Josh Bates & Kristin M. Barton
Carey gained numerous accolades because of her tremendous vocal range
and tonality (Caramanica). Both artists brought a refreshing perspective of
musicality along with their chart topping success, adding to the diversity of
musicianship of the time period. This trend of musical variety and invigorating
artistry continued throughout the nineties with artists such as Notorious B.I.G,
Naughty by Nature, The Cure, Red Hot Chili Peppers, U2, Sheryl Crow,
Dave Mathews Band, Garbage, Busta Rhymes, and Santana. Although
they encompass a variety of genres (rock, acoustic rock, rap, grunge, arena
rock, funk rock, pop rock), each of these artists added something unique to
the canon of music when they emerged and their songs began to climb the
charts, ranging from lyrical content, recording methods, unconventional chord
album, Tuesday Night Music Club, Sheryl Crow was noted for her impressive
sense of musicality, merging folk, classic rock, singer/songwriter, and pop rock
elements to shape her sound (Buskin).
A gradual decrease in artistic diversity begins to be represented in RS’s
American
Idol), to 2013. Arguably, this could only be an indication of listeners’ changing
musical preferences over time, unrelated to the TV series, but the charts do
infused compositions, which operates parallel to the show’s success. Below
are the musical components of the 2001 rankings.
Table 2
Top Rock and Hip-Hop Singles (June 2001)
Rock
Hip-Hop
Artist
Song
1
Staind
“It’s Been Awhile”
2
Weezer
“Hashpipe”
3
Incubus
“Drive”
1
Destiny’s Child
“Survivor”
2
Janet
“All For You”
3
2Pac
“Until the End of Time”
While this is a very small sample, it is representative of what can be seen on
the RS charts during this time. These varying musical elements alone are not
American Idol, but as the popular music of American
culture progresses from 2001 (Idol
decrease in song diversity is audibly noticeable. From 2002 to 2008, the charts
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