Have we really turned into a Self-Obsessed Nation? Our friends at MasterCard have carried out some new Research which has revealed that the millennial generation’s music is more self-obsessed and materialistic than it was two decades ago.
Headline sponsor of the BRIT Awards
To celebrate their 20th Anniversary of #sponsoring The BRIT awards, the credit card giant has released in-depth research into the development of music since 1998. From the musicians Take That to One Direction, Alison Moyet to Adele and East17 to Professor Green, exploring music lyrics - that reflect Gen Z's likes and dislikes.
The findings were discovered by correlating famous song lyrics from the late 90s to today's popular music hits - 200 in total.
It was revealed that music today features a 20% increase in happy and positive lyrics, tracks today also include a wider range of vocabulary.
Self(ie)-obsessed behaviour
Personal appearance is everything in this day and age, and we always have to look our best for those Instagram selfies, so it's no surprise to hear that keywords relating to vanity and body image show a huge 116% increase. We all want to look and feel good and social media has developed our obsession with squad, eating and fitness goals. This is reflected in today's song lyrics, the word ‘health’ rose to a whopping 55%, while the lyric ‘body’ rose to a stonking 428%.
We love brands
The internet has given us easy access to worldwide brands, with many artists referring to them in their lyrics, with a 180% increase in the use of 'brand'. Songwriters these days name drop famous brands a whopping 345% more than two decades years ago. We know Wiley got an MBE, but did he get a free Rolex when he sang Wearing My Rolex or did Taylor Swift receive a whopping truckload of 'Band-Aids' when she mentioned them in her hit Bad Blood?
We really hope Katy Perry was gifted a magnum of 'Dom Perignon' for mentioning the brand in her track Birthday. Also, we are sure Meghan Trainor might have been disappointed to receive a lifetime subscription to Adobe Photoshop after she sang about it in her chart-topping hit All About The Bass.
The 2018 BRIT Awards with Mastercard take place on Wednesday, February 21 and will be presented by comic Jack Whitehall. The BRITs are the more prestigious night in the UK music calendar. Nominees include Stormzy, Liam Gallagher, Paloma Faith and the man of the moment Ed Sheeran.
