When the markets go down, pop goes up.
Let’s take a trip back to 2008. It was Obama’s first year in office and the markets were tumbling. Business casual looks — peplum tops and blazers — were being trucked directly from work to the clubs. On the radio, one could hear Lady Gaga singing about getting drunk at the club as often as Pitbull’s signature “Mr. Worldwide” tagline. This was the peak era of recession, and the beginnings of the golden era of recession pop.
In recent months, the term “recession pop” is back in vogue as the U.S. faces what’s shaping to be the biggest economic slump since Obama’s first term, per economic forecasters everywhere, spurred on by Trump’s tariffs and escalating trade wars. Though a retroactively coined term used to prescribe that era’s reign of club-ready music, “recession pop” has gained a second life in the present. Online, people heralded Kesha’s latest single “YIPEE-KI-YAY” with T-Pain as the return of “recession pop,” a label also slapped on Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra.” But there’s more to recession pop than its arrival in an economic cycle.
What makes something a recession pop song are the themes as much as the timing. In the 2008-2011 period, these were escapist, party-ready songs that were heavily centered around urging you to the club, an intense carefree messaging that was perhaps overcompensating for the heavier troubles going on in the world. A distinct formula also materialized: pop stars pairing up with a DJ-producer like David Guetta or Pitbull, going hard over a sleazy, easy-to-lock-in EDM beat. Lyrically, the glamorization of being broke but rich in everything else — swag, love, and a desire to dance — reigned.
Ahead, The FADER looks back at the 10 essential songs that defined recession pop — plus a definitive playlist for anyone looking to get back in the party-with-no-budget mindset.
Rihanna, “We Found Love” (feat. Calvin Harris)
Off the bat, “We Found Love” ticks all the boxes of recession pop. 1. Rihanna’s pair-up with DJ Calvin Harris. 2. Lyrics about getting lucky in a “hopeless place.” 3. A dramatic buildup to a colossal drop that still goes off at proms and weddings everywhere.
Lady Gaga, “Just Dance”
“Just dance, gonna be OK” is the message behind Lady Gaga’s breakout hit and might just be the recession pop mantra. Released in 2008, “Just Dance” has all of the hallmarks of the era: Gaga is in the club and drinking, Akon is rapping about spending all his money, and the tinny EDM is pounding, seemingly built to be played from a pair of wired headphones on an iPod Classic.
Britney Spears, “Till The World Ends” (the Femme Fatale Remix)
Released in 2011, this megastar-stuffed remix arrived at the tailend of the Great Recession but it’s thematically on the mark. The hyper-glossy club beat, the “woah-oh-oh-ohs,” the fact that Kesha, Nicki Minaj, and Britney Spears — the three horsemen of recession pop — are all on one track. And then there’s a call out to the DJ, “what are you waiting for?” This could get you dancing in any apocalypse.
The Black Eyed Peas, “I Gotta Feeling”
Drake might not have popularized “YOLO” until a few 2011, but Black Eyed Peas (the recession pop Beatles) were constantly telling people to seize the day, none more so than on “I Gotta Feeling.” Shots, parties, and jumping off sofas are just some of the wild antics they get up to as they chase the next high. The song dropped in 2009, towards the end of the recession, and a change of fortune is palpable. “Tonight’s the night, let’s live it up,” goes one line. “I got my money, let’s spend it up.” Clearly, Will.i.am was anticipating an uptick in the markets.
LMFAO, “Party Rock Anthem”
All recession pop songs insist that you have good time, but LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” takes it to another level. Escapism isn’t a choice but a mandate: “We gon’ make you lose your mind” they sing, which sounds equally like a promise and a threat. That being said, this song ruled the charts, holding the top slot on the Hot 100 for six consecutive weeks and, per Billboard, was 2011’s song of the summer. Says a lot about society’s collective mental state at the time.
Taio Cruz, “Dynamite”
Is there a more 2010 song than “Dynamite” by Taio Cruz? It’s a selfie stick set to music or the soundtrack to a 90-image-deep Facebook photo album titled “Twas a good night.” Nobody has danced to this song that wasn’t wearing liquid leggings or a pair of shutter shades. Produced by Benny Blanco and Dr. Luke, unfortunately somewhat of a recession pop puppetmaster, “Dynamite” is filled with all of the go-to references: designer labels, the eternal night in the club, and throwing your hands up in the air (famously an act of surrender). It all begs the question, was music at the time worse than living through the deepest recession since World War II?
Usher, “DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love” (feat. Pitbull)
If recession pop was a religion, Pitbull was its patron saint. Over the 2008-2011 period, the Miami-based titan had over a dozen songs chart on the Hot 100, earning him a lot of good will in the millennial demo. “DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love,” with Usher, was one of his best-performing singles, hitting No. 1, probably because, well, just read the title. It was made to play off the everyday traumas of trudging through the recession. “Thank god the week is done, I feel like a zombie gone back to life,” goes one line.
Timbaland, “The Way I Are” (feat. Keri Hilson, D.O.E., Sebastian)
People talk about recession indicators but there is no greater sage than Timbaland. “If I have no money, no car, no card to buy you flowers – will you still like me, just the way I are?” goes the chorus to “The Way I Are,” his 2007 collaboration with Keri Hilson and D.O.E. The word recession hadn’t entered the minds of many people at that point but Timbaland was tapped into the anxieties of the future.
Katy Perry, “California Gurls” (feat. Snoop Dogg)
In addition to its obsession with the carefree partier, recession pop tapped into another kind of archetype: the effortless (read: no-maintenance) beauty. That’s “California Gurls,” Katy Perry’s hit which propped up the girls who needed nothing more than a beach and the sun to be gorgeous (because they were free). Their uniform? Daisy dukes and bikinis (i.e. no expensive accessories). A smooth Snoop Dogg feature rounds out the recession pop indicators for this song, alongside its bubbly EDM-lite beat.
Far East Movement, “Like A G6” (feat. The Cataracs, DEV)
Through recession pop, millionaire musicians provided the masses with a brief respite from their harsh economic reality while also acting as an aspirational advert for an unattainable lifestyle, all while keeping the dying club industry in business. While that statement might be true, it’s not the most poetic phrasing; Far East Movement put it much better when they said: “Poppin’ bottles in the ice, like a blizzard. When we drink, we do it right, gettin’ slizzered.” Beautiful.