Pop-rock is a sub-genre of both the rock and pop types of music. Fans of the genre believe that it combines the best of both worlds, coming up with a combination that has guitar-based melodies with catchy choruses. Over the decades since rock and roll became popular, pop-rock has been a genre which has been used by many straight rock bands (and some straight pop bands). One or two songs from a band’s entire repertoire may be classed as pop-rock even if the band itself falls into a different categorisation.
The pop-rock genre is so diverse in its definitions and examples of songs and musicians that there is no comprehensive agreement amongst music fans and scholars as to what exactly it constitutes. Generally, pop-rock is a slightly lower-key version of normal pop, with more use of the minor scale and with a greater reliance on guitar. The vocals are not classic ‘pop’ style in that they may be coarse or untrained. The song lyrics may be more serious than the usual ‘pop’ fare but still tend to fall into the categories of ‘love’, ‘sex’ and ‘emotions’.
Pop-rock has faced a lot of criticism over the years as the pop world views the genre as an attempt for musicians to be taken more seriously, while the rock world views the genre as an opportunity for musicians to ‘sell out’. Never sitting comfortably in any area of the music industry, pop-rock has in more recent years become a regular feature on Top 40 charts and on mainstream radio stations, providing a bit of an ‘edge’ to the normal pop that is played.
The pop-rock genre is so diverse in its definitions and examples of songs and musicians that there is no comprehensive agreement amongst music fans and scholars as to what exactly it constitutes. Generally, pop-rock is a slightly lower-key version of normal pop, with more use of the minor scale and with a greater reliance on guitar. The vocals are not classic ‘pop’ style in that they may be coarse or untrained. The song lyrics may be more serious than the usual ‘pop’ fare but still tend to fall into the categories of ‘love’, ‘sex’ and ‘emotions’.
Pop-rock has faced a lot of criticism over the years as the pop world views the genre as an attempt for musicians to be taken more seriously, while the rock world views the genre as an opportunity for musicians to ‘sell out’. Never sitting comfortably in any area of the music industry, pop-rock has in more recent years become a regular feature on Top 40 charts and on mainstream radio stations, providing a bit of an ‘edge’ to the normal pop that is played.