In a world dominated by visual media, it’s amazing to see artists take the aesthetics of their music to the next level. At a live show, especially considering the price of admission, enjoying a visual spectacle alongside music is expected, and it can take a show to the next level.
Recently, a problem has emerged where some artists have gained mainstream success with a polished style but lack substance. At the end of the day, music is an auditory art, and it feels like in 2025, we’ve somewhat lost sight of that.
A prime example of this is the girl group KATSEYE. The group is one of the biggest breakout stars of 2025, with roughly a dozen songs to their name. The group’s success can largely be traced to the viral single “GNARLY” and their ad for GAP jeans, set to Kelis' song, “Milkshake.”
The reason for the virality is pretty clear: they’re fantastic dancers. Both the choreographies for “GNARLY” and the “Milkshake” ads are truly remarkable, and KATSEYE performs them incredibly. Once you get beyond that, it’s disappointing how little substance there is to the group. “GNARLY” sounds like a collection of TikTok sounds mashed into one song with no care for a clean musical transition. Not to mention, it bodes poorly for a musical group when their most viral moment, the GAP ad, is using a song that’s not theirs.
Another pop star who suffers a similar fate is Tate McRae. The dancer turned pop sensation has often struggled with having the musical chops and songs to achieve A-list status. This has been a relatively common complaint with McRae since her explosion, a claim she’s pushed back on many times. While I personally enjoy a lot of McRae’s music for how sleek it is, I can’t deny that, vocally and creatively, McRae has yet to deliver the caliber of songs on par with her skills as a dancer.
Another great 2025 example of this phenomenon is seen in “The Life of A Showgirl” by Taylor Swift. An album laden with 20th-century Hollywood glitz and glamor that lacks in spades. Swift hadn’t made a song that’s felt truly bombastic in half a decade, and while “The Life of A Showgirl” seemed to imply with its visual language that we were moving towards a louder-than-life bombastic record, the result was the exact opposite.
For a somewhat more niche example, alt-metal band Sleep Token has taken the world by storm with its dark and mystical aesthetic that appeals to the “dark academia crowd.” Contrary to appearances, Sleep Token offers a more modern, softer take on traditional metal aesthetics, being a pop band that incorporates 8-string guitars. Their new album, “Even In Arcadia,” is filled with bottom-shelf pop R&B tracks with occasional screaming and incredibly basic breakdowns.
While there is plenty of room for all flavors of metal, especially if it means getting people into the genre, Sleep Token’s music is so incredibly bland it’s almost impressive. Without their masked identities and well-crafted visuals, it’s really hard for me to believe anyone would’ve cared about BookTok Imagine Dragons, especially in a landscape dominated by accessible pop-metal artists that are at least slightly better at adding guitars to the pop formula.
These accusations of “focus on the music, not all this other nonsense” sounds very boomer-esque because it is. Thinking back to the dawn of the MTV era, hair metal and other visually forward genres of music, the same complaints have been lodged against them.
As the world has moved increasingly toward multimedia, this problem has continued to grow. I suggest next time you’re getting into a new artist, close your eyes and just listen. If that music alone excites you, then you know you’re in the right place. If not, it’s better to move on rather than forcing yourself into liking bad music.
Nicholas is a senior studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note the opinions expressed in this column do not represent those of The Post. Want to talk to Nicholas about his column? Email him at nk696121@ohio.edu.
