Soul-Pop

Soul pop is mainstream pop music built from the vocal and arranging language of soul: gospel-trained melisma, call-and-response backing voices, horn and string colour, and rhythm sections modelled on *Motown*, *Stax* and Philadelphia soul, fitted into concise, hook-first song forms. It covers the blue-eyed soul of *Dusty Springfield* and *Hall & Oates*, the polished crossover of *George Michael* and *Whitney Houston*, and the retro-soul revival of *Amy Winehouse* and *Adele*. The style is defined by its balance — the emotional delivery, ornament and groove of soul delivered at the scale and immediacy of chart pop.