BOOMBAYAH Posted September 3 Posted September 3 In the 60s we had iconic Swinging fashions, supermodels like Twiggy, and the emergence of the biggest band in history The Beatles: In the 70s we had the iconic rock bands and punk acts: The 80s continued our dominance in music: And it seems like the 90s was the peak of British Excellence, with supermodels like Kate and Naomi, The Spice Girls, and Britpop being major: We were still going strong in the 00s, with Kate and Naomi becoming THE supermodels of the decade and overtaking their 90s American counterparts, rock bands taking over music, a new generation of divas in Adele and Amy, and our music scene generally just being amazing: It feels like at the beginning of the 2010s, the UK was set to keep smashing it culturally—One Direction became a global phenomenon, Adele released 21, and UK rock bands were still going strong. But by the mid-to-late 2010s, the UK seemed to lose the massive cultural impact and global soft power it once had. Now, in the 2020s, it feels like we hardly have anything uniquely cool of our own. Our fashion is increasingly Americanized, and we lack iconic figures like Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, or The Spice Girls. Even our biggest festivals today are packed with American acts, and the only newer global star we seem to have is Dua. It seems like the biggest soft power the UK has left is football, which has always thrived. So, what went wrong? We used to lead in fashion, culture, and music, but now it feels like we're creatively bankrupt. Why did the UK stop being so innovative and cool? 1
BOOMBAYAH Posted September 3 Author Posted September 3 3 minutes ago, Strawberry Bubble said: billie, adele and ed are still big Billie = American Adele = Releases an album every blue moon, and the one released in the 2020s came and went Ed = I'll give you that, but even he doesn't feel like a British "force" the way The Beatles, Oasis, the Spice Girls, or even One Direction did 1
Popular Post Katamari Posted September 3 Popular Post Posted September 3 (edited) i blame simon cowell and rita ora Edited September 3 by Katamari 42
Popular Post Saint James Posted September 3 Popular Post Posted September 3 they got stuck in a Jess Glynne'd house pop loop of hell 1 35
Popular Post alfonso12 Posted September 3 Popular Post Posted September 3 They gave us Charli xcx which is the coolest popstar right now so... 15 2
Contessa Posted September 3 Posted September 3 This iconic summer that will go down in history is named after a surprising overnight sensation of an album made by the British songbird Charles eckseeecks! Brits are still dominating! 5
BOOMBAYAH Posted September 3 Author Posted September 3 (edited) 7 minutes ago, Dula Peep said: Charli, Dua… Harry styles? It feels like even the popular British acts today don't have a distinctly "British" vibe to their personas, like I mentioned about Ed before. Charli, Dua, Harry, Ed, etc., all seem quite Americanized—especially Charli and Harry, who spend so much of their time in LA, and it shows. Older acts like early Adele, Oasis, and even Harry during the One Direction days, felt like being British was a key part of their brand and appeal. So, without moving the goalposts, it seems like even when a British act is successful, they often need to be Americanized in some way (even to achieve success domestically). Even someone like Central Cee, who raps with a British accent, adopts a very Americanized style in his fashion and uses American beats and samples in his music. Edited September 3 by BOOMBAYAH 2 2
LadyDiana Posted September 3 Posted September 3 Well it's globalisation, us media and entertainment are widely spread and influential for the last 100 years. It took it's tool. 2
Tropez Posted September 3 Posted September 3 27 minutes ago, BOOMBAYAH said: It feels like even the popular British acts today don't have a distinctly "British" vibe to their personas, like I mentioned about Ed before. Charli, Dua, Harry, Ed, etc., all seem quite Americanized—especially Charli and Harry, who spend so much of their time in LA, and it shows. Older acts like early Adele, Oasis, and even Harry during the One Direction days, felt like being British was a key part of their brand and appeal. So, without moving the goalposts, it seems like even when a British act is successful, they often need to be Americanized in some way (even to achieve success domestically). Even someone like Central Cee, who raps with a British accent, adopts a very Americanized style in his fashion and uses American beats and samples in his music. It usually goes in cycles between the US and UK. The 60s were dominated by the UK, the 70s switched to the US, and then back to the UK in the 80s. The 90s returned to the US, and the UK wanted to take it back which was why the britpop and ginger Spices Union Jack outfit was such a thing. We're just in the US phase. 1
