More impact: Teenage Dream or 1989

[leyaris11]

I vote for the California Gurls songstress. 

[The Second Coming]

Teenage Dream 

[My Tears Ricochet]

Teenage dream, duh!!

It literally defined the childhood days of many of us

[Auburn]

Teenage Dream defined an entire era of pop both sonically and aesthetically. 1989 has little impact as it was late to the pop craze and retread old ground already walked by Katy and many other artists, it was just a successful album/era. 1989 is also a direct impact of TD so 

[Lorenzo22]

i genuinely don't know what impact teenage dream had, it just feels like a extremely successful era and massive smash hit singles. i guess the same could be said about 1989.

Edited June 26, 2023 by Lorenzo22

[collin]

1 minute ago, Lorenzo22 said:

i genuinely don't know what impact teenage dream had, it just feels like a extremely successful era and massive smash hit singles. i guess the same could be said about 1989.

This. I don’t really agree with the whole ‘it defined an era’ thing… Rihanna and Gaga were also at their peak here and feel much more influential and indicative of the sound of early 10s pop to me.  Taylor had less competition in the genre in 2014 (early Ariana, Meghan Trainor) so it feels like more of an obvious standout in comparison.

[gettsleazy]

11 minutes ago, Auburn said:

Teenage Dream defined an entire era of pop both sonically and aesthetically.

How so? 

[gettsleazy]

1989 for me. Aesthetically and sonically it ushered in the retro-80s wave that wouldn't peak again 'till the early '20's. Songs like "Style" were quite ahead of their time, if you think about it. 

 

TD was very much "on trend" for the time it was released. OOTB had more impact on the pop landscape sonically, I think. 

[wish]

Teenage Dream.

 

The era really captured the summery sugar-coated girl next door sound/aesthetic that became a blueprint in the early 10s & trickled down into the works of Carly Rae (Kiss, Emotion), Taylor (1989, Red pop singles), Dua Lipa (Future Nostalgia), Jessie J, early Selena Gomez, and some others.

[Axelios]

13 minutes ago, wish said:

Teenage Dream.

 

The era really captured the summery sugar-coated girl next door aesthetic that became a blueprint in the early 10s & trickled down into the works of Carly Rae (Kiss, Emotion), Taylor (1989, Red pop singles), Dua Lipa (Future Nostalgia), Jessie J, early Selena Gomez, and some others.

None of the albums you quoted have this aesthetic 

[halcyonday]

13 minutes ago, collin said:

What are some other examples? Genuinely curious.

SOUND - everyone wanted to go for Katy's sound, half of comments under Jessie J's "Domino" or Demi Lovato's "Cool for the Summer" are about how they sound just like Katy. The music style of Dua Lipa, some Taylor and Carly songs just get compared to Katy all the time. Teenage Dream literally impacted Lorde, Britney Spears, Hayley Williams, Olivia Rodrigo, Hayley Kiyoko, and Halsey called it the perfect pop album. California Gurls is still refered to as "THE Summer Song", Firework is "THE ANTHEM" of New Year's Eve and some important political American days, Last Friday Night still gets high boosts of plays EVERY FRIDAY, The One That Got Away turned out to be a classic despite missing the #1 in the US and gets covered every year by other artists, and Teenage Dream is known as a staple of what a "pop perfection" song is. 

 

VISUALS - the artwork alone. Just a month ago there was a Brazilian(?) artist that just released a cover art that was a straight Teenage Dream copy (can't find it now but it was posted somewhere on ATRL). The artwork went viral multiple times due to the AI expanding album covers and adding Teenage Dream on top of cats and other funny things. It's included in several "most iconic artworks of all time" lists. She also became one of the most successful artists on YouTube thanks to her details and always sharing a concept and interesting high budget music videos. The blue wig was iconic and people always knew it was referencing Katy. Back in 2010-2011, there was the dark side of pop and the bright side of pop. Lady Gaga and Katy Perry symbolized both sides of what pop music is. Katy's Teenage Dream look and sound will forever be iconic as "bubblegum pop".

