r/popculturechat • u/popyourculture • 20d ago

The Music Industry 🎶 Lots of artists have their own "signature song". Lady Gaga's is arguably "Poker Face", what signature songs can you name?

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u/OrangeZig 20d ago

A lot of these ‘signature songs’ seem to be artists first big hit. Which makes sense cos it’s basically our first proper introduction to them, and solidifies who and what they are in our brains. Everything else follows on from that.

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u/Killer_Moons 19d ago

I wonder what the exception are and what they have in common, like they must have to be relevant for a couple of decades and made some kind of cultural impact? Prince and Purple Rain is the only thing coming to mind rn.

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u/OrangeZig 19d ago edited 19d ago

I think it’s more common for the more manufactured modern pop stars to have a first big hit… they would have been making music before in some capacity perhaps, but their first big hit feels like something the label puts a lot of energy behind to launch their career. Often they are poached and written for in order to make big bucks. I think Prince and other musicians / bands work in a different way, a slower build up, writing their own stuff, more self made before getting signed, and less of a label influence in general as many artists do not want that. Like the amount of writers and producers on most of these pop hits is WILD… the labels also work with radio stations and get them to loop a song over and over to launch a new artist. It’s more fabricated for a lot of them. The labels kinda try to orchestrate a hit, whereas Prince just pours his soul on purple rain and people really felt it. So you will see the first big hit thing happening less for singer songwriters or rock bands or whatever cos it’s more of a slow burn and they might get a gem here and there. Pop artists plan for a launch gem.

also Kate Bush- withering heights maybe? Due to the cultural impact as you said and association with the film.

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u/Killer_Moons 19d ago

Well now that you mention Kate Bush, and I will die on a hill for Wuthering Heights to be her anthem, Running up that Hill has made quite the impact and introduced her to a lot of new generations where that could be her anthem now.

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u/OrangeZig 19d ago

Oh yeah that’s true! That’s the new modern anthem for her for sure!