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“Dirty Pop” and Dirty Little Secrets:
Performing Masculinities in the Guilty Pleasure
Music of One Direction and Justin Bieber
Vanessa Robustelli
Honors Thesis, MUS490
Franklin and Marshall College
Advised by Professor Matthew Butterfield
Submitted to Music Department April 26, 2021
Graduation Date: May 15, 2021
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Dedication
This thesis is dedicated to my 12 year old self – far less confident in herself and the songs on her pink
iPod Nano – than my 21 year old self, writing about those very songs in my senior thesis. This thesis is
dedicated to every young girl who has felt guilty about or shamed for their tastes, views, and opinions.
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Acknowledgements
This thesis would not be what it is without the unbelievable support and guidance of my project
advisor, Professor Matthew Butterfield. Professor Butterfield, I am so grateful for your genuine
enthusiasm for my project and in our many, many in depth conversations about One Direction and Justin
Bieber. I believe many professors would turn their noses up at this topic, but you did not hesitate to help
me develop my project into an extensive examination of the nature of genre and I cannot thank you
enough. Spending an entire year discussing teen pop with you has been such a highlight of my college
career. Thank you for pushing me past using passive voice and encouraging me to be strong in my
assertions. It may be a mere grammar mistake and one I fall back on prior to the editing process, but I
believe learning how to and why I should reject it really encapsulates my journey with this project and
your mentorship more generally.
Thank you to both of my incredible academic advisors, Professor Sylvia Alajaji and Professor
Nick Montemarano. Over the past four years, both of you have been absolutely instrumental in the
carving of my own unconventional, quirky academic path, a path that has suited me and my interests so
well. I will never forget our many meetings and your patient, supportive listening to me ramble on, and
on, and on about my thesis topic and so many other things. I am thrilled to have Professor Karen Leistra-
Jones and Professor Alison Kibler serve on my Honors Committee as well as my academic advisors. I am
so appreciative of all of your specific, varied perspectives on my thesis.
Special thanks to my family: Mom, Dad, and my twin sister Elena, my biggest cheerleaders. You
have each helped me believe in myself and believe that this project is not a guilty pleasure; it is something
I’ll always be unconditionally proud of. I am so, so thankful for your love and support. To my wonderful
friends, thank you for everything. To Alice: thank you for being the best roommate to a pair of thesis-
crazed twins, for always listening to my ideas, and for being the best Belieber to offset the overwhelming
One Direction Infection in our apartment.
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Table of Contents
Introduction 6
Theoretical Framework 13
Imagining “Good Music”: The Canonization of Popular Music 15
Imagining “Bad Music” as the Inverse of “Good Music”: Inauthenticity, 18
Commercialism, and “Cheese”
Contextualizing the “Guilty Pleasure” as a Mechanism of Subversion: 22
Upending Expectations Through Musical Taste
The Project of Genre 26
The “Boy Band” 28
Towards Understanding One Direction as “Boy Band” 33
Towards Understanding One Direction as a “Spectacularly Bad Boy Band” 37
“I Want You to Rock Me”: One Direction’s Appropriation of Heavy Rock Aesthetics 43
One Direction and Their Interactions with Rock Icons 52
One Direction’s Noncommittal Nature 55
Consequences of Cock Rock Masculinity 56
Justin Bieber: Teen Idol and Practitioner of Imitation 60
“Shit Don’t Even Usually Get This Big Without a Bieber Face”: 60
Drake’s “POPSTAR” and Signifyin(g)
The Genealogy of Boy Band-Adjacent Figures and Teen Idols 67
Bieber Fever Begins 72
Bieber: From Boy to “Boyfriend” 76
Co-Opting and Controversy: Bieber’s Relationship to Blackness 78
Bieber in Media 85
Changes, Without The Change 88
Justice and Justin 90
Escaping and Graduating From “Guilty Pleasure” 94
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The Harry Styles Question 96
Moving From “Guilty” to “Guilt-free” 100
Bibliography 102
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Introduction
On January 8, 2021, Olivia Rodrigo, a rising teen star born out of the new and improved Disney
Channel machine, released a song titled “drivers license” [sic].
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Within a week, the song reached number
one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and spent its first 8 weeks atop the chart, matching the record held by
Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy” in 1995.
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The heartbreak anthem was devoured by the Internet, reaching the
viral status many musicians strive towards in the 2020s. The incredible success of “drivers license”
marked a breakthrough for Rodrigo as her first debut single separate from her role on Disney Plus’ High
School Musical: The Musical: The Series, a spinoff of the original High School Musical trilogy that
follows characters modeled after its singing and dancing. After just one season on Disney Plus, the series
has proven to be an instant favorite with an overwhelmingly young female audience. Rodrigo’s fans
among them have avidly dissected her lyrics on social media platforms like TikTok, relating them to her
rumored real-life romance and breakup with her co-star on High School Musical: The Musical: The
Series, Joshua Bassett. The song created so much buzz that on February 20, 2021, Saturday Night Live
presented a sketch named after and focused on the song.
As the sketch begins, a group of men, dressed in traditionally masculine attire like plaid shirts,
blue jeans, and hooded sweatshirts, stand around a pool table, ready to pounce into competitive gameplay.
Beck Bennett: “Fifty bucks says I kick Bobby’s ass...”
Regé-Jean Page: “Hey, you tryin’ to hustle me, Rousseau?”
Mikey Day: “Shut up and break ’em, will ya?”
Beck Bennett: “I’ll break you first, how ’bout that?”
This first interaction aims to introduce this group of characters as tough guys who frequent bars and
participate in masculine competition. Namely Bennett’s final line in character, “I’ll break you first,”
exudes macho energy as he threatens his buddy with violence. However, this stereotypically masculine
image begins to unravel when Page selects his chosen song from the bar’s jukebox.
1
Saturday Night Live, season 46, episode 13, “Regé-Jean Page and Bad Bunny,” NBC, 2021,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPjvCFa8LuE.
2
Gary Trust, “‘Drivers License’ Leads Hot 100 For 8th Week, The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’ Marks a Year in
Top 10,” Billboard, Billboard Media, published March 8, 2021,
https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/9536569/olivia-rodrigo-drivers-license-number-one-eighth-week-hot-100/.
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Regé-Jean Page: “Hey, easy, boys, I’ll take all your money by the end of the night.
Just let me play my song first.”
Given his portrayal thus far, the audience has a particular expectation of the sort of song Page will
choose: a song that aligns with his masculine persona, fits the context of a dive-bar setting, and would
entertain his group of friends to some extent. Page goes as far as to assert ownership over his choice,
calling it “his” song. Thus, it is guaranteed that whatever he will choose to play will reflect on him in
some way. As the beginning notes of Rodrigo’s “drivers license” fill the room, giggles immediately erupt
from SNL’s live audience. Though Bennett proceeds to challenge the rest of his buddies, he notices the
emotive quality of Rodrigo’s voice and his focus is interrupted. He looks up with a confused facial
expression, which garners immediate laughs from the audience.
Beck Bennett (gruffly): “Wait, what am I listening to?”
Regé-Jean Page: “drivers license by Olivia Rodrigo, man.”
Pete Davidson (dismissive): “Yeah, uh, it sounds like it’s just some teen girl singing
in her room to her piano…”
Regé-Jean Page (confidently): “That’s the beauty of it, you got a problem?”
Mikey Day: “So, what’s this song, like, even about, even?”
Beck Bennett (at first, sarcastically, rolling eyes): “I guess it’s about a girl getting her
driver’s license…[begins getting more enthusiastic] but it’s bittersweet
because it’s something she and her ex always talked about…[panics,
backtracks] that’s what I guess, based on hearing it for the first time right
now.”
Alex Moffat: “Yeah, sure, sure, sure, I mean if you wanna get all literal, but uh, I
mean, I think I overheard on the news or somethin’ that it’s actually about the
kids from High School Musical, I don’t know...”
Pete Davidson (curious): “Oh, who? Uh, Vanessa Hudgens, Zac Efron, Sharpay, that
whole crew?”
Regé-Jean Page: “Nah, man, High School Musical The Series, Olivia wrote it about
Joshua Bassett, who’s allegedly now with Sabrina Carpenter. Look, just
listen, man.”
The camera then pans to Pete Davidson, who is swaying and emotionally lip syncing Rodrigo’s lyrics,
even closing his eyes when singing the line “I just can’t imagine how you could be so okay now that I’m
gone.” Kenan Thompson bears a contemplative facial expression, fully taking in the song and nodding in
approval. The audience is bursting with laughter which intensifies when Thompson delivers his review:
“she’s got a healthy belt.” Now, Page and Bennett are holding their pool sticks like microphones and
singing along to “drivers license” in duet. Bowen Yang peers into the camera dramatically, strokes his
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cheek, and sings the final line of the chorus: “You said forever, now I drive alone past your street.” This
communal reaction excites Page.
Regé-Jean Page (shouts excitedly): “Okay, so I’m not the only one!”
Beck Bennett (choked up): “It’s like she ripped a page out of my diary—[in panicked
embarrassment] I mean notebook! [further alarmed and more aggressively] I
mean plain brown leather…[backs away, puts hands up] I CAN’T READ
OR WRITE!”
Bennett’s growing panic at his own emotional display suggests his recognition that he may be perceived
differently based on his identification with the song’s emotional resonance. Bennett’s tone of voice – first
shaky, then aggressive and deep – and his defensive physical movements reveal his anxiety surrounding
his identification with the song. But these expressive choices only enhance and amplify the line’s conceit,
which introduces Bennett’s masculine crisis; he is frantically worried that his masculinity could be
compromised by his engagement with “drivers license.” In character, Bennett reveals that he not only
owns, but writes in a diary, an action typically associated with young women. When he realizes that he
has exposed himself in this way, he immediately amends his original statement. His diary is now actually
a notebook, an item with less of a gendered association within society. Bennett panics again, emphasizing
that the book he writes in is actually a “plain, brown leather,” which is regarded as much more masculine
than a regular notebook, much less a diary. Bennett then insists “[he] can’t read or write,” showing he has
devolved to a degree of anxiety that has rendered him almost nonsensical. Each turn this sentence takes
makes the audience howl more with laughter.
Alex Moffat: “Okay, look, I don’t wanna say nothing too controversial, y’know, but
this is giving me Billie Eilish vibes!”
Pete Davidson: “Yeah, yeah, yeah, but the verses are starting to say…Taylor?”
Regé-Jean Page (strongly): I mean, obviously, it’s Taylor Swift. Taylor is the rule!
But it’s also pure Olivia, man.”
Now, the men are passionately conversing about the musical inspirations that seem to underlie Rodrigo’s
song. But they are also establishing significant familiarity with two uber-successful female pop stars –
Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift – and their songwriting styles. Not only are these two artists women, but
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they also have predominantly young female fans, rather than the “hardened barflies” that the cast portrays
in this skit.
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Mikey Day (breathing heavily, with tears on his cheek): “It’s pure. That’s for sure.”
Alex Moffat (judgmentally, puts hand on Day’s shoulder): “Oh, dude, are you
crying?”
Mikey Day: “Nah, it’s just, well, it’s got me thinking about my breakup, like [voice
shaking] maybe I’m Olivia, and my bitch ex Gina is Joshua Bassett, and
Sabrina Carpenter, like...that’s that bastard Enzo from the garage...” [crying]
Rodrigo’s song even leads Mikey Day’s character to start crying as he reflects on his own breakup, an
action coded as feminine. Day also asserts deep knowledge of the song’s premise and the actors that
comprise Rodrigo’s TV series, beloved by young girls. This, of course, is one of the moments that
generates the most laughter from the audience.
Regé-Jean Page: “Ay yo, bro, if Olivia’s taught us anything, it’s that pain can be
creatively generative, man.”
Kenan Thompson: “Yeah, like remember when I lost fifty Gs on the Giants? That
gave me, like, half my poems.”
Pete Davidson: “I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again: Taylor.”
Regé-Jean Page: “Yeah, but Taylor shifted away from the autobiographical and now
she’s in the pocket creatively. [raises voice] Look at Folklore, man!
Ultimately, she’s a freakin’ storyteller.”
Pete Davidson: “Yeah, but I still feel it’s Taylor. You got a problem?”
Regé-Jean Page (advancing towards Davidson): “With you being purposefully
reductive, [yelling] yeah, I got a problem!”
References to the Giants and gambling act as tangible reminders of the heterosexual masculinity these
men present and are actively gripping onto during these skit. But juxtaposed with the emotional pain
expressed by Day and disagreement over Swift’s influence on Rodrigo, the scene presents as an
absolutely ridiculous scenario for the type of male characters portrayed. Page and Davidson resort to
tussling, a behavior coded as aggressively masculine. However, with the context of their disagreement
being so seemingly out-of-character, the audience laughs. In the final bit of the skit, the men put aside
their differences when Rodrigo’s heart-wrenching bridge section arrives; they wrap their arms around
each other, sway, and sing along. In fact, they each know Rodrigo’s song so well that they correctly sing
3
Chris Willman, “Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Driver’s License’ is for Drinking Buddies, Too, in ‘Saturday Night Live’
Homage,” Variety Magazine, Variety Media, published February 21, 2021,
https://variety.com/2021/music/news/drivers-license-saturday-night-live-snl-olivia-rodrigo-sketch-1234911924/.
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every word of the bridge. Despite each character’s reluctance to admit his knowledge of the song and its
premise at the beginning of the skit, by the end, every man has released his inhibitions.
The skit was ultimately a success, gaining laughter and raucous applause from the audience. But
what exactly made this sketch so hilarious? Why was it so funny for these characters to engage with this
song? In a show framed around satire, this sketch’s punchline was that this ragtag team of masculine,
“hardened barflies” actually enjoys a song made by a young girl for other young girls, her peers.
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This
masculine engagement with Rodrigo’s ballad subverts expectations and associations that many have with
this particular mode of heterosexual masculinity. The audience’s response of laughter exposes that music
has the power to affect how people are viewed within society. In this case, this song feminizes its
listenership; because the men relate to and enjoy Rodrigo’s song, they are seen as laughingstocks. This
song could be interchangeable with any emotional song beloved by a predominantly female audience,
whether it be a boy band tune, a love song by a crooning teen idol, a ballad sung by a Disney princess, or
a breakup song by Taylor Swift. Clearly, the sketch positions “drivers license” as a “guilty pleasure”: the
characters feel apprehensive about admitting they enjoy or relate to the song, but they do find pleasure in
it. The skit actually relies for its effect on a clear recognition of many different “guilty pleasures” in
entertainment: High School Musical, Disney music and music made by post-Disney stars, teen pop music,
and heartbreak ballads as a subset of pop music. All of these entertainment types are considered feminine
– or at least un-masculine – pleasures, mainly because they are all targeted towards a young female
audience. They are also often perceived as un-masculine due to their emotional expressivity.
In 2013, The New Yorker published a piece entitled “Against “Guilty Pleasure” by Jennifer
Szalai. In it, Szalai describes a profile she had read in The New York Times Magazine published earlier
that year of Shonda Rhimes, the showrunner behind “Scandal” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” While discussing
her famous television shows, Rhimes mentioned her annoyance with the critical reception of them as
“guilty pleasures.” Many of her viewers are ashamed of liking her work, which upsets Rhimes. Reflecting
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Ibid.
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on this idea, Szalai asserts that utilizing the phrase “guilty pleasure” is disparaging, as it is an “awkward
attempt to elevate as well as denigrate the object to which the phrase is typically assigned.”
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Use of the
idiom “guilty pleasure” situates a work of art on the losing side of the classic highbrow/lowbrow
dialectic.
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As Szalai defines it, a guilty pleasure functions as a “signaling mechanism, an indicator that
one takes pleasure in something but knows (the knowingness is key) that one really shouldn’t.”
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The category of guilty pleasure continues to operate within contemporary culture specifying what
sorts of cultural artifacts should induce feelings of shame. Films and books in the romance genre, reality
television shows, and top 40 pop music are just a few examples of art forms that are widely perceived as
unimportant and frivolous, essentially characterized as cultural junk food. Many believe that engaging
with guilty pleasures dulls them intellectually and that the enjoyment of them cheapens their sense of taste
or palette. These forms of entertainment are typically described as “cheesy” or inauthentic. There have
been various iterations of what the guilty pleasure has meant to people in a broader perspective, especially
based on what has been popular at particular times in history. For instance, disco music was once cast
aside as a silly fad, and while it is now viewed as a nostalgic novelty, it is still thought of as a less serious
musical style. Guilty pleasures also operate on a more individual basis, meaning that often, people’s
particular guilty pleasures relate to their own identity. However, musical taste is not inherent to a person’s
identity and membership in certain cultural groups. As Uma Narayan asserts in “Essence of Culture and a
Sense of History,” we must avoid characterizing particular groups in monolithic terms.
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Therefore, one’s
“guilty pleasures” can destabilize societal perceptions that mandate what one should engage with based
on facets of their identity. Because of this, enjoyment of guilty pleasures can often lead to feelings of
shame and embarrassment. If a guilty pleasure within a person’s music taste has the power to undermine
5
Jennifer Szalai, “Against “Guilty Pleasure,” New Yorker, published December 9, 2013,
https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/against-guilty-pleasure.
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See also, Gayle Wald, “I Want It That Way’: Teenybopper Music and the Girling of Boy Bands,” Genders 35,
(Spring 2001).
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Ibid.
8
Uma Narayan, “Essence of Culture and a Sense of History: A Feminist Critique of Cultural Essentialism,” Hypatia
13, no. 2 (1998): 86.
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and subvert societal norms and perceptions, which is positive, why is it referred to as “guilty” or
shameful? How does using the term “guilty pleasure” perpetuate patriarchal and hegemonic systems of
thought? How do artists whose work is cast as “guilty pleasure” cope with and retain success in spite of
this placement in the cultural market, with a perception of insignificance and a lack of critical acclaim?
In this paper, I will explore these and related questions through one of the archetypal guilty
pleasures of the twenty-first century: the often maligned pop phenomenon of the “boy band,” as well as
what I will refer to as boy-band adjacent figures or teen idols. Through case studies of One Direction and
Justin Bieber, I will examine how after an initial stage of fame as “teenyboppers,” these artists appropriate
musical styles deemed worthy of serious and critical engagement by scholars and critics in efforts to be
taken seriously as well. Ultimately, they succumb to normative social and academic perspectives on what
marks true, “authentic” musicianship and masculinity within the American popular music canon and the
broader American society. My study will specifically discuss the dimension of guilty pleasures that
relates to masculine reluctance to accept one’s feminine side, though there are many other reasons people
have for determining something as a guilty pleasure to them. This paper will probe these issues through
reference to Foucaldian concepts of truth, power, and knowledge, as well as representational theory from
Stuart Hall in his groundbreaking essay “The Work of Representation.”
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It will recall some aspects of the
work of musicologist Scott Interrante in his essay “But I’m in a Cool Boy Band: Anxiety and Masculinity
in the Music of One Direction,” applying a similar analytical framework to Bieber’s meteoric rise to fame
and career. My paper will establish how One Direction and Bieber fit onto and diverge from their
respective boy band and teen idol lineages, then I will consult early recordings of theirs to compare to
later recordings in regards to genre switching and opting into specific modes of masculinity. Following
this, I will express how and when artists have been able to successfully escape the guilty pleasure label,
contemplating if Harry Styles’ solo career and emergence as a public figure post-One Direction echoes
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Stuart Hall, “The Work of Representation,” in Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices
(Thousand Oaks: SAGE, 1997), 13-41.
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the transition to serious engagement and critical acclaim that rock forefathers The Beatles experienced
during their career.
Theoretical Framework
At the heart of my paper’s assertions is “The Work of Representation” by Stuart Hall, a chapter
from the book Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices.
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In this chapter, Hall
describes the link between language, meaning, and representation:
[R]epresentation is the production of meaning through language…there is no simple
relationship of reflection, imitation or one-to-one correspondence between language
and the real world. The world is not accurately or otherwise reflected in the mirror of
language. Language does not work like a mirror.
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Hall’s assertions are the key theoretical aspects of the constructionist approach to representation.
Constructionists argue that language constructs meaning, rather than merely reflecting or organizing
language around pre-existing ideas. In this way, language is composed of “signs” that represent concepts
and objects. However, signs do not produce meaning; signs are arbitrary, while codes fix meaning, as they
“allow us to translate our concepts into language.”
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Hall also elaborates on French linguist Ferdinand de
Saussure’s model of the production of meaning. This perspective asserts that the link between codes –
signifiers – and “the mental concepts associated with them” – the signifieds – produces signs. To that end,
the difference between such signs produces meaning in Saussure’s view. In this chapter, Hall also
unpacks how the constructionist approach has developed further into the semiotic approach. The semiotic
approach to representation acknowledges that “all cultural objects convey meaning and all cultural
practices depend on meaning”; in other words, just as language produces meaning, so do cultural objects,
practices, and processes.
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Additionally, the semiotic approach can be used to “[read] popular culture,
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Ibid.
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Hall, “Representation,” 28.
12
Ibid.
13
Ibid., 36.
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treating these activities and objects as signs, as a language through which meaning is
communicated…[treating] it as a text to be read,” which I will be doing in my paper.
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Additionally foundational to my work is Michel Foucault’s idea that truth, knowledge, and power
are connected.
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Foucault’s work demonstrated that those with privilege, power, and status within society
can assert their thoughts and beliefs as truths, despite there being no inherent truth to them. In this way,
powerful members of society can shape knowledge.
In my paper, I will be reading music semiotically as a text for the way it communicates within the
broader context of society and popular culture, rather than reading it solely for its musical features.
Foucault questioned traditional authorities of knowledge and seemingly universally understood truths,
which is the underpinnings of my work. The relationship between truth, knowledge, and power that
Foucault brought to light in his work will be vital to my analysis of guilty pleasures, especially those that
have been more unanimously thought of as lesser, disposable forms of art. Foucault’s theoretical
framework will be essential in my unpacking of this issue, especially in critiquing how music scholars
and critics have not often participated in serious engagement with One Direction and Justin Bieber. Their
reluctance to engage seriously with these artists sets forth a certain truth – that does not have any inherent
truth to it – that One Direction and Justin Bieber do not deserve serious and critical engagement. In
addition, Foucault’s link between truth, power, and knowledge works as a useful context to examine how
these artists, who work within the structure of the popular music industry and culture, project truths of
their own in their self-presentation and music.
To understand how “guilty pleasures” operate, we must establish the aesthetic criteria that has
been assigned to music and art more broadly. Through outlining a schema for various tiers of canonized
music, we can begin to understand how artists like One Direction and Justin Bieber have felt constrained
by, and at times have benefitted from, their categorization within the pop music landscape.
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Ibid.
15
Ibid.
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Imagining “Good Music”: The Canonization of Popular Music
How exactly is music determined worthy of serious, critical engagement? How is music,
specifically popular music, canonized? According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the term “canonize” is
defined secularly as the ability to “to treat as illustrious, preeminent, or sacred.”
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Essentially, to
“canonize” is to place in a larger canon of other important historical works.
As Stuart Hall notes in his work on representational theory, social meanings are only created
through binaries — i.e., through difference rather than sameness.
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Therefore, through applying his
analytical framework, goodness and badness cannot exist without the other. In fact, one provides meaning
to the other. The terms “good” and “bad” are packed with meaning based only on their contexts.
“Goodness” and “badness” can be used to refer to moral righteousness or evil, as much as they can be
words used colloquially to describe emotional states and the weather, as much as they can relate to the
opinions held by people about the quality of things like food, photographs, movies, parking spots, and of
course, music. However, for the purposes of this paper, we must establish what typically characterizes
“good music” for critics, scholars, and mainstream music listeners. In his essay “Pop Music, Racial
Imagination, and the Sounds of Cheese: Notes on Loser’s Lounge,” Jason Lee Oakes asserts that because
of its indefinite nature,
“good music,” in truth, is defined by a lack, by absence; in other words, it is good
because it isn’t bad. The boundaries around “good music” are drawn not by
what they include, but by what they exclude, what they actively keep out, and
how they mark off terrains of Otherness.
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For the purposes of this paper, I will be discussing “good music” and “bad music” in relation to opinions
on the quality of musical styles and artists, rather than if the music represents or advocates for a larger
moral or ethical purpose. So, the model that Oakes lays out for understanding what “good music” entails
16
“Canonize,” Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, accessed March 4, 2021, https://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/canonize.
17
Hall, “Representation,” 13-41.
18
Jason Lee Oakes, “Pop Music, Racial Imagination, and the Sounds of Cheese: Notes on Loser’s Lounge,” in Bad
Music: The Music We Love to Hate, ed. Christopher Washburne and Maiken Derno (New York & London:
Routledge, 2004), 62.
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is incredibly useful, as it implies that “good music” and what specifically within the music makes it
“good” is arbitrary and subjective. Despite this, there is music that has been accepted largely as “good
music,” containing specific qualities that make it such, which I will describe in order to better
contextualize what makes “bad music” bad. In the context of my paper, “good music” is largely music
that has been critically and seriously engaged with by critics and scholars, rather than music that is widely
praised by critics and scholars. There are several approaches that music critics have taken to identify
“good music” worth engaging with.
