“Uptown funk you up, uptown funk you up.”

Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk,” which has spent 42 weeks on the Billboard top 100 peaking at number 1, repeats these lyrics 23 times throughout the whole song. “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae),” Silento’s hit song that is currently third on the BillBoard 100, has just one verse that doesn’t repeat in the song.

Repetitive songs can be found on top the charts and on replay on popular radio stations, but just because they are popular doesn’t mean people like them.

“I don’t like it when it repeats lyrics,” Sabrina Linenbroker, sophomore, said. “I’m fine with it being the same song over and over like on the radio. I just don’t like the same lyrics over and over again.”

Max Noelker, junior, said he finds repetitive music memorable, but irritating after a few playthroughs.
“It is a little bit catchy at first,” Noelker said. “But once you hear it a few times it just seems too repetitive and gets kind of annoying.”

Repetitive lyrics are prevalent in most songs on top charts today, making options for less repetitive music harder to discover.

“I listen to repetitive music because there’s really not much left out there,” Noelker said. “There’s not enough options anymore in the genres I like.”

Noelker said music has gotten more basic and repetitive during our generation, but Siddharth Rana, senior, disagrees.

“I think repetitive music has been popular since before our generation,” Rana said. “It’s just that since it’s easier to listen to music with Spotify and YouTube it’s easier to find.”

The students agreed songs in the pop and rap categories feature the most repeated lyrics and choruses.
“Pop music is usually pretty repetitive,” Linenbroker said. “It’s the genre that repeats lyrics the most, and it’s popular because the songs are catchy.”

Linenbroker said catchy music is important because it’s easy to listen to and dance to, but a song’s catchiness doesn’t make it high quality.

“I still listen to it because it’s catchy, but there’s a difference between good music and catchy music,” Linenbroker said. “Good music is where the person can actually sing. Some catchy songs are just bad. You like it but you don’t want to like it.”

Noelker said artists who solely create repetitive content are taking the easy way out.

“It makes it a lot easier to make repetitive songs because you have to think of less lyrics,” Noelker said. “It’s dumbing down the musical industry.”

On the other hand, Sid Rana, senior, said pop music should stay light hearted and repetitive; its purpose is to be easy to listen and dance to and the lyrics don’t matter as much as other genres.

“It’s definitely not a lack of skill, all artists have some repetitive songs,” Rana said. “Pop music is supposed to be fun, dance-y stuff, not tell me the meaning of life. I listen to pop music when in the car to jam out.”

In the end, repetitive music will remain popular because it’s easy to listen and dance to.