2000s prefab pop was craftsmanship compared to today's reggaeton
In 2001, Britney and the Backstreet Boys shared a formula, a producer and the final minute. Today's reggaeton doesn't even need that craftsmanship: the algorithm is enough.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
2000s pop: from the Stargate formula to the algorithm's dembow
In 2001, two songs that never reached number one on the Billboard chart shared more than their final minutes: producer, structure and a textbook trick. «It's Gotta Be You» and «Overprotected» sounded the same because they were the same. The paradox: the prefab pop of that era demanded more craft than most of today's reggaeton, which doesn't even need a key change to sell.
The shared DNA of Britney and the Backstreet Boys
Stargate, the duo made up of Mikkel Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen, was behind both. The formula was as simple as it was effective: a key change in the last minute, a chorus repeated to exhaustion and textbook ad-libs. Anyone listening to the radio in 2001 knew it; the industry recycled templates the way it recycled everything, same structure, different face.
From the Swedish factory to the three-chord dembow
Max Martin has spent 25 years building hits on four chords and a melody that sticks. Scott Storch, by contrast, used the abrupt pause and the final explosion, as Christina Aguilera's «Fighter» shows. Reggaeton does away with all of that: a rhythm track, a hook and flat production. It's no coincidence that Boney M, with Frank Farian at the helm, laid the foundations of prefab product half a century ago. What changes is the musical density.
With that inheritance, the uncomfortable question is a different one: if the algorithm rewards the instant click, does anyone need a melody you can't forget? Apparently not. And it shows.
In 2001, two songs that never reached number one on the Billboard chart shared more than their final minutes: producer, structure and a textbook trick. «It's Gotta Be You» and «Overprotected» sounded the same because they were the same. The paradox: the prefab pop of that era demanded more craft than most of today's reggaeton, which doesn't even need a key change to sell.
The shared DNA of Britney and the Backstreet Boys
Stargate, the duo made up of Mikkel Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen, was behind both. The formula was as simple as it was effective: a key change in the last minute, a chorus repeated to exhaustion and textbook ad-libs. Anyone listening to the radio in 2001 knew it; the industry recycled templates the way it recycled everything, same structure, different face.
From the Swedish factory to the three-chord dembow
Max Martin has spent 25 years building hits on four chords and a melody that sticks. Scott Storch, by contrast, used the abrupt pause and the final explosion, as Christina Aguilera's «Fighter» shows. Reggaeton does away with all of that: a rhythm track, a hook and flat production. It's no coincidence that Boney M, with Frank Farian at the helm, laid the foundations of prefab product half a century ago. What changes is the musical density.
With that inheritance, the uncomfortable question is a different one: if the algorithm rewards the instant click, does anyone need a melody you can't forget? Apparently not. And it shows.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (32 replies).
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