One way in which music has been deemed worthy of critical engagement and canonization is
through technical proficiency and level of musicianship. Musicians who are virtuosos at their instruments
are often met with critical acclaim and respect that is believed to be deserved. Regardless of musical
genre, those who exhibit superhuman levels of talent are showered with praise and deep analysis, written
about in music publications and studied in scholarly circles. Everyone from Jimi Hendrix, due to his
otherworldly guitar expertise, to classical composers like Beethoven, Bach, and Chopin are praised for
their prodigious, extraordinary talent, as well as music theoretical knowledge. However, there are also
musicians with superb technique who are nevertheless excoriated because of a perceived lack of taste or
soul. Thus, different musical styles measure such talent through the expression of the genre’s valued
characteristics. In jazz, for example, “good” performances often include masterful improvisation that
demonstrates fluency in groove and harmony. A truly great jazz musician also expresses profound
knowledge of when to break the rules of jazz’s musical language, as well, switching gears and changing
the tenor of the piece in an instant seamlessly. Talented jazz musicians are able to communicate that
switch without a word to fellow performers and bandmates.
Historically, music has also been deemed “good” or worthy of canonization due to its sincerity
and “authenticity.” For many genres and styles, “authenticity” can operate on a more individual basis, but
“authenticity” can also be representational for many race, sex, gender categories and their intersections,
especially when relating to styles originated by marginalized communities. Though “authenticity” is an
inherently problematic concept in relation to music, many music listeners and critics value it and use it as
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a measure of sorts to describe music. In essence, a performance of music can be “good” because it is a
convincing display of a particular quality or qualities, varying across genres and depending on the core
values of the style and its community. With respect to the singer-songwriter genre, for example,
“authenticity” lies in the ability to dig into personal emotions and convey them in lyrics that transfer
emotion from the artist to the listener successfully and deeply. In this genre, acoustic, stripped-down
instrumentation is favored opposed to impressive solos and technical proficiency so that the lyrics are
able to shine. However, when it comes to styles like the blues and hip hop, black musicians and fans who
take part in these genres often view “authenticity” as the ability to successfully represent the black
community both in musical terms and in sociopolitical contexts. To be “authentic” is to have a sense of
“realness,” reflecting racial identity and core values through music. To be “good” in these styles is to be
“authentically” black, not allowing black aesthetics to be compromised and commodified by the powerful
white majority.
More broadly, “good music” or music that is canonized as “good” is often such because it is
thought to embody clever departures and diversions from musical formulas that have worked before,
creating history rather than clinging to old traditions. Those that are most celebrated in music opened
doors to entirely new musical destinations, whether they be advances in methods of recording technology,
new song structures, or even visionary chord progressions. Simon Frith’s provocative essay “What is Bad
Music?” prods this idea open further. In it, Frith warns readers that a binary view of this idea,
formulaic/prosaic/inauthentic vs. original/novel/authentic, does not completely cover the reality of how
music is regarded within scholarly and critical circles. In some cases, formulaic construction is revered
and encouraged to be repeated. To this idea, Frith responds that
the fact that all disco numbers in the late 1970s “sounded the same” is a mark of
unhealthy (commercial) formulaic production; the fact that all folk songs collected in
Norfolk or Virginia in the late 1870s sounded the same is a sign of their healthy (non-
commercial) roots in a collective history. More generally, one could say that such
formula criticism tends to be genre-dependent: minor variations in boy band music are
18
taken to be insignificant; minor variations in rural blues guitar tunings or madrigal
polyphonics are of great aesthetic importance.
19
Frith’s assertion indicates that the principle of “good music” rests on meeting a particularly unfair
expectation: the genre must already be regarded as worthy of serious engagement in order for a specific
song to be heard as “good.” A song may express expertise, talent, or “authenticity,” yet its placement in a
“bad” or “stupid” genre makes it that much more difficult to be seen as a significant contribution to the
style, much less “good.” Even chart success and album sales do not necessarily translate to what is
thought to be “good music.” As described by Frith, a music’s critical “goodness” is often negated by its
popularity or commercial success.
Imagining “Bad Music” as the Inverse of “Good Music”: Inauthenticity, Commercialism, and
“Cheese”
Frith’s tenet that “music only becomes bad music in an evaluative context, as part of an
argument…to persuade someone else of its truth, to have an effect on their actions and beliefs” frames
this section.
20
Just as the label of “good music” contains no objective truth, neither does “bad music.”
Even so, placement within this socially constructed category created and perpetuated by powerful arbiters
of taste holds cultural importance and implications. One of the most common critiques and reasons for
naming music “bad” is due to its association with commercialism and capitalism. For this reason, much of
what is known as “pop music” tends to be included in the category of critically “bad music.”
In this vein, if critical circles value “authenticity” and music that sounds “natural,” “bad music” is
often lambasted for sounding forced and unnatural, or “cheesy.” Oakes’ essay focuses on this term,
pinpointing exactly why it is used and what it implies, first reminding his readers of the colloquial usage
of “cheesy” to describe anything that feels tacky or gaudy. Oakes then reviews the term’s etymological
history dating back to the mid-nineteenth century, when “cheesy” was used specifically to describe the
19
Simon Frith, “What is Bad Music?” in Bad Music: The Music We Love to Hate, ed. Christopher Washburne and
Maiken Derno (New York & London: Routledge, 2004), 20.
20
Ibid.
19
potent stench created by overripe cheese. Oakes brings clarity to how it is used in reference to music: “the
common denominator of cheesy music is its overripeness, its unseemly excessiveness. It is music that is
overwrought, overdetermined, over-motive, overproduced, overplayed, or generally over the top. It is
music that highlights its own fabrication, its own artificiality, with sounds that are coded as unreal and
thus immediately recognizable as having been made.”
21
By this logic, pop music tends to be at the center
of criticism regarding “madeness,” as Oakes calls it. Pop music is often perceived as manufactured as it is
churned out quickly and often, due to pop’s connection to high-profile record labels and companies with
teams of accomplished songwriters and producers. As a result, the pop music industry is culturally
oriented as a capitalistic structure. Because of this connection, pop music “has been situated as the flip
side to rock and rap; used to describe music that is supposedly more concerned with craftsmanship (i.e.,
its status as a commodity) than with self-expression (i.e., its status as an artistic statement).”
22
This
perceived lack of artistry and self-expression often fuels the argument that pop music is “bad music” in
critical and scholarly circles. Artists within the pop ecosystem often write their music with teams of
songwriters and highly skilled producers backed by major record labels who have immense access to the
finest recording technology and studios in the world. This is a luxury that most working musicians are not
afforded. For all these reasons and more, pop music is perceived as overly “made,” though “of course, all
music is deliberately made and created; music is by definition constructed, created out of intentionally
organized patterns of sound. Madeness, however, is a matter of perception, where certain aural and formal
qualities have come to function as markers of artifice.”
23
Pop musicians often utilize advanced recording
technology that can lead to a perception of aural artifice. For instance, autotune technology (auditory
processing technology that clears up unwanted vocal frequencies) is popularly thought to act as a way for
those with a lack of true vocal ability to still succeed in the confines of a pop song. Autotune is criticized
for being a way for producers to strip a vocal performance of its rawness, its “natural,” “authentic” sound,
21
Oakes, “Pop Music, Racial Imagination,” 62.
22
Ibid., 70.
23
Ibid., 71.
20
replacing it with discernible fakeness. Many critics cite obvious uses of autotune technology in pop songs
as robotic and computerized. MIDI technology, a now ubiquitous staple of recording technology, is also
criticized for a similar sense of artifice.
In addition, pop music is music that is unavoidable; one does not have to choose to listen to it to
hear it. It is everywhere and permeates every space, from being played in the grocery store or the radio, to
acting as background music to commercials and television advertisements. Pop musicians who end up
being played or featured in these spaces often have reached a level of financial success that has propelled
them into self-sufficiency, which many musicians never reach. This indelible connection to capitalism, a
system that favors some over others, often leaves pop music to be regarded as not only “bad” by many,
but perpetuating mainstream culture and ideals, instead of challenging and improving society. In effect,
pop music is often viewed as music that is a dead weight on cultural progress.
However, still, “music history [is] a history of experiments that require the stamp of social
approval.”
24
In other words, as the world-famous quote by Winston Churchill states, “history is written by
the victors.” Music history is no exception. The history of music is created and shaped by those that are
powerful within society. Those with power determine what is “good” and “bad,” as well as what is
groundbreaking and important to canonize. As Foucault contends, power, truth, and knowledge are
inextricably linked.
25
In this way, those awarded with power are able to project their opinions as truths,
though there may not be any inherent truth to them. Particularly, when music critics and scholars choose
to dismiss musical styles and musicians, they project the “truth” that those specific styles are, for lack of a
better word, “bad,” or perhaps more aptly, just “not good.” As Christopher Washburne and Maiken Derno
argue,
due to the exclusionary nature of canon construction a vast residue of music and
musicians that are considered mediocre, non-influential, un-exceptional, and generally
lackluster are being omitted from the scopes of analytical scrutiny. These gems, then,
24
Carl Dahlhaus, preface to Trivial Music (Trivialmusik), in Bad Music: The Music We Love to Hate,
ed. Christopher Washburne and Maiken Derno, trans. Uli Sailer (New York & London: Routledge, 2004), 349; Carl
Dahlhaus, “Trivial Music and Aesthetic Judgment,” in Bad Music: The Music We Love to Hate, ed. Christopher
Washburne and Maiken Derno, trans. Uli Sailer (New York & London: Routledge, 2004).
25
Hall, “Representation,” 13-41.
21
float like miniscule planets in a vast universe of presumably indistinct and mundane
music, which perpetually gets overlooked. Why? Because the gatekeepers of
academic inquiry do not value this segment of music. They feel it is “bad,”
“valueless,” and “unworthy,” regardless that it is loved, despised, ignored, and
consumed by multitudes serving as the soundtrack of our daily lives. As scholars, we
tend to write about the music we value, simultaneously serving as critics and
advocates, while avoiding that which we disdain or take for granted.
26
By solely covering music that particular scholars and critics value, music made by and for young women,
the LGBTQ+ community, and other marginalized groups is neglected. Moreover, though there has been a
much more concerted effort at inclusivity for those writing in these positions, especially in recent times,
music critics and scholars are still overwhelmingly white, meaning that only the music valued by white
critics and scholars is written about. Thus, in an effort to maintain teleological narratives of musical and
historical progress, critics and scholars have constructed a myth that there is objectively “bad” or
“mediocre” music that does not deserve critical, serious engagement. Due to their positionality within
society, music critics and scholars have become regarded as trusted arbiters of taste, rather than people
with their own subjectivities and perceptions. Their access to a fine education and occupation has granted
them the ability to be regarded as having the correct opinions and judgments, to be viewed as those that
“know better” than the average mainstream music listener. The categorizations that arbiters of taste have
created can even be internalized by artists themselves and can trickle into the way songs are written and
musical directions are determined. For artists working within the mainstream pop sphere, marketing is
also of major concern and participation in “bad music” territories is something that artists’ teams often
work to mitigate so that their artists have a better chance at critical success and acclaim, rather than just
appealing to their niche audience. The music industry, academia, and music criticism are all microcosms
of the larger society, containing top-down, hierarchical systems of power. These systems replicate barriers
that inhibit women, gender minorities, racial minorities, and other marginalized groups, and the music
beloved by them, from reaching this desired, widespread critical success.
26
Christopher Washburne and Maiken Derno, introduction to Bad Music: The Music We Love to Hate, ed.
Christopher Washburne and Maiken Derno (New York & London: Routledge, 2004), 4-5.
22
To be clear, “bad music” and “guilty pleasures” are different categories within music criticism,
though they are interrelated and can have immense overlap. To be “bad” implies a lack of joy and
pleasure associated with the listening experience of the music. A “guilty pleasure,” however, is almost an
oxymoron: a pleasure that induces feelings of shame. It may feel good to a listener, but it is not thought to
belong under the title of “good music,” leaving it critically untouched. No person wants to face their own
embarrassment, so bravely poking holes in the rigid categorization of “good” and “bad” and suggesting
that a seemingly “bad” or “cheesy” musical experience still contains and generates a level of joy in a
listener, for one reason or another, is rarely done.
Contextualizing the “Guilty Pleasure” as a Mechanism of Subversion: Upending Expectations
Through Musical Taste
In fleshing out this study, I conducted an online survey that asked a variety of questions relating
to one’s music listening habits. One of the questions asked was “if someone whose music taste you
admire was looking through your music collection (listening history, playlists, purchased songs on
iTunes, CD/record collection, etc.), what would you discreetly/carefully hide from being seen? You may
include particular songs, artists, genres, or playlists in this answer.” One of the male participants who is
between the ages of 22-30 years old responded that “[he] wouldn’t hide anything but [he] may make a
joke about why [his] library includes significant amounts of Taylor Swift, Disney soundtracks, and other
music that is generally not associated with [his] demographic.” Another fascinating response came from a
female participant in the 22-30 age range who answered this question saying, “I’m a little white girl with
a surprising amount of rap on my playlist so I might try and hide that part of it.” The label of “guilty
pleasure” functions as an indicator of enjoyment with a condition: often, people believe they should not
be positively engaging with their particular “guilty pleasure.” To an extent, people have been socialized to
believe they must engage with – and turn away from – particular types of art and entertainment based on
their identity; in this way, they act, sometimes subconsciously but often consciously, in a manner that
upholds societal expectations and stereotypes. In that same breath, people often internalize that their
23
membership in various demographic groups requires them to find enjoyment, merit, or pleasure in a
particular musical style or art form.
Music does not exist within a vacuum; rather, it is linked inextricably to power structures and
cultural processes, which must be considered in the analysis of its meaning beyond its entertainment
value. In this way, music has the power to reflect, perpetuate, and subvert societal norms because of its
entrenchment in the society and power dynamics it comes from. The music industry superstructure
enforces the sorts of power disparities that also exist in daily life. Thus, it is profitable to analyze music as
a vehicle for musicians to perform particular identities or pronounce various aspects of their identity.
Activist and professor Kimberlé Crenshaw’s work is useful in understanding the complexity and intricate
construction of identities. Crenshaw coined the term intersectionality to “[expose] how single-axis
thinking undermines legal thinking, disciplinary knowledge production, and struggles for social
justice…facilitating consideration of gender, race, and other axes of power in a wide range of political
discussions and academic disciplines.”
27
Intersectionality is the understanding that “spheres of social
identities — from race to gender to sexuality to disability — operate on multiple levels, creating
multidimensional experiences” that locate individuals’ placement within systems of oppression and
privilege.
28
As Crenshaw details in her work that recalls her own experiences, being both African
American and a woman influences how she is treated in interpersonal relationships, the workplace, and in
the larger society. At its heart, intersectional theory states that a person can contain and experience
multiple privileges as well as multiple oppressions as a result of membership in a variety of racial, sexual,
gendered, religious or class-based groups with power or minority groups with little to no privilege or
power.
27
Sumi Cho, Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, and Leslie McCall, “Toward a Field of Intersectionality Studies:
Theory, Applications, and Praxis,” Signs 38, no. 4 (2013): 785-810.
28
Alejandra Vasquez, “The urgency of intersectionality: Kimberlé Crenshaw speaks at TEDWomen 2016,”
TEDBlog, TED, published October 27, 2016, https://blog.ted.com/the-urgency-of-intersectionality-kimberle-
crenshaw-speaks-at-tedwomen-2016/.
24
Consequently, one’s own intersectionality and context can determine what one chooses as
personal guilty pleasures.
29
For instance, a man who prides himself on exuding machismo and a tough
exterior may be embarrassed to listen to overly emotional songs by singer-songwriters, lover’s laments
from musical theatre, or boy bands who sing to tug on the heartstrings of doting female fans. As a man
who wants to sustain an image of uncompromised masculinity, listening to music that reveals his
emotions could counteract his desire to be seen this way. A well-bred, educated female professor or
lawyer from a higher middle class background may be embarrassed by her enjoyment of heavy metal
music or rap songs filled with vulgarity. These sorts of loud, aggressive styles contradict the feminine,
professional representation that she shows to the world. In contrast, some people may grapple with how to
enjoy particular genres and artists based on their membership in various social identity groups. Many
people may feel ashamed for engaging with different artists and styles due to the cultural and political
values conveyed in various genre communities. At times, these artists or genre communities may
contribute to and perpetuate discrimination of groups listeners belong to or care about, leading to
embarrassment or shame for engaging with them. For instance, a black woman may say that she feels
guilty for or ashamed of enjoying country music because the country music community has historically
alienated black artists and fans.
30
In his essay “White Trash Alchemies of the Abject Sublime: Country as
“Bad” Music,” Aaron A. Fox explains the racist associations many have with country music by
establishing its close relationship to whiteness, specifically “white trash”-ness and the rural South. Fox
details that the American country music canon is filled with racial epithets and discriminatory messages
29
However, one’s guilty pleasures or taste in music is not inherent to one’s intersectionality, context, identity. It is
crucial to make this distinction to avoid essentializing cultural groups and identities.
30
In the writing of this paper, I consulted Purdue University’s Manuscript Style Guide and citation guidelines. Per
their direction, I will be utilizing lowercase letters when referring to “black” and “white,” instead of capitalizing the
first letter of “black” and “white.” In recent times, capitalizing the “b” in “black” has entered the mainstream
conversation because capitalization acknowledges a shared cultural history and experience. Sources like The
Columbia Journalism Review and the Associated Press have also emphasized that it is crucial to begin capitalizing
the “b” in black when referring to black people. This movement has not trickled fully into academia yet. Though I
am completely supportive of this movement and encourage academia to pursue this in a more widespread way, I will
be following Purdue University’s Manuscript Style Guide’s conventions for consistency purposes.
25
in lyrics.
31
In addition, Fox details how the country music community often discredits the contributions of
African-American artists to the genre, which is why country music could be a guilty pleasure for a black
woman.
32
Overall, Fox asserts that there is a rich “history of white appropriation of black expressive
idioms as the source of almost every significant stylistic development in the history of country as a
commercial genre” that is often dismissed by white country fans.
33
As Gordon Ross stated in his review
of Fox’s essay, “in Fox’s view, many cosmopolitan Americans find country to be “bad” music because it
signifies a claim to whiteness—a claim of cultural identity. Fox alludes that, “the taint of whiteness in
country aligns with the taint of rural idiocy and working-class psychopathology.”
34
On top of that, a black
woman may struggle with country music as a woman, given that many country tunes objectify and overly
sexualize women in their lyrics, making the genre community feel like a boys-only club. In this instance,
her race and gender background combine to make her feel like an outsider in this musical space and
engaging with it in a positive way may make her feel like she is betraying either part of her identity.
Understanding how intersectional identities can inform music taste is instrumental and relates to
the central argument of my paper. In this paper, I will be focusing on how male musicians and listeners
alike view the engagement with music situated as “feminine” as a threat to their masculinity. Not all
guilty pleasures operate in this manner, but for all intents and purposes going forward in this paper, a
“guilty pleasure” can be defined as music that feminizes the listener. Aware and fearful of this dynamic,
artists like One Direction and Justin Bieber enact masculine signifiers from genres distinct from their teen
pop in an attempt to project a traditional masculinity characterized by heterosexuality and toughness. In
their efforts, both One Direction and Justin Bieber purposely draw from genres that have been deemed
worthy of serious, critical engagement.
31
Aaron A. Fox, “White Trash Alchemies of the Abject Sublime: Country as “Bad” Music,” in Bad Music: The
Music We Love to Hate, ed. Christopher Washburne and Maiken Derno (New York & London: Routledge, 2004),
39-61.
32
Ibid.
33
Ibid.
34
Gordon Ross, review of Bad Music: The Music We Love to Hate, ed. Christopher Washburne and Maiken Derno,
CAML Review, 2006, https://caml.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/caml/article/viewFile/2418/1623.
26
The Project of Genre
On March 8, 2021, The New Yorker published an article by Amanda Petrusich entitled “Genre is
Disappearing. What’s Next?” In 2021, a year when music tends to be much more of a combination of
stylistic inclinations than residing neatly in a specific genre category, Petrusich contemplates the need for
concrete genre lines. She discusses how award shows like the Grammys have always used genre as their
organizing principle, saving the ceremony from being a celebration of just the so-called “best” music
without any specific context. In her destabilization of “genre,” Petrusich states that “popular music has
always been the result of various traditions intermingling.”
35
This assertion begins to hint at the idea that
genre is a socially constructed idea, one that holds no true, inherent meaning. Petrusich states that
what we mean by “pop” or “jazz” or “country” changes regularly; genre is not a static,
immovable idea but a reflection of an audience’s assumptions and wants at a certain
point in time. The scholar Carolyn R. Miller defines genre as being marked by some
“typified rhetorical action”—a repeating feature that handily satisfies our expectations
or desires. That rhetorical action might be musical (a proper twelve-bar blues, for
example, is played on a guitar and built around a 1-4-5 chord progression), but it’s just
as likely to be rooted in aesthetics (country singers wear cowboy hats and boots) or
attitude (punk bands consist of miscreant anarchists).
36
Here, Petrusich’s thinking resonates with Stuart Hall’s theory that language is not representational, but
rather, it is what constructs meaning.
37
In this way, genre placements project meaning onto music and
musicians. We might consider the construction of “black music” through the record industry’s marketing
of blues music in the 1920s and 30s as an illustration of the artificiality of genre. When the first record
labels were established in the early 1900s marking the beginning of the recording industry, “genre was
frequently determined by race, and more than a century later the repercussions of that choice — who gets
to make what kind of song — are still profoundly felt.”
38
Record executives utilized genre as a marketing
principle to create specific audiences for specific types of music defined often by nonmusical and
35
Amanda Petrusich, “Genre is Disappearing. What Comes Next?” The New Yorker, Condé Nast, published March
8, 2021, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/03/15/genre-is-disappearing-what-comes-next.
36
Ibid.
37
Hall, “Representation,” 25.
38
Petrusich, “Genre is Disappearing,” The New Yorker.
27
aesthetic traits more than musical ones. In 1920, vaudeville star Mamie Smith became the first black
musician to sing a “blues” song, “Crazy Blues”; prior to her hit, white musicians recorded blues songs in
spite of the genre’s black origins.
39
Upon the success of “Crazy Blues,” the blues genre switched gears
and became a genre specifically targeted towards a black audience. The term “race records” became
ubiquitous in the recording industry to distinguish music made by and for black people as separate from
music made by and for white people. Angela Davis’ “Blues Legacies and Black Feminism” recalls that
“[t]he racially segregationist distribution strategy of the recording industry implicitly instructed white ears
to feel revolted by the blues and, moreover, to assume that this sense of revulsion was instinctive.”
40
Unfortunately, the record industry’s marketing strategies for blues music still pervade the music industry
today, ascribing music with purpose and meanings that are not inherent.
41
Despite “Crazy Blues” acting as
the song that made blues a musical signifier for black culture, the song did not represent the blues sound
that had been active on the margins of society, nor the blues sound as we know it today. The recording
industry followed the success of Mamie Smith’s vaudevillian, theatrical style and sought out more black
female vaudeville singers to sing blues songs, opening the market for the blues further.
Due to the success of Smith’s “Crazy Blues,” black blues women ruled the genre during the
1920s. Bessie Smith paved the way for a countrified, rural blues to change the stylistic focus of the genre
– from Mamie Smith’s vaudeville blues – to blues with vocal pitch-bending known as blue notes and a
switch from an orchestral accompaniment to more minimalistic instrumentation, like a piano or a guitar.
However, by the 1930s, the music industry focused on the “downhome” Delta blues of itinerant black
male blues musicians who accompanied themselves on guitar. The music industry’s genre distinctions
constructed a narrative that there were no longer blues women active in the genre. Black female singers
like Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday were branded as jazz singers, rather than blues singers, though
39
Elijah Wald, “Race Records: Blues Queens, Crooners, Street Singers, and Hokum,” in Escaping the Delta: Robert
Johnson and the Invention of the Blues (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2004), 14-42.
40
Angela Davis, Blues Legacies and Black Feminism: Gertrude “Ma” Rainey, Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday (New
York: Random House, 1999), 141.
41
Petrusich, “Genre is Disappearing,” The New Yorker.
28
there is deep stylistic overlap between the genres. The recording industry carved out and directed what
they wanted the blues to be aesthetically characterized by at a particular point in time; Fitzgerald and
Holiday were strategically categorized to make room for the male singers that the recording industry
wanted to occupy the forefront of blues music. In this way, the music industry manipulates genre as a way
to make distinctions and establish branding, more than organize language around already existent
categories. The music industry utilizes genre distinctions in order to construct meaning surrounding the
music and musicians that partake in the genre.
Just as the blues became a genre term synonymous with black music, other genres also have come
to mean particular things within society. Rock music, for example, has origins in black styles like the
blues, but its branding as a distinct kind of music is indicative of its overwhelmingly white and male
musicians and audiences. Though pop music has come to signify femininity, it still remains a realm that is
predominantly male as well, from songwriters, to producers, to executives. Even subgenres within broad
musical categories have come to represent various types of people within society, with record labels
directing this representation. For instance, the “boy band” paradigm and genre has historically had a fixed
meaning and audience, assumed as “natural” or “instinctive” to the type of music that is being produced.
42
The “Boy Band”
To define in concrete terms what a boy band is and entails is a difficult task, as boy bands are a
blanket term to cover groups of all different musical genres, sensibilities, and public images or styles. Boy
bands share the common feature of their members being typically ages 17-22 years old, as well as their
fanbase which is by and large young and female. They are often stereotyped as groups that wear matching
outfits or outfits that correspond with each particularly distinct personality of the group. They typically
participate in coordinated choreography in their live shows as well as in their music videos. But not all
boy bands possess these characteristics. Typically, they sing about romantic love, without stepping into
42
Ibid.
