Do you feel embarrassed to say you like pop music?

[GMFlop]

Not me.

[Alejandromc]

Pop music is my religion.

[electricopop]

Nope. POP MUSIC IS LIFE!

[jordeezy river red]

I'm gay, enjoying fun music is my prerogative. 

[jordeezy river red]

9 hours ago, ColdAsFire88 said:

I can totally relate to this topic  but eventually I started hanging with more and more gays so it was a thing to talk about...I think peer pressure in HS makes us dive into certain music so we can "fit-in" Believe it or not I used to listen to Korn, Limp Bizkit and Stained  then would run home and play In The Zone, Dangerously In Love and Stripped + dance to Slave 4 U etc 

I never liked any of those artists.  For me, in art class in high school, anything that wasn't rap was called "country" by my classmates. 

[princessmimi]

...No why should I?

Pop music is SO GOOD and lots of legends are popstars.

 

[biscuit.hombre]

11 hours ago, Jordan Miller said:

I remember in high school that everyone knew I stanned Britney, but I also felt a little embarrassed about it because subconsciously it forced me to face my sexuality (not that stanning Britney as a teenager = being gay, but....).  I legit only told like 2 or 3 of my friends in hs that I had BreatheHeavy. 

Then in my 20s I found myself being pretty hesitant to tell people I loved pop music. I would list a bunch of genres and throw pop in there. I presumed they'd judge me for being basic or something. 

Now that I'm in my early '30s and totally comfortable with who I am, I have no qualms saying I lOvE pOp MuSiC aNd PrOmOtE iT fOr A LiViNg. 

Exhale, do you openly tell people you are a big fan of pop music. Don't deny it, either! Look, if you're on Exhale right now, you are.  

Thoughts? 

The same here. As a teen I did the same thing about pop music and listening to Britney and being a stan. But as you said, now in my 30’s I don’t care anymore. I can listen everything, but proudly say I grew up on 90’ and 00’ pop and Britney rules

[PokemonSpears]

No, I've always stanned it and defend it when people always come with the Rock > Pop argument. Is not only that people relate it to homosexuality (and homosexuality as something negative), but pop in particular and pop artists are always deemed as plastic, talentless, and as if it had no merit to make a pop song.

But I always tell them that making pop music is not that easy, or otherwise everyone and their mothers would do pop and would be mega successful, like, anyone wanting to be famous or rich, would just pull a pop song from their ***, and make millions off it, but it's more complicated than that. A really great pop song requires a level of expertise, to come up with that perfect recipe of catchiness, mixing a lot of sounds and patterns and playing with the vocals, etc, but also making it sound like it was very simple. Kinda like how Britney would always make her choreographies seem so easy, but they're actually really hard to learn and perform.

[BUWYGF]

Oh I definitely tell people I'm into pop, not embarrassed by it at all. I even give those peasants who hate pop a short history lesson about what pop has done for women, black rights, and LGBTQI+ historically  Pop music is much more than just music, its a whole historical movement that moved boundaries for good.

I'm guessing that's the main reason why heterosexual men hate pop, it's a music that gave women their power back and made them embrace their sexuality  Straight men like to think a woman's sexuality exists for their pleasure only

[allthat88]

I've always loved pop music but yeah, when I was in high school I remember saying once in class I love Britney and people laughed so I kept it quiet and said I liked all types of music.

 

But yes now older I don't care at all.  I do like a wider range of music but I love my pop music and have no shame about it. 

[Jamie Lynn Forever]

no because pop music isn't my main source of music i listen to a lot of different stuff that aren't correlated 

pop music can be deep and experimental too 

 

[U_WannaLiveFancy]

I am selective as hell - I love pop music when it get things right, but only certain songs/artists. Britney is the only one I stan out of the females since I spent like 2011-2016 going through her discography and buying albums for collection purposes (the FF tour reeled me in #JusticeforUp-N-Down).

I can't scream "I love POP!" from my lungs IRL because that'd be a lie. I grew up on mostly alternative music-compared-to-my-peers so I've been against "the mainstream" and/or Top 40 radio for sooo long. Most of pop music feels like "disposable earworms" for me. I remember when Nicki Minaj got the title "Queen of Rap" and I spent so much time criticizing her songs and trying to elevate Azealia Banks (as a "true rapper") during the Pink Friday era lmao.

