>>128088039 (OP)
because pop music itself isn't as popular as it was 15 years ago. In 2010, and especially in the decades prior, you couldn't avoid popular music easily. Even if you only listened to classic rock radio stations or talk radio, you would still hear top 40 music at many bars and restaurants, in contemporary TV programs, and then on pop radio stations when you were hanging out with people who had those stations on. It was everywhere.
In 2010, even if you hated Justin Bieber, you still heard his music frequently and knew his top hits like "Baby".
Today with streaming, satellite radio, and the internet in general, it's just much easier to avoid top 40 pop music. I haven't heard any songs from the new Taylor Swift album. I only know what Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan sound like because I sought out their music to find out for myself. My friend just learned who Sabrina Carpenter was a few weeks ago.
Pop music just isn't as forced as it was decades ago, and therefore people don't hate it as much