29
sexual content, and project a safe masculinity to their audience. The love they sing about is pure and
unwavering; their fans feel they can connect to the lyrics and hope that they can be the object of their
favorite member’s affections. The music itself and its lyrics sell a certain promise and the focus on this
romantic love acts as a sort of marketing tool to maintain and continually enthrall their fanbase through
changing years and changing eras of the particular band.
Within the boy band format, concrete roles are played by each member, establishing distinct
modes of masculinity. The “mysterious” bad boy, “cheeky heartthrob,” “funny” one, and “frontman,”
among other boy band identities are rooted in American teen-oriented popular culture, which often
corresponds with the way their vocals are utilized in the makeup of the group.
43
The frontman often
carries the choruses, as he has the strongest, most established persona within the group. This can be seen
through Justin Timberlake of *NSYNC, Nick Carter of Backstreet Boys, and Nick Lachey of 98 Degrees.
Other members decorate vocal arrangements with soaring high notes and melismatic runs. Every member
of the band has a clearly defined role, which corresponds to a clearly defined group within their fan base.
Part of the fun of the fan culture surrounding boy bands is picking a favorite member. Other than those
characteristics, boy bands do not have one specific popular musical sound or genre in common that they
draw from that unites them in their boy bandness. The romantic R&B-infused pop that *NSYNC and the
Backstreet Boys perform is vastly different from the pop punk stylings of the Jonas Brothers and 5
Seconds of Summer in their early days, which in turn varies greatly from the bilingual hyperpop of K-pop
boy bands like BTS.
Uniting all boy bands, however, is the anxiety each seems to manifest over the label “boy band.”
Boy bands are typically thought of as inauthentic by music critics, as well as our larger society, and thus,
both membership in one and listening to one is specified as something that should induce feelings of
shame. Boy bands are often criticized for their manufactured, “inauthentic” sound and their lack of
43
Craig Jennex, “Boy bands,” Grove Music Online , Oxford Music Online, published July 25, 2013,
https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-
9781561592630-e-1002240279.
30
participation in the songwriting process. To many skeptics, meaningful lyrics are replaced with vain
fixation on hairstyles, outfits, and dance routines. At times, boy bands have even abandoned lyrical
coherence altogether, fueling their negative reception. For instance, the Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That
Way” has been widely mocked for its nonsensical lyrics and cheesy, romantic tone. Over time, many boy
bands have tried to stray away from their stereotypical features. By playing active roles in songwriting
and choosing to dress in non-coordinated outfits, they attempt to deflect boy band norms. When boy
bands participate in “one of pop’s most bizarre rituals, of boy bands embarrassedly disavowing their true
nature,”
44
they are persistent. Emblem3, for example, a post-One Direction, X Factor-formed three-piece
boy band, adamantly said that “the whole boy band thing is a completely different vibe from our style,
normally we’d be playing our instruments on stage but for [X Factor] we weren’t allowed to. We wanted
to explain that to everyone, we’re not a boy band.”
45
For Hanson, liking “harder stuff”
46
was their
defense, as if their musical taste cancelled out their boy band-ness. 98 Degrees and Backstreet Boys
differentiated themselves by saying that they are a vocal group that depends on vocal harmonies and “true
singing.”
47
For boy bands, authenticity, or more aptly, widespread perception of authenticity, is a high
priority. But when authenticity is conflated so heavily with genres like rock, boy bands are forced to
grapple with how they can receive approval from critics. They are simultaneously tasked with
maintaining their popularity with largely young, female audiences. Overall, they are concerned with
engaging boy band skeptics as they panic over being perceived as true musicians and “true men” by
society’s standards.
Enter One Direction. Formed in 2011 on X Factor UK and backed by the ever-present talent show
judge and prolific talent scout Simon Cowell, One Direction is known as the biggest boy band in history
44
“When is a Boy Band Not a Boy Band? When You Ask Them If They Are,” Popdust, November 26, 2012,
https://www.popdust.com/when-is-a-boy-band-not-a-boy-band-when-you-ask-them-if-they-are-1889571975.html.
45
Ibid.
46
Ibid.
47
Ibid.
31
thus far. The band’s five members — Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn
Malik — had humble beginnings, stepping onto the X Factor stage with dreams of becoming musicians,
as well as supporting their families financially. While on the show, Cowell advised One Direction,
choosing songs for them to sing each week in order to move onto the next round of the competition.
Curiously, not one of these songs was a song by another boy band. Instead, everything from Coldplay’s
“Viva La Vida” and the soft pop rock anthem “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol, to James Blunt and Bryan
Adams were covered, placing them squarely in a pop/rock category genre-wise. One Direction’s
popularity grew so quickly that soon, hordes of fangirls waited outside the theaters that the band would
perform at to see if they could get a picture or an autograph with them. This pandemonium was
unprecedented for X Factor and other talent television show contestants. After only coming in third place
on their season, One Direction immediately went into the studio, working with well-known pop
songwriters like Savan Kotecha. The result was “What Makes You Beautiful,” their first single. With its
bouncy, playful bass line alluding to Grease’s “Summer Nights” and its guitar bedrock, the power pop
arrangement of “What Makes You Beautiful” separated it from “the EDM-based jams ruling the U.S.
airwaves” during the early 2010s, when the song was released.
48
“What Makes You Beautiful” quickly propelled One Direction into extreme fame comparable to
The Beatles. This first single took the U.K. by storm, sweeping young and teenage girls into intense
fandom. Social media platforms like Twitter and Tumblr, which were still relatively new at the time of
the band’s early success, amplified the chaos. On these sites, One Direction fans swarmed to collectively
swoon over the band, similar to the MySpace and YouTube pandemonium surrounding Justin Bieber,
who had his musical start just a few years prior to One Direction.
On Twitter, One Direction fans gathered to share sightings of the band members and to
communicate directly with One Direction themselves. One Direction, especially in their early days,
48
Andrew Unterberger, “Savan Kotecha on One Direction’s ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ Chorus and Boy Band
Counter-Programming,” Billboard, published April 28, 2017,
https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/7776263/one-direction-what-makes-you-beautiful-chorus.
32
actively engaged with their fandom, leveling the playing field between them and their admirers, which
distinctly separated them from past boy bands. Fans of *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, and 98 Degrees did
not have this sense of accessibility to their bands prior to the social media-technology boom of the 2010s.
Fans could buy tickets to shows and in-person meet and greet events to see their favorite boy band in
person, but that was often the only way a fan could access them. For fans of musicians and celebrities in
the 2010s, though, social media and the more general widespread accessibility of the Internet created a
more fluid connection with the celebrities they loved, no matter the distance between them
geographically.
The social media hysteria from fans in the U.K. quickly translated into success overseas. In the
U.S., One Direction flourished, and for approximately five years, they were the biggest band in the world.
Before their hiatus beginning in January of 2016, they released five albums, each generating chart-topping
singles and numerous award wins — nearly 200 as of 2020. One Direction even became the first band in
Billboard 200 chart history to have their first four albums debut at the number one spot.
Not only did Styles, Horan, Tomlinson, Payne, and Malik all come from different cultural and
geographic backgrounds, but they also had very different musical backgrounds and preferences prior to
joining One Direction. While Styles and Horan shared a love for 70s classic rock like Fleetwood Mac and
The Eagles, one of Horan’s main stylistic influences at the beginning of his career was Justin Bieber.
49
Styles loved iconic rock artists like Elvis Presley, Paul McCartney, and David Bowie, continually
emulating each of them in his post-One Direction career as well. Payne and Malik’s musical influences
were more R&B-inclined, with Payne inspired by the blue-eyed pop/soul of Justin Timberlake and Malik,
90s R&B. Tomlinson admired alternative rock bands like Oasis and Green Day and edgier songwriting.
These influences reveal themselves prominently in the music of One Direction and coalesce to form a
unique boy band sound. In fact, as they progress, their sound becomes closer to that of a rock band.
49
Ibid.
33
In a short interview I conducted with Jon Caramanica, a pop music critic at The New York Times,
I received insight that I feel is essential to understanding One Direction. While discussing his experience
attending the band’s first New York show at The Beacon Theatre, Caramanica reminisced, calling One
Direction a “spectacularly bad boy band.” As he continued his explanation, he said that he did not believe
their music was bad, but rather, that he thought they were “bad at being a boy band.” The band was put
together in an artificial context through X Factor, consisted of young men, and attracted crazed fangirls,
so what exactly did Caramanica mean by his claim? My impression is that One Direction made conscious,
calculated decisions in order to be seen just as Caramanica describes, as “spectacularly bad” at being a
boy band. One Direction felt they had to refuse and mock their status as a boy band in order to establish
themselves as separate from this model. In the following section, I will first delineate One Direction’s
original boy band sound and presentation and the ways in which they conform to the boy band model.
Then, I will establish how they resisted their boy band categorization musically and in their media
presence.
Towards Understanding One Direction as a “Boy Band”
In the 1996 Tom Hanks film “That Thing You Do!” a Beatles-esque boy band called The
Wonders finds overnight success. Their song starts out as a regional favorite but rapidly climbs the charts.
Over the course of the film, The Wonders become managed by Playtone Records, the biggest record label
in this fictional world. However, as the film winds down, the band begins to fall apart as egos compete,
musical interests change, and life moves forward. Thus, The Wonders are forever known as a “one hit
wonder” band, marking them a temporary phenomenon rather than a band whose music will have
longevity. This “one hit wonder” label functions as an indicator of failure after an initial stage of success.
Being a “one hit wonder” particularly affects Guy Patterson, the protagonist and drummer in the band,
played by Tom Everett Scott. In one of the film’s final scenes, the band’s manager Mr. White, played by
Hanks, consoles Guy after the band’s final recording session. In doing so, he reminds the film’s audience
that they have seen this story play out before, albeit in many different ways for many different bands.
34
Mr. White: “You know, Guy, Horace was right about you. You are the smart one.
Lenny is the fool, Jimmy is the…talent.
Mr. White’s line in “That Thing You Do!” provides a helpful context to understand One Direction and
each member’s clearly defined role that they are situated to fill. The line also establishes that this model
wherein each member of a boy band conveys a different personality is well understood by society. The
Beatles, One Direction’s closest predecessor in regards to musical comparison and pandemonium, also
operated in this way though they can be referred to most accurately as a proto-boy band; the craze known
as “One Direction Infection” is eerily similar to Beatlemania.
50
John Lennon was known as the intelligent,
witty Beatle, while Paul McCartney was the cute one. George Harrison was the quiet, introspective
member, while Ringo Starr was the funny, almost dopey one. One Direction follows this boy band
template as well with defined roles that they do not stray from while in the band. In their second
installment of their Video Diary series made during their stint on X Factor, they addressed this, setting
them on the path they would follow for the rest of their career in One Direction.
Louis Tomlinson: “Last week, we asked for some questions. We’ve got one here
from Eloise. She wants to know which roles people play in the band. Liam is
the smart one, Harry is the flirt. Zayn is vain…see what I did there. Niall is
the funny one.”
Harry Styles: “And Louis’ the leader.”
Louis Tomlinson: “Thanks.”
Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Liam Payne: [laugh]
Harry Styles: “Louis’ the leader ’cause, uh, that’s the only one that was left.”
In this interaction, the band conveys a sophisticated knowledge of the responsibility they have to be
actors, per se, in this social framework. Tomlinson utilizes the simple adjectives that are typically used to
describe and “name” boy band members in order to call into memory the boy bands of the past who
followed the same archetypes. These archetypes translate to specific modes of masculinity. Tomlinson’s
role as the sort of band leader, especially during the beginning stages of their career, was front and center
50
The Beatles functioned like a boy band during the 1960s, but the critical language surrounding boy bands was not
as developed at the time of The Beatles’ popularity to name them definitively as a boy band. Listeners, critics, and
fans of The Beatles today despise placing the boy band label on them, as it is thought to lessen their musical
integrity and cheapen their illustrious contributions to music and recording technology, as heard on albums like Sgt.
Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Rubber Soul, and Revolver.
35
in the X Factor Video Diaries that the band would produce, where he exhibited the most charisma out of
the group. Roles were not only established in relation to presence, but they were also designated in
regards to vocals. Due to his solid, stable tone, Payne handled the brunt of the first verses, while the
majority of choruses featured Styles as the frontman, his dynamic, slightly raspier voice at the forefront of
the mixes. Horan and Tomlinson often took on the bridge sections and additional verses, while Malik, the
most skilled vocalist of the bunch, typically utilized soaring, melismatic runs and high notes to accent the
arrangements. This structure mirrors that of past boy bands and male vocal groups, keeping each member
in line and providing a sense of expectation for fans while listening to a recording or a live performance.
This sort of predictability suggests that boy bands are unnatural and artificial; there is seemingly no sense
of spontaneity or intricacy in what they are doing because it is more or less the same most of the time. As
stated prior, a “good” musician can “get lost in the music” enough to purposefully break the musical rules
they have studied diligently instead of clinging to the structures one has been taught. One Direction’s
second single “One Thing” off of their first album Up All Night exemplifies their simple configuration of
vocal roles, with each member taking a certain section.
“One Thing” also demonstrates the type of boy-next-door masculinity displayed at the beginning
of One Direction’s career. “One Thing” shows an anxious, vulnerable masculinity that has the potential to
be diminished and weakened by love for or infatuation with a girl.
I’ve tried playin’ it cool
But when I’m lookin’ at you
I can’t ever be brave
’Cause you make my heart race
Shot me out of the sky
You’re my kryptonite
You keep making me weak
Yeah, frozen and can’t breathe
Something’s gotta give now
’Cause I’m dying just to make you see
That I need you here with me now
’Cause you’ve got that one thing
So get out, get out, get out of my head
And fall into my arms instead
36
I don’t, I don’t, don’t know what it is
But I need that one thing and you’ve got that one thing
Specifically, the notion that “playing it cool” did not work for the male character in the song pushes
against traditional masculine coping mechanisms and sets up the character as vulnerable and potentially
more feminine. The assertion made that the character “cannot ever be brave” due to his emotions furthers
this portrayal. Additionally, the object of the male character’s affections is referred to as “[his]
kryptonite,” suggesting that he could be destroyed by her and his love for her. In “One Thing,” male
emotions are all-consuming and difficult to deal with, when men are typically perceived as and expected
to be in control of their feelings. These emotions are still negative to the song’s narrator; the male
character wants the emotions to “get out” of his head, rather than healthily coping with them. As a result,
One Direction’s identification with a slightly insecure, anxious masculinity in “One Thing” aligns them
with a sort of awkward teenage normalcy. The song aims to deflect their public persona as unattainable,
famous boy band members. Instead, “One Thing” constructs One Direction as a group of normal teenage
boys who struggle to cope with their emotions and have not reached maturity, like normal teenage boys
outside of the spotlight.
“One Thing” is just one example of the many boy band musical and lyrical tropes present on One
Direction’s first album Up All Night. The album’s main thematic concern is boy-girl romance, with songs
centered around meeting potential partners, the honeymoon phase and eventual frustrations in
relationships, and heartbreak. The songs are mostly lighthearted and catchy, though some are from the
heartbroken perspective of a man pining over a woman already in a relationship. One Direction weaves
their pop-rock sensibilities with the “Rihanna dance-pop” of the 2010s throughout the track list of Up All
Night.
51
Songs like “Everything About You” and “Stole My Heart” are playful with their usage of
electronic effects and obvious borrowing from the EDM and dance music at the forefront of mainstream
51
Unterberger, “Savan Kotecha,” Billboard, https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/7776263/one-
direction-what-makes-you-beautiful-chorus.
37
pop radio at the time. Each song follows a simplistic pop song structure of verse, chorus, verse, chorus,
bridge, and a final chorus, with each member as the main vocal feature on each section.
The title track of Up All Night contains one of the smartest lyrical moves for One Direction’s
songwriters to make at the start of their career: having a pre-chorus section where the band members
enthusiastically sing “Katy Perry’s on replay, she’s on replay.” To communicate that they are having an
amazing night at an incredible party they do not want to end, One Direction makes reference to Perry, one
of the biggest pop stars of the 2010s. Their affiliation with Perry’s music informs listeners that One
Direction’s music serves a similar function to Perry’s mainstream pop: to entertain. Moreover, One
Direction positions themselves as active listeners and consumers of Perry’s music, rather than acting
ashamed, stowing her songs away as their hidden guilty pleasures. Instead, the boys sing about a party
where she is played loudly for all to hear, announcing to the world that her music is worthy of even their
masculine pleasure.
52
Towards Understanding One Direction as a “Spectacularly Bad Boy Band”
In this section, I will utilize Caramanica’s statement that One Direction was a “spectacularly bad
boy band” as a framework to analyze their stage performances and media presence as it relates to “boy
bandness.” Despite conforming to boy band tropes, One Direction has also consistently resisted their boy
bandness, even at the start of their career. To start, it is significant to return to the scene in the X Factor
Week 2 Video Diary, wherein Tomlinson explains the roles within the band.
Louis Tomlinson: “Last week, we asked for some questions. We’ve got one here
from Eloise. She wants to know which roles people play in the band. Liam is
the smart one, Harry is the flirt. Zayn is vain…see what I did there. Niall is
the funny one.”
Harry Styles: “And Louis’ the leader.”
Louis Tomlinson: “Thanks.”
Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Liam Payne: [laugh]
52
However, to One Direction skeptics and listeners who possess essentialist ideologies regarding gender, gender
performance, and sexuality, their affiliation with Perry and her bubblegum pop music could be seen as feminine.
Their enjoyment of Perry, an artist with a predominantly young female and LGBTQ+ audience, could be seen by
those who cling to stereotypical ways of thinking as a betrayal of their manhood and a hint towards homosexuality.
38
Harry Styles: “Louis’ the leader ‘cause, uh, that’s the only one that was left.”
This time, I will be magnifying a different aspect of this dialogue: Styles’ last statement that Tomlinson is
the de facto band leader, but only because that was the only role left in the classic boy band model. In this
line, Styles hints that the idea of distinct roles is silly to him and the rest of the band. Styles’ nonchalance
and carelessness towards these roles points to a broader annoyance, and potential resentment, towards
classic methods of boy band marketability. Instead of showing care in figuring out what role Tomlinson
plays in the band dynamic, Tomlinson is stuck with the only role that is “left” based on past boy bands.
Malik, Horan, and Payne’s laughter amplifies that these roles are flimsily constructed and the band has no
interest in preserving them.
One Direction continues to repudiate boy band norms on their second album Take Me Home. The
songs contain simple structures with the separated vocal sections heard in their earlier work, but songs
like “Live While We’re Young” and “She’s Not Afraid” exhibit atypical modes of masculinity for boy
bands. Sonically, they do not stray from their original pop-rock-meets-dance-pop sound, but Take Me
Home reveals a slightly more mature masculinity separate from the vulnerability heard on “One Thing.”
The jaunty party-starter “Live While We’re Young” opens the album, introducing the more advanced,
more sexually charged sentiments to follow.
Hey girl, I’m waiting on you, I’m waiting on you
Come on and let me sneak you out
And have a celebration, a celebration
The music’s up, the windows down
Yeah, we’ll be doing what we do
Just pretending that we’re cool and we know it, too
Yeah, we’ll keep doing what we do
Just pretending that we’re cool, so tonight
Let’s go crazy, crazy, crazy ’til we see the sun
I know we only met but let’s pretend it’s love
And never, never stop for anyone
Tonight let’s get some and live while we’re young
In the first verse, Payne sings from a bad-boy perspective, persuading a girl to sneak out and attend a
party with him. He hopes that they will spend the night together, going “crazy, crazy, crazy ’til [they] see
39
the sun.” The chorus alludes to an eventual sexual encounter, utilizing the imperative tense. Instead of the
vulnerable voice heard in “One Thing,” this masculine character is willing to describe his new
relationship as resembling love in order to achieve a sexual end goal. The most overt sexual euphemism
comes at the end of the chorus: “tonight let’s get some.” The male character in “Live While We’re
Young” would probably never admit that love could make him weak, since he is the man “pretending [to
be] cool.” On the same album, however, “She’s Not Afraid” is a song where its female subject is arguably
“cooler” and more aloof than its male narrator. In “She’s Not Afraid,” the boys of One Direction insinuate
that the girl they covet is sexually liberated, or at the very least, “addicted to the feeling of letting go.”
The lyrics of “She’s Not Afraid” reference more mature parts of a relationship, whether it be the
narrator’s ogling of her “tight dress with the top cut low,” the narrator’s “[taking] her home,” and
especially, the “way [the two] kiss in the dark.” Nevertheless, she refuses deeper emotions of romantic
love. This masculinity is considerably different from that of “Live While We’re Young.” The carefree lust
of “Live While We’re Young” is nowhere to be found in “She’s Not Afraid,” in which the male character
ruminates over why his partner is opposed to love. These juxtaposing performances of masculinity are
significant in exposing how early on in their career, One Direction panics about how they should be
acting in relation to their masculinity. This anxiety heightens over the course of their career.
Onstage, One Direction resists the “neat,” methodical performance style of past boy bands. As
Caramanica writes in his coverage of One Direction’s first New York show at The Beacon Theatre in
2012, “[t]he story of boy bands is inevitably the story of disbandment: growing apart or imploding
fantastically is part of the life cycle. Given that the band has built some dissonance into its act, it may take
a while for that to happen to One Direction.”
53
The aforementioned “dissonance” lies in their lack of
choreography and routine in their live shows. In their 2013 documentary One Direction: This Is Us, they
express their distaste for boy band dancing and other norms of the style.
53
Jon Caramanica, “One Direction, the Boy Band, Plays the Beacon Theatre,” New York Times, The New York
Times Company, published May 27, 2012, https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/28/arts/music/one-direction-the-boy-
band-plays-the-beacon-theater.html.
40
Louis Tomlinson: “Right from the start, we were always very vocal that we couldn’t
follow boy band stereotypes. Choreographed dance routines and everything
they say…”
Harry Styles: “Paul is our choreographer. He gets bored, I think.”
Paul: “It’s a bit of a free-for-all. They hate dancing with a passion and it goes to a
whole sort of different level.”
This particular scene in the documentary alternates between interviews with the cameraman and footage
from One Direction’s dance rehearsal with their choreographer, Paul. While Paul tries to walk them
through routines, the band stands in a line mocking the facial expressions and poses typical of boy bands.
Tomlinson props his chin on his fist. Horan places his arm on Malik’s shoulder. Payne holds his pointer
finger up to emulate “#1” and wraps his arm around Tomlinson’s shoulder, while Styles holds his hands
together in front of his body and pouts. Malik looks off into the distance with a hand over his heart. Then,
Payne quickly breaks character, hitting Tomlinson. While most boy bands, and musicians more generally,
intend to present professionalism in a documentary, this chaotic sequence is strategically included as
representative of One Direction as a band. As the segment progresses, the members awkwardly jump out
of line, exaggerating their hip shakes, before Horan is the focus of the routine. He flamboyantly struts to
one side of the rehearsal space, alternating each arm above his head and snapping out-of-time, then he
moves toward the camera and waggles his eyebrows. The camera then moves to Styles who has given up
on the dance routine as well, wearing a winter hat and no shirt, lassoing his shirt in the air. The
choreographer seems slightly annoyed, but mostly amused with the band’s reluctance to dance. Thus,
their defiance is projected as yet another element of One Direction’s charm.
Their desire to break free of boy band stereotypes extends beyond performance style and
choreography. In an extremely telling scene of This Is Us, Malik reveals what separates One Direction
from Horan’s beloved Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC.
Louis Tomlinson: “I was never really a fan of boy bands before One Direction.”
Niall Horan: “I’m a massive boy band fan myself. Eh, Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC…”
Zayn Malik: “When people say “you’re in a boy band,” I’m like, “yeah I am, but I’m
in a cool boy band. So I’m like, okay, whatevs.”
Considering their refusal to dance in a coordinated boy band manner, Malik seems to imply that their
coolness depends on a rejection of boy band norms. Tomlinson suggests that he could not affiliate himself
41
with or consider himself a fan of past boy bands, but One Direction is distinctly different from these
“uncool” bands. In this way, being “cool,” to Malik and Tomlinson, at least, erases the artifice and
“badness” associated with boy bands. To One Direction, “coolness” is also measured, in part, by their
ability to seem normal. This purported normalcy is displayed in This Is Us when viewers get a behind-
the-scenes look at the band’s wardrobe process.
Liam Payne (in interview): “When you go on tour, the outfit you’ve got is the outfit
you’re stuck with, so I’m gonna be wearing these clothes for a good eight
months now.”
Harry Styles (trying on clothes): “No, it’d be weird if I wear a trench coat.”
Louis Tomlinson (in interview): “There’s been times when they dress us all in the
same clothes and we’re like, “no, we can’t do that.”
Louis Tomlinson (trying on clothes): “This is the…I’m gonna ’rob your nan look.’”
Zayn Malik (trying on clothes): “This tee’s bad, though. I like this t-shirt.”
Stylist (to Payne): “Is it not that new?”
Liam Payne: “They’re a bit tight…” [stretches, rips jeans]
Louis Tomlinson (in interview): “We have to be our own people, ’cause as soon as
someone tries to tell us what to do…it’s like having five rowdy boys in a class
at school.”
