Singer Bruno Mars released “APT” with BLACKPINK’s Rosé earlier this month. At first, I enjoyed it — the song had a punk, retro vibe to it with the catchy chorus of “A-pa-teuh, A-pa-teuh.” But by the time I went back to hear it for the third time, I realized that the song felt awfully familiar.
As if YouTube could hear my inner thoughts, I stumbled upon a video explaining why. “APT” shared the same melody with dozens of other songs, notably Ava Max’s “So Am I,” Lady Gaga’s “Judas,” or even One Direction’s “Night Changes.” It also largely samples the drums from Toni Basil’s “Mickey.”
While I hate to admit it, whether it’s sampling from classical music or older pop music, there is no doubt that a lot of pop music too often sounds the same. Yes, each artist is known to have their own style and tone, but the trend of reusing melodies and beats is becoming evident across different artists and genres.
An article by the Atlantic showed that audiences feel more comfortable with familiarity, and companies feel better about producing something they know will sell. This seems to be the trend across popular media. I’ve also seen similar plot lines among movies and books.
Top hits tend to be produced by the same handful of creators. The technology and sample sounds used to produce a song are probably the same. The lyrics are about the same themes, with cliché lines like “I can’t stop thinking about you” or something about “baby” or “tonight.”
You could also argue that pop music is about uniting people, and by this logic, a lack of breaking from previous molds isn’t horrible.
Furthermore, there’s only a certain number of keys and rhythms you can use to create a song. Creativity these days is about blending different snippets and creating something new from the old; it’s not always about creating something totally original, which has become increasingly hard to do. Today’s hits are hits because objectively, they’re catchy songs that makers know fans will likely. Predictably, “APT” has garnered over 100 million views in its first week, and YG Plus, the company that distributed the song, saw its stocks surge.
You can’t deny how catchy the chorus sounds, whether or not it sounds similar to other pop songs.
I’ve come to understand that even though songs may sound the same, it could be a fun listen that will bring back some nostalgic memories.
