Week 6

Blog Post #3 Directions

Topic: Popular Music

Directions: Select one of the artists listed under the “Charts” sections (“Hot 100,” “Billboard 200,” et cetera) in the Billboard website, http://www.billboard.com/charts#/, and reflect upon why he/she is (or, why they are) popular.  Specifically address the following prompts:

1.   Who is the artist, and what genre can her/his/their music be classified as?

2.   What songs of this artist are popular? Make sure that the song titles appear in quotation marks.

3.   Is the artist fairly new to the music scene, or has the artist been around for a while? (Think Madonna versus Lana Del Rey, for instance.  Madonna has a longstanding music career (1980’s to present), whereas Del Rey is a new artist—her first album was only recently released.)

4.   Describe the artist’s (artists’) appearance.  Does he/she (or, do they) wear particular clothing or have a unique style? 1 paragraph minimum

5.   Review the lyrics of one of the artist’s songs.  How would you describe the lyrics?  Are they catchy, inspiring, offensive, or nonsensical?  Include examples from the lyrics in the context of this response.  1 paragraph minimum

6.   Watch one of the artist’s music videos and describe the content.  1 paragraph minimum

7.   You’re the judge: Would you like to see this artist’s popularity continue, or would you prefer for her/his/their career to quickly come to an end?  Make sure you provide reasons to support your opinion.  1 paragraph minimum