So, I have been thinking about making this thread for some time, but for some reason, I couldn't remember the topic.

The genre that comes to mind for me is Indie. I honestly thought this genre would really take off into the mainstream not only because it was diverse, but there were lots of fantastic songs as well. I remember listening to some indie music in 2011-13, and thinking it was totally different from what was being played on the radio at the time. I really had hoped that this type of music would explode into the mainstream but unfortunately, it didn't happen. Now, just imagine had indie rose into the mainstream back then, damn the music scene would have been the bomb today and there would have been millions of classics on the charts! :D :D :D

So everyone, what genres did you believe was going to explode into the mainstream?

I thought dubstep would dominate throughout the whole decade.

Yeah, I was expecting more minimalist indie to be the dominant genre, a la the Juno soundtrack. However, I was not surprised that pop music ended up defining the decade; after all, people were kinda sick of guitar music I think, and urban music had already had its turn alongside emo and post-grunge in the '00s.

Rap rock/nu-metal, but rock still just died:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3M7jVL8iLg

I thought rap music would get a lot angstier during the second half of the 2010s due to the escalation of racial tension in the mid-2010s and success of the Straight Outta Compton movie, but aside from Kendrick Lamar and arguably Lin-Manuel Miranda, all we've really gotten is even more trap garbage.

Back in 2009, I thought rock was going to make a revival in the second half of this decade. I couldn’t be anymore wrong...  ;D ;D

After the release of songs such as "Somebody That I Used To Know" and "Pumped Up Kicks" in 2011, I thought indie rock would have become one of the most defining genres of the 2010s and have a massive presence on the Top-40 charts. Shame it didn't pan out that way...

Back in 2009, I thought rock was going to make a revival in the second half of this decade. I couldn’t be anymore wrong...  ;D ;D

Same here.

Yeah, I was expecting a more minimalist indie to be the dominant genre, a la the Juno soundtrack.



After the release of songs such as "Somebody That I Used To Know" and "Pumped Up Kicks" in 2011, I thought the indie rock would have become one of the most defining genres of the 2010s and have a massive presence on the Top-40 charts. Shame it didn't pan out that way...

I know. I have imagined the music scene would have been better than how it is today, especially with the variety. I hope that aspect makes a comeback in the next decade. At least, the good news is that the music scene (excluding trap rap) is decent compared to a few years ago.


I thought dubstep would dominate throughout the whole decade.
That would be my second guess. It sucks how it only lasted for two years, and people could actually dance to it compared to trap rap. It also seems it was experimental at that time.


I thought rap music would get a lot angstier during the second half of the 2010s due to the escalation of racial tension in the mid-2010s and success of the Straight Outta Compton movie, but aside from Kendrick Lamar and arguably Lin-Manuel Miranda, all we've really gotten is, even more, trap garbage.
This is a good one. I wish this would have gained traction despite that there's a little too much cynical non-trap rap right now instead of the BS garbage we're hearing.

I was sure music was going in the direction of Kanye's "Stronger".
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Nowadays, even the sythns don't even resemble those of the above song.

I was sure music was going in the direction of Kanye's "Stronger".
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Nowadays, even the sythns don't even resemble those of the above song.

Are you talking about Daft Punk? Because their sound has always been the same and still is. As for the synths, music has actually progressed from that and went more electronic. But I didn't like that synth sound very much.  8-P

After the release of songs such as "Somebody That I Used To Know" and "Pumped Up Kicks" in 2011, I thought indie rock would have become one of the most defining genres of the 2010s and have a massive presence on the Top-40 charts. Shame it didn't pan out that way...


This. Feel It Still by Portugal The Man is a lot like those songs so it's not entirely dead in the mainstream.

I really thought Indie rock would blow. I watched the MTV Awards 2013 and a group of the genre did a performance, song I liked but never knew the name to.

I also thought the disco and general '70s throwback trend from 2013 would take off. Now we do get a couple songs which are throwbacks here and there, but I thought they would dominate mainstream music like how there were so many in 2013. Pop music went into a more darker direction instead in 2014. Here is actually the original thread on this forum where I predicted this all the way back in 2013 (almost 5 years ago!)

http://www.inthe00s.com/index.php?topic=48452.msg3039733#msg3039733

I blame Blurred Lines. It received such a sharp backlash that I think put creators and consumers off the throwback style for good.

I blame Blurred Lines. It received such a sharp backlash that I think put creators and consumers off the throwback style for good.


I think The Weeknd and Bruno Mars are pushing the throwback style pretty hard, tho.

True. Bruno Mars has seen pretty sustained success from that, it even seems to be the reason for it.