While the boys of One Direction had anything but a normal coming of age, they prioritized showing that
they were normal, good, and sometimes, immature boys at heart despite their fame. Past boy bands
fixated on a glossy, perfect image of coordinated outfits and dance routines. But One Direction joked
about their outfits and even damaged clothing as teenage boys outside of the limelight would. Perhaps
most significantly, they described feeling insecure, saying “it’d be weird” to wear various pieces, as
normal teenage boys would. To further amplify this “normalcy,” the documentary included glimpses into
the boys’ brief reunions with their families in their hometowns. While home, specific measures are taken
to emphasize One Direction’s homegrown, “normal” quality. Styles and Tomlinson return back to their
respective workplaces pre-One Direction; for Styles, a local bakery and for Tomlinson, a Toys-R-Us
store. In bonus feature scenes on the DVD version of the film, Payne visits his high school, while
Tomlinson picks his little sisters up from school. Horan shops for the right suit for his brother’s wedding
in which he is the best man. Throughout the film, each family underscores that the boys remain self-
effacing, polite, and most importantly, “normal” in spite of the glitz and glamour that surrounds them. On
a day off, the band goes on a camping trip in the middle of the woods, as normal boys may do. While
42
sitting around a campfire, they reminisce on their success as if they know it is fleeting. In a way, they
almost wink at the camera; they know that their fate is inevitable as a boy band because they know a
limited shelf life is baked into the structure. By being innately aware of and familiar with the classic boy
band trajectory, they feel forewarned and hope to escape from a traditional fate. They would like to be
remembered more fondly than their predecessors and for a longer period of time after their split.
Niall Horan: “You know, like, there’s been so many bands that have, like, come and
gone, and like, no one really talks about them anymore. I’d like to be, like,
remembered for, you know, the records that we did.”
Louis Tomlinson: “D’you know what, it’d just be amazing to be remembered. Like,
even, like, as a mum turning to her daughter, “the boy band of my time, One
Direction, they just, they just had fun.” D’you know what I mean? Like, they
just, they’re just normal guys but terrible, terrible dancers.”
As magnified in this segment of dialogue, the band is fixated on presenting as a group of “normal guys.”
However, this image is a diversion from past boy bands, whose coordination and choreography came out
of years of training as a band. In fact, One Direction’s formation on X Factor stemmed from the judgment
that no boy had enough star power to succeed as a solo artist, as they each had originally auditioned.
While most boy bands go through intensive training to become a cohesive group, One Direction had only
a few rehearsals before immediately competing as contestants on a fast-paced television talent show.
Adding to this sense of “normalcy,” This Is Us contains scenes of the One Direction boys running
from their security personnel, goofing off together in photo shoots, and playing pranks on each other. The
inclusion of these unprofessional, “messy” moments serves a purpose: deepening the characterization of
One Direction as uncalculated and imperfect. In This Is Us, they are constructed, rather, as a group of
normal teenage boys in an abnormal position. However, there are also constant reminders of the fact that
the members do not lead ordinary lives, such as a scene when the band is unable to leave a store due to
intense crowding from fans. Overall, the film works to make viewers and consumers of One Direction
believe that the band is incredibly successful, yet utterly dumbfounded by it all.
Even their choice to cover Wheatus’ “Teenage Dirtbag” on the live tour filmed for This Is Us
serves to distance One Direction from their boy band heritage and its accompanying mode of masculinity.
Musically, the song’s distorted guitars and whiny vocals denote a pop punk style. The song’s original
43
singer sounds strained and nasal, the opposite of a technically proficient singer. Lyrically, the story of
“Teenage Dirtbag” is told from the perspective of a lonely teenage boy in American suburbia. He pines
over a girl with an arrogant boyfriend and dreams of listening to Iron Maiden with her. Most significantly,
the narrator sees himself as an outcast or a “teenage dirtbag.” By covering this song, One Direction aligns
themselves with a gritty, “slacker” teenage masculinity, a personality far from that of past clean-cut boy
bands. The speaker of the lyrics is self-deprecating yet snarky, as he uses slightly dirty words like “dick.”
In “Teenage Dirtbag,” two separate masculinities are juxtaposed; the narrator is the underdog, while the
arrogant, jock boyfriend is the enemy. This dichotomy inspired One Direction so much so that they
released a song titled “I Would” on Take Me Home that follows a practically identical narrative to
“Teenage Dirtbag.” Lyrics like “he drives to school every morning while I walk alone in the rain / he’d
kill me without any warning if he took a look in my brain” are analogous to Wheatus’ “her boyfriend’s a
dick / he brings a gun to school / and he’d simply kick / my ass if he knew the truth / he lives on my block
/ and drives an IROC.” These songs, one a cover and one an original song, are significant to highlight as
they help further One Direction’s goal of being considered a more ruggedly “cool” boy band.
“I Want You to Rock Me”: One Direction’s Appropriation of Heavy Rock Aesthetics
On Take Me Home, One Direction also hints at their forthcoming pursuit of heavy rock aesthetics,
specifically in the song “Rock Me.” In it, One Direction deviates from the bubblegum boy band sound of
the rest of their second album. Sonically, “Rock Me” interpolates the hypnotic stomp-stomp-clap pattern
from Queen’s “We Will Rock You.” Lyrically, the song strays from the sexual euphemisms and allusions
of “Live While We’re Young” and “She’s Not Afraid” from the same album. Instead, the chorus of “Rock
Me” features the most sexually explicit lyrics of One Direction’s career up until this point.
I want you to rock me, rock me
Rock me, yeah
I want you to rock me, rock me
Rock me, yeah
I want you to hit the pedal, heavy metal
Show me you care, I want you to rock me
Rock me
44
Rock me, yeah
In the chorus, One Direction mobilizes the word “rock” to insinuate sexual activity. This word matches
the propulsive musical energy and style of the song; its forceful acoustic guitar strums on each downbeat
emulate a hard rock sound. Though it is unclear if the reference to “heavy metal” specifies that the
characters are listening to heavy metal or if the word was simply a suitable rhyme, the choice
communicates One Direction’s larger goal. They strive to change the narrative surrounding their boy
band-ness. But the word “rock” in this context also suggests a more aggressive, thrilling sexual encounter,
rather than the gentle, loving sex promised by past boy bands. This one word’s double meaning
exemplifies how the band wants to be perceived.
This section will unpack One Direction’s appropriation of heavy stadium rock aesthetics in the
latter half of their career to present as more traditionally masculine and musically “authentic.” This
moment of musical transition constituted a shift in One Direction’s performance of gender. One Direction
mimics the aggressive hypermasculinity of acts like Led Zeppelin, The Who, and The Rolling Stones to
detach from their squeaky clean, swoonworthy boy band peers.
To begin, it is crucial to ask why One Direction would use heavy rock music as a vehicle to
separate from their boy band, “guilty pleasure” label. Steve Waksman’s analysis in his book Instruments
of Desire: The Electric Guitar and the Shaping of Musical Experience is critical in understanding why
One Direction drew upon heavy rock in particular.
54
Waksman’s main argument deals with how heavy
rock has come to signify a dominant heterosexual masculinity within the popular music landscape,
specifically in relation to Led Zeppelin. Though in many ways, Led Zeppelin drastically differs from One
Direction, many of Waksman’s ideas are applicable to One Direction’s stylistic shift.
Musical instruments are not inherently gendered. However, musical instruments have been
assigned gendered associations and stereotypes. For instance, instruments like the violin, flute, and
54
Steve Waksman, “Heavy Music: Cock Rock, Colonialism, and the Music of Led Zeppelin,” in Instruments of
Desire: The Electric Guitar and the Shaping of Musical Experience” (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1999),
237-257.
45
clarinet are typically associated with femininity, as the pitch and tone of these instruments tends to be
higher and softer. The female voice tends to be higher in pitch and softer in timbre which is partially
responsible for this connection. These instruments also often imply a dainty and graceful performance
style. They tend to be played while sitting with fine posture and composure, an expectation of women. On
the other hand, drums and other percussion instruments are associated with masculinity and male
performers. For such instruments, sound is produced through the striking of the instrument with a set of
mallets or sticks or more generally, through some sense of force, whether it be pressing, shaking, or
scraping. These methods are physically assertive or aggressive. This dichotomy of passivity and activity
is often ascribed to the opposition of femininity and masculinity and is therefore represented in the
societal gendering of musical instruments.
In regards to the instrumentation of heavy rock, the electric guitar is central on both a musical and
performance level. As Waksman describes, the electric guitar functions for many as an apparatus of
rebellion against classical, “stock-looking” instruments like the violin or saxophone. The electric guitar is
“linked to a version of expressive authenticity seen to be opposed to the standardization of everyday life”
and asserts personality.
55
The electric guitar’s sound, presence, and use is more specifically correlated
with male sexuality in many styles, but is pronounced most in heavy rock. As Waksman details, the
electric guitar is “used to accentuate phallic dimensions of the performing male body. Aurally, the volume
and distortion generated by the instrument [has] a similar effect, amplifying the physical presence of the
performer.”
56
In his chapter “Heavy Music,” Waksman makes the case that the electric guitar can act as
an extension of the male sexual organ in performance. In turn, the electric guitar in this heavy rock style
can communicate a domineering masculine sexuality. The particular style of heavy rock known as “cock
rock” “[refers] to the male-centered exhibitionism of hard rock performance and as such stands as a
distinctly homosocial activity that holds little attraction for girls who are educated into understanding sex
55
Ibid., 246.
56
Ibid., 244.
46
as something nice, soft, loving, and private.”
57
Microphones and guitars act as phallic symbols in a cock
rock performance and cock rockers’ mastery of such instruments becomes “synonymous with their sexual
skills.”
58
Musically, the electric guitar produces sharp, distorted sounds that can be hostile and intrusive to
the ear. When the electric guitar crackles and screeches, thanks to its amplifier, it connotes a sort of attack
on the ear, reminiscent of an aggressively sexual masculinity or even an assault. Additionally, cock rock
lyrics are often explicit and excessively direct about sexual desires. Cock rock lyrics often reduce women
to solely sexual beings; the objectification of women is a norm in the genre.
Waksman points to Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” as the quintessential cock rock song.
Between Jimmy Page’s electric guitar playing, John Bonham’s aggressive, thumping drums, and Robert
Plant’s vocal delivery, the song is synonymous with the style. Plant sings in a generally high pitch range
with a distinctively shrill tone, accenting the song with “various groans and heaving pants.”
59
At various
points in the song, he elongates his vowels to a point of exhaustion; his voice is palpably scratching. Plant
even sacrifices his pitch to scream at particular moments and takes dramatic, breathy pauses in between
lines. All of these vocal effects stress the explicitly sexual nature of the lyrics, emulating moments of
male sexual desire and satisfaction. Thus, Plant, as the singer, embodies a male character with a
dominant, aggressive sexuality. The narrator of “Whole Lotta Love” participates in sex that pleases him,
disregarding the desires or consent of his partner. Instead, he articulates over and over again what he
believes his partner needs: “every inch of [his] love.” As Waksman says, in “Whole Lotta Love,” “his
love is, quite literally, his penis.”
60
On One Direction’s third album Midnight Memories, the boy band tries to replicate the cock rock
masculinity heard in songs like “Whole Lotta Love.” The penultimate track “Alive” begins with the noise
of a guitar amplifier’s feedback. Then, electric guitar power chords harshly enter the mix. One Direction
does not operate in a rock band format with guitarists, though Horan plays guitar from time to time in live
57
Ibid., 247.
58
Ibid.
59
Ibid., 249.
60
Ibid., 250.
47
performances. Instead, a set of touring musicians play with them onstage. By including these gritty,
aggressive sounds, One Direction gives the impression that they not only play instruments, but also know
how to maneuver amplifiers and band equipment. This knowledge is valued in the rock world as a
hallmark of true rock musicianship. Pounding drums also fill the sonic world of the track, characterizing it
as raucous and rebellious. All of these auditory elements set the stage for vocal entrance, which exhibits
the aggressive sexual energy of the track. The first verse’s lyrics read:
Like Plant in “Whole Lotta Love,” Payne’s vocal technique in the first verse of “Alive” hammers home
the sexual nature of the song. At the end of each phrase, Payne’s voice swells up to a sort of playful
squeal, stressing this sort of primal, indiscreet sexuality. Since each line of the verse ends in a closed “ee”
vowel sound, it is easy for this sort of vocal effect to be achieved. This stylized vocal delivery supports
the widespread interpretation of the lyrics as about sex addiction. In the first verse, the male narrator is
told to seek help from a doctor, stating that he has no control over his sexual urges. Despite visiting a
doctor or therapist, the narrator concludes that he should still act on his urges because they make him feel
alive. In fact, in the narrator’s retelling of his therapy appointment, a licensed professional even approves
his mindset and lifestyle, giving the narrator no chance to reflect on what is, for many, a serious issue.
Instead of reflecting on how his aggressive sexuality could potentially impact his future partners, he
launches into relaying his advice to a girl he meets in hopes of coercing her into sex: “hey, it’s alright, if it
makes you feel alive / don’t look back, live your life, even if it’s only for tonight.” Though according to
the narrator of the lyrics, the girl “[says] ‘okay’ but [is] worried what her friends will think” of her romp,
48
it seems as if the situation is not one she is entirely comfortable with. This subject matter is far from that
of past boy bands’ love songs which express sex in soft, romantic, and polite terms, often utilizing
euphemisms and lyrical ambiguity.
In the chorus of “Alive,” Styles employs a chant-like vocal style, evocative of 1980s hair bands.
Shouts of “hey!” are heard in the background of the chorus as well, heightening the 80s inspiration. The
song’s lyrics could be heard as a retelling of events; a man could be telling his male friend the story of a
particular sexual encounter. The background vocals, responding to the lead vocal line, enforce this
potential narrative of men talking about their encounters. However, the male character in “Alive” does not
seem like the type to confide in a group of trusted friends about his insecurities and troubles. Instead, this
male character nearly brags about his sex addiction, seeing it as neither a concern nor a hindrance to his
wellbeing. This mirrors the directness with which Plant expresses his own sexual desires in “Whole Lotta
Love.”
The homosociality of “Alive” is emblematic of cock rock performance. As outlined by Waksman,
homosociality is a defining element of cock rock performance and in a rock band format like Led
Zeppelin, the “singer and guitarist [seek] to echo and imitate one another as both get inside each other’s
phrases to twist, expand, and blow them up.”
61
The dynamic between rock bandmates was often playful,
but also contentious. Onstage, the competition between members often became tense and, some would
argue, sexual. In describing his performances with Page, Plant said that, for example,
[during the climax of the song “You Shook Me”] we used to learn forward and look at
each other. He would go higher and higher up the frets until he was somewhere
around top E. I could see his fingers going further and further up, and I’d be going,
‘No, don’t do this to me!’
62
This quote highlights how cock rock band members often clashed as they navigated the negotiation of
space and power within the band, especially in a live performance setting. Cock rock performances can be
succinctly described as “a ritual that validates masculine prowess” where a man’s musical skills are
61
Ibid., 250.
62
Ibid.
49
synonymous with their sexual skills.
63
This correlation fuels the inter-band competition even more; each
male band member wants to be viewed as most sexually desirable, a trait often connected to the most
musically engaging performer. The bravado of cock rock performers is seen through flamboyant strutting
on stage and sinking to one’s knees, among other expressive gestures. At its core, cock rock masculinity
is about appealing to and attempting to outdo other men. This male fixation often results in problematic
ambivalence about female involvement in musical performance as a fan and as a sexual partner.
Unlike Led Zeppelin, One Direction does not play their own instruments. However, their
performance style and presence is similarly homosocial. This combination of playfulness and tension
onstage could have been inspired by rock bands, such as Led Zeppelin, who perform in this markedly
cock rock way. In their early days, One Direction often frolicked about onstage and pulled pranks on each
other, contributing to their boyish brand. In early performances of “What Makes You Beautiful,” Styles’
boy band colleagues often pinched his butt while he sang the song’s breakdown section. They mussed his
hair, unbuttoned his shirt, and even pulled down his pants in one performance. These pranks can be
attributed to immaturity and boyish friendship, but with rumors constantly circulating over the members’
sexuality, a homoerotic subtext could be at play as well. However, friendship and homoeroticism are not
the same as the homosociality of cock rock. As One Direction progressed, their concerts incorporated
their aforementioned juvenile charm, but they also embraced vocal competition similar to the competition
of singer-guitarist dynamics in the cock rock style. While Malik had the most impressive vocal ability out
of the band, the band originated from five intended solo competitors on X Factor. While they largely
accepted their strength as a group, Malik, Styles, and Payne would frequently attempt to showcase their
respective vocal strengths in a live performance setting. However, given their understanding of boy band
methodology, the members would never quite vocally clash. In the latter half of their career, One
Direction still mainly stuck to their rigid vocal structure: particular members were featured in particular
sections to join together on the choruses. Live performances during this time contained vocal
63
Ibid., 247.
50
improvisation like changing notes, belting, and riffing that intended to show off each member’s
musicality.
The title track off of One Direction’s third studio album, Midnight Memories, also exemplifies the
band’s attempted cock rock masculinity. Like “Alive,” “Midnight Memories” contains chant-like vocals
and aggressive electric guitars. Screaming and panting accentuate the song’s more scandalous subject
matter. Following the classic boy band vocal breakdown, the song attempts to disguise itself as a rock
song through cock rock lyrics and instrumentation. “Midnight Memories” follows the story of an attendee
at a “big house party with [a] crowded kitchen,” as they say, and the shenanigans that ensue. The chorus
of the song reads:
Midnight memories, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Baby, you and me, stumblin' in the street, singin', singin', singin', singin'
Midnight memories, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Anywhere we go, never say no, just do it, do it, do it, do it
Through these lyrics, One Direction sets out to establish themselves as rebellious partygoers and “bad
boys.” Using words like “midnight” and generally alluding to the night aids in creating the reckless image
they desire. The use of the chanting vocal style to sing the lyric “stumblin’ in the street” conveys pride in
their inebriation. Past boy bands rarely dared to discuss or allude to substance use in their music or media
presence. The last couplet of the chorus’ lyrics are ambiguous, stating “anywhere we go, never say no,
just do it, do it, do it, do it.” However, in this lyric, the idea of consent is introduced, as the male narrator
pleads the object of his affections to agree to whatever may happen during that night. The second verse,
sung by Payne and Horan, stresses this aggressive, rebellious masculinity, even stooping to dehumanizing
the woman they are seducing. In the first couplet of the verse, Payne sings “five foot something with the
skinny jeans, don’t look back, baby, follow me,” reducing his partner to her height and the type of
clothing she is wearing. This is a common lyrical trope in many 80s rock songs, such as Warrant’s
“Cherry Pie”; in this song, the male narrator refers to his female partner as his “cherry pie” and his “cool
51
drink of water” due to her satisfying the singer’s sexual appetite. The lyrics objectify the woman and
reduce her to food items that can be consumed.
64
Another meaningful lyric in “Midnight Memories” is “now I’m at the age when I know what I
need.” In this lyric, age is seen as a meter of maturity and sexual self-awareness. This lyric reminds One
Direction’s listeners that the band members are in their late teenage years or early twenties and of age to
engage in sex and drink legally. Needless to say, their fame intensified their access to women clamoring
to be in their company, as well as all kinds of substances.
65
Young female fans who dreamt of being held
safely by the members of One Direction now had a completely different dream, with their beloved band
members as sexually hungry “bad boys.” This new persona also could have isolated or upset younger,
inexperienced fans. What’s more, One Direction’s cock rock disgruntled their fans’ parents; they were no
longer the good-natured romantic partners their daughters could safely desire. This creates an incongruous
image and a sense of mixed signals to their audience.
At the start of their career, One Direction prioritized demonstrating their normal boy-next-door-
ness. The thesis of their documentary film This Is Us makes itself quite obvious throughout: the One
Direction boys stumbled into fame and notoriety as normal teenage boys. Unable to live up to the stardom
that surrounds them, they aim to prove that they are incomparably normal, more “normal” than other stars
of their caliber. However, in cock rock songs like “Midnight Memories,” they are anything but normal
teenage boys. When they allude to sexuality and alcohol, they are un-relatable and out of reach to their
young, female audience, who are most likely below the legal drinking age. This, though, was by design.
One Direction intended to start appealing to an older, male audience, hoping to initiate them as fans. In
their cock rock performances, One Direction aimed to show this demographic that they, too, were
dominant players in heterosexual sex, a tenet of hegemonic masculinity. In effect, One Direction would
be seen as men, not boys. Coalescing with their masculine anxiety, the members of One Direction also
64
“Cherry Pie – Warrant Lyrics,” Genius, Genius, accessed March 24, 2021, https://genius.com/Warrant-cherry-pie-
lyrics.
65
“Midnight Memories - One Direction Lyrics,” Genius, Genius, accessed March 24, 2021, https://genius.com/One-
direction-midnight-memories-lyrics.
52
aimed to be taken seriously as musicians as well. Though they were equipped with cock rock lyrics and
instrumentation, One Direction also utilized other methods of appealing to their desired audience, like
interacting with rock icons in both positive and negative ways.
One Direction and Their Interactions with Rock Icons
Amidst One Direction’s attempts to be heard and received differently, they found themselves in a
few legal controversies for allegedly stealing key elements of songs. Billboard cited “Midnight
Memories” as “[subscribing] to the same arena rock standards on which Def Leppard made a name…a
guitar-laden stomp, with vocals meant to be belted at the top of one’s lungs.”
66
Def Leppard’s lawyers
even became involved in the allegations that “Midnight Memories” and the classic “Pour Some Sugar On
Me” bore striking similarities. However, guitarist Phil Collen of Def Leppard concluded that “Pour Some
Sugar On Me” and “Midnight Memories” were indeed “very similar in structure but nothing more.”
67
His
bandmate Vivian Campbell elaborated, saying that “the chords are one-four-five…those are the blues,”
suggesting that this chord progression is a basic form available to any artist who would like to use them.
68
Campbell even told Billboard that he found it “very flattering that all of a sudden these kids think it’s a
cool sound."
69
This was not the first time One Direction was questioned for their use of prior musical
ideas by classic rock bands. Their song “Best Song Ever” contains an almost identical chord progression
and similar piano interlude to The Who’s “Baba O’Riley.” However, like Def Leppard, The Who did not
pursue legal action against One Direction. Instead, they resolved the issue by stating that One Direction
merely followed common rock conventions. The Who frontman Pete Townshend echoed Collen and
Campbell’s sentiments and said that, “the chords I used and the chords they used are the same three
66
Phil Gallo and Kevin Rutherford, “Def Leppard Denies It’ll Take Legal Action Against One Direction for
Similar-Sounding Song,” Billboard, Billboard, https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/5847711/def-leppard-
denies-itll-take-legal-action-against-one-direction-for-similar.
67
Ibid.
68
Ibid.
69
Ibid.
53
chords we’ve all been using in basic pop music since Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran and Chuck Berry
made it clear that fancy chords don’t mean great music – not always.”
70
How do these interactions impact the reception and canonization of One Direction? What do
these situations reveal about One Direction’s panic over their masculinity and musical authenticity? The
value of “authenticity” is certainly compromised when a group is accused of stealing key elements of
songs from other artists.
While many rock fans were angered by such lenient responses from Def Leppard and The Who,
One Direction achieved their goal in recording their copycat tunes: being recognized by the rockers they
were aspiring to be. When an icon like Pete Townshend implied that One Direction employed the same
songwriting strategies as him and legions of other rockstars, he included One Direction into the rock
canon. By not batting an eye at the legal controversies, Townshend, Collen, and Campbell insinuated that
the One Direction boys are “one of them.” While each rocker easily could have disavowed the boy band,
they focused, instead, on the specific musical characteristics that they share. These situations allowed the
members of One Direction to see themselves as part of the continuing lineage of rock men, rather than a
boy band.
On the 2014 season finale of X Factor UK, One Direction even returned to their home stage to
perform their song “Where Do Broken Hearts Go,” a Journey-esque anthem, alongside the legendary
Ronnie Wood, well known for being the guitarist of The Rolling Stones and playing with Faces and The
Jeff Beck Group, all groups that have clout within the rock world. Wood’s electrifying guitar solos
complemented Horan, who also played guitar during the performance. The two replicated interactions
between dueling rock band guitarists, making eye contact throughout the performance and leaning into
one another to solidify the intergenerational rock exchange occurring onstage. Wood even treated Styles,
the lead vocalist in the chorus, as a Mick Jagger-like leader of the band, going back to back with him
throughout the performance. When Styles mimicked Wood’s guitar playing via air guitar gestures and fell
70
Ibid.
54
to his knees dramatically, Wood descended with him. At the end of the performance, when asked by the X
Factor host, Wood said that “they’re a great bunch of guys and a fabulous band to work with.”
71
Again, a
rock icon affirmed the band as people and as a group. In this interaction, Wood aided in One Direction’s
goal to shed their boy band-ness in order to be taken seriously. One review of the performance said:
It's official: One Direction are perhaps the only boy band in history who can hop
onstage with a rock legend and deliver a performance that makes it seem like they
were meant to be singing alongside a guitar god all along.
72
With the cushion of time to soften criticism, some revisited One Direction’s music and were
complimentary of their edgier work. In 2015, after the band had announced their indefinite hiatus, Rob
Sheffield of Rolling Stone wrote an article entitled “16 Reasons One Direction Are on Top of the Stadium
Rock Game,” going as far as to state that “for the…five years [that One Direction was active,] the world’s
biggest pop group has been the world’s biggest classic-rock band.”
