Recession pop is back in business, ironically while all others are failing. It’s not unknown that the United States’ economy is in a frightful phase. The GDP for the first quarter of 2025 was 0.3 percent. This is a dramatic decrease from the 2.4 annual growth rate for the fourth quarter of 2025. Small businesses, big corporations, and investors are all taking a hit as the Trump tariffs have skyrocketed taxes and created discourse surrounding if a recession will occur or if we’re already in one. In turn, the discourse around the recession has brought back the disco-hyper pop music genre. Recession pop is the name coined for pop music made during the 2007 financial crisis. The music consisted of positive and catchy lyrics with a fast beat in the background, easy to dance and decompress. With the recent comeback of the genre, there has been some political commentary and conscious acts along with it.
British pop star Charli XCX recently performed at Coachella weekends one and two. Her performance was a true resurgence of recession pop. The “BRAT” album was featured the most in her performance. The album contains highly praised tracks like “360”, and “Girl so Confusing”, which were much appreciated by the Coachella crowd for numerous reasons. The recent music from Charli XCX has been filled with techno and hyperpop music that’s fun to just dance to and let loose. Millbrook High School teacher, and Charli XCX stan Skylar Shirlen said, “I think it’s changing society’s thoughts and represents the ‘don’t care’ attitude of society now because of all the chaotic things happening in the world.” Charli has used the popularity of the “BRAT” album to comment on the recent chaotic events. The day after Kamala Harris announced her run for the 2024 presidential election, Charli tweeted “Kamala IS brat”. This was very instrumental to Harris’s campaign as several of her social media channels then switched to a “BRAT” green theme to attract trendiness. It also prompted Charli to speak out, in an interview with Vulture Charli said it wasn’t meant to be an endorsement but she supports stopping “democracy from failing forever”. Since then, the album has been a symbol and praised by many minority communities as it represents freedom of expression and true authenticity in a world that’s sneakily trying to crack down on that. The project spoke to the challenges of growing up in a very politically votalitel time. “It’s also interactive because we are these complex human beings evolving through this political timeline,” said Shirlen.
Other artists have re-emerged in the recession pop genre. Lady Gaga, a recession pop icon, also has a set at Coachella where she performed music from her latest album released in March titled “Mayhem”. The album has been highly praised for igniting nostalgic 2000s tunes, while bringing a modern aspect to it. Her two hour, gothic fulled set was loved by the Coachella crowd. She has performed the album at many unconventional venues. On May 3, Gaga performed at Copacabana Beach in Rio that attracted 2.1 million people. This became the largest audience in Gaga’s career and the largest audience for a solo female artist performance. The album has been a voice for the disabled community as Gaga has fibromyalgia and she incorporated her struggles with the condition with lyrics such as, “Runnin’ out of medicine/You’re worse than you’ve ever been”. The disease breaks down the body and makes it hard for Gaga to dance, move, and perform. Within her performance, she included choreography that was disabled friendly and could be done in chairs. This sparked a trend on social media of wheelchair users doing the choreography. This impacted the inclusivity seen in the music space, and resulted in lots of commentary on rights for disabled people. Millbrook High sophomore Seve Soler said, “I love Gaga, and all the new stuff she’s putting out, it’s so fun. And I thought Gaga’s Cochella was iconic!”
New artists such as Addison Rae and Troye Sivan have emerged continuing the recession pop trend. Chappell Roan’s, the new “gay pop princess” music has also been coined recession pop. Her debut album “The Rise and Fall of the The Midwest Princess” was very successful and gave Roan a platform she used frequently to speak about the election, new polices, and the war in Gaza. Shirlen said, “Music can represent so much for people, the type of sounds that have been produced have provided such a release for many people, I’m truly enjoying it.” As the year continues, and the market falls, we most likely will see many unique projects and statements coming our way.
