By Allison Fitts

“Make me a mix CD with songs that I wouldn’t hear on the radio,” Emily Wemhoff said to me regarding her 16th birthday present. I complied and started to search through my music collection to find such songs. What I discovered were a lot of foreign musicians, like the Kooks and Miike Snow. I started to wonder, “If non-radio music that I listen to has a lot of foreign influence, how much foreign influence is present in mainstream music in America?”

On the top music charts, American musicians like Lady GaGa, Taylor Swift and Lil’ Wayne are right alongside Adele, Keith Urban and Nicki Minaj, all foreign musicians. In fact, this week’s iTunes top 10 songs houses three songs from artists of other countries (Adele’s “Someone Like You”, Rihanna’s “We Found Love” and David Guetta’s “Without You”). These three countries, the United Kingdom, Barbados and France, are all represented multiple times on the top 100 songs chart.

I’m sure you’re wondering why it matters that there are increasing amounts of foreign music in America. In addition to having their music played on the radio, artists from other countries are touring the US, performing on TV shows like Saturday Night Live and even winning Grammys. It is a full-blown take over.

There may be a foreign invasion occurring, but it is definitely a positive for our country. For one, you can learn a lot about a country’s culture by listening to its music. I have learned about Dublin City from the Script, Prince Charles from Tinie Tempah and the slums of India from M.I.A. Hearing occasional references like this help build up your knowledge of a country. Of course, these brief bits of knowledge are no substitute to exploring a country in-depth, but they might increase your curiosity and cause you to learn more.

Music not only teaches about cultures, it creates common ground between them. In the United Kingdom and Australia most people speak English, meaning that listening to each other’s music is not blocked by language. However, musicians from countries that are not primarily English-speaking sometimes have a little bit of a barrier.

For example, the artists from European countries (besides England) that are popular in the United States are often of the electronic genre. Musicians that come to mind are David Guetta, Daft Punk and Justice from France, Afrojack from the Netherlands and the Swedish House Mafia from Sweden. Because electronic music doesn’t always have singing, these artists can be enjoyed by people of all languages.

Being able to listen to the same music as people who live half way across the world from me and speak a different language is such a cool feeling. Music is an ever-present form of expression that people can relate to no matter where they come from. The fact that foreign music is an integral part of America’s culture makes me believe that we are beginning to realize just how connected the world really is.

Below is some information on countries that are popular in the American music scene right now. Be sure to comment and tell me about foreign artists that you’re listening to right now!

United Kingdom

• Artists you know: Mumford & Sons, ADELE, Coldplay
• Artist to discover: Ellie Goulding… Her debut album Lights came out in the UK in 2010, but this year she has taken the US by storm. She performed at the Kanrocksas Music Festival this summer, but her performances on Saturday Night Live and at William and Kate’s wedding have been major factors in gaining this folktronica artist an ever increasing fanbase here in America.
• Number of songs from the UK in the iTunes top 100 this week: 9

France

• Artists you know: David Guetta, Phoenix, Daft Punk
• Artist to discover: Justice…You might know this electronic duo from their song D.A.N.C.E. on the video game Just Dance 2. It is easy to guess, then, that this band is great to dance to. Justice is similar to Daft Punk, but a little less poppy with less singing. They aren’t for everyone, but if you like the electronic genre definitely check out their music, including a new album this month.
• Number of songs from France in the iTunes top 100 this week: 2

Barbados

• Artists you know: Rihanna
• Artist to discover: Hypasounds… I will be the first to admit that it was hard to find a musician from Barbados besides Rihanna. I was pleasantly surprised, though, to discover Hypasounds. He has a sound similar to Bob Marley, but also has some hip-hop flair thrown in. I like his sound because it is distinctly different from anything we have from America.
• Number of songs from Barbados in the iTunes top 100 this week: 2

Source: iTunes