Is Machine Gun Kelly the artist to bring pop-punk back into the mainstream?

With Machine Gun Kelly announcing the release date of his pop-punk album Tickets To My Downfall today. It begs a big question; is MGK the guy who is going to make pop-punk relevant again?

Allow me to clarify; will MGK be the artist to launch punk back into the hearts (and radios) of people around the country, like it was back in the 90s and early 2000s. This clarification is crucial, because to us here at APU, pop-punk is ALWAYS relevant.

But in all seriousness, I would argue that he can. Here is how he already has, and how he will once the record drops.

PLEASE NOTE: this was a topic on The All Punked Up Podcast (which you should already be listening to), but this is my own personal opinion on the matter. If you would like to hear that podcast episode, please click here.

Let’s start with how he has made pop-punk relevant again. This starts six years ago with his song “Swing Life Away”.

Now, the original “Swing Life Away”, isn’t by him, rather by Rise Against. However, he did a song with Kellin Quinn of Sleeping With Sirens that was a cover/original type of song. Original in the sense that Quinn sings the same chorus as Rage Against, while MGK changes up the versus.

Additionally, he was featured on an SWS song the same year. “Alone” was on Sleeping With Sirens album Feel, which released in 2013.

Now, I know that MGK is open about his love for pop-punk and music of the sort, but this (in my own research), was his introduction into scene music in terms of recording it and being featured on it.

He Recorded songs With YUNGBLUD and Travis Barker which became INSTANT hits.

We all know that Travis Barker is a pop-punk legend because of his work with Blink-182. Prior to “I Think I’m OKAY” that featured both of them, YUNGBLUD had recorded “11 Minutes” that also featured Barker.

“I Think I’m OKAY” is not, in my opinion, a pop-punk song, but rather a song that features pop-punk acts. MGK is a rapper at heart, and we shouldn’t forget that. However, that doesn’t distract from the fact that this is a great song and a song that everyone loved. After this point, is where MGK’s experimentation with pop-punk music starts.

Now onto what MGK has left to do. The next step is to put out the record.

The three singles that MGK has released off of Tickets To My Downfall are “bloody valentine”, “my ex’s best friend (ft. blackbear)”, and “concert for aliens”. Each song has garnered a lot of attention and, more importantly, a lot of success. He performed “my ex’s best friend” and “concert for aliens” on the VMA’s the other night, as well as won the VMA for Best Alternative Video.

Once MGK puts out the album, people will listen. His most loyal fans will listen. The pop-punk purists will be listening. The common public will be listening. The more people listen, the more it goes likely it comes up on radio stations, on daily mixes, and anywhere else random music has a chance to be stumbled upon. More traction, I think, will bring a resurgence of the scene.

But it can’t be MGK alone. Other acts must follow. I think that as a result of MGK blowing up the pop-punk scene, Blink will be played loudly again. YUNGBLUD will be on the radio. Halsey and Stand Atlantic all have shots at being put in the spotlight (and arguably, some of them already have been in the spotlight). These acts, these next few months, will determine the future of pop-punk as we know it.

And personally, I can’t wait.

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