Why Are Lyrics in Modern Pop Songs so Bad?

If you only listen to modern Pop artists, and have never checked older songs and bands, then you probably have zero issues with today’s music. But as soon as you open older stuff, you will see a big difference. The musical difference is the first thing you’ll notice obviously. Songs from 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s just sound so distinctive from current pop hits. I have covered that in the Is Modern Pop Music Bad? article.

But aside from music itself there’s another huge difference. I’m talking about Lyrics. It’s not a secret that modern pop music is often criticized for its lyrics. But is it a fair criticism? – Yes, in many cases it is unfortunately so.

Modern pop music has seen some big changes in the last 20 years. There’s been a huge shift in the mindset of the genre and its artists. Instead of focusing on creativity and self-expression, many now prioritize making money and becoming famous. And lyrics is one of the unfortunate victims of this shift.

If you open any of the popular pop charts, for example on Billboard, YouTube or TikTok and check what is trending, you will notice that most of the Top-10 songs are actually very similar. Both musically and lyrically. And I wish it was a positive thing, but it’s not.

Creativity & Self Expression vs Money

Pop music remains the most popular genre. So it’s no surprise that it has the most artists in it. It is also the genre where the most money can be made. And money as we all know – is the new king of the world.

While there’s plenty of artists who are still starting their music journey as a way to self express and showcase their creative talent, more and more musicians are mostly driven by the potential profits and fame. People see how awesome the lifestyle of the pop star is, and they want to achieve the same.

But if your priority is financial gain, then music is merely a means to get there. Why bother with self expressing when you can concentrate on things that can actually help you become famous and do it fast? Like promotion, hype, press and sounding similar to other A-listers.

Creative quality of their lyrics is not something many artists think about nowadays. As long as the lyrics are not in the way of getting to the promised land, it will do. That’s why so many popular songs have such forgettable lyrics.

Simplicity Is The New Trend

With the spread of internet and online content sharing platforms, releasing music has never been easier. A short format content is on the rise especially. And for that particular format the most important thing is a catchy tune, not lyrics.

So if the song needs to have some kind of words artist often add super simple lines that are just repeated over and over again. The simpler the better. No one has time to listen to complex stories any more. When you scroll though endless river of content, a catchy tune is more than enough. You will be done with that short clip soon enough anyway.

There’s an interesting study about the songs simplicity and repetitiveness , if you want to dive deeper int its findings.

One of the reasons why Pop music was always so popular is that the lyrics were extremely relatable. But nowadays relatable is getting replaced by repeatable. It’s easier to write, and as we can see from the Top charts it doesn’t prevent songs from becoming hits. The only question is – will these modern pop hits stand the test of time and be as good in 10-20 years?

Are All Modern Lyrics Bad?

Of course not. Pop genre is too big and combines way too many sub-genres. It’s an umbrella for hundreds and hundreds of vastly different artists. There still are and always will be musicians who do spend time writing lyrics that mean a lot to them personally. And with lyrics that actually have deeper meaning.

By the way, good lyrics do not have to be extra complex. It can be a few simple words. Yet they will strike the listener, invoke imagination, add to the vibe and the impact of the song, connect on emotional level.

Good lyrics are never a place holder or a meaningless combination of cliches. Good lyrics are an important part of a great song.

Comparing Modern Pop Lyrics to Older Ones

I could talk more about “what” and “why”. But the best argument is always a valid example. So let’s just see what lyrics are in the trending songs right now. And let’s compare them to the lyrics from older songs. And we’ll see how they stack up against each other.

The choice of modern songs with “questionable” lyrics turned out to be actually astonishing. From just plain and forgetful to absolutely horrible. I was genuinely surprised when I listed to some of the latest popular tracks. I was actually hard to pick a single one…

But juts for the sake of this comparison let’s look at Justin Bieber’s “Yummy“. The song was released back in 2020 and debuted at #2 on the US Billboard Hot 100, also placing in the top five in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and other countries.

The lyrics are:

Now let’s try something older. This is one called “Shape of My Heart” by Sting, released in 1993.

The lyrics are:

I’ll live you to make your own conclusions.