ear candy
noun
: music that is pleasing to listen to but lacks depth
Did you know?
Ear candy made its debut (in print, at least) as the title of a 1977 album by pop singer Helen Reddy. The album has long since faded from the charts, but the term endures and it is now used widely enough to have gained entry into abridged dictionaries. Although "ear candy" is sometimes used critically to describe tunes that are considered "gooey," "sweet," or "saccharine," the people who make the music and their fans find it tasty. As one 90s band member sagely put it, does it really matter if ear candy "isn't about the secret of life"?
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web The guitar solos are excellent, and the track sticks in your mind like a piece of ear candy. 
Mark Richardson, WSJ, 29 Aug. 2022 There are little ear hooks, ear candy, on those original records. Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 16 Mar. 2022 As eye and ear candy, BTS gave the Grammys tons of free promotion, and the Recording Academy was happy to take it. Natalie Morin, refinery29.com, 16 Mar. 2021 Addressing issues like self-esteem, good relationships, sh--ty relationships, depression, self-love and other real life material with an accessible vulnerability, to many Scholler's work is less ear candy and more of a rally cry to just keep going. Katie Bain, Billboard, 1 Oct. 2020 The song is ear candy, and a certain kitsch factor is probably part of its enduring appeal. Paul Grein, Billboard, 29 Sep. 2020 Built out of urgent piano stabs, laser synths, kick drum and a truly delectable melody -- layered underneath lyrics about meeting the man of your dreams in your actual dreams -- the song was pure ear candy. Katie Bain, Billboard, 29 Sep. 2020 Fortunately, Ripa’s reconstructive surgery allows her to still wear sparkly ear candy. Maria Yagoda, PEOPLE.com, 11 Dec. 2019 Or a shiny gold cuff that'll take anyone's ear candy up a notch? Glamour, 31 Oct. 2019 See More
Mark Richardson, WSJ, 29 Aug. 2022 There are little ear hooks, ear candy, on those original records. Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 16 Mar. 2022 As eye and ear candy, BTS gave the Grammys tons of free promotion, and the Recording Academy was happy to take it. Natalie Morin, refinery29.com, 16 Mar. 2021 Addressing issues like self-esteem, good relationships, sh--ty relationships, depression, self-love and other real life material with an accessible vulnerability, to many Scholler's work is less ear candy and more of a rally cry to just keep going. Katie Bain, Billboard, 1 Oct. 2020 The song is ear candy, and a certain kitsch factor is probably part of its enduring appeal. Paul Grein, Billboard, 29 Sep. 2020 Built out of urgent piano stabs, laser synths, kick drum and a truly delectable melody -- layered underneath lyrics about meeting the man of your dreams in your actual dreams -- the song was pure ear candy. Katie Bain, Billboard, 29 Sep. 2020 Fortunately, Ripa’s reconstructive surgery allows her to still wear sparkly ear candy. Maria Yagoda, PEOPLE.com, 11 Dec. 2019 Or a shiny gold cuff that'll take anyone's ear candy up a notch? Glamour, 31 Oct. 2019 See More Word History
First Known Use
1977, in the meaning defined above