 

LEGACY - The Teenage Dream tracks still get covered to this day, even by the Gen Z stars like Olivia Rodrigo, Niall Horan, Dua Lipa, Conan Grey, Tate McRae, or by regular people during auditions; the songs are also used for highly popular memes like the California Gurls x Friday The 13th dance. The album is one of the most streamed of all time and is still charting in the US and UK. 

 

REMIX - Katy brought back remixes to the pop music. Everyone from Rihanna (S&M), Britney (Till The World Ends) to Beyonce (Party) hopped on releasing them to boost their success. She paved the way for bringing back the rappers to dance pop tracks. 

 

 

That's just some that came first to mind. 

 

[collin]

2 minutes ago, Axelios said:

None of the albums you quoted have this aesthetic 

Right, like…  Not even kind of.

[Paola Bracho]

The one that made the other one happen!

[JoeAg]

Teenage Dream I think, especially in terms of the concept of the modern album era

 

1989 was impactful for indie artists more I feel like. Teenage Dream was impactful for indie artists AND the most mainstream artists

[byzantium]

1989 shifted pop music and started the era of popism.  We wouldn’t have artists like Dua Lipa without it.  
 

Teenage Dream shifted the pop landscape from more dark concepts like the Fame Monster and Good Girl Gone Bad, to lighter concepts like CRJ Call Me Maybe, and Nicki’s Roman Reloaded.  We also would not have artists like Dua Lipa without it.
 

I voted for 1989 but both are legendary albums. 

Edited June 26, 2023 by byzantium

[collin]

5 minutes ago, halcyonday said:

SOUND - everyone wanted to go for Katy's sound, half of comments under Jessie J's "Domino" or Demi Lovato's "Cool for the Summer" are about how they sound just like Katy. The music style of Dua Lipa, some Taylor and Carly songs just get compared to Katy all the time. Teenage Dream literally impacted Lorde, Britney Spears, Hayley Williams, Olivia Rodrigo, Hayley Kiyoko, and Halsey called it the perfect pop album. California Gurls is still refered to as "THE Summer Song", Firework is "THE ANTHEM" of New Year's Eve and some important political American days, Last Friday Night still gets high boosts of plays EVERY FRIDAY, The One That Got Away turned out to be a classic despite missing the #1 in the US and gets covered every year by other artists, and Teenage Dream is known as a staple of what a "pop perfection" song is. 

 

VISUALS - the artwork alone. Just a month ago there was a Brazilian(?) artist that just released a cover art that was a straight Teenage Dream copy (can't find it now but it was posted somewhere on ATRL). The artwork went viral multiple times due to the AI expanding album covers and adding Teenage Dream on top of cats and other funny things. It's included in several "most iconic artworks of all time" lists. She also became one of the most successful artists on YouTube thanks to her details and always sharing a concept and interesting high budget music videos. The blue wig was iconic and people always knew it was referencing Katy. Back in 2010-2011, there was the dark side of pop and the bright side of pop. Lady Gaga and Katy Perry symbolized both sides of what pop music is. Katy's Teenage Dream look and sound will forever be iconic as "bubblegum pop".

 

LEGACY - The Teenage Dream tracks still get covered to this day, even by the Gen Z stars like Olivia Rodrigo, Niall Horan, Dua Lipa, Conan Grey, Tate McRae, or by regular people during auditions; the songs are also used for highly popular memes like the California Gurls x Friday The 13th dance. The album is one of the most streamed of all time and is still charting in the US and UK. 

 

REMIX - Katy brought back remixes to the pop music. Everyone from Rihanna (S&M), Britney (Till The World Ends) to Beyonce (Party) hopped on releasing them to boost their success. She paved the way for bringing back the rappers to dance pop tracks. 

 

 

That's just some that came first to mind. 

 

You’re making a good case in several spots here but there are a lot of plot holes. The remix thing is definitely not a strong leg to stand on— Nelly Furtado and Gwen all scored massive hits in the late 10s with rappers on their dancepop songs. It never went away.

