Recession pop

File:Lehman Brothers Times Square by David Shankbone.jpg (headquarters pictured), the fourth-largest U.S. investment bank, on September 15, 2008, is often considered the climax of the 2008 financial crisis.]]

The term "recession pop" first gained prominence during the Great Recession and 2008 financial crash, a global financial crisis that significantly impacted economies worldwide. As individuals and communities grappled with unemployment, housing instability, and financial insecurity, popular music began to reflect these changes. Artists crafted songs characterized by a danceable sound and an emphasis on nightlife and partying, providing a sense of escapism, while others focused on themes of survival, frustration, sadness, and hope, often wrapped in an optimistic message{{Cite web |last=msuclass |date=2023-07-06 |title=Recession Pop: Dancing Through The Pain - The Current |url=https://thecurrentmsu.com/2023/07/06/recession-pop-dancing-through-the-pain/ |access-date=2025-06-25 |website=thecurrentmsu.com |language=en-US}}.

Music journalists noted the popularity of dance tracks, particularly those with narratives about clubbing and feeling positive during hard times, in pop music in the early 2010s being seen as a response to the 2007–2008 financial crisis or 2012 phenomenon, with the colloquial term "recession pop" used to define the popular songs of this decade.{{Cite web |last=Slater |first=Bailey |title=Dance Music Saves Us From The Exhausting Business Of 21st-Century Living |url=https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/dance-music-recession-financial-hardship |access-date=2025-06-25 |website=www.refinery29.com |language=en-GB}}

The Guardian stated that times of economic downturn or global recessions were categorized by an influx of upbeat, fun and happy dance-pop music: "[...] when Pitbull and Kesha were massive – whenever there’s a recession, people party way more. If anyone wants to play a fun song, it’s usually from 2008."{{Cite news |last=Williams |first=Zoe |date=2024-07-16 |title=Brat summer: is the long era of clean living finally over? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/article/2024/jul/16/brat-summer-is-the-long-era-of-clean-living-finally-over |access-date=2025-06-25 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} Additionally, Vice described recession pop songs as "meant to be screamed along to, danced to, used as a soundtrack to a chaotic night out. To be a recession banger means to offer your listeners a place of escape within your music, turning every party into an extravagant, maximalist club experience even if you’re broke."{{Cite web |last=Jackson |first=Gita |date=2022-08-04 |title=Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’ Has Brought Back the Recession Banger |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/beyonces-renaissance-has-brought-back-the-recession-banger/ |access-date=2025-06-25 |website=VICE |language=en-US}}

Some music critics argue that the genre reflects popular culture, music, and art during times of economic downturns drawing parallels between the Great Depression and the rise of swing and big band music in the 1920s-30s.{{Cite web |title=Why is recession pop so damn good? {{!}} Ensemble Magazine |url=https://www.ensemblemagazine.co.nz/articles/recession-pop-music |access-date=2025-06-25 |website=www.ensemblemagazine.co.nz}}

Recession pop is characterized by its upbeat, infectious melodies as well as a party-laden, anthemic danceable sound. Features such as the use of the "Millennial whoop", a vocal pattern that became popular in 2010s pop music, are also prominent.{{Cite news |last=Haynes |first=Gavin |date=2016-08-30 |title=The Millennial Whoop: the melodic hook that’s taken over pop music |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/shortcuts/2016/aug/30/millennial-whoop-pop-music |access-date=2025-06-27 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} The genre frequently mixes elements of electronic dance music with synth-pop and electropop's heavy reliance on shimmering synthesizers, danceable beats, and lush production reminiscent of 1980s pop aesthetics. The genre is also primarily led by female artists and celebrates empowerment, optimism, and resilience.{{Cite news |last=Snapes |first=Laura |date=2019-11-25 |title=New rules: the destruction of the female pop role model |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/nov/25/destruction-of-female-pop-role-model-decade-in-music |access-date=2025-06-27 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

