You have probably heard someone tell you some song is overrated. You might have listened to “Wonderwall” by Oasis when you were discovering the “90’s essentials” on Spotify or on the radio and found that song an instant classic though everyone seems to be sick of it. Or you might have listened to “Creep” by Radiohead when you were in middle school and nothing made sense to you and you wanted to lie in your bed and cry. That’s called common sense. We’ve all been there. But what does the word “overrated” truly mean? Some might say it means some artist or song is overplayed and should not deserve such recognition from people. Or perhaps it just means that a song is lyrically disgusting and there is no point in listening to it. The truth is, these affirmations are often correct. So what’s my point?
Music, like all art, is so subjective and broad: everyone’s got a different opinion. But I’ve noticed how people feel about music nowadays. Instead of telling others what they honestly like about a particular song and what makes it so special, they usually say “yeah, the beat is dope” or “yeah I get the most amazing vibes from that song.” What a waste. I sort of understand why this happens, because you can’t quite see the meaning behind “WHAT’S POPPING” by Something-I-make-music-for-TikTok. Isn’t that exactly what being overrated means? Do these artists deserve being at the top of the charts because they (sometimes) sing about how awesome and “cool” their lives are? Unfortunately, the music industry has changed the meaning of making music since many years ago. And it’s only getting worse.
Sure, I’m not SMHS’ busiest music nerd, but I realize how meaningless most of the famous songs these couple years have been. Songs are only algorithms and social media is what feeds them. The eeriest part is that most people like it and unfortunately can’t seem to understand that yes, there are a bunch of songs that are made for the purpose of “becoming a hit”. There is a significant amount of songs that use the same formula we’ve seen throughout our entire life, such as Kelly Clarkson and Timbaland (to name just a few). The world has been turned upside down and now, if someone says they don’t like a certain song because it’s overplayed, nauseating and commercialized, this person’s the one who’s wrong. People limit themselves from not listening to a great song or band because of other people and mainly because of social media and the music industry. They excessively rely on each other and care about other people’s opinion when someone makes a video entitled: “What this song/album says about you”.
So are songs and singers overrated? Not really. Music is music. It’s a way of making art. Sure, I think certain kinds of songs are overplayed and there are other artists who should deserve more recognition for their work . Or were you honestly thinking that I would praise “Say So” by Doja Cat or “Toosie Slide” by Drake? I didn’t think so either.