73
However, for the most part, these
affirmations were few and far between. Many rock devotees were not fans of the boy band’s new sonic
direction. To them, it felt like heavy rock was a costume of sorts that the band was trying on, rather than a
style that suited them naturally. The boy band model is emblematic of commercialism and One
Direction’s status as a “formed” group on X Factor made them seem like a product and commodity. Their
mainstream popularity coupled with their powerful, large management team did not help their cause in
this regard, either. As a result, their artistic integrity was questioned. One of the most significant core
values of the rock genre is the rejection of mainstream, normative culture and capitalism. Because One
Direction benefitted in many ways from mainstream culture and capitalism, and instead, merely tapped
into rock aesthetics when they wanted to, many were skeptical of their shift.
71
Where Do Broken Hearts Go, by One Direction, X Factor UK, December 14, 2014.
72
“One Direction Rocks “Where Do Broken Hearts Go” Hard On X Factor,” Fuse TV, Fuse TV, December 15,
2014, https://www.fuse.tv/videos/2014/12/one-direction-where-do-broken-hearts-go-ronnie-wood-x-factor.
73
Rob Sheffield, “16 Reasons One Direction are on Top of the Stadium Rock Genre,” Rolling Stone, Penske Media
Corporation, published August 6, 2015, https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-live-reviews/one-direction-
stadium-tour-2015-51986/.
55
One Direction’s Noncommittal Nature
One Direction’s noncommittal nature to heavy rock provided ammunition for the argument that
they were unconvincing rockers. On Midnight Memories, a soft acoustic ballad titled “Half a Heart”
admits weakness post-breakup, putting a lonely, aching heart on display. In it, electric guitars are replaced
with light strings. The anthemic “Don’t Forget Where You Belong” contains largely autobiographical
lyrics, referencing having “been all around the world” and living out of suitcases as traveling stars. Its
lyrics follow a common popstar trope – the gratitude song – and discuss their beloved hometowns and
families.
74
In “Don’t Forget Where You Belong,” the One Direction boys are at their old tricks again,
seeking to be viewed as humble, normal boys in abnormal positions as celebrities. “You and I” is a
soaring love song that clings to familiar boy band structures, until an electric guitar solo enters during the
final repetitions of the chorus. On this album, One Direction also dabbles in the foot-stomping Mumford
and Sons-esque folk trending during the early 2010s. In “Through The Dark,” an acoustic guitar mimics a
quick-paced banjo fingerpicking pattern and a kick drum mimics the stomping often heard in bluegrass-
inspired folk. The chorus’ lyrics deal heavily with natural imagery, recalling more “serious” lyricism of
singer-songwriters.
Oh I will carry you over
Fire and water for your love
And I will hold you closer
Hope your heart is strong enough
When the night is coming down on you
We will find a way through the dark
Here, One Direction replaces the aggressive sexual tone of the heavier, edgier rock songs on Midnight
Memories with a fairytale-like purity. In “Through The Dark,” the One Direction boys sing as knights in
shining armor, willing to carry their lovers over fire and water. In a stereotypical male-female dynamic,
the man is the protector, strong enough for both people in the relationship, which is depicted in “Through
The Dark.” Not only does the song reinforce these traditional gender roles, but it champions strength and
74
A great example of a gratitude song by a boy band is Westlife’s “Thank You,” which thanks the male narrator’s
lover for her love, but it could also be heard as a love song to Westlife’s fans.
56
toughness as characteristics that make a man a good partner. The lyrics leave no room for male
vulnerability; instead, the male narrator takes on the responsibility of consoling his lover. The song
pushes the narrative that women are to be taken care of by men. Furthermore, there is no indication that
his lover will also comfort him in times of need, nor is she responsible for doing so in “Through The
Dark.” This masculine character will never outwardly reveal his innermost emotions nor allow his partner
to carry and be strong for him.
75
Their fourth album, Four, juxtaposes affectionate acoustic ballads like “Once In A Lifetime” and
“18” with songs imitating alternative, indie rock, like “Change Your Ticket” and “Fireproof.” The varied
styles and accompanying modes of masculinity One Direction enacts could point to a level of musical
versatility and evolution. But there seems to be an audible confusion over genre and gender performance
as the boy band bounces from style to style. They are heard as anxious and panicked over what type of
men and musicians they would like to be. They are acutely aware of their responsibility to cater to the
young female fans that gave them their fame and popularity and they make a concerted effort to maintain
their original audience. However, in attempting to do so, their one-foot-in-each-pond approach demeans
their female fans, as they try to satisfy critics and skeptics and disregard their devoted fans. This
dichotomy carries through the rest of their albums as well; they utilize myriad rock styles while treating
their boy band love songs as material to fall back on, necessitated by their position as a band with a
predominantly young female audience.
Consequences of Cock Rock Masculinity
On Midnight Memories, songs like “Why Don’t We Go There” and “Little Black Dress” depend
on electric guitar and pounding drums for their cock rock effect. But their lyrics also refer to scenarios in
75
Another song that is in the same sonic world as “Through The Dark” is “Happily,” off the same album Midnight
Memories. The song, co-written by Styles, contains claps, foot-stomps, and shouts of “hey” that punctuate the
ongoing, plucked guitar riff. Its rhythm is reminiscent of an Irish jig, while its lyrics proclaim “I don’t care what
people say when we’re together,” with a few members singing in unison, which emphasizes the song’s message.
57
which there is a potential for female violation. In “Why Don’t We Go There,” the male narrator is explicit
about his general disregard for female involvement in a potential sexual situation.
I know you want, know you want to take it slow
But think about all the places we can go
If you give in tonight, just let me set you free
We’ll touch the other side, just give me the key
In the first verse, the male narrator begs his female partner to “give in” to his sexual advances though she
is reluctant to and expresses that she wants to “take it slow.” However, by the second verse, it seems that
she has not been persuaded successfully by him.
Say the word, say the word, but don’t say no
Skydive, you and I, with just these clothes
The secret’s safe with me, there’s no right time or place
‘Cause anyone will see, we’ll do it anyway
The second verse’s lyrics directly reference a refusal to accept “no” in a sexual situation. The Rape,
Abuse, & Incest National Network, the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization, cites a refusal
to recognize and accept “no” as a hallmark of an unsafe, nonconsensual sexual situation.
76
One
Direction’s lyrics in “Why Don’t We Go There” could isolate their young female fans or even worse,
teach them that a male partner can refuse to accept “no” in a sexual situation. Communicating this warped
idea of consent from “Why Don’t We Go There” to young, impressionable people can lead to an unsafe
and potentially abusive situation. The relationship in “Why Don’t We Go There” is not a relationship to
strive for or dream about; instead, it is one to steer clear from, which is distinct from past boy band songs.
Moreover, Midnight Memories contains an entire song that objectifies an attractive, elusive
woman called “Little Black Dress.” In the song, the band members lust over a woman they refer to as
“little black dress,” who is not given a name nor a personality in the song, except for what she is wearing.
The lyrics are predominantly comprised of shouted questions addressed to the woman: “did you come
here alone,” “who you doin’ it for,” and “what’s your favorite song.” However, her answers are not
provided in the lyrics and after each verse, one line repeats in growing intensity: “I wanna see the way
76
“What Consent Looks Like,” RAINN, Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network, accessed April 3, 2021,
https://www.rainn.org/articles/what-is-consent.
58
you move for me, baby.” The song makes no claim that a reciprocal chemistry or relationship exists
between the characters. Their relationship is merely that the male narrator cannot stop looking at her and
believes that her dancing is for his enjoyment. To him, she is a means to an end: a vehicle for pleasure.
On Four, “Steal My Girl” tells the story of a jealous male narrator who worries that “everybody”
wants to steal his girlfriend. To cope, the narrator repeats forcefully that no person will have a chance
with her, since she “belongs” to him.
77
Once again, in “Steal My Girl,” the woman is reduced to an object
that can be possessed and, just as easily, stolen by someone. The terms of the relationship in “Steal My
Girl” are set by the male character, as he declares that no one will interfere with their relationship since
the woman “belongs” to him. These songs demonstrate the more severe consequences of One Direction’s
channeling of cock rock masculinity.
“No Control” stands as the most explicitly sexual song on the album, definitively from a cock
rock perspective. In “No Control,” the man is rendered out of control, subordinate to his urges and
desires.
Stained coffee cup
Just a fingerprint of lipstick’s not enough
Sleep, where you lay
Still a trace of innocence on the pillowcase
Waking up, beside you I’m a loaded gun
I can’t contain this anymore
I’m all yours, I got no control
No control
Powerless, I don’t care, it’s obvious
I just can’t get enough of you
The pedal’s down, my eyes are closed
No control
Taste on my tongue
I don’t want to wash away the night before
In the heat, where you lay
I could stay right here and burn in it all day
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The song, ironically, deals with its own issues of stealing, as it was denounced for its opening piano pattern being
seemingly taken from Journey’s “Faithfully.”
59
In “No Control,” the One Direction boys are shameless in their sexual allusions. The first verse makes
direct reference to a loss of innocence, a phrase associated with the loss of virginity. The lyrics suggest
that the male narrator’s sexual encounter rendered him “powerless,” obsessed with the memory of the
night prior. The opening line of the chorus – “waking up, beside you I’m a loaded gun” – could be
innocently referring to the excitement the male character feels after the night he has had with his lover.
But it is highly likely that the line is a sexual innuendo to the male character’s erection, which would
match the rest of the song’s sexual imagery. On the same album, the tuneful “Night Changes” deals with a
similar topic, however, in a drastically different manner. A soft rock ballad, the lyrics of “Night Changes”
take on a philosophical, contemplative tone during a night with his lover. “Night Changes” ponders the
fleeting nature of life. However, many fans understand this song to be another ode to a loss of virginity,
though wildly different from the innuendo-filled approach of “No Control.” In “Night Changes,” the male
character reassures his partner that “there’s nothing to be afraid of,” while the male character in “No
Control” is entirely concerned with his own pleasure and arousal. “Night Changes” precedes “No
Control” in Four’s track list, as well, which is a jarring switch in terms of modes of masculinity, further
supporting the argument that the band is unsure about how they would like to be perceived.
Their final album Made In The A.M. sustains this pattern. “Olivia” contains a slightly theatrical
McCartney-esque spirit as its narrator worships and bows down to his angelic Olivia. Just a few tracks
later, “Temporary Fix” indiscreetly asks for a one night stand with vocals snarling lyrics like “we can roll
in the darkness, let me touch you where your heart is.” “Hey Angel” and “Never Enough” are exemplary
of One Direction veering a tad too close to plagiarism. The atmospheric Britpop of “Hey Angel” sounds
practically identical to The Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony.” “Never Enough” makes use of “ooga-
chaka”-like sounds and grunts à la “Hooked On A Feeling” by Blue Swede.
These stylistic elements could ultimately be chalked up to the band’s tastes and palettes growing
and diversifying, as well as their desire for musical evolution. In fact, growth is highly encouraged for
many artists as they progress in their careers. But One Direction’s fixation on separating from their boy
60
band heritage caused their later albums to be cluttered with attempts at different masculinities and styles,
proverbially throwing things at the wall and seeing what would stick.
Justin Bieber: Teen Idol and Practitioner of Imitation
Like One Direction, Justin Bieber has continually aimed to sever his relations to his teen idol
past. The following section will chronicle and analyze how Bieber wanted to escape being at the cultural
center after growing insecure over his status as a “guilty pleasure” artist. In pursuit of this goal, Bieber
used black styles of musical expression as well as specific modes of black masculinity to aspire towards
being a different type of pop star. His co-opting of R&B and hip hop musical signifiers continues to shape
his career, even today. Bieber follows in a long historical pattern of white artists latching onto black styles
to further their career and maintain cultural relevance.
“Shit Don’t Even Usually Get This Big Without A Bieber Face”: Drake’s “POPSTAR” and
Signifyin(g)
In September 2020, DJ Khaled and Drake released their music video for a song titled
“POPSTAR” [sic] featuring Justin Bieber as its star. At the beginning of the video, DJ Khaled floods
Drake’s inbox with requests to shoot a music video for “POPSTAR.” Drake tells his friend that he is
annoyed with the Khaled’s barrage of messages and ultimately does not want to participate in the music
video for “POPSTAR.” When Drake’s friend asks him what he is going to do, Drake responds that he
could ask for a favor. Upon those magic words, the music begins and Bieber is pictured, lying on top of a
bed with female partygoers. Other drunken guests are sprawled across the floor with the remnants of a
crazy night. Bieber, half-asleep with his eyes closed, begins lip-syncing Drake’s lyrics along with the
track and from here on out, viewers are to understand that Bieber is taking on Drake’s role in the music
video. In “POPSTAR,” Bieber not only acts as a ventriloquist, but as the video progresses, Bieber mimes
Drake’s life – or more accurately, what he envisions as Drake’s life – as well.
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Drake, as the artist behind the making of this video with DJ Khaled, seems to be up to more than
just a simple switcheroo. Bieber’s performance in the music video and Drake’s in-character calling on
Bieber to fill his shoes harks back to literary theorist Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s concept of “signifyin(g).”
Gates’ signifying “operates as a distinctly African-American mode of discourse through which its
practitioners strategically manipulate and redirect meaning in order to cope with, critique, and undermine
authority in the face of social and political oppression” and is a form of double-voiced discourse wherein
two separate communications are happening at once.
78
When signifying, the figurative speech “[subverts]
the literal meaning of one’s words through irony, indirection, and metaphor. It often involves repetition
with a signal difference, where the real meaning of an utterance or gesture lies in the way it revises and
hence comments on an established trope.”
79
In this process of signifying, meaning is expressed through
the revision of a trope by the signifier which produces both a literal meaning and a figurative meaning. In
the literal meaning, the dupe or “signified upon” only interprets the meaning of the trope’s revision
literally and does not latch onto its figurative meaning, which is the richer, deeper meaning that only
those “in on” the signifying would understand. The figurative meaning is directed towards a specific
target audience that is “in on” the signifying and understands the meaning, “which lies in the difference
between the original trope and its revision.”
80
Additionally, scholar Samuel Floyd articulated that
signifying is a “way of saying one thing and meaning another…all to achieve or reverse power.”
81
In the video for “POPSTAR,” Drake utilizes common tropes often used in rap music videos:
partying, scantily clad women, expensive cars and watches, and even an entourage that follows,
surrounds, and dances with the rapper. However, the only aspect of the conventional rap music video that
is missing in “POPSTAR” is the rapper himself. In “POPSTAR,” Drake uses Bieber as a dupe, the
subversion to the conventions and tropes of rap music videos. The dupe is supposed to amuse viewers
who are in on the signifying. In actuality, Bieber is the polar opposite of the rap persona he tries on in
78
Matthew Butterfield, “What is Signifyin(g)?” Franklin & Marshall College, 1.
79
Ibid.
80
Ibid., 2.
81
Samuel Floyd, The Power of Black Music (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1995), 95.
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“POPSTAR.” He is widely known as a female fan-dominated teen idol, however, he is also well known
for his appropriation of black culture and musical styles. Drake’s placement of Bieber as the dupe in this
video suggests that many black artists are also aware of Bieber’s appropriation, to a point where Drake
can effectively communicate a figurative meaning to other black people.
As the video progresses, Bieber saunters through his mansion with a bottle of champagne and
fixates on delivering an “authentic” rap video. He indulges in what he imagines as Drake’s luxurious
lifestyle, partying all day and night, while lip syncing Drake’s lyrics. His face is plastered on a four frame,
lifesize Andy Warhol-style portrait on his wall next to framed platinum records. He flexes expensive
watches and flaunts expensive cars. Throughout the video, Bieber is surrounded by black women who
dance with and for him, pawing at him. He is at the center of every dance circle with his male buddies
until they have to serve him in some capacity. When Bieber-as-Drake has to enter a photo shoot, his
friends dress him, dust lint off of his clothes, and present him with a platter of lobster and his iPhone.
However, none of the scenes suggest or indicate the video’s tongue-and-cheek, sarcastic nature; instead,
Bieber lives Drake’s life to its fullest without any discomfort or hesitation. In one of the party scenes,
Bieber dons a ridiculous blue fur coat that overwhelms his skinny frame and signature sideswept
hairstyle. He puts his middle fingers up to the sky as he attempts to dance coolly. Bieber’s facial
expression remains unabashedly bored throughout the video, acting as if this lifestyle feels natural,
comfortable, and not new to him, though it is not his.
Drake signifies upon the trope of the conventional rap music video and upon Bieber in order to
make a statement. Drake specifically utilizes Bieber, as the polar opposite of him, to point out and critique
how much Bieber aspires to racially cross-dress, as he does in “POPSTAR.” To emphasize this message,
Bieber’s chest is positioned as a visual focus in the video, as Bieber only wears unbuttoned shirts and
coats. When his chest is exposed to be hairless and unsculpted, Bieber’s persona as a pubescent figure is
highlighted. Instead of hair, his chest is covered with tattoos that complicates his childlike image, as he
intends. Most significantly, Bieber’s chest exposes his whiteness and his open shirts make his whiteness
unavoidable in the video. A viewer is unable to forget that the white Bieber is the signal difference in the
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repetition of the rap video. Bieber’s whiteness is also highlighted by Drake's lyric, “I’m a popstar but this
shit ain’t bubblegum.” Through this lyric, Drake establishes that his music and persona are not to be
interpreted in a bubblegum pop context. However, Bieber’s bubblegum-ness is palpable, as the lip-syncer
of this lyric. By having Bieber lip sync this line, Drake pokes fun at the way Bieber views himself as a
popstar separate from the bubblegum, teen pop genre. Bieber’s self-perception is different from his reality
as he is indeed a teen pop idol that attracts young female fandom. Drake stresses this point by rapping the
lyric “you would probably think my manager is Scooter Braun,” name-dropping Bieber’s manager. When
this lyric is rapped, Braun enters the video and waves his arms at Bieber, trying to tone his partying down.
Braun quickly caves into Bieber’s charm and dances along to the music, demonstrating how Bieber’s
antics are excused and pardoned. Other artists, especially black and other marginalized artists, do not
often get a second chance to redeem themselves, nor can they relish in having a manager that excuses
such behavior, like Braun does for Bieber.
In “POPSTAR,” Drake raps a lyric that summarizes the video’s thesis: “shit don’t even usually
get this big without a Bieber face.” This line proposes that appearance plays a huge role in the success of
musicians, especially within the realm of popular music. Artists like Bieber have an advantage due to
their good looks and the team working to maintain a perfect, airbrushed image. But in the video, Drake
requests that Bieber to act as him. It begs the question: why would Drake create this space for Bieber to
fantasize about what it would be like to live as a black entertainer?
To some degree, Drake’s suggestion that “shit don’t even usually get this big without a Bieber
face” is a sort of consciousness-raising in it of itself; not only is Drake referring to Bieber’s teen idol
visage, but he is also referring to Bieber’s whiteness. By utilizing Bieber as the vessel through which his
lyrics will be heard in the video, Drake establishes his awareness of this fact.
82
In 2011, comedian-rapper
Donald Glover, also known as Childish Gambino, performed a stand-up routine in which he specified
Bieber as symptomatic of this exact issue, that “shit don’t even usually get this big without a Bieber face.”
82
The song, despite being by two very successful musicians, received the most media attention for Bieber’s lip-
syncing of a lyric that references his famous ex-girlfriend, Selena Gomez, proving Drake’s point.
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Donald Glover: “I don’t really care about [Bieber’s documentary, “Never Say
Never”] either way, but did anyone see the trailer for the movie? I didn’t see the
movie, but I did see the trailer. The trailer was awesome, [laughs] the trailer is his
mom photo, like, filming him, like, just filming him, and like, he’s a baby, like he’s
like, in diapers and stuff, he’s got a potbelly and shit and she’s like ‘do something for
the camera, honey!’ And he’s like, [high-pitched voice] ‘Mommy, look!’ And he goes
over to, like, a chair and he’s just, like bum bum baka baka boom bap bum bum baka
baka boom bap [acting out drumming] and he’s really good! He’s really good for
anyone, not just a baby, like for anyone. And, the next thing they show is a slide that
says ‘they said it would never happen.’ [pauses] Who the fuck is they? Who the fuck
saw a baby playing the drums and was like, ‘aw, yeah, that’ll never work out. Yeah,
the good-looking talented white kids, people hate those. Never works out. Justin
Timberlake, all the presidents except for one, never works out. Never. Works. Out.’”
83
Glover shares a similar sentiment to Drake. Glover compliments Bieber’s talent; he gives Bieber credit
for his drum skills. However, the joke’s premise is that white artists are more likely to succeed in terms of
chart success, popularity, units sold, and even critical acclaim because of their whiteness. In fact, when
white musicians perform black styles of music, they often succeed more than black musicians. Moreover,
black music that has been made palatable to a white audience by white artists often succeeds more than
black musicians playing styles with black origins.
In the final sequence of the video, the day-long party wraps up and Bieber lands back where he
was at the start of the video: asleep with women sprawled out on his bed, his floor trashed. The frame of
the video closes, but not before showing a photograph on the wall of a younger Bieber slouching in a
throne-like chair with a puppy at his feet. When Bieber wakes up, he realizes that his adventures were all
part of a dream. He shakes off his confusion regarding the events of the day prior and begins to walk his
dog with his wife, emphasizing their status as a normal, white suburban couple. In the last seconds of the
video, Bieber’s phone rings to a music box-like version of his teenybopper hit “Baby.” When he looks at
his phone, he sees that Drake is calling. In an instant, Bieber wonders if his adventures were, perhaps, not
part of a dream and in fact, real events that occurred. However, per Drake’s signifying, the video’s ending
indicates that Bieber’s living in Drake’s shoes was indeed a mere fantasy, dreamt while asleep. Bieber’s
83
Donald Glover, “Donald Glover - Justin Bieber - 5/5/2011 - Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA,” Paste Magazine,
July 7, 2014, video, 1:49, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2EP6R0QoqA.
65
dream functioned as a way for him to satisfy and validate his own perception of “black rapper-ness” and,
more specifically, of Drake’s lifestyle.
White fascination with blackness and black entertainment is a predominant theme in the history
of American popular culture. Blackface minstrelsy performances of the 19th century, for instance,
“[revealed] the strange way white Americans yearn to see, and indeed idolize, black performers and black
culture. Wearing blackface, a white person [tried] on a life he simultaneously [disdained.]”
84
In such
performances, one-dimensional stock characters occupied the forefront of comedic skits, song and dance
routines, and variety performances, playing into essentialist stereotypes of black Americans. “POPSTAR”
will not be considered a 21
st
century minstrel performance in this paper, especially since Drake had
consented to Bieber’s representation of him in the video. However, Bieber’s performance as Drake can be
interpreted as a live reenactment of a fantasy of his. The final scene of the video conveys Drake’s purpose
in signifying: a desire to poke fun at Bieber’s obsession with black masculinity. Furthermore, Drake’s
signifying also operates on another level. His understanding of hip hop’s core values – “realness” and
“authenticity” – inform his decision to cast Bieber as diametrically opposed to him. While Drake is “real,”
Bieber has not been accepted as a “real” or “authentic” player in the hip hop and rap scene, making the
signifying even more amusing to those who are “in on” it.
Another compelling interpretation of “POPSTAR” music video could be that Drake fantasizes
and dreams of what it would be like to be Bieber, a successful white popstar with privilege that
supersedes Drake’s based on race. When Drake suggests that songs “don’t even usually get this big
without a Bieber face,” there is a certain sadness in it; Drake will never be unscathed from criticism and
his success will always be, in part, dictated by his race. While Bieber is no stranger to critical and
mainstream opposition, he accumulates resiliency based on his whiteness. He is able to reinvent himself
after his many scandals and screw-ups, while black artists and rappers are not able to bounce back in the
84
Marc Aronson, “The complicated mix of racism and envy behind blackface,” The Washington Post, The
Washington Post, published July 22, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-
history/wp/2018/07/22/the-complicated-mix-of-racism-and-envy-behind-blackface/.
66
same way, mirroring the realities of the racial hierarchies of America.
85
Regardless, Bieber’s appearance
in “POPSTAR” provides a window into his trajectory as an artist and celebrity.
My argument is that Bieber’s attempted reinvention from a “squeaky clean” teen idol to a more
mature artist exposes his personal fascination with blackness. Bieber channels hip hop and R&B in order
to step outside of the center of mainstream society and appear as worthy of critiquing it. His anxiety about
not being taken seriously as a musician or a man, given his status as a “guilty pleasure” artist, motivates
his imitation and appropriation. In this paper, Bieber will be critiqued and analyzed as a business and a
cultural producer. In other words, I will be closely examining the persona created and co-signed by
Bieber’s team and the broader music industry superstructure, both of which are at fault in Bieber’s
appropriation as well.
The Genealogy of Boy Band-Adjacent Figures and Teen Idols
To understand Bieber’s moment of transition, it is essential to provide background to his
celebrity, primarily relating to his position as a boy band-adjacent figure or teen idol. In this section, I will
delineate the musical tradition and popular culture movement that Bieber operates within.
Many classical music historians call pianist and composer Franz Lizst the first true “teen idol” or
“star.” Not only did Liszt’s incredible musical gift garner widespread adoration, but the “distinctive air he
cultivated at the piano, tossing his shoulder-length locks and swaying hypnotically over the keyboard as
he played” also served as an important element of his star power.
86
Though classical audiences have a
reputation for being “decorous if not downright prim,” Liszt’s recitals generated shrieking and sobbing
from his young female fans.
87
Scenes of “baronesses and countesses [tearing] at each other’s hair in trying
85
Interestingly, both Bieber and Drake are of Canadian descent, but are entrenched in the American pop music
industry and culture.
86
Clemency Burton-Hill, “Forget the Beatles – Liszt was music’s first ‘superstar,’” BBC, BBC, published August
17, 2016, https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20160817-franz-liszt-the-worlds-first-musical-superstar.