I blame Blurred Lines. It received such a sharp backlash that I think put creators and consumers off the throwback style for good.

I liked Blurred Lines it was catchy. It received backlash because people are really sensitive these days. If that song came out 10 years earlier, no one would bat an eye.

Well it was that and the copyright claim by the Estate of Marvin Gaye. I can see how that combined with the already ongoing controversy might deter artists from attempting similar throwbacks.

Well it was that and the copyright claim by the Estate of Marvin Gaye. I can see how that combined with the already ongoing controversy might deter artists from attempting similar throwbacks.

True but I think the lawsuit happened almost 2 years after it was released if I remember correctly.

Huh, I'll have to look it up. I can tell you in that case, bad facts resulted in REALLY bad law, so I can understand it deterring a number of creators across many different artistic mediums.

I liked Blurred Lines it was catchy. It received backlash because people are really sensitive these days. If that song came out 10 years earlier, no one would bat an eye.

Eh, sounded like crap to me, I can get past the lyrics.

Eh, sounded like crap to me, I can get past the lyrics.

Every time the song comes on I want to dance to it lmao.

I think The Weeknd and Bruno Mars are pushing the throwback style pretty hard, tho.


Bruno Mars has that funky sound that makes him sound like the early 80's.

Every time the song comes on I want to dance to it lmao.

It's just got crappy whooping from Michael Jackson and generally sounds cheap and low effort as well as bland.

Indie may not have dominated in the 2010s, but it definitely had a presence. I mean the number 1 song of 2012 was an indie song. 2011 - 2012 had a bunch. Plus we have another song popular now "Feel it still". Indie is related to the hipster movement this decade. I do think people will think of an indie when they look back at this decade as it did have a presence in the mainstream even if it didn't dominate. I personally am not a huge fan of it which is why I didn't like the early '10s much as well.

I thought dubstep would dominate throughout the whole decade.


I agree with this.  I was very surprised how dubstep fizzled out around 2013.  I was also surprised how electropop fell out of favor so quickly in favor of disco revival and EDM teen pop (Ariana Grande).  I thought Lady Gaga would dominate this decade like Madonna did the '80s.  While she has remained influential, her definite peak was 2009 through 2011.

I agree with this.  I was very surprised how dubstep fizzled out around 2013.  I was also surprised how electropop fell out of favor so quickly in favor of disco revival and EDM teen pop (Ariana Grande).  I thought Lady Gaga would dominate this decade like Madonna did the '80s.  While she has remained influential, her definite peak was 2009 through 2011.

Yeah I thought Lady Gaga would remain popular as well.

I also thought the disco and general '70s throwback trend from 2013 would take off. Now we do get a couple songs which are throwbacks here and there, but I thought they would dominate mainstream music like how there were so many in 2013. Pop music went into a more darker direction instead in 2014. Here is actually the original thread on this forum where I predicted this all the way back in 2013 (almost 5 years ago!)

http://www.inthe00s.com/index.php?topic=48452.msg3039733#msg3039733


I don't know about Canada, but it's been one of the most prevalent genres in pop music in the '10s in the US, especially during the mid '10s.  It also one that has been very resilient in that it has remained popular.

I don't know about Canada, but it's been one of the most prevalent genres in pop music in the '10s in the US, especially during the mid '10s.  It also one that has been very resilient in that it has remained popular.

2013 was the year when it was huge. There haven't been that many songs in the charts apart from a few later on. Instead, the primary genre was pop music. The only disco song in the charts this year was "Feels", if that's even considered disco. And Bruno Mars brought back funk and The Weeknd had a couple throwbacks, but it wasn't the primary genre in the charts. I wish it was though.

I could've sworn Hip House was gonna be huge this decade. But it ended up declining within in the early days of the 2010s.
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With the EDM craze we have I swear the decline of Hip House and Swing House (aka Electro Swing) makes NO sense. When it comes to Rap/Hip Hop all this decade has given us was more trashy trap music. Unfortunately the genre only peaked in late 80s/early 90s (with Chicago House and early New School Hip Hop) with a bit of a resurgence in the late 00s/early 10s (with New School Hip Hop and Electropop)  and then died off around the time electropop died off.

In fact that's another thing. We all could've sworn Electropop was gonna be a huge genre throughout this decade. But it ended up disappearing early on.