Artists such as Sam Smith and Chappell Roan explored queer identity, with writers illustrating the parallels between queer pop and recession pop stating that "recession pop tended to be adopted by queer communities in hindsight."{{Cite web |last=Roberti |first=Isabella |date=2024-09-23 |title=Why Pop Music is Thriving Again |url=https://www.mcgilldaily.com/2024/09/why-pop-music-is-thriving-again/ |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=The McGill Daily |language=en-US}} Other central themes of the genre include consumerism, drinking, sexuality, materialism, escapism, partying, and hedonism.{{Cite web |last=Roberti |first=Isabella |date=2024-09-23 |title=Why Pop Music is Thriving Again |url=https://www.mcgilldaily.com/2024/09/why-pop-music-is-thriving-again/ |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=The McGill Daily |language=en-US}}

Additionally, the music often reflects the economic and emotional instability of its time, with introspective, socially conscious, or melancholic lyrics as seen in the music of Adele and Lana Del Rey, reflecting the tension capturing the cultural zeitgeist of financial crises and social uncertainty, while maintaining a polished, accessible sound that appeals to mainstream audiences.{{Cite web |last=e1355096 |date=2024-11-03 |title=Pure Risk Partying: The History Of Recession Pop |url=https://www.nus-cnm.com/post/pure-risk-partying-the-history-of-recession-pop |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=NUS CNM Society |language=en}}

Notable examples of recession pop songs include "I Gotta Feeling" (2009) by the Black Eyed Peas and "Teenage Dream" (2010) by Katy Perry.{{cite web |last=Lee |first=Ryanna |date=February 23, 2025 |title=Recession pop is back: Three recession pop songs to check out in 2025 |url=https://www.hercampus.com/school/mizzou/recession-pop-is-back-three-recession-pop-songs-to-check-out-in-2025/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250426092437/https://www.hercampus.com/school/mizzou/recession-pop-is-back-three-recession-pop-songs-to-check-out-in-2025/ |archive-date=April 26, 2025 |access-date=March 3, 2025 |website=Her Campus}}{{cite magazine |last=Lloyd |first=Kitty |date=August 23, 2024 |title=Why is recession pop so damn good? |url=https://www.ensemblemagazine.co.nz/articles/recession-pop-music |access-date=April 18, 2025 |website=Ensemble}}{{Cite web |last=Wang |first=Steffanee |last2=Renshaw |first2=David |date=April 16, 2025 |title=The 10 essential songs of recession pop |url=https://www.thefader.com/2025/04/16/what-is-recession-pop-songs-meaning-playlist |access-date=2025-06-23 |website=The Fader |language=en}} The rise of recession pop is argued to be the response of the musical industry to the decreased state of general consumer spending wrought by the Great Recession. Record labels translated parallelly to cable networks in this era, with music channels such as MTV branding this new sound directly to consumers inflicted by economic hardship. This hence gave rise to a new generation of performers typified with high energy compositions and showmanship. Through this phenomenon, prominent artists during this era grew to stardom through chart-topping anthems considered as major contributors to recession pop such as Lady Gaga, Kesha, and Katy Perry.{{cite news |last=Capraro |first=Julia |date=April 1, 2025 |title=The 'recession pop' revival is a nostalgia myth |url=https://thesuffolkjournal.com/47294/ac/music/the-recession-pop-revival-is-a-nostalgia-myth/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250402220300/https://thesuffolkjournal.com/47294/ac/music/the-recession-pop-revival-is-a-nostalgia-myth/ |archive-date=April 2, 2025 |access-date=April 8, 2025 |newspaper=The Suffolk Journal}}

File:Gaga on Fame Ball1-edit.jpg performing during the Fame Ball Tour in March 2009.]]During the late 2000s, the decline of traditional genres like rock music, and the rise of electronic and pop-centric sounds, created a fertile ground for recession pop to emerge. The death of rock music's popularity{{Cite web |date=2018-06-14 |title=Rock Is Dead, Thank God |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/rock-is-dead-thank-god/ |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=VICE |language=en-US}} on the Billboard charts coincided with the enormous rise of pop artists like Taylor Swift{{Cite news |last=Gormely |first=Ian |date=2014-12-03 |title=Taylor Swift leads poptimism’s rebirth |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/dec/03/taylor-swift-poptimism |access-date=2025-06-27 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}, signaling a new era of music criticism that favored poptimism over previously heralded rockism. Poptimism argues that pop music can be as emotionally and socially significant as genres like rock or classical music. Around this time, publications like Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, and Vice began reviewing and celebrating pop music with the same rigor and seriousness traditionally reserved for indie or rock genres. Music critics increasingly challenged the rock-centric lens of traditional criticism.{{Cite web |last=Johnston |first=Maura |date=2014-04-09 |title=The New York Times Doesn't Know Shit About "Poptimism" |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-new-york-times-sucks-poptimism/ |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=VICE |language=en-US}}

