Biting the Hand: What’s Next for Pop Music?

Pop music: it’s at the tip of your tongue, the top of your mind, and it’s always on – and you’ll hear it no matter what. Across blogs, social media, and music publications, pop is the gift that keeps on giving: there’s always something to say. But what do the people talking really want to hear?

Following Taylor Swift’s audience-panned 2025 record The Life of a Showgirl, critiques of the star roamed freely amongst fans and foes alike. Arguments spanned from overexposure of her presence in the headlines and cash-grab rollouts to exhaustion of the music itself. However, it doesn’t look like listeners are truly as fatigued with Swift’s style of music, songwriting, or branding as they claim.

With audiences resisting Swift’s long-standing gravitational pull in the genre, several artists have found it agreeable – even profitable – to position themselves as her antithesis. Olivia Rodrigo, for example, changed her PR strategy from longtime adorator of Swift to her biggest competition after retroactively crediting Swift, Jack Antonoff, and St. Vincent (writers of Swift’s hit single “Cruel Summer”) royalties from her song “deja vu.” Rumours of a feud between the two have been circulating since credits were given, and many fans falsely believe there was a lawsuit filed by Swift for the credits from then-teenager Rodrigo. However, in spite of rumoured animosity, Rodrigo herself had previously cited “Cruel Summer” as inspiration for “deja vu” to Rolling Stone following its release as a single, and before giving credit to the writers. 

How can a rival to Swift’s music and status be someone who admits to direct influence from her, addressing similarities down to individual tracks? Aside from writing credits, it is clear that many alternatives to Swift as an industry giant are cut from the same cloth. Over the last decade, her influence on mainstream pop cannot be denied. Singers like Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, Gracie Abrams, and Lorde have borrowed melodies, structure, and lyrical style from Swift. Did she invent confessional songwriting? Absolutely not; the argument is not to gloss over greats such as Joni Mitchell and Stevie Nicks. However, the “full package,” so to speak, of a pop anthem complete with perfect ‘verse-chorus-verse-chorus’ form, intimate lyrics with extended metaphor and romantic themes, and radio-friendly melodies at label-approved run times was practiced and perfected by Swift. Regardless of one’s own opinion of the singer as an artist, it is doubtless that she helped to shape the generation of pop artists that followed her. 

Critics of Swift look for other artists to compare and contrast with her, but rarely do challenges to her musical integrity possess any alternative qualities – and when an artist does, are they truly respected? Charli xcx is the prime example. Aside from personal rivalry between the two singers – with history such as Swift’s 2025 track “Actually Romantic” as a response to perceived threats from Xcx’s introspective 2024 hit “Sympathy is a knife” – there is more to be said regarding their artistic differences.

With the long-awaited successor to BRAT, Charli xcx has brought some of what the smash hit entailed, mixed in with the inevitable claims that her new direction is an overcorrection. With pre-release questions such as ‘How will she ever top BRAT?’ and estimations on whether the singer would maintain her social relevancy loomed over Music, Fashion, Film’s rollout like storm clouds threatening a downpour. Where BRAT provided club hits to dance to, Music, Fashion, Film is heavier, bleaker, and more distorted. It is darker and moodier both sonically and thematically, bringing light to Xcx’s fears and insecurities regarding fame, her marriage, and the self. This is the true antithesis to Swift: an album not centered on romantic love with each song formatted to perfection, but a record infused with Xcx’s stream of consciousness, authenticity, and lyrics which oftentimes don’t tell a linear story, and don’t always rhyme. Music, Fashion, Film is more than a confession: it’s a conversation. 

When given the alternative to pop bible metrics such as structure, narrative, and familiarity, what is the response? The album was received well by critics (receiving an 8.2 from Pitchfork, 5 stars from The Guardian, and Rolling Stone stating it “might save us”) but less so by fans. Across music blogs and forums such as Twitter and Reddit, fans cite lyricism as sloppy, and the project itself as an unwelcome visitor who arrives too soon. 

Is it possible to be so loudly exhausted by the past, yet simply not ready for what comes next? When critics of Swift praise artists like Rodrigo, Carpenter, Abrams and more, they are ignorant of how such musicians have risen to the spotlight. All of these artists, who are constantly compared to Swift in various angles (such as branding and songwriting talents), owe credit to her for popularising the style of music they create. Thus, by turning down Swift in favour of any one of them, one isn’t dismissing Swift at all, but rather merely dismissing her likeness. 

Within the pop music sphere, artists like Xcx who take detours from the manicured pop hits of the 2010s and early 2020s are on the rise. Musicians like Addison Rae and PinkPantheress support a wave of sonic, lyrical, and stylistic differences that some audiences have quickly grown fond of – and others have yet to adapt to. Is the era of Swift over, or is it simply changing hands and faces? Regardless of audience reception, artists like Xcx continue to search for unknowns in pop, making headway into uncharted territory.