In the journal Evolutionary Psychology, UAlbany psychology professor Dawn R. Hobbs published a survey that determines that of nearly 175 songs that hit the Billboard Top 10 on the pop, R&B and country charts in 2009, more than 90% of them contained “reproductive messages.” That’s right, they’re talking about having sex.
For her research, Hobbs went through the lyrics of each song, and broke down the song’s component messages into different categories. Among the categories: “Hook-Up/Short Term Mating Strategies”, “Courtship/Long Term Mating Strategies,” “Sexual Prowess,” “Genitalia,” “Infidelity/Cheater Detection/Mate Poaching,” and “Fidelity/Commitment,” among many others.
In other words, this is a study in obviousness. Songs about relationships have been part of popular music since the earliest wax cylinder records. Even in the earliest days of pop music, songs like the Dominoes’ “Sixty Minute Man” contained “reproductive messages” (the professor’s words, not mine) and still sold millions of copies.
Hobbs’ study also shows that there has been an increase in “reproductive messages” in the past 20 years, arguing that songs with more lyrics about sex score higher on the pop charts than songs that don’t have a sexual background. Of course, that’s not taking into consideration that the Billboard pop charts aren’t exactly a barometer of what’s getting “played on the radio,” as opposed to what’s “being promoted on the radio.” It used to be that songs would have a parabolic rise and fall on the pop charts, as more radio stations played the songs and more people bought them over an extended period of time. Now, pop songs can debut at #1 on the pop charts and fall off the charts almost as quickly. You don’t get “regional” hits on the radio any more; Katy Perry isn’t going to be #1 in Los Angeles and not in New York as well.
In case you’re wondering what songs made the Top 10 way back in 2009 – the data sample this professor used for the research – the songs included Lady GaGa’s “Bad Romance” and “Just Dance,” 3OH!3’s “Don’t Trust Me,” Cobra Starship’s “Good Girls Go Bad,” Britney Spears’ “If You Seek Amy”, “Womanizer”, “3” and “Circus,” Pink’s “So What,” “Sober” and “Please Don’t Leave Me,” and Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” and “Halo.”
It’s an interesting survey, to say the least… but, as far as I’m concerned, a survey like this is like surveying water and discovering that it’s wet. What would be more impressive to me would be to find the 8% of songs that DIDN’T have the “reproductive messages” in them, and that still hit the Top 10 anyways.
Chuck The Writer 
Did NY taxpayer dollars pay this woman to conduct this study? I hope she did this on her own time.
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It could be. Times change, and I am not really into the current music scene.
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What’s more pathetic ? New York State taxpayers footing the tab for this ridiculous study or a woman sitting at home on a Saturday night dissecting lyrics when she could be out making music of her own.
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Proving the obvious is what scientists do best.
They should get out more.
I still remember when we were told that “Rock and Roll is a communist conspiracy”.
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It may be obvious that popular music is about sex, but it is interesting how it is about sex, as shown in the chart in your blog post.
I think one could take this further by comparing the values expressed in each genre of music and how those differ. Not much country music about genitalia, is there?
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In a related gov’t funded study: the sun is hot and snow is cold.
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