Lady Gaga released her debut album The Fame shortly after the 2008 financial crisis, while her lead single "Just Dance" implored listeners to "just dance / it's gonna be okay."{{Cite web |title=(Post) Recession Pop |url=https://muse-magazine.com/music-articles/xoq6ey0fvjwjumt41fadz7gpph7lp9 |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=MUSE Magazine |language=en-CA}} Artists such as Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Madonna, Kesha, Christina Aguilera, Miley Cyrus, Usher, David Guetta, Pitbull, and Rihanna also began releasing dance-pop and club party anthems in the aftermath of the financial crisis.{{Cite web |last=Aultman |first=Elise |date=2024-09-03 |title=Recession Pop As Escapism {{!}} Desis: Senior Thesis |url=https://desis.osu.edu/seniorthesis/index.php/2024/09/03/recession-pop-is-it-escapism-nostalgia/ |access-date=2025-06-27 |language=en-US}}

The term "recession pop" first appeared in a 2009 Irish Independent article on the effects of an economic downturn in Ireland on popular music. The article featured an interview with singer Lady Gaga, who agreed with the article's observations.{{cite news |date=March 5, 2009 |title=Recession pop |url=https://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/recession-pop/26518792.html |access-date=April 28, 2025 |newspaper=Irish Independent |publisher=Mediahuis Ireland}} The Fame (2008) was credited for its synth-pop songfulness satirizing the Great Recession,{{cite web |last=Casino |first=Katrina |date=September 27, 2009 |title=U.S. goes 'Gaga' over pop stars |url=https://www.theeagleonline.com/article/2009/09/u-s-goes-gaga-over-pop-stars |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200906215210/https://www.theeagleonline.com/article/2009/09/u-s-goes-gaga-over-pop-stars |archive-date=September 6, 2020 |access-date=March 23, 2025 |website=Eagle Online}} citing: "Poker Face" inspired by gambling,{{cite web |last=McKay |first=Hollie |date=May 22, 2009 |title=Lady Gaga opens up about her preference for boys that look like girls |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/lady-gaga-opens-up-about-her-preference-for-boys-that-look-like-girls |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090524214330/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0%2C2933%2C521190%2C00.html |archive-date=May 24, 2009 |access-date=April 28, 2009 |publisher=Fox News Channel}} with "LoveGame" receiving sexual attention at a nightclub,{{cite magazine |last=Scaggs |first=Austin |date=February 19, 2009 |title=Lady Gaga worships queen and refuses to wear pants |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/lady-gaga-worships-queen-and-refuses-to-wear-pants-20090219 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130202010421/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/lady-gaga-worships-queen-and-refuses-to-wear-pants-20090219 |archive-date=February 2, 2013 |access-date=January 7, 2018 |magazine=Rolling Stone |publisher=Penske Media Corporation}} and "Just Dance" as a joyous-themed song appealing people going through tough times in their life.{{cite web |last=Melia |first=Daniel |date=April 15, 2009 |title=Lady Gaga: "Just Dance" took 10 minutes to write |url=https://www.gigwise.com/news/50460/lady-gaga-just-dance-took-10-minutes-to-write/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |website=Gigwise}} The term was once used again in a 2012 Pitchfork article highlighting various singers and producers who left or had been dropped from their record labels, deeming them as independent musicians who were set to enter the mainstream media.{{cite web |last=Battan |first=Carrie |date=October 31, 2012 |title=A small pop |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/article/8981-a-small-pop/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181031052839/https://pitchfork.com/features/article/8981-a-small-pop/ |archive-date=October 31, 2018 |access-date=December 12, 2024 |website=Pitchfork |publisher=Condé Nast}}

