Very chaotic, not at all good: Why does everything in music feel fake right now?

The vocal stylings of Paula Abdul (left), the similarities between Stella Lefty and Noah Kahan's music and the work of artist Ry Cooder have all sparked debates about what makes music "real." Photos by Bob Riha, Jr./ Greg Doherty / Michael Putland / Getty Images.

Illustration by Jackie Lay.hide caption From manufactured fans to AI artists and "industry plants," 2026 is one wild year for figuring out what's authentic and what's not in the music industry.

For more, check out a catalog of the year in musical fraudulence, a historical survey of fakes and a conversation about why it feels harder than ever to know what's real in our podcast.In one of the most clamorous, messy and transcendent little songs of 2026, Caspian Hollywell of the New Orleans-based rock band Twisted Teens offers a shout toward the heavens: Is it real? He's singing about a vision of salvation, or maybe the need to go back on his meds.He asks the question that also serves as the song's title in a voice that's disheveled, joyous, pleading, insistent, ridiculous.

Is it real? The phrase threatens to destroy the song's magic, its incipient empowerment.Music is the realest thing, "the angel trumpet loud"; it's making Hollywell bigger and better than he's ever been before.

But it might be a trick.The anguish that Hollywell and the band whip up until it turns into grace is all in the service of making it okay to believe."Is it real?" That's the most pressing question in music right now, and it's one that feels impossible to adequately answer, in almost any context.

Mainstream pop, seemingly falling out of fashion though it still fills stadiums and streaming playlists, is riddled with stories of chicanery and poison artifice.Every week a new scam seems to surface, making fans feel like they can't trust what they hear, or see or buy — emerging stars allegedly benefitting from pl...