's interesting to hear. "Life Goes On" was a big hit here as well, however it experienced most of it's chart run in Late 2002. It fell out of the Top-50 in mid-February 2003.
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Post by SharksFan99 on Mar 3, 2018 20:38:38 GMT 10
I decided to research the chart success of Gangsta-rap earlier today, during my spare time. Here are some observations...
Gangsta-rap was most popular in the United States and New Zealand. Ice-T had several Top-40 hits in New Zealand alone. Likewise, Gangsta-rap also had a significant presence on the UK charts as well, Interestingly enough, Gangsta-rap was hardly even a movement in Australia. For instance, none of Dr Dre's singles peaked within the Top-50. "Keep Their Heads Ringin" peaked at just a measly #93 in Australia, whereas it peaked at #3 in New Zealand, #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #25 in the UK, as well as charting in several European countries.
Actually, on the much bigger picture, this is another trend I have noticed. The US and New Zealand are generally the most embracing of hip-hop. The UK is pretty accepting of hip-hop as well, however the country is more selective when it comes to embracing certain artists/groups. Australia, on the other hand, is quite picky when it comes to embracing hip-hop songs and I would argue that it's more of a niche genre here, given the fact that Gangsta-Rap, Snap-Rap and Trap were never truly movements in the country.
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Post by longaotian on Mar 3, 2018 20:59:41 GMT 10
I decided to research the chart success of Gangsta-rap earlier today, during my spare time. Here are some observations... Gangsta-rap was most popular in the United States and New Zealand. Ice-T had several Top-40 hits in New Zealand alone. Likewise, Gangsta-rap also had a significant presence on the UK charts as well, Interestingly enough, Gangsta-rap was hardly even a movement in Australia. For instance, none of Dr Dre's singles peaked within the Top-50. "Keep Their Heads Ringin" peaked at just a measly #93 in Australia, whereas it peaked at #3 in New Zealand, #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #25 in the UK, as well as charting in several European countries. Actually, on the much bigger picture, this is another trend I have noticed. The US and New Zealand are generally the most embracing of hip-hop. The UK is pretty accepting of hip-hop as well, however the country is more selective when it comes to embracing certain artists/groups. Australia, on the other hand, is quite picky when it comes to embracing hip-hop songs and I would argue that it's more of a niche genre here, given the fact that Gangsta-Rap, Snap-Rap and Trap were never truly movements in the country. Trap isn't a movement in Australia....am I missing something? The current top two songs on the ARIA Chart are literally Trap lol.
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Post by SharksFan99 on Mar 3, 2018 21:11:28 GMT 10
Trap isn't a movement in Australia....am I missing something? The current top two songs on the ARIA Chart are literally Trap lol. Those two songs are rare exceptions. There are a lot of Trap songs which have under-performed in Australia, especially when compared to their chart success in America, the UK and New Zealand. "Bodak Yellow" only peaked at #33 here. I wouldn't consider Trap to be a movement here, because the genre simply isn't as popular or have as much of a presence on the charts as EDM or indie.
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(I think hair-metal had the same longevity in the UK as it did in the States. I'm not 100% sure though.)
