EDITORIAL : The rising popularity of alternative pop

[clockwise from top left: Valley, BENEE, Clairo, Olivia Rodrigo, girl in red, and Billie Eilish.]

With her genre-fusing style, whisper-like vocals, and dark themes, Billie Eilish didn't fit the typical mould of pop music. But after rising steadily through years of viral success, her 2019 debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? made Eilish the youngest artist to sweep all four major categories at the 62nd Grammy Awards. Billie Eilish redefined what a modern pop star could sound like—and she's not the only one making alternative popular again. 

In recent years, alternative pop has become one of the trendiest genres on the internet. Walking the line between upbeat and chilled-out, gloomy and danceable, and totally relatable and completely original, alt-pop is giving "popular" a new meaning. These songs tend to have memorable melodies that are easily likeable, but they will often use instrumental influences from alternative genres, or tackle underrepresented topics in their lyrics, or simply have an undefinable quirkiness that defies expectations. 

Streaming services have played a large role in bolstering this movement, as Spotify playlists like Anti Pop and Lorem host upcoming alt-pop artists like girl in red, Alfie Templeman, and BENEE. Alt-pop songs like "Sofia," "Be Around Me," and "Cloud 9" have become viral hits on Tik Tok. We might be listening to a lot of alternative pop right now, but what does the genre actually mean?

If pop music aims for mass appeal, and alternative music aspires to go against the mainstream, is "alternative pop" an oxymoron? Can alternative ever truly become popular, and what happens when it does?

This isn't the first time these questions have been asked. The relationship between alternative and pop has a long history, perhaps most frequently remembered in Nirvana's sudden rise to fame with the release of their 1991 sophomore album Nevermind. Nirvana's commercial success brought grunge to the mainstream, conflicting with alternative rock's DIY values. 

But pop's relation to alternative actually goes back much further than this. If we consider the fact that modern pop music developed in the mid-twentieth century as a way to create a culture specifically for youth, this means that pop was originally the "alternative" to the mainstream adult culture at the time. Remember the adult outrage at seeing Elvis' hip movements on television? Pop music was once a kind of controversial counter-culture. 

Today, the combination of pop and alternative music seems to be a much more conscious effort. 2021's most cutting-edge artists are making pop music that doesn't conform to anyone's standards. Lyricism is a common feature in this hybrid genre, as artists juxtapose appealing instrumental styles with lyrics that express feelings of being left out. Songs like BENEE's "Supalonely" are upbeat enough to inspire a viral Tik Tok dance, while lyrics reveal an overwhelming sadness. Valley's "nevermind" boasts a familiarly anthemic pop chorus, while exploring the unstable in-betweenness of young adulthood. 

As the genre-less movement gains popularity as well, could alternative pop actually just mean music that blends a variety of generic elements, but is well-liked by a large amount of people? Rising superstar Olivia Rodrigo has captured the world's attention with her debut album, which blends styles that sound like everything from Avril Lavigne to Taylor Swift to Elvis Costello. Even Taylor Swift herself has experimented with alternative pop, as her 2020 albums folklore and evermore see a more indie-folk side of the iconic musician. 

Alternative pop means more than just alternative going mainstream—the deliberate fusion of both pop and alternative is forging a new future for popular music. A future where pop music is more about experimenting and pushing the limits of creativity. A future where pop songs can embrace both our perfect love stories and our deepest flaws. A future where artists are encouraged to be true to themselves, and by extension, listeners are given the confidence to do so as well. 

The popularity of alt-pop shows that artists are yearning to change the landscape of popular music and that fans are eager to listen. The future of popular music is already here, and it looks bright.