87
Ibid.
67
to lay hands on a glass or handkerchief that Liszt had used” frequently occurred at his performances.
88
Women of good repute and noble upbringing abandoned reason when they were in the midst of Liszt and
he ultimately became “a figure on whom contemporaries projected all manner of erotic fantasies and
secret desires.”
89
This description resembles how pandemonium surrounding modern teen idols and boy
bands is often described. Liszt’s passionate fandom inspired the phrase “Lisztomania” to be coined by
Heinrich Heine, one of Liszt’s contemporaries. “Lisztomania” – like its successive “Beatlemania,”
“Bieber Fever,” and “One Direction Infection” – was considered a pathological condition. Its diagnosis
was viewed as the only explanation for the emotional and physical responses of screaming, crying,
shaking, cheering, and swooning that female fans expressed in the face of their idol.
Teen idol fandom serves a cardinal purpose within popular culture as it “provides youth with both
a sense of community and, because of the squeaky-clean images of male idols, an outlet for safely
expressing sexual desire.”
90
In a society where teen girls struggle to be taken seriously, teen idol fandom
creates a place of refuge for teen girls to express their adulation freely and without criticism. Additionally,
young female fans are made to feel safe when engaging with teen idols and boy bands, as teen idols’
music rarely deals with promiscuity and explicit sexual content. Instead, their lyrics, like most boy bands,
typically allude to gentle, loving sex in ambiguous terms. Teen idols create a sense of safety for their fans
to, in the comfort of their own poster-filled rooms, imagine themselves as the subject of their idol’s love
songs.
91
When united together, fans can scream, cry, and sing their hearts out to their beloved’s music,
knowing that others understand their passion. However,
despite garnering adulation across the world and selling millions of records, artists
88
Ibid.
89
Ibid.
90
Alexandra M. Apolloni, “Teen Idol,” Grove Music Online, Oxford University Press, published January 13, 2014,
https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-
9781561592630-e-1002258410.
91
See also, Wald, “‘I Want It That Way’: Teenybopper Music.”
68
who appealed to teen girls began to lose credibility as musicians somewhere along the
way. Or, for some, never received credibility in the first place (see Justin Bieber).
92
To many popular music historians, Frank Sinatra is the blueprint for the modern teen idol archetype. The
hysteria surrounding Sinatra in the 1940s was a harbinger – more than 20 years before Beatlemania – of
modern teen idol fandom and “the country’s first glimpse of how the teenage culture would evolve in the
second half of the 20th century.”
93
Inspired by crooners like Bing Crosby, Sinatra quickly reached
stardom at a young age after performing on a radio amateur hour with his group, The Hoboken Four.
94
Shortly thereafter, he was invited to join big band trumpeter Harry James’ orchestra, which launched him
into success.
95
Sinatra’s young female fans or “bobby-soxers” were even fashion trendsetters, with their
signature “poodle skirts — a tight-at-the-waist, yet flared felt skirt that often featured a French poodle
design along with black and white saddle shoes and turned down bobby socks.”
96
Recognized today as
one of the greatest vocalists of all time, Sinatra’s teen idol-ness opened up an entirely new marketing
focus for the music industry. Prior to Sinatra, there was little industrial focus on appealing to a teenage
demographic. But Sinatra’s bobby-soxers revealed the power of a teenage female fanbase. As Alexis
Chaney wrote for Vox,
the screams of bobby-soxers [express] a “curiously innocent eroticism.”
Daydreaming, screaming, and swooning for Sinatra allowed girls the opportunity to
ignore the social pressures of the day, which told them they should be quiet and
reserved and contain any and all sexual feelings and intense emotions. They could
safely lose control without having to fear the repercussions. In allowing them to leave
behind, if momentarily, the sexual restrictions of their time, Sinatra also allowed them
to leave behind the dreary ordinariness of their lives. New York Times reporter Bruce
Bliven thought, after watching a 1944 Paramount show, that to his fans Sinatra
“represents a dream of what they themselves might conceivably do or become.”
Sinatra was both near and far: they were able to identify with him and, on some level,
92
Myah Taylor, “In Defense of the Female-Loved Teen Idol: Why Aren’t They Taken Seriously?” Afterglow ATX,
University of Texas at Austin, published March 30, 2020, https://www.afterglowatx.com/blog/2020/3/30/in-defense-
of-the-female-loved-teen-idol-why-arent-they-taken-seriously.
93
Andy Greene, “The Top 25 Teen Idol Breakout Moments,” Rolling Stone, Penske Media Corporation, published
May 11, 2012, https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/teen-idol-breakouts-158080/frank-sinatra-1942-
169439/.
94
“Revisit: Sinatra, An American Icon,” Grammy Museum, Recording Academy Grammy Museum, published
April 17, 2020, https://grammymuseum.org/museum-at-home/revisit-sinatra-an-american-icon/.
95
Ibid.
96
Ibid.
69
become him. His life represented one of freedom and luxury that most of his fans
would never attain. They desired him and desired to be him.
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Sinatra’s incumbency as a teen idol was temporary, a quintessential element of the archetype. Sinatra’s
recording career with Columbia Records saw him at his finest, recording jazz and pop standards as well as
musical theatre material by Rodgers and Hammerstein that let his voice shine.
98
However, in a matter of a
few years, “changing tastes in music, the gradual end of the bobby-sox craze, and personal challenges (a
divorce, run-ins with the gossip press, overuse of his voice, and disagreements with Columbia’s Mitch
Miller) led to Sinatra’s diminished popularity.”
99
Chronologically, Johnnie Ray is the next artist often discussed in regards to the genealogy of the
teen idol archetype. The 1950s pop singer is credited with being “the transitional figure in the
development of the contemporary popular music performance style.”
100
His emotional expressivity was a
distinguishing feature of his performances and onstage personality, as he often cried while singing.
101
Girls were enthralled with Ray’s integration of
the body and sexuality and sexuality in his often tearful pleas to his audience; his
movement was described by one music critic as “writhing” in torment. He gesticulated
wildly with his arms, unlike the controlled, virtually unmoving professionalism of
Sinatra, whose only bodily gesture of individuality was the snapping of his fingers.
Ray often punctuated the finish of a song by falling dramatically to his knees as he
caressed the microphone.
102
Elvis Presley burst onto the scene in the mid-1950s, carrying on Ray’s tradition of incorporating bodily
movement and sexuality into performance. Elvis’ dance moves – primarily his often gyrating pelvis –
were central to his persona as a star, so much so that he became nicknamed “Elvis the Pelvis.” On his
debut performance on The Ed Sullivan Show, his dancing was so suggestive that he was famously filmed
97
Alexis Chaney, “Swooning, screaming, crying: how teenage girls have driven over 60 years of pop music,” Vox,
Vox Media, published January 28, 2016, https://www.vox.com/2016/1/28/10815492/teenage-girls-screaming.
98
“Sinatra,” Grammy Museum.
99
Ibid.
100
David P. Marshall, “The Meanings of the Popular Music Celebrity: The Construction of Distinctive
Authenticity,” in Celebrity and Power: Fame in Contemporary Culture (University of Minnesota Press, 1997), 157.
101
Greene, “Teen Idol Breakout Moments,” Rolling Stone.
102
Marshall, “Popular Music Celebrity,” University of Minnesota Press, 158.
70
from his waist up, censoring the lower half of his body.
103
Mixing “African-American R&B with country,
[Elvis created] a new sound that rocked the airwaves helped him shoot to the top of popular
consciousness and into the hearts of his fans,” but his sexuality made conservative American adults
shudder, marking him as a teen sensation. Unlike Sinatra, Elvis fans did not have to attend his concerts to
feel close to him; Elvis’ frequent television appearances made the unattainable, famous teen idol more
accessible than ever to teenage girls.
104
As Chaney describes,
[g]irls in 1957 were slightly freer than those of 1944, but open and frank displays of
sexual desire were still utterly taboo. Presley was not a boy you would date, bring
home to your parents, or marry. He existed outside of the idealized masculinity of the
time. He didn't hide his lower-class roots, and came off as somewhat sleazy. Although
he seemed quite kind in interviews, nothing about how he looked, sang or performed
said "nice." Screaming and crying for Elvis was safer than actually trying to find a
boy from the wrong side of the tracks, and easier too.
105
Through being a fan of Elvis, teen girls could envision themselves as capable of rebelling against the
strict patriarchal social order of the time that dictated clear sexual mores. While Sinatra displayed
vulnerability in his ballad singing, Elvis’ persona was considerably more dangerous and controversial,
“nothing at all like the clean-cut, fairly sexless, nice American boy teenage girls were supposed to long
for.” To some fans, this rebelliousness made him even more attractive.
106
However, the male teen idol’s
lack of endurance and staying power provokes some of their harshest criticism and Elvis’ journey was no
different. It was not long before Elvis became obese and involved in scandal. As a result, he faded out of
the forefront of popular culture. One of the main pillars of teen idol-ness is a fresh-faced, perfect
appearance, so Elvis was quickly seen as ridiculous, known more as a laughingstock than a heartthrob as
his career continued into the 1960s.
103
Greene, “Teen Idol Breakout Moments,” Rolling Stone.
104
Chaney, “Screaming, swooning,” Vox.
105
Ibid.
106
Ibid.
71
Following Elvis, bands like The Beatles and The Jackson 5 also accumulated legions of teen girl
fans.
107
But David Cassidy was the next singular teen idol. After the success of television-formed boy
band The Monkees, Cassidy followed suit.
108
Emerging as the star of The Partridge Family television
show from the early 1970s, Cassidy’s youthful look and somewhat feminine features, namely his brunette
shoulder-length hair, cemented his status as a heartthrob. His non-threatening nature helped solidify his
teen idol status amongst teen girls, though men often mocked his “pretty boy,” androgynous
appearance.
109
While Elvis presented a more rebellious, aggressive masculinity, Cassidy was sweet and
kind. However, his stint as a teen idol was also short-lived, “inevitably [ending] after a few years, and
Cassidy found himself a has-been before he was 24.”
110
Many consider the next teen idol to be Michael Jackson, after his time in The Jackson 5. But his
career pushed beyond the bounds of the archetype and into superstardom. Madonna is another idol whose
career and long-lasting impact on popular culture catapults her out of a teen idol categorization. Instead,
she is recognized as an 80s icon. Therefore, the next generation of teen idols I will briefly discuss to
contextualize Bieber’s rise to fame is the 1990s and 2000s. In the 90s, boy bands like New Kids On The
Block, Hanson, The Backstreet Boys, and *NSYNC and girl groups like Spice Girls occupied the
vanguard of popular culture targeted towards a teenage consumer base. However, no star shone as
brightly as Britney Spears. With hit after hit, Spears redefined what it meant to be a teen idol. Iconic
costumes, extravagant choreography, and showmanship captivated her audiences, sustaining her
popularity well past her golden years in the 90s and early 2000s. However, as I am focusing solely on
male idols with female audiences in this paper, it is essential to mention Spears’ Mickey Mouse Club-mate
and Bieber’s close musical relative, Justin Timberlake.
107
See also, Barbara Ehrereich, Elizabeth Hess, and Gloria Jacobs, “Beatlemania: Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” in
The Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and Popular Media, ed. Lisa A. Lewis (New York, NY: Routledge, 1992), 84-
106.
108
Greene, “Teen idol moments,” Rolling Stone.
109
Carol Dyhouse, “David Cassidy: the unlikely teen idol,” The Baltimore Sun, The Baltimore Sun, published June
28, 2018, https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/op-ed/bs-ed-op-0629-cassidy-stardom-20180628-story.html.
110
Greene, “Teen idol moments,” Rolling Stone.
72
When Timberlake stepped outside the confines of *NSYNC, he reached a pinnacle of success.
His vocal talent, charisma, and dancing attracted teen frenzy and paved the way for artists within the
Disney machine to achieve immense popularity in the 2000s. The Disney Channel teen pop industrial
complex propelled the punky three-piece Jonas Brothers, a brother band from New Jersey, and the twangy
Miley Cyrus to fame, reminiscent of The Monkees’ television success in the 1960s. Disney Channel stars
ruled the pop music airwaves and reigned over teen-oriented popular culture until Bieber took the world
by storm.
Bieber Fever Begins
Born and raised in Stratford, Ontario, Bieber was primarily raised by his mother Pattie Mallette.
At a young age, Bieber learned to play guitar, piano, trumpet, and drums. He regularly busked in his
hometown and sang at talent shows where he received special attention. Bieber’s mother began uploading
his performances as well as at-home acoustic covers of R&B songs by artists such as Chris Brown, Ne-
Yo, and Aretha Franklin to YouTube. Bieber quickly attracted such a large and devoted following at only
12 years old that music industry mogul Scooter Braun took an interest in Bieber. Braun quickly became
Bieber’s biggest advocate. Braun put Bieber in contact with Usher, who became a music industry mentor
to Bieber. Usher and Braun saw great promise in Bieber and signed him to their joint recording company,
Raymond Braun Media Company, in 2008. Shortly after being signed to Raymond Braun Media
Company, Bieber was signed to L.A. Reid’s Island Def Jam Music Group, where he recorded demos by
black male songwriting-production teams.
In developing Bieber into a teen idol, Scooter Braun brought Ryan Good, Usher’s former
assistant, onto the Bieber team to mold him into a popstar with a specific persona.
111
Good’s title within
the Bieber team was Bieber’s “swag coach,” helping Bieber to develop “swagger.” However, Good, a
white Floridian, consistently appropriates African-American modes of communication such as African
111
Chris Ryan, “Meet Justin Bieber’s ‘Swagger Coach,’ Ryan Good,” MTV News, MTV, published January 5,
2010, http://www.mtv.com/news/2294932/meet-justin-biebers-swagger-coach-ryan-good/.
73
American Vernacular English and has been criticized for putting on what is colloquially known as a
“blaccent.” Good’s mentorship of Bieber exacerbates such appropriation on Bieber’s end, as Good
essentially teaches him how to be a young white man aspiring towards blackness. Good’s own
appropriation and fascination with black culture makes his guidance ridden with stereotyping. In other
words, he teaches Bieber “swagger” based on what he believes swagger to be. In an article for The
Huffington Post, Dr. Darron Smith described Good’s role in Bieber’s development, stating that
it is well known that [Bieber] had little interaction with black folk prior to his musical
success (as seen in images of him with his group of all white friends from Canada).
Thus, to maximize his believability as an R&B crooner with crossover appeal, Bieber
was assigned a “swagger coach” to learn the tools of the trade. Ryan Good was hired
to refine his image in ways acceptable to white audiences while optimizing coolness.
The message — be cool, but not too black.
112
As Smith details, Bieber’s Canadian upbringing provided him with all white peers and a boy-next-door
personality. In his 2011 documentary film Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, Bieber’s “normal teenage
boy” persona is on display, similar to One Direction’s in This Is Us. Scenes of Bieber playing hockey
with his friends and hugging his grandparents establish him as a personable young kid. When he yells a
bit too much on his days off and is scolded by his vocal coach, the viewer takes pity on him. At this stage
of Bieber’s career, with only one full length album released, My World 2.0, his debut tour of 128 shows
worldwide required him to adapt to a strict vocal regimen that his adolescent body could barely handle.
The documentary constructs Bieber to be a normal teenager in an abnormal position. As a result, he does
not fully understand the demands of his new pop star lifestyle, so his adult mentors – Braun, Usher, and
Good, among others – guide him. Bieber is malleable to his adult influences molding him, fueling the
widespread critique that he is a product, rather than a producer.
Bieber’s music during this era can be best described using a phrase from Jody Rosen’s 2010
review of My World 2.0: “this isn’t just cheesy teeny-bopper music…it’s classically, sublimely cheesy
112
Dr. Darron Smith, “The Transformation of Justin Bieber From a White Youth to a Black Man,” Huffington Post,
Huffington Post, published December 2, 2014, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-transformation-of-
jus_b_5900958.
74
teeny-bopper music.”
113
The album “mines vintage teen-pop themes but plays like a primer on 2010-
model bubblegum,” combining what many critics called an old school doo-wop-esque vocal with
elements of dance-pop. Especially on tracks like “Baby,” this fusion of sounds is prominent. On tracks
like “U Smile,” electronic effects embellish an acoustic guitar or piano arrangement.
114
Bieber’s “songs
flushed with romance but notably free of sex itself” on My World 2.0 rendered him a classic teen idol,
following in a long lineage of chaste idols.
115
Similar to the appeal of David Cassidy, Bieber’s
androgynous appearance and pure, “cute” persona made him the subject of mockery. Bieber also faced
ridicule for his pubescent “girly” voice. However, Bieber’s longer golden locks and baby face made him a
perfect candidate for a “pretty boy” idol role. In her review, Rosen particularized that at this stage of his
career,
Bieber’s talent is not fully formed. He sings with swing and rhythmic dexterity
(presumably learned from Usher), but his voice is nasal and lacks heft; the vocals
sound pitch-corrected throughout. On “Overboard,” a duet with 14-year-old Def Jam
signee Jessica Jarrell, it’s near impossible to tell the singers apart. But Bieber has
something more important for a young pop star than chops: personality. He’s got an
odd combination of guilelessness and swagger that makes puppy-love goop like
“We’ll take it to the sky/Past the moon/Through the galaxies” sound both sweet and
playful.
116
Rosen is fairly complimentary of Bieber’s early recordings, despite her assessment of his talent as merely
embryonic. Fashioned by Bieber’s “swag coach” Ryan Good, Bieber’s “personality” – his “odd
combination of guilelessness and swagger,” as described by Rosen – is a point of contention for many
critics. In Marc Hirsh’s review for The Boston Globe of Bieber’s first EP My World, he wrote that
Bieber is indistinguishable from any of a thousand prefab pop aspirants with musical
inadequacies that need glossing over in the studio. “One Time’’ is built on the same
deliberately paced glitchy chirpiness that characterized Bedingfield’s “Angel,’’ and
the omnipresent Auto-Tune smothers any genuine personality with the gleam of
artificiality. There’s also a distinct uncertainty about how best to handle his tender
age: acknowledge it in a Disney fashion (with multiple songs comparing love to a
fairy tale) or ignore it and end up with the unintentional comedy of lines like, “I was a
113
Jody Rosen, “My World 2.0,” Rolling Stone, Penske Media Corporation, published April 1, 2010,
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/my-world-2-0-98454/.
114
Ibid.
115
Ibid.
116
Ibid.
75
player when I was little/ But now I’m bigger’’? “First Dance’’ combines the two, with
Bieber singing, “Ain’t no chaperones. . . Girl, I promise I’ll be gentle/ I know we gotta
do it slowly’’ in a song literally about prom. It’s tough to get excited over a
supposedly staggering new talent whose contribution to the pop landscape is a simple
“Me, too.’’
117
Like Hirsh, many lambasted Bieber for recycling past teen pop star tropes, instead of bringing something
new to the pop music landscape. My World 2.0 also boasted Bieber’s smash hit “Baby,” a junior high pop
ditty that became inescapable on pop radio. “Baby” even entered the Guinness World Records Book in
2013 as both “the most viewed video online of any kind…[and] the most disliked video online.”
118
In The
Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber in 2015, this factoid was recalled among other jokes about
Bieber’s career. Overall, Bieber’s active presence in popular culture during the 2010s made him a figure
people either loved or hated. Bieber’s fans brought a ferocity to their defense of Bieber, distinct from past
fandoms. When Bieber lost to jazz bassist and singer Esperanza Spalding for the Best New Artist honor at
the Grammys, Bieber’s “beliebers” defaced Spalding’s Wikipedia biography page.
119
Scholars Valerie
Tweedle and Robert J. Smith even contemplated if “Bieber Fever,” the fan craze for Bieber, could be
considered “the most infectious disease of our time.”
120
The abstract for their article sounds almost
satirical, but it is indeed a biological study.
Recently, an outbreak of Bieber Fever has blossomed into a full pandemic, primarily
among our youth. This disease is highly infectious between individuals and is also
subject to external media pressure, further strengthening the infection. Symptoms
include time-wasting, excessive purchasing of useless merchandise and uncontrollable
crying and/or screaming. We develop a mathematical model to describe the spread of
Bieber Fever, whereby individuals can be susceptible, Bieber-infected or bored of
Bieber. We analyze the model in both the presence and the absence of media, and
show that it…[is] perhaps the most infectious disease of our time. In the absence of
media, Bieber Fever can still propagate. However, when media effects are included,
Bieber Fever can reach extraordinary heights…tabloid journalism may be our last,
117
Marc Hirsh, “Justin Bieber, ‘My World,’” Boston Globe, Boston Globe Media, published November 23, 2009,
http://archive.boston.com/ae/music/cd_reviews/articles/2009/11/23/justin_bieber_my_world/.
118
Guinness World Records 2013 (New York: Bantam Books, 2013), 304.
119
Jon Caramanica, “On Screen, the Frenzied Yet Friendly World of Justin Bieber,” New York Times, The New
York Times Company, published February 14, 2011, https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/movies/15bieber.html.
120
Valerie Tweedle and Robert J. Smith, “A mathematical model of Bieber Fever: The most infectious disease of
our time?” Understanding the Dynamics of Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases Using Mathematical
Models, no. 7 (2012): 157.
76
best hope against this fast-moving and highly infectious disease. Otherwise, our
nation’s children may be in a great deal of trouble.
121
As described in Tweedle and Smith’s abstract, Bieber Fever was largely propagated through media,
specifically social media. Bieber’s savvy with social media platforms like YouTube, MySpace, and
Twitter at the start of his career made him more accessible to fans; their ability to communicate with
Bieber was much more fluid, efficient, and effective. Such media platforms also created additional buzz
around Bieber’s every move. His technological expertise paved the way for other artists to use social
media to communicate with fans, like One Direction, later on in the 2010s. This method changed the
course of artist promotion and marketing, especially in the pop music scene. In the start of the social
media age, Bieber became “a thing to be consumed: downloadable, forwardable, shareable and essentially
untouchable.”
122
Bieber: From Boy to “Boyfriend”
Bieber did not experience the traditional, gradual incubation period to stardom that many stars
experience in their rise to fame. Instead, within a brief, approximately two year period, Bieber’s name
became synonymous with mainstream ideals and culture. After My World 2.0, Bieber released a star-
studded Christmas album in 2011, a classic commercial move for a popular artist. Under The Mistletoe
featured megastars like Busta Rhymes, Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men, his mentor Usher, and even the
country group The Band Perry. Bieber’s voice had slightly deepened on his holiday release, aligning with
his puberty. On the album, Bieber even tried his hand at rapping, foreshadowing his 2012 album Believe.
Trading his girlish bangs for a shorter, slicked back hairdo, Believe acted as Bieber’s statement of
maturity, a reminder to listeners that he was no longer a thirteen year old kid. The lead single of Believe,
“Boyfriend,” was Bieber’s foray into a slightly sleazier image, functioning similar to One Direction’s
“Rock Me.” Instead of distorted electric guitars and heavy rock, Bieber appropriated R&B and hip hop
121
Ibid., 157-158.
122
Caramanica, “On Screen, Bieber,” New York Times.
77
aesthetics to convey his musical transition from boy to young man. The lyrics of “Boyfriend” muse about
how Bieber would act in a relationship; when he sings “if I was your boyfriend, I would never let you go,”
Bieber cleverly caters to his fangirls. Through the use of the second person pronoun “you,” “beliebers”
everywhere can envision themselves as Bieber’s girlfriend as he addresses them directly. Though
“Boyfriend” is meant to feel like an intimate serenade, his lyrics shy away from explicit sexual content.
However, Bieber’s vocal approach and music video are drastically different from the “I’m gonna put you
first / I’ll show you what you’re worth” sentiment of his early hit “One Less Lonely Girl.” In
“Boyfriend,” Bieber brags that he has “money in his hands that [he’d] really like to blow,” suggesting that
his money is disposable to him; he can and would spend it to show loyalty to his girlfriend, buying her
gifts, jewelry, and vacations. Bieber raps that he “can take you places you ain’t ever been before,” tacking
on a lyrical double entendre. Bieber, with his fame and fortune, can jet whoever he likes all around the
world, but his line also takes on a suggestive meaning. An older, more mature Bieber also guarantees that
he can provide a life-altering sexual experience that will make any girl infatuated with him. His vocal
delivery on “Boyfriend” aims to seduce his listeners; following rapped verses, Bieber employs breathy
falsetto and imitates the sexified pop/R&B fusion of Justin Timberlake.
123
As the music video for “Boyfriend” progresses, Bieber whispers his lyrics to women while
caressing them. He places his lips inches away from multiple women’s shoulders before the video tears its
focus away from the private scene, leaving his viewers wanting more. The next scene of the video
features a leather jacket, dark sunglasses-wearing Bieber pulling into a parking lot in a flashy yellow car.
In this setting, Bieber is surrounded by beautiful women and young men doing skateboard tricks. As the
chorus of “Boyfriend” arrives, dancing begins. Throughout the video, Bieber flirts with a girl whose
entrance into the video is emblematic of her role in it. The camera introduces Bieber’s romantic interest
by zooming in on and panning over her butt in denim shorts. Bieber dances with her, touching her hips
123
During this period of Bieber’s career, he often referenced “WWMJD?” or “what would Michael Jackson do?” as
his guiding principle. Like Bieber, Jackson had to work to distinguish himself from his child-star image. In the
music video for “Boyfriend,” Bieber even makes a direct reference to his hero by striking a Jackson-esque pose.
