The worst part is how well the (industry machine) takes to you. Look how quickly most are gone (limelight/marketing) after a year or two.

The Clean Bandit & Route 94 collabs are good, but of her solo stuff I only like 'Right Here' and 'Hold My Hand'. Not keen on the current single or anything else off her album, it's a weak effort.

Yes, modern pop music is characterised by the quality of its marketing rather than the quality of its music. Maybe this thread illustrates that.

I find Wolf Alice a much more interesting listen than Jess Glynne,

Ha Ha. Thanks very much, your post gave me my first laugh of the day. (I agree BTW)

Hadn't seen that before, quite brilliant . Certainly the best lyric video i've ever seen.

You appear to "miss the point". Cheryl Fernandez-Versini may be a popular celebrity but she is not a "pop icon". In many people's eyes as she is just a celebrity. I wouldn't even say Cheryl was particularly popular anymore; she may have had two #1's last year for her popularity is nowhere near where it was 2009/10, while her XF return didn't really get the attention they wanted. We may have different thoughts on the subject, but in my eyes, an "icon" would be Madonna, Cher, Mariah, Kylie etc. People will long-standing careers who have worked incredibly hard to last as long as they have in the industry. And whilst Jess Glynne may not have been around that long, her voice and current success makes her more deserving of that status then Cheryl.

I'm not sure that's radically different from previous decades really. Lots of manufactured crap got to the top of the chants before now due to publicity machines getting behind them etc. Do you think it's more prevalent now? I certainly think that a lot of the music itself it more bland (Adele, Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran etc. all pretty dull)

Very deserving but based on past artists, i always think if there too much success now, chances are you are flopping and forgotten by your second album. I hope she keeps it up.

Modern pop music is much more homogeneous in its sound than in previous decades, particularly the 60s/70s/80s. That's not to say it is all crap but rather it tends to be bland as you say. Marketing is one way that it is possible to differentiate between artists, so Jess Glynne having 5 no 1s is worth a mention, that all the songs sound pretty similar is not.

Popularity comes and goes, waxes and wanes including some of those you mention - Mariah, Cher, Kylie etc. Cheryl has been around for 13 years, that's a pretty long time in pop music. She's also part of the celebrity culture that has been prevalent within that same time range.

Iconic means representative of an era, those you mention are from an earlier era, Cheryl is 21st century. Iconic status is not determined by your voice or current success, it's about how representative you are of a era or a type. Cheryl fits that bill I'm afraid.

I would have preferred it had been Nicola out of Girls Aloud, better voice, more talent, great solo album but she didn't sell and so far lags behind Cheryl.

I can't agree with your definition that reduces 'icon' to being representative of an era or type. The Bay City Rollers were representative of the early 70s but they weren't icons to anyone then or now. 'Icon' has been defined as a 'magnet of meaning', in other words they have substance, depth, they mean many things on different levels; in short they are worthy of serious consideration. Cheryl Cole doesn't fit that bill one jot. She's completely devoid of any deeper meaning!

That's really an excellent description. In previous eras, you could point to distinct styles that were popular (60s: pop, rock n roll, Motown, psychedelic, folk etc.) whereas now it seems like a lot of popular music is ordered by committee to tick a load of boxes and there's not much sense of artistry, genre or personality going on.

In fairness to Jess Glynne, I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing for her songs to have a distinct sound, especially seeing that she's only just put out one album but the real question I guess is whether she's actually distinct to whatever else is going on in pop.

I think it's a given that pop music has become more samey, less diverse and reliant on a shrinking palette of sounds.
http://www.theguardian.com/music/201...survey-reveals

Who says the Bay City Rollers weren't icons in their era? .They were talked of as big as the Beatles in their day and they were perfectly representative of teeny bopper artists like T.Rex, Slade, Sweet, Mud, Suzi Quatro etc.....artists who were responsible for some great pop music.

Also what depth is there to Jess Glynne, the thread is simply about her having 5 no 1 singles? Are her songs any more catchy or complex than those of Girls Aloud or Cheryl?
In pop cultural terms Cheryl is perfectly worthy of serious study as I have already illustrated.

I see your point, but I'm afraid I still disagree. Cheryl was only really popular around 2009-12 as a solo artist; if we are counting the thirteen years, eight of them are with GA, so surely they should all be accepted as a representation of an era if that's what you are saying? I think it would be acceptable for GA to be deemed icons for their impressive amount of top ten's in the UK, but again I just wouldn't say Cheryl. But you may disagree with me and that is fine, but I'd rather this thread reflected Jess Glynne's chart triumph

If the discussion is going to go in that direction, then Westlife had 14 UK #1 singles. How many of them were "complex"? None (imho) but they were popular and appealed to their target audience, just like Cheryl and Jess Glynne's music is popular with their target audience.

Girls Aloud had some fantastic pop songs throughout their career. I can't say the same about Cheryl's singles personally - if I had to choose a fave Cheryl single, it would be Call My Name purely because I liked Calvin Harris' production on the track.

I'm not her biggest fan but big congrats to her, an impressive achievement ( I still prefer Rather Be to Cheryl's solo stuff )

Good for her but i do wonder if she would have got this record if she'd released her album straight after her debut, or along with the 2nd single. Baring in mind her debut solo single was released 14 months ago, the only way to own any of these songs would be through purchasing a single, rather than as usual not buying single #4 because its on an album