Music has the power to arouse all kinds of emotions, from anger and love to sadness and happiness. But some artistes are more successful than others in arousing specific emotions in fans, according to several rankings recently compiled by the US foreign-language learning platform Preply.
To uncover this, the platform analysed over 200,000 publications and comments posted within the fan communities of 92 artistes and music groups on Reddit.
The findings show that artistes such as Ed Sheeran and U2 are particularly likely to make music fans happy. This is because much of their musical repertoire contains songs whose lyrics refer to pleasing, carefree moments in life that near everyone can relate to.
Blackpink (no. 3), The Killers (no. 4), and Beyoncé (no. 5) also feature on the list of celebrities who bring joy to those who listen to their music. Selena Gomez (no. 6) and Harry Styles (no. 7) also feature, as do the duo Daft Punk (no. 8) and South Korean supergroup BTS (no. 9).
Conversely, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion seem to be the musicians whose songs are least likely to make their fans happy. Most of the artistes on this particular list have rap- and hip-hop-oriented discography, with exceptions being Metallica (no. 6), Britney Spears (no. 7), and Nirvana (no. 9).
Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion appear in several of the charts compiled by Preply. In particular, they top the list of artistes whose tracks are likely to bring out anger in their listeners.
This can be explained by the fact that these female rappers are known for calling out issues related to women’s rights: their songs often denounce the discrimination suffered by more than half the world’s population.
One of them, “WAP” by Cardi B, caused quite a stir when it was released in August 2020, due to its sexually explicit lyrics and sultry clip.
Kanye West (no. 3), Kendrick Lamar and The Weeknd (no. 8) and Nicki Minaj (no. 10) also feature in this ranking themed around rage. Curiously, only two bands appear: Guns N’ Roses (no. 6) and Metallica (no. 7).
The study further reveals that Demi Lovato is the artiste who, according to fans, is most likely to make them feel love. Katy Perry and Dua Lipa also seem to be gifted with this particular talent, coming in second and third place respectively in this thematic sub-ranking.
Notably, this particular list is made up entirely of female performers, while nine of the top 10 musicians who are least likely to evoke this emotional state are male.
Of course, it’s important to remember that music is, above all, a matter of personal experience and tastes, and we don’t all feel the same way while listening to the works of different artistes.