 

CFTS and Domino are byproducts of Dr. Luke and Max Martin’s sound, not Katy‘s. She may have brought it to higher highs but that doesn’t mean very much, and she certainly doesn’t come in first place when it comes to people flocking to pop girl producers (Gaga and RedOne —> JLo, Nicki; Rihanna and Stargate —> Selena, Nicole). Several other things here I’ve never heard of but nobody can take away Katy’s role in redefining bubblegum pop for a new generation. I’m not exactly sure how far we can go with discussing audition TV show music as ‘impact’ because I’m certain Adele, Taylor, Gaga and Rihanna songs are sung more often on those shows than Katy’s hits.

[khalyan]

Without Teenage Dream there wouldn't be 1989 

[halcyonday]

 

I am so lucky to witness this legendary era from day one.  

 

[Sparkle]

I don't really think either had much of an impact (I happen to stan Janet on the side so I would know better as to use that word in vain) so I guess I'll just have to contend with watching the mess unfold hihi! By all means, keep on fighting each other!

[collin]

3 minutes ago, Sparkle said:

I don't really think either had much of an impact (I happen to stan Janet on the side so I would know better as to use that word in vain) so I guess I'll just have to contend with watching the mess unfold hihi! By all means, keep on fighting each other!

I agree. The point of both of these albums was to be popular and faceless to be digested by as many people as possible. Commercially they made an impact, but not quite in other regards, because neither of them truly did something new or innovative

[wish]

21 minutes ago, Axelios said:

None of the albums you quoted have this aesthetic 

Huh?? Everything i listed incorporates that same summery bubblegum dance-pop vibe that Teenage Dream brought to new heights. I wasn't talking about visuals only, "aesthetic" can refer to sound as well. 

[halcyonday]

7 minutes ago, collin said:

You’re making a good case in several spots here but there are a lot of plot holes. The remix thing is definitely not a strong leg to stand on— Nelly Furtado and Gwen all scored massive hits in the late 10s with rappers on their dancepop songs. It never went away.

Sure, but in most cases the features were there to begin with. Katy actually succeeded at bringing rap artists to her pop records and embracing her chart dominance. It's exactly what Taylor did with Bad Blood (what's funny is that's also her fourth single, just like E.T. was for Teenage Dream), a song about Katy. You can correct me, and I know some artists like Mariah did a lot with remixes back in the day, but when we're talking about the 2010s landscape of music, Katy was THAT *****, who wasn't afraid to try and get that global smash and gather the rap audience. The other girlies were trying it too right after E.T. became HUGE, but none of them reached her level of success.  

 

12 minutes ago, collin said:

CFTS and Domino are byproducts of Dr. Luke and Max Martin’s sound, not Katy‘s. She may have brought it to higher highs but that doesn’t mean very much, and she certainly doesn’t come in first place when it comes to people flocking to pop girl producers (Gaga and RedOne —> JLo, Nicki; Rihanna and Stargate —> Selena, Nicole). Several other things here I’ve never heard of but nobody can take away Katy’s role in redefining bubblegum pop for a new generation. 

I just don't like this misogynistic take of taking away from Katy's signature Teenage Dream sound. Both Dr Luke and Max Martin have worked with tons of artists and sure, usually you can see the similarities or "oh yeah that's so catchy it has to be Max Martin", but the GP doesn't know they even exist. That's why they just go back to Katy. Katy WAS and will always be THE VOICE of her songs. On top of that, she always was the SONG WRITER as well. You can clearly see the campy and tongue n cheek songwriting Katy is known for in California Gurls, Teenage Dream, Last Friday Night, and the CLASSICNESS of empowerment that Katy is known for now (Rise, Roar, Electric) in Firework and Part Of Me. 

 

15 minutes ago, collin said:

I’m not exactly sure how far we can go with discussing audition TV show music as ‘impact’ because I’m certain Adele, Taylor, Gaga and Rihanna songs are sung more often on those shows than Katy’s hits.

