Current Influential Albums

When music comes out, no one is really sure if it will stand the test of time or become influential to future artists. When the Beatles first started, there were just another pop band. Same thing with Justin Timberlake or Bruno Mars, nobody actually thought they would have a significant impact on the music industry, but they clearly have. Keeping with this same idea, I have a list of three albums that I believe have and will have significant impacts in the music industry

1. Lorde’s Pure Heroine

This album came out during an interesting time of music. We were still recovering from the self-congratulatory pop of the 2000’s and newer artists were beginning again to create more serious and personal music. All of the sudden a 16 year old from New Zealand came out with Royals. This song was a response and criticism of the shallow music that was prevalent at the time. I believe this song paved the way for artists’ more serious music to be released by the recording companies. The extreme popularity of the song forced executives to recognize the fact that  music listeners were craving something more than pretty ladies, parties, and shallow love.

2. Sia’s 1000 Forms of Fear

Nobody expected Sia to come back with as much force as she did. She only had minor hits before her hiatus and she seemed content to never produce her own music again. But then Chandelier came out and became a huge success. People connected with the deeply tragic lyrics, but the music made it possible to listen to it without the sadness overwhelming the song. Similar to Pure Heroine, 1000 Forms of Fear takes pop music and makes it a personal affair. She takes the style of pop, but makes it work with her personal story. The album is a collection of songs that were too personal for Sia to share with another artist and it shines through. I believe this will be a model that other artists will follow where the songs are deeply personal to them. I would not be surprised if Gwen Stefani said that 1000 Forms of Fear was an inspiration for her new album, one that is also a collection of songs about difficulties in her life.

3. Taylor Swift’s 1989

Whether you like her music or not, you cannot deny that Taylor Swift is extremely successful.  She makes pop songs that are accessible, but still contain clever lyrics with significant messages. Her wordplay in some of her songs is really unparalleled when compared to other artists releasing music right now. A lot of people like to disregard her because of her bubblegum pop aesthetic, but she’s really someone that lyricists should be looking up to. Clealr yshe is already a huge influence as one of the most recognizable celebrities in America, but I believe this album will have lasting affects on the music industry. It’s no longer acceptable in pop to hide poor lyrics behind a lazy ear-worm beat. I hope that this album will cause a significant impact in the writing of pop songs in the future.

These three are obviously not the only albums that will have a significant impact on the music industry, these are just the ones that I have the most background with. Some other artsist include the more obvious big names that will have an impact no matter what type of music they release, like Beyonce or Nicki Minaj. Then there are the ones that haven’t broken out to the public yet that would probably have huge impacts if they could, like Melanie Martinez, Misterwives, or Janelle Monae.