A bit of personal realization about popular music here in Colombia was some months ago where a mexican 'norteño' music was being interviewed at a local TV news

A bit of personal realization about popular music here in Colombia was some months ago where a mexican 'norteño' music was being interviewed at a local TV news program, and their singer said something like they were aware colombians pay way too much attention to lyrics (apparently even more than them in Mexico). Mind you, I'm a music person - never paid much attention to the meaning of lyrics nor sang along, but rather, as some of you already commented, listened to them as another instrument - but it was just when realized how almost all, if not all popular music in here, is made towards the goal of _saying_ something - it's the music that seems to be built around the lyrics and not the other way round. Maybe that could explain how most the music in local popular genres have really simple, repeating structures (_reguetón_/_"urbano"_, _ranchera_, _popular_, _vallenato_) and the dominating figures are solo singers rather than bands. Of course I'd bet there are more lyrics people than music people in the world, but it struck me that here it's getting to the point that music and lyrics aren't getting hand to hand, but music is just a mere veiled background to lyrics.