I feel like when it comes to Rihanna and Taylor, it's between so many different albums that it's hard to pick the most legendary one. For Adele and Gaga, you will know it's 21 and The Fame Monster.

[halcyonday]

6 minutes ago, collin said:

I agree. The point of both of these albums was to be popular and faceless to be digested by as many people as possible. Commercially they made an impact, but not quite in other regards, because neither of them truly did something new or innovative

I'm sorry honey, but how was Katy faceless? She's one of the girls that the GP just KNOWS. Teenage Dream Katy was the quirky and HOT pop girl that was naked on a pink cloud and was shooting cream from her boobs. She has never been faceless. 

 

[perfect blue]

32 minutes ago, halcyonday said:

SOUND - everyone wanted to go for Katy's sound, half of comments under Jessie J's "Domino" or Demi Lovato's "Cool for the Summer" are about how they sound just like Katy. The music style of Dua Lipa, some Taylor and Carly songs just get compared to Katy all the time. Teenage Dream literally impacted Lorde, Britney Spears, Hayley Williams, Olivia Rodrigo, Hayley Kiyoko, and Halsey called it the perfect pop album. California Gurls is still refered to as "THE Summer Song", Firework is "THE ANTHEM" of New Year's Eve and some important political American days, Last Friday Night still gets high boosts of plays EVERY FRIDAY, The One That Got Away turned out to be a classic despite missing the #1 in the US and gets covered every year by other artists, and Teenage Dream is known as a staple of what a "pop perfection" song is. 

 

VISUALS - the artwork alone. Just a month ago there was a Brazilian(?) artist that just released a cover art that was a straight Teenage Dream copy (can't find it now but it was posted somewhere on ATRL). The artwork went viral multiple times due to the AI expanding album covers and adding Teenage Dream on top of cats and other funny things. It's included in several "most iconic artworks of all time" lists. She also became one of the most successful artists on YouTube thanks to her details and always sharing a concept and interesting high budget music videos. The blue wig was iconic and people always knew it was referencing Katy. Back in 2010-2011, there was the dark side of pop and the bright side of pop. Lady Gaga and Katy Perry symbolized both sides of what pop music is. Katy's Teenage Dream look and sound will forever be iconic as "bubblegum pop".

 

LEGACY - The Teenage Dream tracks still get covered to this day, even by the Gen Z stars like Olivia Rodrigo, Niall Horan, Dua Lipa, Conan Grey, Tate McRae, or by regular people during auditions; the songs are also used for highly popular memes like the California Gurls x Friday The 13th dance. The album is one of the most streamed of all time and is still charting in the US and UK. 

 

REMIX - Katy brought back remixes to the pop music. Everyone from Rihanna (S&M), Britney (Till The World Ends) to Beyonce (Party) hopped on releasing them to boost their success. She paved the way for bringing back the rappers to dance pop tracks. 

 

 

That's just some that came first to mind. 

 

+ started lyric videos tbh

[collin]

3 minutes ago, halcyonday said:

I just don't like this misogynistic take of taking away from Katy's signature Teenage Dream sound. Both Dr Luke and Max Martin have worked with tons of artists and sure, usually you can see the similarities or "oh yeah that's so catchy it has to be Max Martin", but the GP doesn't know they even exist. That's why they just go back to Katy. Katy WAS and will always be THE VOICE of her songs. On top of that, she always was the SONG WRITER as well. You can clearly see the campy and tongue n cheek songwriting Katy is known for in California Gurls, Teenage Dream, Last Friday Night, and the CLASSICNESS of empowerment that Katy is known for now (Rise, Roar, Electric) in Firework and Part Of Me.

Re: Katy’s songwriting— totally, she has a thing going on. But that didn’t have any impact on the songs you listed like Domino and CFTS. They don’t sound like songs written by Katy. They sound like songs produced by Dr. Luke and/or Max Martin, who also happen to have worked with Katy.