But I was legit mega-surprised finding out that Britney's fanbase consists of so many gay guys. It's like everyone came out of hiding after the 2000's.

 

 

[U_WannaLiveFancy]

15 hours ago, ColdAsFire88 said:

I can totally relate to this topic  but eventually I started hanging with more and more gays so it was a thing to talk about...I think peer pressure in HS makes us dive into certain music so we can "fit-in" Believe it or not I used to listen to Korn, Limp Bizkit and Stained  then would run home and play In The Zone, Dangerously In Love and Stripped + dance to Slave 4 U etc 

I'm like ""Why not both?"

The Douche/Bro [LB] and Angst [Korn] metal is underrated. Men expressing their feelings! But I remember sooooooooooooo many years of "Nu Metal is not real metal" that I forgot about Limp Bizkit until now.

I never got into Korn, but I found "Blind" at Woodstock '99 recently. The energy level from merely watching that on YouTube with headphones is insane! I missed out back in the day.

Then I switched back to pop mode and listened to Circus for the megarate thread :3

 

 

[Alex1991]

I grew up in three different countries and while in two of them it wasn't a big deal, but when I lived in Colombia I have to admit I kept my taste on the dl, there when you listen to English pop music, and lets be honest the best songs are almost always female, people immediately start speculating. At that time in that that culture that was the last thing I wanted so I kept silent about it.

[Sea flower]

No, never. I think nowadays pop music in Europe has more credit because of artists like Ed Sheeran and Clean Bandit for example. Growing up, i thought people who liked reggaeton didn't have good taste in music, but it has become the new pop music already in many countries, so i had to eat my words.

[Prince Ali]

Same as Jordan.. when I was younger I was a bit hesitant and was keeping it to myself.. now I'm 33, and IDGAF what other people think about my taste in music 

[LaLisaManoban]

I think your story is relatable to almost all of us!

Pop music is perceived as being an inferior genre (and I don't know why, this is just stupid) but all of the people that hides the fact that they enjoy pop music are contributing to increase this idea! 

Also, the fact that people associate pop music with homosexuality has to stop, because this is the biggest reason for straight men not to admit that they like pop (and even if they do, is with a guilty pleasure feeling)! I remember my (clearly straight) brother enjoying Hold it Against Me so much to the point that he sent the music to a friend. His friend shouted "are you gay?!".. My brother was like "wtf?" and didn't care but this is the kind of behaviour that could make him stop listening to pop music (because he was like 16 yo at that time)! 

Today I am proud to say that I have no guilty on my pleasure (and I must confess that I like when someone makes a discuting face when I talk about pop music, because that opens the possibility for me to drag them haha)

[Silhouette]

No, instead I feel secondhand embarrassement for the people who think they're better for not listening to pop music 

[NobodyKnowsPete]

18 hours ago, Jordan Miller said:

I remember in high school that everyone knew I stanned Britney, but I also felt a little embarrassed about it because subconsciously it forced me to face my sexuality (not that stanning Britney as a teenager = being gay, but....).  I legit only told like 2 or 3 of my friends in hs that I had BreatheHeavy. 

Then in my 20s I found myself being pretty hesitant to tell people I loved pop music. I would list a bunch of genres and throw pop in there. I presumed they'd judge me for being basic or something. 

Now that I'm in my early '30s and totally comfortable with who I am, I have no qualms saying I lOvE pOp MuSiC aNd PrOmOtE iT fOr A LiViNg. 

Exhale, do you openly tell people you are a big fan of pop music. Don't deny it, either! Look, if you're on Exhale right now, you are.  

Thoughts? 

Yes, I tell people I like pop music and the popstars I stan. Some people’s think it’s funny, some people think it’s embarrassing; but I don’t care much about. I think there are worst things in life  and much more embarrassing than pop music. I blame indie stans and hipsters, they all are posers...

[THE BAJAN VIBE]

Actually, I'm really proud. I mean, I grew up listening to Britney Spears and pop in general. Nowadays, these generations grow up listening to songs like 'Despacito' or Maluma's songs. I'm sorry, but come on... 

You guys would enjoy the playlist on my car.