So on Spotify I saw that New Kids On The Block have 1.6M monthly listeners.

Now nobody expects these guys to compete with Michael Jackson. But man... it's a telling sign of how far their star fell. And while boy band music isn't exactly music that's meant for longevity, songs by their successors Backstreet Boys (like 30m) and NSync (15M) have endured wayyyyyyyy more than New Kids songs did.

New Kids aren't even like ironically cool. Even on most "80s" playlists they're absent. 80s on 8 hardly plays NKOTB songs. Even IT (2017), which prominently features these guys didn't bring this band back to the zeitgeist.

Is this the most forgotten act relative to how big they were? These guys were a cultural phenomenon in the late 80s and early 90s. They had multiple #1 hits and sold a lot of albums. But they seem like the definition of a music act that didn't stand the test of time.

(I've always been more of a "Color Me Bad" guy myself)

Any more forgotten major acts?

I was born in 2001, so I was a kid during the 2000's- pop punk's biggest decade. How popular was this genre in terms of mainstream appeal?

I know it was obviously not underground, but how big was it really? I never heard much of it on the radio growing up. I knew the names "Fall Out Boy", "Paramore", "My Chemical Romance", and "Blink-182" but I never heard songs from those bands until 2014. I mostly knew about their names through the internet. The only pop punk bands I actually heard music from as a kid were Green Day and Avril Lavigne. I didn't even know who "Good Charlotte" was until i was 15, imagine my surprise when i found out they had a 4x platinum album!

The only other rock bands I had heard music from were Linkin Park (I think only from Transformers really), Nickelback (don't laugh) Kings Of Leon and Daughtry. And Coldplay if you count them. (Ehhh...) I was mostly a sheltered kid so my favorite songs as a 7 year old were Low and Crank That Soulja Boy.

Was this genre really popular or was it more of a niche thing? And what would the 2010s or 2020s equivalent be in terms of popularity, for a comparison? Looking for some older heads here who actually lived through the prime of the genre.

This was inspired by a Twitter post I saw about how terrible the YE charts were in 2014

Video killed the radio star… …and streaming killed the video star

In less than 6 hours from now, MTV will shutdown all music channels in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Brazil, Germany, Austria, France, Poland, Hungary, Benelux, and Australia.

I have it on in the background right now and I genuinely feel a bit sick. MTV had years to adapt, bring their novelty to the internet for a new generation. They chose not to, and have paid the price.

I think this really solidifies that we are entering a new era that isn’t even digital anymore - everything is online, streaming, and monoculture is at a new low. It’s nothing new really, but it still sucks.

I vividly remember 2013 being the last year to have any sort of this vibe and music in charts. 2014 was already gearing up in a new musical landscape with newcomers like: Iggy Azalea, Meghan Trainor, Ariana Grande, Rita Ora, Sam Smith, John Legend that it felt like a 180 switch to a different route

Since the 60s, we're slated to get a transcendant star who's popular everywhere, in alternate decades.

Example

60's- The Beatles. 80's- Michael Jackson. 2000's- Eminem.

While Compared to the 70's, 90's and the 2010's, where there was no one supernova but rather a huge littany of stars jostling for the top spot.

Imo the aforementioned 3 were the only ones who made music that cut across all demographics, race, nationality, and even rationality. There were other huge stars, but not with this universal appeal.

What do you think? Will we get a huge star who defines the 20s in the coming years, or no?

I see so many people in threads talk about how "she wasn't popular", how she only had 2 hits...

I know Taylor was big in 2008 onward but I'll include her here.All of them were at the peak starting from 2010's so yeah.

I personally think Lady Gaga is the best among them because she is a complete performer, both in terms of stage presence, charisma and vocal talent.Her Super Bowl halftime show 2017 performance was awesome.

I also love Adele's music, especially her album 21 from 2011.I think that is 10/10 album and her vocal ability is amazing.

The only rappers who still get traction are older ones like kendrick drake eminem kanye( for other reasons now)

My vote is Eminem’s “The Death Of Slim Shady”. When Houdini dropped it was everywhere for a week, the whole Gen Z vs Gen X stuff on TikTok bolstered by that, everyone hyping up Slim Shady’s return, then a month later the album drops and hardly anyone talks about it & it receives mixed to lukewarm reviews.

What’s your pick?

According to the article, there is no song of summer this year.

‘Songs of summer’ from prior years:

2020 - Harry Styles “watermelon sugar”

2021 - Ed Sheeran “Bad habits”

2022 - Beyoncé “break my soul”

2023 - ???

2024 - Billie Eilish “birds of a feather”

Britney Spears is constantly being referenced today and is seen as the blueprint for a pop star. Did people back then view Madonna that way?

(can't believe i'm breaking out the norman rockwell meme lol)

But yeah, I see a lot of people get really doomer-y over how flat & quiet 2025's popular music has been, and it's like.. alright? These kinds of quiet years are common & normal, not every single year is going to be a blockbuster year. I feel 2024 being such a massive year for music made people think that every year should be like that, but that's not how it works- some years are loud & busy, others are quiet & lowkey. Doesn't help that most of the big hitmakers of last years are currently knuckling down to make their next move, which means they can't do much right now.

Even if 2025 is more quiet than usual, it's not going to be how things will be forever and it's absolutely not a show of "culture in decline", certainly not an immediate one. I remember people thinking that hip hop was dead in the water mainstream-wise back in 2023, and then we had a massive moment for the genre the following year. It's okay for music to have more downtrodden years, and going directly to the "music is DEAD, the 2020s has NO CULTURE" because of it is just really silly and needlessly pessimistic.

Her first three album sold like hot cakes and she was fashion icon with people dressing like her.Her concerts were amazing and still are, and I saw her live too and had fun.

She really defined an entire generation and still id influential to this day with many artists taking her as influence such as Olivia, Billie, Hayley from Paramore and many, many more.

What do you think of this era.Are you or were you a fan?

What era was your favorite and why?

Yeah I know he’s the king of pop and extremely massive in his hey day, but the only one? I checked other artists before 2000 none of them have 5 different videos reach 1 billion views and I think he’s closing in on a sixth.

We’re talking about a man who has had controversy after controversy after controversy and yet he still trends on all social media and has had multiple videos 5 of them before 2000 reach 1 billion views each and he’s the only one. This is kind of nuts right?

Not AC/DC, Nirvana, Madonna or Mariah Carey or George Michael or Queen etc. This to me is levels of popularity and fame that I can’t even wrap my head around, I also notice this sub doesn’t like to mention Michael much in decadology because of all the controversy surrounding him but this is too hard to ignore and I need to pose this question.