Young women are struggling to find ways to cope with anxiety induced by endless social media scrolling and neverending news cycle and one of the things they use for this is the emerging music genre of “anxiety pop,” a new trend that’s popular because it acknowledges the suffering while making it easier for the person listening to it.
Who creates this type of music? It’s the names like Rina Sawayama, Kim Petras, Billie Eilish, and Lil Peep who lead the movement, but even some of the most popular artists on the planet can’t resist exploring this new territory. In the end, we’re not sure if “anxiety pop” is a new subgenre of pop or if pop is becoming increasingly dark. The proof? One of the most popular songs this summer, I Don’t Care by Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber, deals with the singers’ social anxiety.
Musicologist and professor Nate Sloan of the University of Southern California had something to say on this subject. As he told Elle, he believes that “the worse society is doing, the more bubbly and escapist pop music becomes.” He believes that there’s a common thread among pop musicians who create sad music today, and that’s the use of cynism and irony.
