Culture | The “Bridgerton” effect

The hit series “Bridgerton” has set off a string-quartet boom

It is a surprising example of how popular culture can shape consumer habits

Vitamin String Quartet pose for a photo with their instruments.
Playing on the heartstringsPhotograph: Nick Fancher

PITBULL DOES not make the kind of music you would describe as romantic. Listeners are unlikely to swoon when they hear the American rapper’s lyrics, such as “I’m the plumber tonight / I’ll check yo’ pipes.” And yet when a couple start kissing in a horse-drawn carriage in the new season of “Bridgerton”—which debuted on Netflix on May 16th—they do so to a cover of Pitbull’s “Give Me Everything” played by a string quartet. Remove the braggadocio lyrics, add staccato violins and a song can go from gross to engrossing.

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This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Four good”

From the May 25th 2024 edition

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