![\"frank](\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/frank-ocean-blond-album-stream-01-960x960.jpg\")
It’s finally here: Frank Ocean’s second album ‘Blonde’. Image: Highsnobiety<\/p>\n It’s finally here: Frank Ocean’s second album ‘Blonde’. Image: Highsnobiety<\/p>\n
\nThe sad boy is hardly a new concept in music, and while exact definitions vary from person to person, there is one rule in which everyone can agree on: in order to truly be a sad boy, one must possess pride in their sorrow. Musically, this presents itself in the form of deeply emotional lyrics that portray a softer and more vulnerable side to masculinity.
\nThough the modern-day sad boy\u00a0lives\u00a0with a freedom to express his unhappiness\u00a0as much or as little as\u00a0he desires, the movement’s predecessors\u00a0were not afforded with such liberties. In fact, more often than not the forefathers of sadness were relegated to performing their misery in the key of indie rock. The mere notion of emotionally charged hip hop probably would have left N.W.A and Public Enemy in a fit of laughter. Times have changed though, and today’s pop culture has embraced the phenomenon, allowing it to appear\u00a0across\u00a0all genres and styles of music.
\nAs a tribute to the timeless trend, we’ve rounded up a list of music’s 11 most iconic and revolutionary sad boys. So grab a box of Kleenex, put on your favourite\u00a0Smiths record\u00a0and try not to\u00a0let that\u00a0guy-liner smudge too much.
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![\"Morrissey,](\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Morrissey-Sad-Boy-900x600.jpg\")
Morrissey, Images from coolmenhairstyle<\/p>\n
Known globally\u00a0as rock’s ultimate “sad bastard”, Morrissey has built a career\u00a0around crafting melancholic\u00a0indie and rock songs. This title, however, is the reason why many are incapable of recognising how much of a humorous genius he is, no matter how\u00a0disturbing or dark his idea of a laugh may be. Unlike his goth contemporaries,\u00a0Morrissey<\/a> did not dress in smooth glossy leather jackets. Instead, he opted for baggy trousers and irregular jumpers \u2013 the original normcore\u00a0uniform. As the frontman behind Suede, Brett Anderson became a\u00a0Brit-pop icon for his androgynous look and heartfelt approach to songwriting. After the break-up of Suede, Anderson spent the early 2000s performing with his band The Tears, thus earning the award for\u00a0ultimate sad boy band name. With song titles such as “Miss Misery”, “Needle in the Hay” and “Everything’s OK” Steven Paul “Elliott” Smith won the hearts and tears of countless emo kids across the globe. Known for his distinctive whispery vocal style and lyrics about detachment, the singer songwriter even received an Oscar nomination for in 1998 for “Good Will Hunting”. And if that wasn’t enough to turn him into an indie legend, Smith’s fans have petitioned for\u00a0a memorial park in LA ever since his\u00a0controversial death<\/a> in 2003. Before Conor Oberst’s transformation into the political cowboy we know today, he was singing about forlorn love and introducing albums with\u00a0fake interviews on his brother’s death (also fake). Bright Eyes was a sad boy for The O.C. generation, giving awkward Seth Cohens everywhere something to listen to on their baby blue iPod minis. After the grunge movement of the ’90s, everyone kind of forgot that\u00a0Seattle still had a music scene. Then, out of nowhere came the Postal Service, a side project created by Death Cab for Cutie member and 2003’s #1 sad boy Ben Gibbard. It’s been 13 years and we still\u00a0get the feels whenever “Such Great Heights<\/a>” comes on. The man behind Casiotone For The Painfully Alone<\/a> \u2014 Owen Ashworth \u2014 is known for providing a musical representation of what the struggles attached with reaching mid-twenties feel like. Tiredness, frustration and sadness, are all common themes in Casiotone\u2019s expressive bedroom-produced melodies. Many often accredit bands like MGMT, M83 or even The Postal Service as the pioneers of bedroom indie production, but we all know in our hearts that CFTPA made it all possible way before any of them. As most Yeezy fans are proud to affirm,\u00a08o8s & Heartbreak<\/a>\u00a0was a game changer in\u00a0hip hop. It\u00a0ushered the genre to a whole new level, presenting\u00a0the world with a rapper that wasn\u2019t afraid of being emotional, especially after the untimely passing of his\u00a0beloved mother Donda West. In fact, this music period in Kanye’s repertoire is commonly credited as the inspiration behind Drake and The Weeknd’s rise to fame. When Kid Cudi joined the scene with\u00a0Day \u2019N\u2019 Nite, the song’s beats managed to effectively mask the somber lyrics for a short time. That is, until we collectively realised how dark\u00a0it feels to chant “the pain is deep, a silent