Abracadabra Posted September 3 Posted September 3 26 minutes ago, BOOMBAYAH said: It feels like even the popular British acts today don't have a distinctly "British" vibe to their personas, like I mentioned about Ed before. Charli, Dua, Harry, Ed, etc., all seem quite Americanized—especially Charli and Harry, who spend so much of their time in LA, and it shows. Older acts like early Adele, Oasis, and even Harry during the One Direction days, felt like being British was a key part of their brand and appeal. So, without moving the goalposts, it seems like even when a British act is successful, they often need to be Americanized in some way (even to achieve success domestically). Even someone like Central Cee, who raps with a British accent, adopts a very Americanized style in his fashion and uses American beats and samples in his music. Tbh I don't really agree that Charli specifically is "Americanized", her sound (especially recently with Brat) is very influenced by British rave culture, albeit with a pop twist to it. It's a much more dance oriented and harder electronic sound than what is typically mainstream in the US. Her sound isn't "Americanized", it's just that Charli has been a large part of bringing that sound to an American audience. Even prior to Brat, hyperpop came from the UK, so you could argue that hyperpop and the rise of that genre in the electronic space has been the UK's "cool" contribution to music in the 2010's/2020's. 3 9
taylamour Posted September 3 Posted September 3 It's always been just as uncool as any other country. We're just exposed to that more now than before. Americans specifically used to think the UK was sophisticated because of what we were fed via TV, movies, and music, but in reality, they also have just as much trash as the rest of us. See: Brexit, Love Island, etc. 1
jomarr Posted September 3 Posted September 3 Because these British media personalities exposed themselves as a gloomy and rainy country. like I don't even wanna go there now unless I wanna be sad #HappierThanEver
itshyolee Posted September 3 Posted September 3 Deserved because why is beans on toast a delicacy there? Y'all definitely deserved to flop for that alone. 1 1
HausOfPunk Posted September 3 Posted September 3 You still have JK Rowling, King Charles and Bebe Rexha 1 2
Cain Posted September 3 Posted September 3 Talking outside of popstars/popculture, the UK really became uncool imo after Brexit. Before that young Europeans always wanted to go to live in either Paris, Berlin or London, and now that's become way harder for the latter one It also kind of 'exposed' the UK for just being a backwards rightwing place, and the years following haven't exactly helped that image with the rampant transphobia, racist attacks and conservatism And I think Queen Elizabeth dying also had an impact, despite her reputation by some she was largely adored and seen as a respectable and iconic figure throughout the world, her son doesn't have any of those qualities 13
FrederickGa Posted September 3 Posted September 3 Adele, Ed, Sam, Dua, Harry Styles Not to mention, the British Actors/Actresses dominating Hollywood
BravoTangoWhiskey Posted September 3 Posted September 3 15 years of Conservative government, Brexit and austerity that said, our current internationally recognised cultural output is still bigger than pretty much any similar sized country. Globalisation probably also has led to monoculture, like Brits in acting go misinterpreted as Americans all the time too, so maybe perception of "Britishness" might be at play as well (and we haven't had much to be proud of recently lol - collective shame) re pop culture at the moment, we're probably also too close to it to appreciate current era, but at the moment we have: Charli - lol at people saying doesn't seem British (I can't even lol) RAYE - one of the most exciting and experimental acts atm Harry Styles Ed Sheeran - soz Adele Sam Smith Dua Lipa Lewis Capaldi coldplay - somehow still active and doing a billion in touring there are loads of others that do well domestically too, which you might know. That said, I imagine we'll start having some new acts breakthrough who grew up with austerity in full swing, and we might get a new defining sound/look 3
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