A precursor to the term in hip-hop was The Recession (2008), an album from rapper Jeezy that referenced the Great Recession in the United States. It became a political message in support for the 2008 presidential campaign for Barack Obama.{{cite news |title=Obama hip-hop: From mixtapes to mainstream |url=https://www.npr.org/2008/11/07/96748462/obama-hip-hop-from-mixtapes-to-mainstream |date=November 7, 2008 |access-date=April 28, 2025 |publisher=National Public Radio }}

The 2010s, similarly to the late 2000s, saw strong electronic influences present within dance-pop; there was also a strong emphasis on bass-heavy drum beats. Newer recording artists such as Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Rita Ora, and Dua Lipa joined the dance-pop charts within the decade. Poptimism played a role in elevating the critical status of artists associated with recession pop. For instance, Charli XCX, Robyn, and Lana Del Rey, who might once have been relegated to the realm of simply being "mainstream pop," were now being celebrated for their artistry and innovation.{{Cite web |last=Quietus |first=The |date=2017-05-11 |title=Is Poptimism Now As Blinkered As The Rockism It Replaced? |url=https://thequietus.com/opinion-and-essays/black-sky-thinking/rockism-poptimism/ |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=The Quietus |language=en-GB}}

In the late 2010s, recession pop started to lose popularity as mainstream pop artists such as Taylor Swift began moving away from danceable club songs in favor of more laid-back folk albums. Subsequently, artists like Harry Styles and Justin Bieber—whose music had previously been described as "generally lively"—were now releasing songs that were described by Vice as "not meant for the club," signaling a cultural shift in pop music toward a more downbeat trend.{{Cite web |last=Jackson |first=Gita |date=2022-08-04 |title=Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’ Has Brought Back the Recession Banger |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/beyonces-renaissance-has-brought-back-the-recession-banger/ |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=VICE |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Delahunt |first=Ruby |date=2024-07-19 |title=The return of recession pop: should we be worried? - Wits Vuvuzela |url=https://witsvuvuzela.com/2024/07/19/the-return-of-recession-pop-should-we-be-worried/ |access-date=2025-06-27 |language=en-US}} The decline of recession pop can also be linked to the growing rise of hip hop music in the mid-to-late 2010s, as it became the most popular genre in the United States.{{Cite news |last=Presse |first=Agence France |date=2018-01-05 |title=Hip-hop and R&B overtake rock as biggest music genre in US |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/jan/05/hip-hop-and-rb-overtake-rock-as-biggest-music-genre-in-us |access-date=2025-06-27 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite news |date=2020-01-11 |title=Five ways music changed in the 2010s |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-51061099 |access-date=2025-06-27 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |last=Galioto |first=Erin |date=2024-09-06 |title=Recession Pop Is Back And Better Than Ever – |url=https://thezillennialzine.com/2024/09/06/recession-pop/ |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=thezillennialzine.com |language=en-US}}

File:CharliXCXBirm291124 (117 of 145) (54180172805) (cropped).jpg performing during the Brat Tour in November 2024.]]Amidst the early 2020s COVID-19 pandemic and global lockdowns, the dance-pop music of the recession pop era began to experience a revival.{{Cite web |last=Kingsmore |first=Victoria |date=2024-07-24 |title=Is Recession Pop Back in 2024? |url=https://www.uiargonaut.com/2024/07/24/is-recession-pop-back-in-2024/ |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=The Argonaut |language=en-US}} The economic instability, widespread unemployment, and social isolation caused by the pandemic created a cultural climate reminiscent of the Great Recession. Artists such as Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, and Charli XCX are credited as the main innovators in this new wave of recession pop.{{Cite web |last=Dazed |date=2024-07-16 |title=Recession pop is making a comeback |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/63132/1/is-recession-pop-making-a-comeback-kesha-charli-xcx |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Dazed |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Parks |first=Trenedy |title=“Recession Pop” is back and I love it |url=https://theflorala.com/16500/opinion/recession-pop-is-back-and-i-love-it/ |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=The Flor-Ala}} Other notable artists, such as Kesha with her single "Joyride" and Beyoncé, who with her album Renaissance, have helped revive the recession pop sound.{{Cite web |last=Jackson |first=Gita |date=2022-08-04 |title=Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’ Has Brought Back the Recession Banger |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/beyonces-renaissance-has-brought-back-the-recession-banger/ |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=VICE |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Bowser |first=Ellen |date=2024-09-04 |title=Recession Pop Takeover: As inflation rates and discussions of a recession heighten, the music scene is already seeing a rise of upbeat pop. |url=https://smeharbinger.net/recession-pop-takeover-as-inflation-rates-and-discussions-of-a-recession-heighten-the-music-scene-is-already-seeing-a-rise-of-upbeat-pop/ |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=The Harbinger Online |language=en-US}} "Recession pop" gained widespread recognition in 2024 after going viral on TikTok. In July 2024, interest in "recession pop" peaked, with Google searches reaching an all-time high.

