Barry Manilow may be 83 years old, but he’s aware of what’s going on in today’s music — and he just doesn’t get it. He even tried to write songs like one of today’s biggest pop stars, but couldn’t pull it off.
Speaking to The Times of London, Barry, who’s going to release what he says is his final album in June, said, “The truth is that for this record I really studied what’s going on out there — artists like Billie Eilish.”
He explained, “I tried to write like her but I just couldn’t because I’m used to verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, ending — but pop music now just sounds like run-on sentences. Where is the chorus? Hook?”
“Song after song is like that, so I went back to what I know and people will either think I haven’t listened to pop radio in 40 years or they’ll say, ‘Thank God! Something to hang my ears on!’” he added.
Asked to address why he thinks pop music doesn’t sound like it used to, Barry offered this explanation: “I don’t mean this negatively, but it feels like songs now are not written by bona fide musicians.”
“They feel written by young people, who know a couple of chords, and some new songs are really good,” he continued. “But the stars of pop nowadays are studio engineers and the last thing you pay attention to in a modern record are the lyrics or melody. The rhythm and grooves are delicious. But songwriters? I don’t think they’re there any more.”
Barry’s new album, What a Time, is out June 5. It features his most recent hit, “Once Before I Go.”
Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
