It's no surprise that I'm a big fan of female pop stars. Most of my favorite pop songs come from the ladies. I have, however, observed of late that it seems like their projects are being controlled by the same small set of pop producers. And frequently, it's the case that these people each contribute a few tracks to each album, rather than serving as a lead producer on most tracks. What you get is "producer potpourri," which eventually, if not already, may lead to everybody kind of sounding the same. That's partly why I'm not too jazzed about Jordin Sparks' new album, for I fear I will have already heard everything on it. Here's a quick analysis of producers that keep showing up again and again on such projects:
The Dream: Rihanna, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Beyonce
Tony Gad: Natasha Bedingfield, Beyonce, Jordin Sparks
Greg Kurstin: Natasha Bedingfield, Kylie Minogue, Britney Spears
Max Martin: Jordin Sparks, Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears, Pink
Stargate: Rihanna, Leona Lewis, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Jordin Sparks
Tricky Stewart: Rihanna, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Beyonce
Ryan Tedder: Leona Lewis, Beyonce, Kelly Clarkson, Jordin Sparks
It's not that these are bad albums--they are generally quite good--but throwing the same mix of people together tends to make the same kind of sound. I think it's nice when a singer works with one producer. It certainly makes for a more cohesive album. The multiple producer approach says to me "we're looking for the hottest hit sounds for singles, so we'll make sure to have as many as possible on major artist X's latest album." Definitely another sign in the decline of the album as musical art.
Madonna's had a lot of success without employing this trend, using generally only one or two key producers per album. Her only "producer-potpourri" album was Bedtime Stories (1994), which was one of her weaker discs. Look how great the Amy Winhouse/Mark Ronson matchup was, or the Lily Allen/Greg Kurstin pairing on her latest album.
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