78
and stomach. Women in bras and men breakdancing make this scene feel all the more like a teenage
party. However, some were not convinced by his updated persona; in the video, when he sits on top of a
car and strums an acoustic guitar, serenading his beau, the audience still sees a youthful, chaste Bieber.
Overall, Bieber’s attempts at being a slightly sexier pop star were overshadowed by “Boyfriend” being
critically perceived as corny and vapid. Jody Rosen returned to Rolling Stone to review “Boyfriend,”
calling it “hater-bait.”
124
Her review picks up on Bieber’s motives, as well.
Justin Bieber has called "Boyfriend," the first single from his forthcoming album
Believe, "hater-proof." But how can a song that begins with Bieber rapping in his
thickest patois about his "swag" not be hater-bait? With a taut, funky beat by Mason
D. Levy and Mike Posner and a lyric that mixes kiddie-movie references ("I could be
your Buzz Lightyear"), chivalry ("I can be a gentleman") and hip-hop braggadocio
("Chillin' by the fire while we eatin' fondue"), the song is expertly calculated to ease
the Biebs' transition from tweenpop dreamboat to post-tweenpop dreamboat. The
subtext is clear: Justin Has Actually Had Sexual Intercourse – But He Won't
Harm Your Nine-Year-Old. "Hater-proof"? Try foolproof.
125
In accordance with Rosen’s assessment, “Boyfriend” translated as a calculated move to transition Bieber
out of a teen idol persona. However, the song also signifies the first of many attempts by Bieber to
untether himself from his youth, his teen idol perception, and his target audience. As he grows older and
more annoyed with his image, predicated on sexless love, he begins to borrow more overtly from black
musical traditions. In the next phase of his career, beginning in 2013, Bieber’s perspective becomes clear.
To him, black art and masculinity is a vehicle he can use to reassert himself as more mature. In addition,
as his career moves forward, he continually plays on racist, essentialist, and stereotypical ideas of what it
means to be a young black man, especially in American society.
Co-Opting and Controversy: Bieber’s Relationship to Blackness
During 2013, the beginning of his Believe era, incriminating videos of Bieber circulated on the
Internet. In these videos, Bieber acted racially insensitive and used discriminatory language towards black
124
Jody Rosen, “Justin Bieber, “Boyfriend,” Rolling Stone, Penske Media Corporation, published March 26, 2012,
https://web.archive.org/web/20120330095201/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/songreviews/boyfriend-
20120326.
125
Ibid.
79
people. A particularly disturbing video showed Bieber singing his song “One Less Lonely Girl,”
replacing “girl” with the n-word and singing about joining the Ku Klux Klan. The video resurfaced “just
days after Bieber apologized for another video in which the popstar, then 15, is seen making a racist
joke,” according to a CNN report.
126
Bieber later apologized for both instances. But his career-long
admiration of many black musicians and close relationship with Usher made these videos particularly
upsetting, greatly harming his reputation and shaping him into a more controversial figure.
In 2013, Bieber released his third album Journals only through digital platforms. On Journals,
Bieber fully leans into his R&B inspiration and increases the suggestive tone of his lyrics. This new
direction led Journals to be released without promotion from Bieber’s record label. Journals also marked
the beginning of a crucial songwriting partnership between Bieber and Jason “Poo Bear” Boyd, who
collaborated frequently with Usher and many other R&B stars. Unlike his prior work, Bieber’s songs on
Journals explored sexual relationships and desires directly and extensively. Bieber’s duet with R&B’s
most controversial figure, R. Kelly, titled “PYD” exemplifies such sexual frankness. The titular acronym,
standing for “put you down,” is a slang sexual phrase that sets the stage for the rest of the song’s lyrics.
From the door to the wall
Coffee table, girl get ready
I'ma put you down (PYD, PYD, PYD)
All the way down, woah (PYD, PYD, PYD)
From the stove to the countertop
Dining room table, are you ready?
I'ma put you down (PYD, PYD, PYD)
Woah (PYD, PYD, PYD)
Up the stairs, to my bedroom
Light a few candles, prepare yourself
I'ma put you down (PYD, PYD, PYD)
All the way down (PYD, PYD, PYD)
On a plane, a train
An automobile, doesn't matter
I'ma put you down (PYD, PYD, PYD)
All the way down (PYD, PYD, PYD)
126
Lisa Respers France, “Justin Bieber again caught in racial controversy,” CNN, Warner Media Company,
published June 4, 2014, https://www.cnn.com/2014/06/04/showbiz/celebrity-news-gossip/justin-bieber-racist-video.
80
In these verses of “PYD,” Bieber and Kelly locate every possible place for sex, belaboring the point that
Bieber is mature enough to be desiring and engaging in sex. As Adam R. Holz wrote in his review of
Journals, “whether he’s bragging about bedding sexy foreign girls or copulating on counter tops (among a
long laundry list of other surfaces), it’s abundantly clear that Bieber’s libido is nearly as potent as his
romantic promises, if not more so.”
127
Holz’ estimation resonates with many critics’ and fans’ opinions
that on songs like “PYD,” Bieber seemed to be overcompensating to cover up his masculine insecurities.
For example, in the refrain of “I’ma put you down,” Bieber aims to showcase his ability to physically
dominate in sex. This phrase reinforces and perpetuates traditional, hegemonic masculinity that can often
threaten and endanger women. In “PYD,” Bieber opts for a silky tone to come across as a smooth
operator rather than an aggressive predator.
In “All That Matters,” another sex-focused song, Bieber ponders “what’s a king bed without a
queen” while “Hold Tight” tells a lover that she is the “best [he’s] ever had.” Its lyrics even contain a
vulgar image: “not to mention, that thing is swollen.” In “Confident,” Bieber’s hip hop-inspired track
with Chance the Rapper, Bieber fetishizes women from different cultures.
Focused, I'm focused
She got a body like that I ain't never seen nothin' like that, uh-uh
Like a fantasy in front of me, yeah
I think that something special’s going down
That's right, I think she foreign (foreign)
I think she foreign (foreign), got passports
Mi amor ('mor) started slow (slow), got faster
She gon' work some more (more), work some more (more)
No stopping her now (now, now)
No stopping her now (now, now, now, now)
Then she started dancing, sexual romancing
Nasty but she fancy, lipstick on my satin sheets
What's your nationality? I wonder if there's more of you
She's got my attention, she's confident
127
Adam R. Holz, “Journals,” PluggedIn, Focus on the Family, accessed April 8, 2021,
https://www.pluggedin.com/album-reviews/justin-bieber-journals/.
81
Bieber’s ogling of a woman turns into a guessing game for him of her nationality. He then ponders “if
there [are] more [women]” who look like his suitor that he could potentially bed, adding to the racist
hypersexualization coursing through the song. Bieber follows up this unflattering move by “[making] a
mean-spirited and sexist accusation (“ooh, you know females and how they like to run their mouths”)” in
“All Bad.”
128
These songs led some diagnosed with Bieber Fever to believe that he was no longer the star
they originally loved. Now, Bieber openly and crudely dealt with sex in his music. His new bad boy
persona isolated some fans, while further attracting others intrigued by his darker side. Regardless, this
body of work contains critical significance and requires scholarly attention.
On Journals, Bieber strives to exist transracially and as a result, perpetuates a black stock
character: the smooth, sensual, “cool” young black man. Ingrid Monson’s “The Problem With White
Hipness” describes this one-dimensional archetype, as well as conceptions in jazz historical discourse
across race, gender, and sexuality intersections. In her essay, Monson problematizes the idea of “white
hipness” as a black musical mechanism co-opted by white musicians to assert themselves as “in the know,
not to be duped by the world…and to [instead] react with dignity and cool when faced with an assault on
one’s being.”
129
Many African-American bebop musicians utilized hipness as an attitude and stance
“marked through modes of symbolic display” such as fashion choices, linguistics, and even heroin
addiction that ran rampant in the bebop community.
130
Such preferences characterized bebop hipness, but
its anti-assimilationist ideology ruled as the most significant aspect of a hip subcultural lifestyle. Overall,
though, Monson’s argument can be recapitulated by one of the most potent sections of her essay:
The idea of hipness and African-American music as cultural critique has, of course,
detached itself over the last fifty years from the particular historical context of bebop,
circulated internationally; it has inspired several generations of white liberal youth to
adopt both the stylistic markers of hipness, which have shifted in response to changes
in African-American musical and sartorial style, and the socially conscious attitude
that hipness has been presumed to signify…In problematizing “white hipness” I mean
to call attention to…the function of African-Americans as a symbol of social
conscience, sexual freedom, and resistance to the dominant order in the
128
Ibid.
129
Ingrid Monson, “The Problem With White Hipness: Race, Gender, and Cultural Conceptions in Jazz Historical
Discourse,” Journal of the American Musicological Study 48, no. 3 (1995): 399.
130
Ibid., 397.
82
imagination of liberal white Americans…to the extent that well-meaning white
Americans have confused the most transgressive aspects of African-American culture
with its true character, they fall into the trap of viewing blackness as absence.
Whether conceived as an absence of morality or to bourgeois pretensions, this
view of blackness, paradoxically, buys into the historical legacy of primitivism
and its concomitant exociticsm of the “Other.”
131
As described by Monson, white aspiration towards black hipness can often turn into the exoticization and
“othering” of black Americans. For instance, Monson recalls a key part of white jazz musician Mezz
Mezzrow’s autobiography where he represents black male musicians as mystical, untaught performers
whose music flows out of them naturally, sustaining the exoticization of black men. In his autobiography,
Mezzrow also “[credits] the black world for opening his eyes to how clean and natural sex can be.”
132
This equating blackness with primitivity preserves the racist ideology that black people are
unsophisticated and untamed. As Monson wrote, “the bald equation of the primitive with sex, and sex
with the music and body of the black male musician is so voyeuristic and sexually objectifying that it is
no wonder James Baldwin criticized white obsession with the image of the African-American male as
“walking phallic symbol.”
133
Bieber’s Journals, his most carnal album thus far, draws upon R&B and hip
hop, making it fastened in some way to his black chain of musical influence. Additionally, during 2013,
Bieber became unmistakably inspired by other elements of black culture aside from music. In Dr. Darron
Smith’s article reviewing Journals for The Huffington Post, he unpacks how Bieber’s self-representation
also hinges on popular, one-dimensional perceptions of black manhood.
[W]hen Bieber is not in the studio laying down tracks for his next project, he has been
working his constructed persona, displaying cool pose in the media. Bieber’s appeal,
couched in his public image of coolness and swagger (i.e., hats, clothing, gold chains,
tats, etc.), makes him very marketable indeed.
134
After an initial stage of teenybopper fame, Bieber not only tried to separate himself from his youthful,
“girlish” image by being explicit about sex, but he also began dressing and acting differently. Bieber
wears sagging pants and gold chains to dress himself in clothing items coded as “black.” Thus, Bieber
131
Ibid., 398.
132
Ibid., 403.
133
Ibid., 404.
134
Smith, “From White Youth to Black Man,” Huffington Post.
83
attempts to “dress” or cloak himself in blackness. Bieber also appropriates “cool pose,” a definitively
black male attitude and lifestyle. Smith’s article explains cool pose’s significance particularly well:
Because blacks have little to no control over their social condition in life, cool pose
then is a source of empowerment. It was erected deep within the psychology of black
men and boys to assuage the pain and legacy of restricted opportunities from
mainstream sources of success to include material wealth and comfort, components of
the “American Dream.” When viewed and labeled by the white world as deviant,
deficient, promiscuous, criminal and incompetent, cool provides the smokescreen to
hide the torment and anger deep within the soul. This process of self-preservation is
accomplished with a distinct style of coping through surface acting, an exhibition of
physical actions intended to ward off the harmful effects of white racism and cynicism
that can lead to feelings of self-doubt and interpersonal angst. Cool enhances the ego
and sense of pride while concealing deep scars of black male group marginalization.
Not always done under conscious impulses, but instead involves unconscious thought
and actions, it allows some black males to present a hard exterior by showing little or
no fear in situations that dictate a dynamic interaction. Cool pose is about the
maintenance of rough and tumble masculinity through the demands of living in a
black body, enabling black males to develop thick skin through interpersonal strivings
to enhance their self-esteem. Cool, then, is a projection of confidence in the midst of
insecurity, and being cool brings some semblance of order to life for black males that
they might not otherwise have.
135
As Smith describes, black men often utilize cool pose as a survival mode rather than just an artistic one.
Black men who use cool pose act aloof and emotionally detached to retain control in confrontational
situations and more generally, in a world in which they are not offered the same liberties and
opportunities as their white counterparts. When a white artist like Bieber uses cool pose as a performance
style rather than a survival mode, he essentially falsifies that he shares the experiences of young black
men who use cool pose to cope. He acts as if cool pose is his to manipulate to reassert himself as a sexy,
“cool” star. Journals even features a song, “What’s Hatnin” featuring Lil Wayne, where Bieber uses
phrases from African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) or black vernacular, mimicking its
corresponding dialect in hopes of being heard as “cool” and “black.” Bieber appropriates this
sociolinguistic tradition in his daily life, as well, in order to appear as black or “black on the inside.”
During this time, Bieber also got caught with a stash of drugs, among other encounters with the
police. He frequently got into squabbles with paparazzi, as well, intensifying his desired bad boy image.
135
Ibid.
84
However, young black men can face serious consequences, like incarceration, when enacting cool pose as
a form of empowerment and a tool for self-preservation. The types of offenses that Bieber was charged
with often severely damage young black men’s chance for success. While Bieber was arrested in 2014 for
driving under the influence and resisting arrest, Bieber’s success and privilege allowed him to continue a
fruitful career. Young black men do not often survive these offenses. Bieber’s intersecting racial and class
privileges – that make him a white, wealthy, successful man – protect him from such harsh consequences.
Through his appropriation of cool pose, Bieber creates a discrepancy between what he actually
experiences and what he frames as his experience. Bieber’s fascination with the black experience is
harmful to the very group of people he strives to be like, as he further “others” them.
Additionally, Bieber’s use of cool pose and black styles like R&B and hip hop serves a very
specific purpose for him – to emerge outside of the mainstream amidst the peak of his overwhelming
fame – that is completely self-interested. Black songwriters like Poo Bear and mentors like Usher are
cognizant of the fact that “with his unearned privilege, Bieber [is] able to emulate his black
contemporaries and generate massive profits beyond their reach.”
136
They are deeply aware that their
music may not succeed at all without a white artist’s backing, so it is sometimes advantageous to be
complicit in Bieber’s aspirations towards blackness in an effort to stay financially afloat. Racial inequities
and hierarchies are woven into the fabric of a capitalist society; because of this, black creatives like Poo
Bear and Usher may understandably and strategically put aside what they may disagree with in order to
survive.
Bieber’s personal troubles came to a head while touring his 2015 album Purpose. The album
features an eclectic grouping of EDM DJs, Ed Sheeran-penned tunes, and bombastic, radio-ready pop
songs. Its cover features a photograph of Bieber bowing his head down and clasping his hands together in
prayer. Songs like “Life Is Worth Living” hint at religious subtext, albeit in a generally secular manner, as
he “somberly [pleads] to both himself and anyone listening that — frankly — life is still worth living, no
136
Smith, “From White Youth to Black Man,” Huffington Post.
85
matter what the circumstance.”
137
However, Bieber’s depression and exhaustion led him to cancel the
final 14 shows of the tour. His extreme anxiety and drug use exacerbated his mental state, dilapidated at
this stage of his career according to his 2020 Seasons YouTube docuseries. This is a common tale,
especially for celebrities who begin as child stars, but Bieber’s crash and burn can be attributed, too, to
the overwhelming nature of advanced technology. In the 2010s, fans and paparazzi alike could track
Bieber’s every move and follow him. As a result of such exhaustion, Bieber began a five year hiatus from
music.
Bieber in Media
In 2015, the aforementioned Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber aired on national television.
The host, comedian Kevin Hart, mocks Bieber right away in his first line: “here’s the thing, Justin Bieber
has tens of millions of fans. I mean, most of them are either in middle schools or standing at least 500 feet
from one.” Hart also takes a jab at Bieber for his sycophancy towards Usher, joking that Bieber’s wax
figure accurately depicted him “face down in a wax Usher’s lap” in Madame Tussauds famous museum.
Hart continues by introducing the dais of stars “roasting” Bieber, including Martha Stewart, whose
criminal past could have been fodder for discussion. Instead of acknowledging it, Hart takes the
opportunity to feminize Bieber: “but Martha, understand something. Tonight, it’s about another blonde
bitch. Tonight, it’s about Justin Bieber.” In an attempt to further emasculate him, Hart even calls Bieber a
hermaphrodite and begs him to show the crowd his dual sexual organs. But Hart’s most potent statement
of the night comes approximately twelve minutes within the show.
It’s no secret that Justin wants to be black, can we all agree on that? Justin loves the
black culture. Everyone knows that. My thing is this: Justin, I just want you to come
to terms with the fact that you’re not gangster! That’s Justin’s main problem, man.
You’re not a gangster, except that, I mean, Orlando Bloom took a swing at you. That’s
not gangster, Justin! That’s not! He got a perfume called “Girlfriend.” That’s not
gangster, Justin!
138
137
“Life is Worth Living – Justin Bieber Lyrics,” Genius, Genius, accessed April 8, 2021, https://genius.com/Justin-
bieber-life-is-worth-living-lyrics.
138
The Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber, Comedy Central, March 2015.
86
Ludacris, who was featured on Bieber’s song “Baby,” picks up where Hart leaves off. He compliments
Bieber, saying that he has become a “music icon, like a modern-day Michael Jackson,” but with an
addendum: as Jackson grew older, he acted whiter, while the opposite goes for Bieber. In this way, he
attempts to demonstrate Bieber’s inauthenticity to his true identity. Ludacris’ final joke garners
uncomfortable applause and laughter: “Justin, I feel bad kicking you while you’re down but since you
want to be black, you might as well get used to it, man.”
These racialized jokes also play on pervasive stereotypes of young black men as “gangsters,” as
described by Hart. When Hart and Ludacris – two black men – tell such jokes, Bieber is exposed as
attempting to be black, but through a one-dimensional stock character or caricature. By acting within his
own interpretation of a trope, Bieber exhibits his apathy towards the community he claims to admire so
much. He also perpetuates destructive stereotypes of young black men, rather than demonstrating a
genuine interest in learning the intricacies of a young black male identity. Bieber does not pay respectful
homage to his black musical inspirations. Instead, his desire to achieve a transracial status is so obvious
and distasteful that it functions as the main conceit of his Comedy Central Roast. In Imaani Jamillah El-
Burki and and Rachel R. Reynolds’ article “It’s No Secret Justin Wants to Be Black: Comedy Central’s
Justin Bieber Roast and Neoliberalism,” the two scholars articulate that
the roast program serves well as a media element for analyzing the ways in which race
continues to function as the elephant in the room best addressed via comedy, creating
comic relief as the ideal space for processing continued racial anxiety in a post-racial
world.
139
As described by El-Burki and Reynolds, comedy may be a coping mechanism for the black participants in
the roast, like Kevin Hart and Ludacris. Joking about Bieber’s appropriation may be a useful way to
process their discomfort with it.
In 2016, the television series Atlanta starring Donald Glover, also known as Childish Gambino,
represented Bieber in his desired form as a black man. Atlanta follows Glover’s character Earn, a music
139
Imaani Jamillah El-Burki and Rachel R. Reynolds, “It’s No Secret Justin Wants to Be Black: Comedy Central’s
Justin Bieber Roast and Neoliberalism,” in Defining Identity and the Changing Scope of Culture in the Digital Age
(IGI Global: 2016), 15-28.
87
manager, and his friend and client, a rapper named Paper Boi, as they navigate the Atlanta rap scene
together. In the season 1 episode titled “Nobody Beats the Biebs,” Paper Boi must attend a celebrity
benefit basketball game where Bieber is being spotlighted. However, a young, slender black actor named
Austin Crute plays the character of Justin Bieber. The racial flip for Bieber’s character is never explicitly
acknowledged by the characters, as if Bieber was always black in the Atlanta universe.
140
Dan Jackson’s
review of the episode captures the important questions Atlanta is asking regarding the nature of Bieber’s
front-facing persona.
Like the Bieber that exists in the real world, Atlanta's version of Bieber can be
polarizing: Paper Boi can't stand him but Earn thinks he's worth cozying up to and
possibly collaborating with. Much like the real Bieber, Atlanta's alternate universe
version can be... obnoxious. He even pees in weird locations. By the episode's end, the
fictional Bieber is stuck in another embarrassing public situation – fighting Paper Boi
in the middle of a charity basketball game – but, like the real Bieber, he sweet-talks
his way out of trouble by singing a corny tropical-house ballad. "I'm not a bad guy,"
he says. “I actually love Christ.”…For Glover's series, the casting decision poses
a series of implied questions: What if Justin Bieber, a musician who achieved
mainstream success with a string of important co-signs from popular black artists,
were black? Would you view him differently? Would he have achieved the same level
of success? Would he be given so many shots at redemption by the public?
141
The episode’s ending seems to answer that rhetorical question. After Crute-as-Bieber gets into an
altercation with Paper Boi, he is granted the opportunity to speak in front of the press to tell them that his
violence does not reflect his true character. “Bieber” says that he “has been trying so hard to be cool lately
that [he] became something [he is] not.” In his delivery of these lines, Crute mocks the sorts of apologies
often made by Bieber and other stars of his caliber who do not want unflattering situations to define their
career. In the final scene, Paper Boi, who is in the audience, turns to a female interviewer he met earlier in
the episode. He tells her that he would like to apologize, like “Bieber” did, for his actions. Paper Boi asks
if she would be willing to interview him in hopes of providing an accurate picture of his character to the
public as well. His question elicits the following response:
140
Dan Jackson, “Why Black Justin Bieber On ‘Atlanta’ Was So Damn Funny,” Thrillist, Group Nine Media,
published September 27, 2016, https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/atlanta-justin-bieber.
141
Ibid.
88
Interviewer: Listen, I want to give you some advice. Play your part. People don’t
want Justin to be the asshole. They want you to be the asshole. You’re a
rapper. That’s your job.
This line encapsulates the nature of Bieber’s existence as a pop sensation. No matter what antics he
becomes involved in, he will, ultimately, be protected by his white skin and its corresponding privilege.
Changes, Without The Change
When Bieber returned to the mainstage of pop music, his strategies from past albums also
returned. After five years of hiatus, Bieber became much more open about his approach. To complement
the 2020 release of his album Changes, Bieber released a docuseries on YouTube titled “Seasons” in
which he reflects on the ups and downs of his career and personal life. In one of the most compelling
episodes, “Making Magic,” Bieber works to perfect vocals on a Spanish/English track called “La
Bomba,” repeating Spanish pronunciations. In an interview segment, he casually shares that he does not
speak Spanish, but “singers are good at imitating.”
142
This quote magnifies that Bieber believes his skills
of imitation will serve him well, successfully masking his lack of fluency or familiarity with the language.
Simply put, Bieber believes that he can project authenticity through well done imitation. This approach
serves as a useful model to think through much of the latter half of Bieber’s career after his preliminary
teenybopper phase.
In Simon Frith’s work in popular music studies, he contends that “musical styles develop through
a constant process of borrowing and quotation” and that hybridization is a typical, even encouraged,
aspect of musical evolution.
143
Musical genres are interrelated and inspired by one another, consistently
blending elements. However,
142
Justin Bieber, “Making Magic - Justin Bieber: Seasons,” YouTube, published January 27, 2020,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzwsR0H-J8o.
143
Jack Harbord, “Representations of Blackface and Minstrelsy in Twenty-First Century Popular Culture,” PhD
diss., (University of Salford, 2015), 188,
http://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/36899/3/Representations%2520of%2520Blackface%2520and%2520Minstrelsy%2
520in%2520Twenty%2520First%2520Century%2520Popular%2520Culture%2520%28Final%2520with%2520corr
ections%29%5B2%5D.pdf.
89
this process has been amplified by the availability of cultural goods through mass-
production and distribution. Such musical appropriation has become particularly
pronounced in the light of the proliferation of mass media and the promotion and
dissemination of cultural goods via the internet. Such technological and
communicational developments have allowed for the widespread consumption of
cultural goods by peoples geographically and contextually distant from the source
of origin. Although the concept of appropriation may be viewed neutrally, it very
often adopts a moral or ethical parameter in which one group is seen to take from
another in an act of cultural theft…[This is] especially relevant to musical borrowings
from marginalized genres and relatively disempowered social groups.
144
On Changes, Bieber’s appropriation of R&B and hip hop adopts this moral or ethical parameter. Through
his appropriation, he perpetuates a tradition of white artists being more successful in enacting black
musical styles than black artists themselves. Bieber becomes as a vessel through which black music can
be heard, albeit in a repackaged manner. Bieber imitates and mimics, injecting what he believes young
black maleness is into his music and persona. The album consists of R&B demos made by his
collaborator Poo Bear; some of which contain mid-tempo club beats, like “Intentions” and “Habitual,”
while others are slower R&B jams. All of the songs on Changes explore Bieber’s love for his wife,
known pre-marriage as Hailey Baldwin, discussing her beauty and their relationship in depth.
Additionally, on many tracks, Bieber’s praise of his wife resembles religious worship. Many critics, like
The New York Times’ Jon Caramanica, thought that Bieber blurs the line between addressing his
relationship with his wife or with God.
