Instead of innovating, new pop artists are leaning into a deliberately superficial sound that references the 00s. Where millennials were embarrassed to love The Pussycat Dolls and similarly ‘trashy’ artists, Gen Z are embracing and replicating this style to emptier effect. But, asks Gregory Robinson, is there anything wrong with vapid music?

Instead of innovating, new pop artists are leaning into a deliberately superficial sound that references the 00s. Where millennials were embarrassed to love The Pussycat Dolls and similarly ‘trashy’ artists, Gen Z are embracing and replicating this style to emptier effect. But, asks Gregory Robinson, is there anything wrong with vapid music?