The recent revival of dance-pop and clubbing music is reminiscent of the 2010’s ‘recession pop’ era, recent social media buzz seems to suggest. Could this mean another economic recession is on the horizon?
Between 2008 and 2009, The Great Recession rocked the global economy, plunging millions into unemployment, poverty, and homelessness. The South African economy plummeted from a high growth rate of over 5% in 2007 to a negative growth rate of -1.5% in 2009.
Also between 2008 and 2009, songs like Flo Rida’s “Low”, Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance”, and The Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling” topped the billboard charts.
These songs which centered around going out, spending money, getting drunk, and generally forgetting about one’s woes, became known as recession pop.
The fast and hard beats, catchy hooks, and upbeat lyrics coloured this period of economic difficulty with a rosy shade of optimism.
Now in 2024, pop music is sounding a whole lot like it did in the late 2000s; from Charli XCX’s “365 party girl album”, Brat, to the return of wild- child Kesha on “Joyride”, to Chapell Roan, Camila Cabello, Kim Petras and countless others. Fun music to dance the night away to is back in a big way.
But does this return of recession pop signal a global economic recession around the corner?
The internet certainly seems to think so, and the facts do not necessarily contradict this idea.
Across the globe, and certainly here in South Africa, the cost of living is pushing many working and middle-class families to the brink. The South African economy only barely escaped a technical recession at the end of last year.
Elsewhere in the world, the situation is just as grim. The United States just hit its highest rate of homelessness since 2007, and the number of children living in poverty in Britain is almost 1 in 3.
Economists Harry Dent and David Rosenberg are concerned by how similar the stock market is looking to its pre-Great Recession state, and even predict a possible 2025 market crash.
So, it isn’t impossible to say this resurgence of pop-y, ‘dance-your-worries-away’ music is related to the flailing economy. What audiences want and what musicians release are interdependent phenomena, and if the people want to let loose and dance, the music will follow. It just remains to be seen whether a real recession will come along to cement this new wave as a real incidence of recession pop.
FEATURED IMAGE: Brat album by Charli XCX over a pile of bills. Photo: Ruby Delahunt.
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- Wits Vuvuzela, Convenience vs. conscience – why music streaming feels unethical, May 2024.
- Wits Vuvuzela, FINANCE FEATURE: High interest rates wrecking young homeowners’ dreams, September 2023.
