There are sounds that are quite interesting (especially in the refrain) as:

 

Last edited by a moderator: Jul 4, 2016

Didn't know David Guetta is now considered Good Music

 

A lot of music this summer has gone towards the Dancehall/Afro-beat vibe. Drake's One Dance, Rihanna's Work, MO's Final Song, etc... and a few above you shared.

I had the pleasure of working with Zara Larson and she's got many tunes that have strayed away from the conventional pop a little, but enough to still be popular. I noticed after I heard a few of her tunes that recently, 2015 onwards... Producer's and artists have been allowed to be a little bit more creative and less cookie cutter when it comes to pop music. Different sub genres from Future-Bass to Dancehall have given pop music a little bit more variety. If you have a song with an artist/songwriter or whatever, it has become increasingly harder to get a cut since labels and A&Rs want something that has that special something that's different to other tunes. Such as a weird sax, or asian instrument twisted for the chorus. Or that good old Exhale kontakt library type voice sample for the chorus etc... There isn't one main genre or style that dominates pop now. It's fairly free.