Can Popular Music Ever Really Be 'Unplugged'?

It would be impossible to comprehend completely unplugging popular music. It would be impractical for recording purposes and live performances. Yet it is clear that many music lovers yearn to listen to their favourite artists perform 'unplugged'. For example Nirvana's MTV unplugged album had major success the world over. This could possibly down to the fact that fans feel closer to the artists, almost as if they are in the same room at a private gig yet even this is not completely unplugged. Hearing an artist live and unplugged attempts to show the competence of the artist, proving that they don't need electrical assistance (e.g auto tuning) to sound amazing. However unplugged music in general can not work in the mainstream, live events and festivals would be impossible as no one would be able to hear the acts. However the more music becomes reliant on electricity the more fans crave to hear their favourite artists preform 'unplugged'.  

What is Popular Music?

Over recent years popular or pop music has been used more as a term to describe the more manufactured 'plastic' artists in the music industry. Yet pop music can be of any genre or style. For example Pavarotti's 'Nessun Dorma' which became number two in the 1990 pop charts, giving it 'pop status' after its exposure during the World Cup. The word 'popular' originated from the term 'popularis' - 'belonging to the people' which is most definitely the case with pop music. Music becomes 'popular' when it, in some way, wriggles into the mainstream public sphere. For example the way a specific artist is marketed, their actions as an individual, their acquaintances within the industry and the money that a record company is willing to spend on exposure and marketing all have an effect on their sales. In conclusion popular music is music that is exposed to the public and easy for them to come across.