- published: 28 Aug 2015
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Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers appearing on two or more of the record charts which track differing musical tastes, or genres. If the second chart is a record chart, such as a "Hot 100" list, the work is not a crossover since the pop charts only track popularity and do not constitute a separate genre.
In some contexts the term "crossover" can have negative connotations, implying the watering-down of a music's distinctive qualities to accommodate to mass tastes. For example, in the early years of rock and roll, many songs originally recorded by African-American musicians were re-recorded by white artists such as Pat Boone in a more toned-down style, often with changed lyrics, that lacked the hard edge of the original versions. These covers were popular with a much broader audience.
In practice crossover frequently results from the appearance of the music in question in a film soundtrack. For instance, Sacred Harp music experienced a spurt of crossover popularity as a result of its appearance in the 2003 film Cold Mountain, and bluegrass music experienced a revival due to the reception of 2000's O Brother, Where Art Thou?. Even atonal music, which tends to be less popular among classical enthusiasts, has a kind of crossover niche, since it is widely used in filmmaking and television production scores "to depict an approaching menace", as noted by Charles Rosen.[citation needed]