I really like pop music. Like, a lot.

Okay, I may not be the trendiest guy all the time. I may not know every Justin Bieber song at the back of my head. But I do like pop music.

Precisely because they all sound... similar yet different.

Everyone is trying out things like dubstep, getting random rappers into their songs, and just going around the idea of making it catchy. That's what I like about pop - it's catchy, it's memorable, and it relates to a lot of people.

Pop is not all the same. Okay, some songs do have the same beats, but. they are catchy, and that's what keeps people coming back. Hearing the same drum beats in a different song helps you to correlate and chain your pop thoughts together, and that's how you remember pop music. I do not see the need to differentiate yourself too much in the pop industry; you may start off well and be applauded for being different, but soon, people will forget the tune of your music simply because it's too different and everyone moves on quickly. Nobody can remember the song "that had a complicated guitar rhythm" or a song "that dropped the bass more often than rookie fishermen".

Pop music plays the role of integration. Have you ever realised how important your knowledge of pop music can be nowadays? Striking a conversation may never be easy, or awkward, but if both of you know pop music, there could be two cups of coffee and a table at Starbucks and you'd be talking about it for quite a while. Fact is, it helps you to relate to people of your age. You will have a common topic to talk about. Maybe Gangnam Style, or Call Me Maybe, or even Payphone. These are all pop songs, and you find yourself talking about it amongst your friends for days, about how PSY crawled between a guy's legs dancing in the lift, about the plot twist at the end of Call Me Maybe, and about how the Payphone MV didn't make sense at all. It is a topic creator.

It also helps you get into the trend. Imagine getting lagged behind the latest music. You won't fit. Even if you don't like English pop, you'd still want to at least know a bit here and there. Nowadays, the emphasis is on trend - everyone wears berms and a T-shirt or singlet. Same applies to music.

Don't go around promoting yourself as a music hipster. It's not wrong to like gothic music or country or reggae or R&B. But to constantly remind others that you are "of a certain genre" and that "pop music is trash" is not going to make you popular amongst your friends. Once again, I stress that it is never wrong to say you like other types of music. It's just that... if you're in a bunch and somehow you find that playing and singing pop music is uncomfortable, then you need to get yourself a brain software update.

At the end of the day, does pop make you popular? Well, to a certain extent, yes. Pop integrates and lets you understand and interact with others easily. It may not be the nicest music genre, and I'd not disagree, but it's relatable, it's what people listen to - and that in itself is important.

Song of the day:
Ariana Grande - Problem ft. Iggy Azalea
(As appropriately as this ends, here is a pop song.)