I could've sworn Hip House was gonna be huge this decade. But it ended up declining within in the early days of the 2010s.
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With the EDM craze we have I swear the decline of Hip House and Swing House (aka Electro Swing) makes NO sense. When it comes to Rap/Hip Hop all this decade has given us was more trashy trap music. Unfortunately the genre only peaked in late 80s/early 90s (with Chicago House and early New School Hip Hop) with a bit of a resurgence in the late 00s/early 10s (with New School Hip Hop and Electropop)  and then died off around the time electropop died off.

In fact that's another thing. We all could've sworn Electropop was gonna be a huge genre throughout this decade. But it ended up disappearing early on.

I don't think electropop died. It's still around just a slightly different EDM sound to it. But many pop songs still around electronic, just less dance like and with less autotune now.

I don't think electropop died. It's still around just a slightly different EDM sound to it. But many pop songs still around electronic, just less dance like and with less autotune now.


True True. Hopefully Electropop either goes back to its original sound or gets a cool newer sound.

Pop music needs to be many dancey. I mean we have Dance Pop for a reason, but I swear that even Dance Pop has less of a dance vibe than it used to. Do artists just expect people to slow dance? I dance when I feel the energy coming, but when a song is slower and emotional I don't feel the energy at all.

True True. Hopefully Electropop either goes back to its original sound or gets a cool newer sound.

Pop music needs to be many dancey. I mean we have Dance Pop for a reason, but I swear that even Dance Pop has less of a dance vibe than it used to. Do artists just expect people to slow dance? I dance when I feel the energy coming, but when a song is slower and emotional I don't feel the energy at all.

Yeah I prefer if music was more upbeat as well.

This. Feel It Still by Portugal The Man is a lot like those songs so it's not entirely dead in the mainstream.



I really thought Indie rock would blow. I watched the MTV Awards 2013 and a group of the genre did a performance, a song I liked but never knew the name to.
Yeah, I like that genre a lot and there are so many songs that I wish that was mainstream. At least, there are some on the charts though.


I also thought the disco and general '70s throwback trend from 2013 would take off. Now we do get a couple songs which are throwbacks here and there, but I thought they would dominate mainstream music like how there were so many in 2013. Pop music went into a more darker direction instead in 2014. Here is actually the original thread on this forum where I predicted this all the way back in 2013 (almost 5 years ago!)

http://www.inthe00s.com/index.php?topic=48452.msg3039733#msg3039733
This too! I actually like the disco revival because the songs are pretty good, and people can dance to them :). The one thing though I wish would have stayed is the diversity. Now, that would have made the music scene much better.


Indie may not have dominated in the 2010s, but it definitely had a presence. I mean the number 1 song of 2012 was an indie song. 2011 - 2012 had a bunch. Plus we have another song popular now "Feel it still". Indie is related to the hipster movement this decade. I do think people will think of an indie when they look back at this decade as it did have a presence in the mainstream even if it didn't dominate. I personally am not a huge fan of it which is why I didn't like the early '10s much as well.
That's probably the main reason it didn't dominate considering that the hipster movement has been horrendous. I really wish indie music wasn't associated with that.

Are you talking about Daft Punk? Because their sound has always been the same and still is. As for the synths, music has actually progressed from that and went more electronic. But I didn't like that synth sound very much.  8-P

It sounded great and refreshing. Now it's devolved into some bland, druggy EDM shlop.

The genre that comes directly to mind is Witch House which was a new, nice Gothic-inspired Electronic genre that I told could take off somewhere at the end of this decade and creating its own Wicca/occult-inspired movement among the youth (similar to emo/scene kids past decade).
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Not only did it not at all, but even its creators seemed to moved on from the genre and left it to rot as is.

Dubstep/Brostep was another curious case of something that quickly crashed and burned despite a huge amount of hype beforehand.

Genres I want to take off in the mainstream next decade, a.k.a. bump my post in 2028 so I can get the disappointement out of the way by then >:(:

Grime
Bubblegum Bass
Outsider House
Glo-Fi/Hypnagogic Pop/Bedroom Pop

Electronic dance rock in the vein of I Don't Wanna Be in Love (Dance Floor Anthem) (2007) by Good Charlotte, Gives You Hell (2008) by All-American Rejects, or Animal (2010) or Everybody Talks (2012) by Neon Trees. Sadly it wasn't meant to be. Hopefully in the 2020s.  :\'(

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Also, Kpop LOL.

Funny that you should both mention bedroom pop and K-pop, respectively. I don't know what it is with those two genres, but in my short time as a pop culture observer, from the '00s to now, it seems people are constantly saying, "This will be the year will get big." Owl City blew up and then went nowhere, Psy and Gangnam Style blew up and went nowhere, Girls' Generation is just gone, and most bedroom pop artists today are just super obscure. It just never seems to happen.