[Lirange]

Might be wrong but aren't all these songs kind of mass produced? Like there's a whole bunch of writers/and or songwriters that go into making the song. Often includes the artist as well, but just take a look at this guy for instance - seems to be behind nearly all popular pop songs right from the '90s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Martin

I also heard something about how "We can't stop" was originally written for Rihanna but she passed on it so Miley Cyrus kind of picked it up and went with it. This is a little bit why I can't get into most of the pop songs these days. It sounds extremely pretentious but even though the song sounds catchy and pleasant - and I will listen to them don't get me wrong - it doesn't feel "authentic" to me, doesn't feel like something the artist genuinely wants to communicate or anything.

And that's fine for the most part, not every song has to be some deep and meaningful thing but yeah that's my thoughts.

For many popstars, yes. Rihanna is a prime example of this. She has writing camps where several people come together and write songs all day long for her. Personally, I don't really care too much if the music is good. You just couldn't say they're a talented songwriter.

Then there are artists like Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga who are write all of their music themselves. They may have co writers but the main writer is the artist. Taylor Swift in particular has an album in which the sole writer is herself, Speak Now. She also plays the piano and guitar so that helps when she creates melodies.

And number of co writers aren't a good way to judge how involved an artist is in the songwriting. People have said that Lady Gaga is very generous with writing credits. Changing one word could get you credit.