The Return of the Acoustic Pop Song
FUSE TV - The Return of the Acoustic Pop Song
On Monday, I was lucky enough to sit down with the BRIT Awards' Critics' Choice and winner of the BBC Sound of 2014, the delightful Sam Smith. One of the things we talked about was the return of the acoustic version - or rather, the return of a stripped back, bare bones, no nonsense version of a pop song. Until recently, when it came to making a pop hit, the theory was always: "more is more." Smith is a fan of just letting the voice and the melody speak for themselves, and after chatting to him and listening to his EP, Nirvana, I think I see what he's saying. Powerhouses like Adele and Amy Winehouse never relied on bombastic synths and keys to carry a tune, and now Smith is taking that to the next level by releasing an acoustic version of his own EP.
Now don't get me wrong, I love a massive pop number as much as the next person- Katy Perry's "Dark Horse" is on repeat on my iTunes right now, but what was once essentially a gimmick for new artists to get spotted on YouTube (Justin Bieber first came to our attention as a kid with a guitar on the internet) has come full circle. Acoustic versions are being reclaimed by the artists where, until recently, they were primarily a way for people to cover their favorite artists' songs in order to: get noticed by said artist, get YouTube famous, and/or totally ruin what was a perfectly good track.
Here are five of the best acoustic performances of the last few months, to warm your hearts while winter rages on outside, (except some of them might make you cry. So… sorry about that).
41m
The Rise of K-Pop
5m
Return of the Ewing 33
20m
Pop Goes The Question
21m
Don't Swear In Front of The Song
21m
The Dirtiest Song Ever Recorded
59m
Madonna: Goddess of Pop
41m
12 Greatest Divas of Pop
2m
The Best of The Best Clash
1h 27m
End of the Line: The Women of Standing Rock
41m
The Power of Weed
20m
Art of The Azz
19m
Revenge Of The Nerfs
20m
Eye of The Beholder
44m
War of the Wills
Clash of the Corps
2m
The Hilarious Reality of the American Rat Race
1m
Clash of The Corps - Trailer
1h 49m
DOMINO: Battle of the Bones
1h 33m
The MisEducation of Bindu
8m
Attack Of The Tethered Strippers
20m
Rise of the Hot Girl
3m
The Clash of the Corps Cast Plays Would You Rather?
21m
Asian Song Festival
2m
The Unfortunate Mishap of A Sneakerhead
2m
The MisEducation of Bindu - Trailer
42m
Bob Marley: Roots of the Man
2m
The Missy Elliott Hall of Fame
3m
The Making of Amber Rose's Puppet
2m
The Women of Standing Rock - Trailer
20m
Plenty Of Fish In The Street
1h 1m
Amy Winehouse: The Price of Fame
41m
Will Smith: The Prince of Hollywood
1h 39m
The Legend of Baron To'a
20m
Soul Food Pop-Up
41m
Lebron James: King of the Court
20m
Love In The Time Of Pandademic
21m
The King and Queen of Bounce
20m
Vive le Pop Up!
1m
Clash of the Corps Cast Share Which Amenities They Miss The Most
2m
The Ladies of 'Transcendent' Share Beauty Tips
23m
Big Bear 2: The Wrath of Tito
1h 2m
The Life and Death of Tupac Shakur
1m
The Legend of Baron To'a - Trailer
5m
History of the Reebok Pump Part 1
1m
Monalisa Discusses The Nostalgic Appeal of Vinyl Records
2m
King Keraun Steps Into the World of Goth
1m
What To Expect On Clash of the Corps
2m
The Hottest Music x Sneaker Collabs of 2016
46s
The DCI Struggles of Starting A New Summer
1m
King Keruan Steps Into the World of Ghosting
1h 45m
The River and the Wall
1h 2m
The Beatles: In the Life
1m
The Blue Devils Bring The Parade
45m
The Reunion
44m
The Decision
20m
The Hustle
21m
The Pilot
The 212
1h 21m
The Feels
1h 34m
The Citizen
23m
The Motorcycle
1h 20m
The FP
1h 27m
The Exchange
The Canvas
1m
The Ladies Play "Fill In The Blanks"
21m
All the Focus is on the Diamonds
2m
Yesenia Gives Financial Advice To Mia | Clash of The Corps
9m
Young M.A On The Struggle of Giving Up Meat
1m
Clash of The Corps Is Putting DCI Stereotypes To Rest
5m
G Fella Gives A Tour of The Bronx's Arthur Avenue
20m
Out With The Old, In With The New
5m
Inside Reebok and Future's Fury Pop-Up Shop
59s
The 212 - Trailer
1h 22m
The Right Girls
21m
Rock the Bells
48m
Meet The Jets
23m
The Great Director
44m
The Winner Is…
22m
Behind The Snow
1h 36m
The All-Americans
1h 3m
The Third Strike
1m
The Feels - Trailer
46m
Making the Cut
24m
Who's the Boss?
20m
Missy: The Icon
1h 23m
The Prison Within
21m
Meet The Family
57s
The Read - Trailer
1h 15m
Cassandro, The Exotico!
22m
The North Shore
22m
Surfing the Skies
20m
The Glow Up
21m
Mind the Mints
The Sex Clinic
9m
Free The Robots
20m
Create The Future
21m
Enter the Metaverse
20m
The Vest Guest
21m
Into The Woods
20m