Dazed stated that Chappell Roan's debut album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess was responsible for “bringing [this] element of capitalism’s hardships and discrimination [to dance music] by discussing its depressive symptoms rather than its roots.”{{Cite web |last=Dazed |date=2024-07-16 |title=Recession pop is making a comeback |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/63132/1/is-recession-pop-making-a-comeback-kesha-charli-xcx |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Dazed |language=en}}

Charli XCX, known as one of the leading artists in the hyperpop movement, contributed significantly to the recession pop revival with her 2020 album How I'm Feeling Now, which was written and recorded during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Sabrina Carpenter's work explored themes of self-discovery and navigating personal crises, while Chappell Roan's music infused elements of queer identity and empowerment into the genre's framework.{{Cite web |last=Leuven |first=Ella Van |date=2024-08-23 |title=Outrageous loans and Chappell Roan: Recession pop is back |url=https://arbiteronline.com/2024/08/23/recession-pop/ |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=The Arbiter |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Why Recession Pop Is Hot—Even When It's Not a Recession {{!}} Berklee |url=https://www.berklee.edu/berklee-now/news/recession-pop-playlist |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=www.berklee.edu |language=en}}

The Guardian credited Charli XCX's album Brat, with its hedonistic and party-laden sound, as contributing to popularizing the resurgence of recession pop. The "Brat summer" social media trend further helped promote the album. Subsequently, music critics have also suggested that the rise of upbeat, danceable pop music post-COVID may be signaling an impending economic downturn into the late 2020s.{{Cite web |date=2024-09-16 |title='Recession pop': Can great music signal an economic downturn? |url=https://san.com/cc/recession-pop-can-great-music-signal-an-economic-downturn/ |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Straight Arrow News |language=en-US}}

Vice outlined the term "recession banger" in a 2022 article by connecting viral dances and catchy lyricism from electronic dance music (EDM), which was derived from dance-pop in the late 1980s, and embraced dubstep in the early 2000s. The article applied the term to the album Renaissance (2022) by singer Beyoncé, which was inspired by the Ballroom scene and clubbing culture during the economic downturns in the 1970s.{{cite magazine |last=Jackson |first=Gita |title=Beyoncé's Renaissance has brought back the recession banger |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/beyonces-renaissance-has-brought-back-the-recession-banger/ |date=August 4, 2022 |access-date=April 23, 2025 |magazine=Vice |publisher=Vice Media }} Canadian singer Carly Rae Jepsen endeavored to recreate the informal term in her 2022 song "The Loneliest Time" but was criticized by student newspaper the Brown Daily Herald by imperfecting "to replicate the club elements of 2010s pop music" for the album of the same name.{{cite news |last=Nadirashvili |first=Alex |title=Carly Rae Jepsen's The Loneliest Time delivers soulless tunes dependent on nostalgia |url=https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2022/10/carly-rae-jepsens-the-loneliest-time-delivers-soulless-tunes-dependent-on-nostalgia |date=October 24, 2024 |access-date=March 13, 2025 |newspaper=The Brown Daily Herald |archive-date=March 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240302221601/https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2022/10/carly-rae-jepsens-the-loneliest-time-delivers-soulless-tunes-dependent-on-nostalgia |url-status=live }}