145
Throughout Changes’ track list, Bieber also explores his vocal
range, employing riffs and runs that prior pop anthems on Purpose did not leave room for. The tightly
wound pop structure from My World, My World 2.0, and Believe is barely present on Changes. Bieber’s
sound on Changes emulates adult contemporary R&B artists who are comfortable and acclimated with
singing about mature relationships and sex.
144
Ibid.
145
Jon Caramanica and Lindsay Zolads, “Justin Bieber Is Back With Confessions, Personal and Musical,” February
21, 2020, in The New York Times Popcast, produced by Pedro Rosado and Head Stepper Media, podcast, MP3
audio, 1:00:08, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/21/arts/music/popcast-justin-bieber.html.
90
When the annual Grammy nominations were announced, however, Changes was not considered
for R&B categories. Instead, it received nominations for numerous pop honors such as Best Pop Vocal
Album. This was a huge upset to Bieber, who reacted on his social media channels. His post read:
To the Grammys, I am flattered to be acknowledged and appreciated for my artistry. I
am very meticulous and intentional about my music. With that being said, I set out to
make an R&B album. Changes was and is an R&B album. It is not being
acknowledged as an R&B album which is very strange to me. I grew up admiring
R&B music and wished to make a project that would embody that sound. For this not
to be put in that category feels weird considering from the chords to the melodies to
the vocal style all the way down to the hip hop drums that were chosen, it is
undeniably, unmistakably an R&B album! To be clear, I absolutely love pop music; it
just wasn’t what I set out to make this time around. My gratitude for being respected
for my work remains and I am honored to be nominated either way.
146
Bieber’s fixation with his album’s placement in an R&B category epitomizes given his career-long
aspiration towards black masculinity. The Recording Academy’s consideration of Changes exemplifies
how Bieber has not escaped the label of the teen idol or “guilty pleasure” artist; to them, his work will
always be “pop.” Bieber’s semantic relation to “pop” as a genre and market remains steady and
unwavering due to his inability to detach himself from the mainstream. Even during his hiatus, Bieber
prevailed at the forefront of popular culture and media buzz. Bieber’s pop persona dictated that he was
never a musician working from the margins of society. He never attempted to deconstruct or recalibrate
normative, mainstream society in his music. Yet, Bieber feels he is haunted by his pop teen idol-ness and
“guilty pleasure” placement within the cultural discourse. As a result, Bieber did not truly appreciate the
great honor of multiple Grammy nominations, a distinction widely regarded as the highest honor a
musician can achieve.
146
Justin Bieber (@justinbieber), “To the Grammys, I am flattered to be acknowledged and appreciated for my
artistry. I am very meticulous and intentional about my music. With that being said, I set out to make an R&B
album. Changes was and is an R&B album…,” Instagram, November 24, 2020, https://www.instagram.com/p/CH-
84aNnnLK/.
91
Justice and Justin
In February 2021, Bieber announced the release of his forthcoming sixth studio album titled
Justice, which was released the next month. An interview with Rolling Stone provided Bieber’s statement
on the topical focus of “Justice,” later utilized as the caption of a promotional social media post for the
album. In his statement, Bieber shared that he hoped Justice would provide comfort to a “broken planet
[where] we all crave healing and justice for humanity.” Bieber also alluded to a desire to “continue the
conversation of what justice looks like.”
147
In the context of the year of 2021, largely characterized by
social upheaval, racial justice, and police brutality towards black Americans, many were interested to see
how Bieber would discuss racial injustice on Justice. Bieber’s collaborative history with black
songwriters and producers led many to wonder if on Justice, Bieber would use his voice to speak out
against the injustices faced by his friends and mentors. Earlier in the year, Bieber even admitted how
indebted he is to black culture for his continued success. However, Justice disappointed audiences who
were expecting a more self-aware, more racially conscious Bieber.
On Justice, Bieber continues his thematic thread of showering his wife in praise, even referencing
her as a heavenly, godly influence in his life. However, Justice also includes two clips of famous Martin
Luther King Jr. speeches. The album, despite the incorporation of these clips, fails to acknowledge the
immense suffering black Americans have historically endured, especially over the course of the last year,
though Bieber claimed that it would. At the start of the album, Bieber interpolates the famous quote by
Martin Luther King Jr., “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” before launching into a
saccharine love song called “2 Much.” The song does not return to Martin Luther King Jr.’s message of
justice, with a refrain that repeats:
Don’t wanna close my eyes, I’m scared I’ll miss too much
Don’t wanna fall asleep, I’d rather fall in love
When I can’t feel you, I feel out of touch
Two seconds without you’s like two months
Don’t wanna close my eyes, I’m scared I’ll miss too much
Don’t wanna fall asleep, I’d rather fall in love
147
Jon Blistein, “Justin Bieber Details New Album ‘Justice,’” Rolling Stone, Penske Media Corporation, published
February 26, 2021, https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/justin-bieber-new-album-justice-1134046/.
92
‘Cause eternity with you ain’t long enough
Two seconds without you’s like two months and that’s too much
The seventh track on the album, titled “MLK Interlude,” is a 1 minute and 44 second long clip of another
one of King’s speeches. Taken from a 1967 sermon titled “But If Not,” the core of King’s argument can
be best summarized by one of its most powerful lines: “if you have never found something so dear and so
precious to you that you will die for it, then you aren't fit to live.”
148
In his sermon, King passionately
expresses that being willing to die for a cause like racial justice should fill life with purpose. While
King’s speech remains inspiring and his message is vital for activists to recall in their own fights against
injustices, King’s civil rights work is not a focal point of Justice. Bieber’s choice to include these clips
produced significant backlash; many felt that Bieber’s use of King’s civil rights speeches served as
disingenuous attempts at political “wokeness.”
In addition to love songs about his wife, Justice documents Bieber’s struggles with loneliness
over the course of his career. But the album is unmistakably, completely about Bieber: his marriage, his
insecurities, his personal battles with drug addiction, and his isolating rise to fame. Though Martin Luther
King’s sister Bernice King approved Bieber’s use of the speeches, a revelation for many when she posted
on Twitter about Bieber’s album, many were disappointed with Bieber’s clouded judgment. To them,
Bieber included potent civil rights speeches amid an album about his own life, a life untouched by
prejudice. Specifically, the final line of “MLK Interlude” brought Bieber much online critique. In it, King,
overwhelmed with passion, says “you died when you refused to stand up for justice.” The produced track
on Bieber’s album fades as King utters his last word. Many believed that Bieber utilized this fade-out
effect purposely to make King sound like he said: “you died when you refused to stand up for Justin.”
Fueling even more outrage, the “MLK Interlude” fades into a song called “Die For You,” in which Bieber
sings that he would die for the woman he loves. The juxtaposition of King’s message – dying for his
148
“MLK Interlude – Justin Bieber Lyrics,” Genius, Genius, accessed March 24, 2021, https://genius.com/Justin-
bieber-mlk-interlude-lyrics.
93
cause – and Bieber’s – dying for his wife – angered many critics and mainstream listeners alike. In
Allison Stewart’s album review of Justice for The Washington Post, she asserts that
“Lonely,” a spare piano ballad co-written by Billie Eilish collaborator Finneas
O’Connell…contains some of Bieber’s finest, most filigreed vocal work. It casts an
unsparing eye on Bieber’s misspent youth, and those who trolled it: “Everybody saw
me sick/And it felt like no one gave a s---/They criticized the things I did as an idiot
kid.” It’s a transparent, and not undeserved, bid for the sort of retroactive sympathy
we’ve recently given Britney Spears, whose early ’00s struggles with mental health
and substance abuse, and the crushing weight of teen stardom, presaged the ones
Bieber would face less than a decade later. But “Justice” blatantly couches its pleas
for fairness in a racial framework it clearly has no interest in. The only justice Bieber
asks for is for himself.
149
Many agreed with Stewart’s assessment that Justice puts Bieber’s narcissism on full display. But Justice
also prods Bieber’s dynamic with black masculinity even further. In prior work, Bieber latched onto the
“coolness” of young black masculinity. But on Justice, he fantasizes about experiencing the trauma of
being black in America, as well. At the beginning of the music video for “Hold On,” one of the singles
from the album, police cars chase Bieber for an unknown reason at this point in the video. An intense
chase scene ensues, which leads him to be cornered by police. Then, the sound of a gunshot pierces
through the silence; the camera switches to a police officer who stands stoically, his gun drawn. Bieber
quickly flees the scene on his motorcycle and the song’s synth pattern begins. The video reveals that
Bieber’s love interest is incredibly ill and that Bieber has robbed a bank to be able to pay for her
medication. To give his partner the best chance of surviving, Bieber commits a crime that could send him
to jail. In a different context, this beginning scene could be interpreted as a high-speed car chase inspired
by an action movie. But Bieber’s release of Justice during such a tumultuous time in relation to police
brutality, coupled with the framing of his album cycle as a push for justice, begs for the video to be
interpreted differently and more deeply. It could be argued that in the video, Bieber plays the part of a
young black man experiencing a police confrontation. The scene, especially due to the policeman’s
drawing and firing of his gun, replicates many horrific encounters with the police that young black men
149
Allison Stewart, “What does ‘Justice’ mean to Justin Bieber?” The Washington Post, The Washington Post,
published March 23, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/justin-bieber-justice-
review/2021/03/22/848f37b2-8b52-11eb-a6bd-0eb91c03305a_story.html.
94
face. Bieber’s appropriation of the young black male experience in America could cause distress to black
Americans who may have a contentious relationship with the police. His performance in the video almost
seems to suggest that he could relate to this situation and feeling of peril, despite being incredibly
wealthy, successful, and white, an intersectional identity that in most cases, helps in confrontations with
the police. Though his video may reveal a desire to match the trending conversations of the year, Bieber
could have engaged with the issue from a peripheral perspective. Bieber could have used his platform and
public presence to act as a megaphone, elevating the voices of black Americans.
Overall, in striving to be cast in a post-teenybopper light, Bieber tries the black experience on as a
costume of sorts. He retains the ability to revisit his electronic pop bops and teen idol love ballads,
sideswept hair, and an adoring fanbase whenever he pleases. Bieber’s identity as a white, male, and
mainstream artist grants him security in America and success in the music industry. Bieber makes no
claim or effort to fight against systems of hierarchy in his music or persona, so despite his best efforts, he
continues to be perceived as synonymous with the mainstream. Bieber’s privilege allows him to move
between teenybopper pop and black styles of expression whenever one seems to benefit him more. In this
way, Bieber demonstrates how acutely aware he is of how his placement as a “teenybopper” and a “guilty
pleasure” artist benefits and constrains him simultaneously.
Escaping and Graduating From “Guilty Pleasure”
Thus far, I have described the lengths to which One Direction and Justin Bieber, as examples of
some of the archetypal guilty pleasures of the twenty-first century, have attempted to recast themselves in
the broader musical landscape. By heavily drawing upon styles like heavy rock and R&B/hip hop, they
hope to attain a sort of mature status in critical and scholarly discourse. Instead, their music and presence
reveals a deep-seated anxiety over their respective expressions of masculinity. Additionally, the musical
trajectory of One Direction and Bieber’s careers exhibits the fraught relationship between men and their
ability to access and appreciate femininity, whether it be their own feminine side or entertainment situated
as “feminine.” I have detailed how in both cases, the music and persona created out of such masculine
95
panic could isolate their original audiences of young female fans and demean their tastes as lesser. In
Bieber’s case, his appropriation could also isolate black fans. I have laid out the critical and aesthetic
problem of value as a barrier for these “guilty pleasure” artists, as well as how the label of “teenybopper”
and “guilty pleasure” has indeed been helpful to them. Being a teen pop artist whose work is “guilty
pleasure” can constrain their musical expression, while also benefitting them in terms of fame and
financial success.
A group or artist whose work is labelled as “guilty pleasure” rarely escapes or graduates from
their categorization to reach critical and scholarly acclaim. However, there are a few that have
successfully changed the narrative surrounding them and their music. Though The Beatles hold a sacred
place in the history of rock and roll today, they are also recognized as the first true boy band or proto-boy
band.
150
Between their rabid young female fan base and uncomplicated, catchy songs about boy-girl
romance, their tenure as “teenyboppers” brought them ruthless reviews as well, especially when they first
came to the U.S. and crossed over from a British group to a global phenomenon. William F. Buckley Jr.’s
1964 article in The Boston Globe called them “so unbelievably horribly, so appallingly unmusical, so
dogmatically insensitive to the magic of the art that they qualify as crowned heads of anti-music, even as
the imposter popes went down in history as “anti-popes.”
151
The February 1964 edition of Science
Newsletter boasted a statement that seems absurd now:
The Beatles follow a line of glamorous figures who aroused passionate cries and deep
swoons. Most prominent in the 1940s was Frank Sinatra and in the 1950s Elvis
Presley. Their glory passed when they got too old to be teenagers’ idols or when
teenagers got too old to need them. The same, it is predicted, will happen to the
Beatles.
152
George McKinnon advised his readers in his Boston Globe article that “if you don’t think about [The
Beatles,] they will go away…so now it’s ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ and ‘yeah, yeah, yeah’ [but] the
150
See also, Ehrenreich, Hess, and Jacobs, “Beatlemania.”
151
Cary Schneider, “What the critics wrote about the Beatles in 1964,” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times,
published February 9, 2014, https://www.latimes.com/opinion/la-xpm-2014-feb-09-la-oe-beatles-quotes-20140209-
story.html.
152
Ibid.
96
disease is at the height of its virulence [and] the fever will subside…the victims may receive immunity for
life from fads.”
153
However, as we know today, The Beatles became anything but a simple fad, their
impact still palpable in popular music. Their revolutionary recording techniques, Indian musical
influence, and personal evolution – from boyish mop-top haircuts to shoulder-length hair and beards –
only made the so-called fever rise among scholars, critics, and those diagnosed with “Beatlemania.”
Surely, time softened this harsh critical reception to The Beatles. But their transition from “guilty” to
“guilt-free” was also significantly impacted by albums like Revolver, Rubber Soul, and Sgt. Pepper’s
Lonely Hearts Club that rewrote the narrative surrounding The Beatles. Today, they are recognized as
having a lucrative career and music worthy of serious engagement and critical acclaim.
The Beatles’ path raises a pertinent question: will time make, or rather, reveal, One Direction and
Justin Bieber’s music to be worthy of serious engagement? A critical reclamation of One Direction and
Bieber in the future is certainly a possibility. However, currently, Harry Styles’ progressing career post-
One Direction may be revising his singular narrative in real time.
The Harry Styles Question
One Direction’s indefinite hiatus sparked solo careers from all five members that are worth
inspecting as I am attempting to answer the question of how one musically escapes from a “guilty
pleasure” label. In a post-One Direction pop landscape, each member released vastly different music,
foreshadowed by their disparate musical inspirations at the start of their careers. Malik’s departure from
the group, prior to the hiatus, led him to make R&B-infused pop. His first single post-One Direction
“PILLOWTALK” [sic] reached immense popularity in 2016; its sultry lyrics were grounds for many to
call the song emblematic of Malik’s next phase. Determined to break free of the shackles of his boy band
image, “the sultry R&B slow-jam [offered] a lot of what you wouldn’t find in a One Direction video:
naked women [and] references to [Malik’s] sex life…like male pop stars with a teen past, [Malik] is in
153
Ibid.
97
that phase where he wants you to know that he has loud, neighbor-waking sex and uses the F-word.”
154
Payne followed in a similar path, with his first solo single titled “Strip That Down,” a club hit where
Payne sarcastically quips “you know I used to be in 1D, now I’m free.” Tomlinson’s long-awaited debut
album came in 2020, with only a smattering of singles arriving before, all of which sound borrowed from
Oasis. Horan clung more closely to his One Direction past on his 2017 debut release Flicker with soft
rock love songs and mid-tempo pop ballads. Each member quickly achieved chart popularity, but none of
their solo work widely impressed critics and scholars. Styles’ direction, however, is an anomaly out of the
band.
Jamieson Cox’s Pitchfork review of Styles’ self-titled debut album summarizes the critical appeal
of his burgeoning solo career in 2017.
If you only know one thing about Harry Styles, it’s probably that the album bucks the
established trends governing bids for young male solo pop stardom. Styles is
uninterested in walking the trail blazed 15 years ago by Justin Timberlake’s Justified,
the one along which young male stars signal their newfound maturity by embracing
hip-hop, R&B, and overt libidinousness (c.f. Justin Bieber, Nick Jonas, Zayn Malik).
He doesn’t seem to care for the Sheeranesque stadium-folk being churned out by One
Direction bandmate Niall Horan, either. Instead, Harry Styles wants to be a rock star
— your father’s rock star, or maybe even your grandparents’ rock star… Styles’ debut
isn’t subject to the same pressures that defined late-period One Direction, and its
songs don’t need to hold up over a year-long stadium tour.
155
Such songs include Styles’ “Sweet Creature,” which is favorably called his very own “Blackbird” by Cox,
referring to the seminal acoustic ballad by The Beatles.
156
The album’s lead single “Sign of The Times”
also locates David Bowie as a key sonic influence. As Amy Roberts wrote for Bustle, “Sign of The
Times” and Bowie’s “Life on Mars” share a “build up from their tender piano beginnings into a brash,
sweeping drama…both songs are [also] punctuated by an impassioned closing vocal.”
157
The nearly six-
154
Nolan Feeney, “Watch Zayn Malik’s Steamy Video for Solo Debut ‘Pillowtalk,’” Time Magazine, Time USA,
published January 29, 2016, https://time.com/4199569/zayn-malik-pillowtalk-video-gigi-hadid/.
155
Jamieson Cox, “Harry Styles, Harry Styles,” Pitchfork, Conde Nast, published May 16, 2017,
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/23204-harry-styles/.
156
Ibid.
157
Amy Roberts, “David Bowie Is A Crucial Influence on “Sign Of The Times,” Bustle, Bustle Digital Group,
published April 7, 2017, https://www.bustle.com/p/the-david-bowie-influence-on-harry-styles-sign-of-the-times-
shows-his-ambition-as-artist-49751.
98
minute long ballad rejects the confines of two to three-minutes, the typical duration of contemporary pop
songs. On “Sign of The Times,” Styles is unbothered by the norms and constraints of contemporary pop
radio in the late 2010s. In fact, with the exception of his “reliance on trite depictions of wild
women…[Styles] seems otherwise unbothered by the demands of traditional masculinity.”
158
In this era,
he shrugs off the rumors surrounding a possible romance with his ex-bandmate Tomlinson and questions
about his sexuality, telling interviewers that he does not feel the need to label his sexuality nor explain it
to others.
159
Styles explored such fluidity further in his fashion in the years following One Direction’s
split, often proudly wearing brightly colored and patterned menswear reminiscent of rock stars like
Prince, Elton John, and Bowie. This time, the pop star’s aesthetic choices were not viewed by the public
as mere costuming or appropriation. Rather, it seemed that for Styles, breaking free of the rigidity of the
boy band structure allowed him to pursue a persona more authentic to him, one that did not need to
overcompensate with excessive libido or disavowal of his teen pop past.
Instead, Styles was skillful in his ascent to solo stardom. Styles’ 2017 profile in Rolling Stone by
esteemed music journalist Cameron Crowe embodied his approach. His collaborator and main producer
Jeff Bhasker, credited with production for Kanye West’s iconic My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
among many other impressive feats, said that their collaboration “made [him] realize the Harry [in One
Direction] is kind of the digitized Harry. Almost like a character.” Bhasker continued, saying “I don’t
think people know a lot of the sides of him that are on this album. You put it on and people are like, this
is Harry Styles?”
160
This “digitized Harry” appears as distinct from the honest, vulnerable “real Harry”
that his solo career gave him the opportunity to pursue. However, Styles never discounted his boy band
past while rising as a star in his own right, careful to express gratitude for One Direction and his original
fans. In the same Rolling Stone article, Crowe writes that
158
Cox, “Harry Styles,” Pitchfork.
159
Brittney McNamara, “Harry Styles Says He Doesn’t Label His Sexuality,” Teen Vogue, Conde Nast, published
May 15, 2017, https://www.teenvogue.com/story/harry-styles-does-not-label-sexuality.
160
Cameron Crowe, “Harry Styles’ New Direction,” Rolling Stone, Penske Media Corporation, published April 18,
2017, https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/harry-styles-new-direction-119432/.
99
Styles is aware that his largest audience so far has been young – often teenage –
women. Asked if he spends pressure-filled evenings worried about proving credibility
to an older crowd, Styles grows animated. “Who’s to say that young girls who like
pop music – short for popular, right? – have worse musical taste than a 30-year-old
hipster guy? That’s not up to you to say. Music is something that’s always changing.
There’s no goal posts. Young girls like the Beatles. You gonna tell me they’re not
serious? How can you say young girls don’t get it? They’re our future. Our future
doctors, lawyers, mothers, presidents, they kind of keep the world going. Teenage-girl
fans – they don’t lie. If they like you, they’re there. They don’t act ‘too cool.’ They
like you, and they tell you. Which is sick.”
161
The approach Styles takes in this Rolling Stone profile largely characterizes his solo persona. Cool, calm
and collected, in his solo form, Styles does not panic over being misrepresented or perceived in an
“unflattering” way to his musicality or masculinity. The passionate endorsement from Stevie Nicks and
Mick Fleetwood, who became Styles’ pen pal, also assisted in Styles’ transition to a serious solo star.
Nicks performed with Styles on his debut international tour, while Styles joined Fleetwood Mac onstage
after they received the honor of MusiCares’ “Person of the Year” to perform their classic “The Chain.” In
2019, Nicks lovingly called Styles the son she never had, while Styles introduced Nicks at her induction
into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, an achievement Styles likely dreams of attaining one day. The same
year named Styles a style icon as he co-chaired the 2019 Met Gala alongside Lady Gaga, Serena
Williams, and Alessandro Michele, the creative director of Gucci. Dressing for the camp theme, Harry
Lambert, Styles’ stylist, noted that his look was tailor-made to Styles’ personality, “taking traditionally
feminine elements like the frills, heeled boots, sheer fabric, and the pearl earring, but then rephrasing
them as masculine pieces set against [his] high-waisted tailored trousers and his tattoos.” This elevation,
from mere boy band member to global icon and public figure, further facilitated Styles’ recasting as a
new, serious artist.
However, in 2021, Styles received the ultimate stamp of musical approval: the Grammy award for
Best Pop Solo Performance for “Watermelon Sugar,” a single off his sophomore release Fine Line. Funky
guitar licks, intricate chord progressions, and more vulnerable, mature lyrical content defined Fine Line as
Styles’ best work to date according to many critics. In 2021, the Recording Academy nominated Styles
161
Ibid.
100
for Best Music Video, Best Pop Vocal Album, and Best Pop Solo Performance, demonstrating even their
approval of Styles’ forging his own path. Critics have also taken an interest in Styles as an “old soul” rock
star due to actions like Styles’ quest to get in touch with Joellen Lapidus, the woman who built the
dulcimer Joni Mitchell famously plays throughout her renowned Blue. Lapidus gave Styles his first
dulcimer lesson and Styles plays the instrument on “Canyon Moon,” a song from Fine Line that makes
direct sonic reference to the 60s and Mitchell’s Southern California folk.
162
From events like the 2019 Met Gala, Styles’ star power has become undeniable in the pop culture
landscape. But winning a Grammy – music’s highest, most prestigious award – arguably constitutes a
successful escape from a “guilty pleasure” status, especially when his ex-bandmates have not been
recognized in such a way. Despite their reign as the biggest band of the 2010s, One Direction received
neither a Grammy award, nor a nomination. To that end, Styles has been able to effectively shift his
narrative by casting One Direction as a project that he did in the past or a mere phase of his. Now, as an
“established,” “serious” artist, Styles has been granted the ability to recalibrate and categorize any future
reinventions as part of a larger artistic journey that requires him to evolve.
Moving From “Guilty” to “Guilt-free”
My work aims to convey how fruitful and significant it is to investigate artists whose work has
been brushed aside, mocked, and refrained from discussing through a critical or scholarly lens. Through
an expansive discussion about the way musical choices can function as messaging, I argue for a critical
terrain wherein guilt is absent and replaced with unabashed fervor to discuss our pleasures and joys, no
matter their placement in a “good music” or “bad music” dichotomy. My work strives to demonstrate how
a label like “guilty pleasure” permeates the songwriting process and shapes one’s artistic pursuits.
162
Rob Sheffield, “Harry Styles Reveals the Secrets Behind ‘Fine Line,’” Rolling Stone, Penske Media Corporation,
published December 19, 2019, https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/harry-styles-secrets-of-fine-line-
926657/.
101
In closing, I would like to draw attention to another pop star, Taylor Swift, and her latest move to
re-record the vast majority of her catalog due to the loss of her master recordings. While this is mostly
regarded as a business decision, Swift’s re-recordings also provide a hopeful glimpse into a potentially
guilt-free future. On her first re-recorded album named Fearless (Taylor’s Version), Swift, with the
exception of a matured voice that obscures past voice cracks, creates an almost identical replica of the
Fearless that shot her to global fame in 2008. She also includes re-recordings of previously unreleased
songs that were cut from the final issuing of Fearless in 2008, keeping her lyrics and melodies intact from
when they were written. In doing so, she retreats from past declarations of “the old Taylor is dead” and
instead reclaims her past. Despite being known for her album-to-album shifts in persona, Swift’s deeply
personal songwriting has given her a continuity of self in relation to her music and her role in the music
industry. In this latest project, she effectively makes the case that her younger, more naïve self still holds
an important place in the cultural discourse. Swift declares that there should be no shame in who we once
were and what we enjoyed before we “knew better.”
102
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