sleeper you won’t hear a peep” while on the dance floor. Known for providing palpable melancholy and grace through his vocals and passion, Frank Ocean is probably the most celebrated sad boy of our times. Ever since he revealed that many of his first album\u2019s love songs were addressed to a man<\/a>, the world of R&B and hip hop was shaken. His fans, however, respected and supported him throughout the struggle, and ever since he announced plans for\u00a0another album, the world has been impatiently waiting for its release. We genuinely cannot wait for this sad boy\u2019s gem to drop. This contemporary sad boy has musical roots in New York City, where he made a name in the electronic music industry both as a solo artist and as a duo act with multi-instrumentalist Dave Harrington. His songs\u00a0range from funeral-esque beats and vocals to experimental goosebumps-inducing records that grab hold and never let go. Jaar is the kind of sad boy that disappears whenever his music becomes “too known”, leaving fans across the globe on a constant hunt\u00a0for the odd\u00a0sign of life or two. Yung Lean<\/a> is a\u00a0Swedish rapper that quickly became a huge sensation throughout the world thanks in no small part to his online releases\u00a0and distinctly Soundcloud fashion sense \u2013 bucket hats, Arizona iced tea and a random Japanese graphic for good measure.\u00a0The post-internet aesthetic of this infamous musician has transcended the digital space and into the real world, making him a notorious prince of sadness born in cyberspace.<\/a> He also has his own label named (you guessed it) – Sad Boys Entertainment<\/a>. Go grab that box of tissues :'(<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35600,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11856,139],"tags":[5414,5415,5416,5417,5418,5419,2244,5420,5421,5422,5423,5424,5425,5426],"class_list":["post-35585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sleek-art","category-art","tag-brett-anderson","tag-casiotone-for-the-painfully-alone","tag-conor-oberst","tag-death-cab-for-cutie","tag-elliott-smith","tag-frank-ocean","tag-kanye-west","tag-kid-cudi","tag-morrissey","tag-nicolas-jaar","tag-sad-boys","tag-suede","tag-the-postal-service","tag-yung-lean"],"acf":{"main_category":null,"legacy":"1","exclude_from_ads":null,"hero_title":null,"subtitle":null,"hero":null,"teasers":null,"facebook_image":null,"related_articles":null,"next_article":null,"sleek_card_focus":null,"content":null},"yoast_head":"\n
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\n <\/p>\n![\"SUEDE\"](\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/SUEDE.jpg\")
Suede (Brett Anderson on left)<\/p>\nBrett Anderson<\/a><\/h2>\n
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\n <\/p>\n![\"elliott](\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/maxresdefault.jpg\")
Elliott Smith Live at silverlake lounge on 2001-02-06. Image: Youtube<\/p>\nElliott Smith<\/a><\/h2>\n
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\n <\/p>\n![\"Conor](\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Conor-Oberst.jpg\")
Conor Oberst, image from stereogum.com<\/p>\nBright Eyes<\/a><\/h2>\n
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\n <\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/The-Postal-Service-\u2014-MTV-900x482.jpg\")
The Postal Service, Image from MTV<\/p>\nThe Postal Service<\/h2>\n
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\n <\/p>\n![\"Casiotone](\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Casiotone-For-The-Painfully-Alone--900x600.jpg\")
Casiotone For The Painfully Alone, Image from Metrolyrics<\/p>\nCasiotone For The Painfully Alone<\/h2>\n
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\n <\/p>\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/KanyeWest-heartless-Sleek-900x506.jpg\")
Screenshot from Heartless music video<\/p>\nKanye West<\/a><\/h3>\n
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\n <\/p>\n![\"Day](\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Kid-Cudi-Sad-Boy-Sleek-900x506.jpg\")
Screenshot from Day ‘N’ Nite’s music video<\/p>\nKid Cudi<\/a><\/h2>\n
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\n <\/p>\n![\"Frank](\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/FrankOcean-MTV-800x600.jpg\")
Frank Ocean, Image from MTV<\/p>\nFrank Ocean<\/a><\/h3>\n
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\n <\/p>\n![\"Nicolas](\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/nicolasjaar-thedrake.ca_-900x600.jpg\")
Nicolas Jaar, Image from the drake.ca<\/p>\nNicolas Jaar<\/a><\/h2>\n
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\n <\/p>\n![\"Bucket](\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/yung-lean-japan-highsnobeity-900x516.jpg\")
Yung Lean, Image from Highsnobiety<\/p>\nYung Lean<\/h2>\n
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