The commercial success of The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess (2023) and Brat (2024) marked career breakthroughs for singers Chappell Roan and Charli XCX.{{cite magazine |last=Bennett |first=Olivia J. |title=Recession pop is making a comeback |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/63132/1/is-recession-pop-making-a-comeback-kesha-charli-xcx |date=July 16, 2024 |access-date=December 24, 2024 |magazine=Dazed |archive-date=July 17, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240717001736/https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/63132/1/is-recession-pop-making-a-comeback-kesha-charli-xcx |url-status=live }} This made recession pop gain widespread recognition as retrospective nostalgia in 2024 through the social media platform TikTok. CNBC reported how the term provided a sense of optimism and escapism as the Great Recession took unemployment and inflation surging globally in 2008, notably in the United States and most Western countries.{{cite news |last1=Dickler |first1=Jessica |last2=Solá |first2=Ana Teresa |title='Recession pop' is in: Why so many listeners are returning to music from darker economic times |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/21/recession-pop-explained-how-music-collides-with-economic-trends.html |date=July 21, 2024 |access-date=January 28, 2025 |publisher=CNBC |archive-date=January 26, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250126121007/https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/21/recession-pop-explained-how-music-collides-with-economic-trends.html |url-status=live }} Katy Perry's 2024 single "Woman's World",{{Cite web |last=Hill |first=Jonquilyn |date=2025-06-11 |title=Can pop music actually predict a recession? |url=https://www.vox.com/explain-it-to-me/415734/recession-pop-katy-perry-economic-indicator-kesha |access-date=2025-06-23 |website=Vox |language=en-US}}{{cite web |date=July 18, 2024 |title=Katy Perry: every single ranked in order of greatness |url=https://www.nme.com/features/music-features/katy-perry-every-single-ranked-3776044 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240804121304/https://www.nme.com/features/music-features/katy-perry-every-single-ranked-3776044 |archive-date=August 4, 2024 |access-date=August 13, 2024 |website=NME}} Kesha and T-Pain's 2025 single "Yippee-Ki-Yay",{{Cite web |last=Balao |first=Neia |date=2025-03-28 |title=What is 'recession pop' — and why is it making a comeback? New music from Kesha, Lady Gaga signals return to 'escapist pop bangers.' |url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/what-is-recession-pop--and-why-is-it-making-a-comeback-new-music-from-kesha-lady-gaga-signals-return-to-escapist-pop-bangers-163702435.html |access-date=2025-06-23 |website=Yahoo Entertainment |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Ramsey |first=Michael |date=Apr 3, 2025 |title=Coincidence? Recession-era artists releasing new music |url=https://www.newsnationnow.com/entertainment-news/coincidence-recession-era-artists-releasing-new-music/ |access-date=2025-06-23 |website=NewsNation}} and Lady Gaga's 2025 single "Abracadabra" have been described as recession pop.{{Cite web |last=DiNardo |first=Georgina |date=2025-04-08 |title=What is ‘recession pop’? Why people are reaching for music from the mid-2000s |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/music/recession-pop-rcna199699 |access-date=2025-06-23 |website=Today |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Donaldson |first=Clare |date=2025-02-12 |title=Lady Gaga’s ‘Abracadabra’ Heralds the Return of Recession Pop |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/lady-gagas-abracadabra-heralds-the-return-of-recession-pop/ |access-date=2025-06-23 |website=The Daily Beast |language=en}}

• Dance-pop
• 2008 financial crisis
• Great Recession

{{reflist}}

• {{cite web |last=Timberg |first=Scott |title=How music has responded to a decade of economic inequality |url=https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/7/30/17561470/music-of-inequality |date=July 30, 2018 |website=Vox |publisher=Vox Media }}
• {{cite web |last=Slater |first=Bailey |title=Dance music saves us from the exhausting business of 21st-century living |url=https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/dance-music-recession-financial-hardship |date=June 29, 2022 |publisher=Refinery29 }}

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Category:2000s in music

Category:2010s in music

Category:Pop music genres

Category:Great Recession

Category:2020s in music