10 Times New Pop Interpolated Old Pop

  • 10 Times New Pop Interpolated Old Pop
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    Charli XCX & Rihanna
    Charli XCX Photo by Jeff Spicer/BFC/Getty Images for BFC, Rihanna Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for NARAS

    Pop has always been a heavy recycler. Whether it be music trends, lyrics or looks, the genre has always looked to the past to forge its future. One of the most obvious ways of doing that is using parts of old songs to create something entirely new - sometimes this is interpolation (re-recording a melody or portion of a melody from an old song) or sampling (directly inserting a portion of an old song into your new song).

    Charli XCX and Rina Sawayama have recalled early '00s Eurodance nostalgia by using September's Cry For You on their new song Beg For You but they're not the only ones who have done it.

    Here are 10 songs that have recycled songs from the past to create new songs. 

    Charli XCX - Beg For You (Feat. Rina Sawayama)

    Interpolated Song: September - Cry For You

    September's Cry For You was a huge hit in Europe in the early '00s, resurging recently as a meme on Twitter. Charli XCX and Rina Sawayama have now run with it for their new collaboration Beg For It. The chorus uses the same melody of Cry For You but replaces the lyrics. Still, the euphoria remains as the pair somehow manages to fuse Eurodance and UK garage. 

    Madonna - Hung Up

    Interpolated Song: ABBA - Gimme Gimme Gimme

    Madonna had a massive comeback in the early '00s with a disco record that paid tribute to disco legends ABBA. ABBA's Gimme Gimme Gimme was a hit for the Swedish band in 1979 but Madonna took it to new heights adding a new shine and taking it to the top of the charts globally. Madonna reportedly had to pen a letter to ABBA asking them personally whether she could use the song. They had to think about it as ABBA are notoriously tough on samples but they eventually let her have it. 

    ROSALÍA - Bagdad

    Interpolated Song: Justin Timberlake - Cry Me A River

    For ROSALÍA's second record El Mal Querer she included a heavyweight, using the melody of Justin Timberlake's Cry Me A River for the intro of Bagdad. It explodes into a flamenco-influenced beat but the original is a warped, Spanish take on Cry Me A River that actually gives a whole new level of emotion to the classic R&B song. Appropriately, ROSALÍA spends the entirety of the music video literally crying a river.

    Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do

    Interpolated Song: Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do

    There are still many who have doubts about the effectiveness of Taylor Swift sampling Right Said Fred's I'm Too Sexy on Reputation's lead-single Look What You Made Me Do but it's hard to deny that it caused a stir. Swift, who just records before had been known as a country artist, exploded back on the scene with a revenge-fuelled electro-pop song sampling one of the most ubiqiuotus songs of the '90s. It's wild to think that this even happened. 

    DJ Khaled - Wild Thoughts (Feat. Rihanna and Bryson Tiller)

    Interpolated Song: Santana - Maria Maria

    Rihanna is no stranger to an interpolation but this one may be the most successful. Wild Thoughts takes the beat of Santana's 1999 hit Maria Maria as well as that iconic guitar riff and takes it some place else. As always when Rihanna is involved, it's an effortlessly cool performance that manages to turn up the heat even more than the already sweaty original. 

    Olivia Rodrigo - 1 Step Forward, 1 Step Back

    Interpolated Song: Taylor Swift - New Year's Day

    Olivia Rodrigo has never been shying admitting she's a huge stan of Taylor Swift. She included a nod to her on Sour cut 1 Step Forward, 1 Step Back by using the piano line of Swift's New Year's Day to create something new. New Year's Day is about budding romance while Rodrigo's version is about and on again off again relationship. Both hit you right in the feels.

    Ariana Grande - Goodnight N Go

    Interpolated Song: Imogen Heap - Goodnight And Go

    Grande has always been vocal about her love of Imogen Heap. On Sweetner track Goodnight N Go she finally got a chance to put that love to record by using Goodnight And Go. Grande uses the chorus and parts of the beat while taking it in an R&B direction that showcases her lofty vocals. "I loved it. I’m so happy — I’m smiling now. It feels like a gift: when somebody that famous picks up on a song that has had its day and gives it a second life, it’s a real gift," Heap told Billboard about the track. 

    Dua Lipa - Love Again

    Interpolated Song: Lew Stone & His Monsieur Band - My Woman

    Dua Lipa's Future Nostalgia track Love Again interpolates Lew Stone's My Woman but people may be more familiar with White Town's 1997 track Your Woman which samples the '30s track. Your Woman was a big alternative hit at the time but found a second life on Love Again. That looped sample in Your Woman is the one that ended up on Love Again too, warped into a disco classic. “I think there’s magic in old samples," White Town told Billboard about Lipa's version. "Even though ‘Love Again’ is a brand new song, it’s got this level of nostalgia in it.”

    Selena Gomez - Bad Liar

    Interpolated Song: Talking Heads - Psycho Killer

    Talking Heads' Psycho Killer has one of the most familiar bass-lines of all time. It's a risk to take that and turn it into something entirely new but Selena Gomez managed it on career high Bad Liar. She used that bass line for the stripped-back pop song that places all its emphasis on the slinky lyrics. David Byrne tweeted that he was a fan writing, "I really like the song… and her performance too."

     

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Charli XCX & Rihanna
Charli XCX Photo by Jeff Spicer/BFC/Getty Images for BFC, Rihanna Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for NARAS
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