Pop songs will always dominate the charts. โPopularโ is in the name, after all. And, occasionally, some very fresh and new pop songs will kick off trends in various pop subgenres. Letโs look at a few such pop songs that made new or newish pop subgenres massively popular upon their respective releases.
โBillie Jeanโ by Michael Jackson (1983)
The New Jack Swing movement owes a lot to this megahit by the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. That synthy beat, Jacksonโs percussive vocalsโฆ it was clear he was inspired by the already growing movement. But if Michael Jackson makes a song in a certain style, itโs bound to popularize that style in a major mainstream way. Thatโs precisely what happened with the New Jack Swing movement, which would remain popular well through the early 1990s.
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“Billie Jean” was one of the biggest songs of 1983, peaking at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, the Eurochart Hot 100, and beyond.
โGangnam Styleโ by Psy (2012)
Even if you were barely conscious in 2012, you probably still remember this song. It was all over the internet, radio, grocery stores, malls, the whole shebang. K-pop was already on the rise globally when Psy dropped this hit that year, but the enormous success of the song proved that K-pop was a force to be reckoned with, one that would transcend language barriers worldwide.
โGangnam Styleโ by South Korean icon Psy was a No. 1 hit on almost every Billboard chart out there, from the US to South Korea to Canada to the whole of Europe and beyond.
โ…Baby One More Timeโ by Britney Spears (1998)
Britney Spears didnโt invent teen pop. However, she ushered in the turn-of-the-millennium version of the subgenre with this massive (and still very much loved) pop hit in 1998. Spears would go on to enjoy one of the biggest careers in late 90s and early 00s pop music. And with her, she would put teen-oriented pop at the top of the charts.
This entry on our list of pop songs that popularized different subgenres was one of the biggest hits of 1998. โ…Baby One More Timeโ peaked at No. 1 on the Hot 100 and took home a laundry list of awards.
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SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE — Episode 8 — Pictured: Musical guest Bobby McFerrin performing on December 10, 1988 — Photo by: Raymond Bonar/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank -
NASHVILLE -August 16: Country Music Singer Songwriter Reba McEntire Performs on August 16, 1988 in Nashville, Tennessee (photo by Beth Gwinn/Getty Images) -
Singer Robert Plant of The New Yardbirds (soon to be re-named Led Zeppelin) performs live on stage at Gladsaxe Teen Club in Gladsaxe, Denmark on 7th September 1968. (Photo by Jorgen Angel/Redferns) -
Musicians Debbi Peterson, Vicki Peterson, Susanna Hoffs and Michael Steele of The Bangles, at the International Rock Awards, London, June 2nd 1989. (Photo by Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images) -
OAKLAND – APRIL 5: Rick Davies and Dougie Thomson perform with Supertramp at the Oakland Coliseum on April 5, 1979 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ed Perlstein/Redferns/Getty Images) -
LONDON, UK – JUNE 1970: English singer-songwriter, composer and pianist Sir Elton John. (Photo by George Wilkes/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
