After analyzing the most popular contemporary love songs from our survey data, we found that the most popular song (“Love Story) fit the standards of romance novels pretty well. However, the other 4 songs tended to go against standards set by romance scholars. These songs were all told from male perspectives, did not have storylines as linear as “Love Story,” and excluded essential elements to romances as defined by each scholar. Also, a few songs focused more on other themes than actual romance (sexual attraction, internal struggles with love, or the holidays/family values).
This brings us to the conclusion that in the 21st century, the younger generation still enjoys the classic romance as defined by Radway, Regis, and Modleski. However, they also appreciate narratives that stray from those requirements and consider them ‘romances’ as well. Thus, there is a more open-minded definition of romance by young adults than there was in the 20th century, when these scholarly works were published. Romance can include same-sex couples and heroines who are not virginal, and the public will accept it.
However, our data showed that most participants liked the songs because of the melody, artist, or associated memories rather than the actual lyrics. Thus, the narratives inside the songs may not be as important to their popularity as the narratives of romance novels are.
This project overall shows that romance narratives can exist on small scales, and that the definition of romance continues to expand as we move forward in time.