Can Adele and Justin Save Music?

It’s difficult at times not to feel sorry for popular music today.

Charts are dominated by irony-infused, gimmicky songs like “Hotline Bling” or empty auto-tune controlled ballads. The music industry is in a dour state. It takes the personal, shock value antics of artists like Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga to fuel a hit today.

The music itself is secondary. This is why no one is bopping their head to “Party in the USA” in 2016.

There does appear to be hope paving the way for a brighter future. Young artists like Adele, who relies on raw talent and mature lyrics, have found there’s a surprising place for them among the airwaves. Adele and others like Lloyd Bridges have found there is a void to fill with their retro music.

Relying on voice, meaningful lyrics and impressive, yet simple instrumentation, they have dominated radio top charts and found the same mainstream success other musicians need forgettable gimmicks and shock-inducing headlines to obtain.

[lz_related_box id=”56617″]

“I don’t make music for eyes. I make music for ears,” Adele has commented on the contrast between her songs and today’s other more shallow hit music. Adele currently sits at No. 2 on the Billboard Artist 100 Chart, which measures radio play, online streams, album sales and social media fan interactions).

Another chart-topping artist and ally to the whole-hearted, inspired music of people like Adele is a surprising one. Justin Bieber was once little more than a punchline. Focusing on the same empty music of his peers and immature antics to get attention, Bieber carried the teen stardom mantle for quite some time.

After reaching the point where his music was the last thing America took up controversy with and inspiring a petition to get him deported back to Canada for a string of petty crimes, Bieber promised at his 2015 Comedy Central Roast to be “better” to his fans. He sounded genuine, expressing remorse for his mistakes and promised to put the music first and to grow because his fans “deserved better.”

Bieber delivered on the promise with his latest album, “Purpose.” It wasn’t hard to predict the album would be a hit. What would have been hard to predict, however, was the content.

Relying more on his voice and toned down melodies, Bieber used the album as an opportunity to create soulful and personally mature songs detailing his own past transgressions and his need for forgiveness and redemption. It’s not an album only teenage girls can listen to and enjoy.

The album has gained Bieber respect with critics and grown his fan base. He’s arguably beginning to fill the same void as artists like Adele, but from a very different angle.

Complex.com awarded “Purpose” with a positive review, claiming it would “almost” make you forgive Bieber for his troubled past. The review appropriately praised the album as “at its core, a formal request for a pardon through music.”

“I think I’ve grown over the years just mentally, physically, spiritually, getting better at what I do. I think that if you’re not growing, you’re not living,” said Bieber to iHeartRadio when describing his new album and newfound respect as an artist within the industry.

Sitting at No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100 chart, 21-year-old Justin Bieber is experiencing popularity as never before. His success with his new album can be attributed to same success his No. 2 Billboard companion Adele has brought to the table.

Both artists are young and belong to a generation filled with gimmicky hits like “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)” and the edgy material of a Miley Cyrus or Katy Perry. However, both are finding success through retro music that puts an emphasis on personal lyrics, strong voices and instrumentation from more than a computer.

While Adele’s path to success has been built with nothing but good intentions and wholesome talent, Bieber has had a shakier path to his (almost respected) top mantle in the music industry.

Despite being incredibly different artists and people, both are young musicians helping real music to make a comeback. They may be doing it from very different angles, but their success (and continued topping of national charts together) shows that people’s tastes are drying up for what has dominated the airwaves for the last decade for so.

People don’t want forgettable, ironic hits fueled by artists with more of a personal need for attention than an artistic one. Listeners of all ages are proving through Bieber and Adele that they are ready and hungry for artists with an ambition to push themselves as musicians.