The Third Man(ilow)

I guess we can all agree that Billy Joel was, back then, the new Barry Manilow. But who, I wonder, is the new new Barry Manilow? Who will carry the torch? Who will write a series of successful, beloved-at-the-time pop songs that turn out to not quite stand the test of time? Whose back catalog will limn the b-sides of our I-can’t-believe-I-used-to-listen-to-this mixtapes? My instincts tell me that the new new Barry Manilow is P. Diddy, but as I understand it, he doesn’t actually write any songs. And I’m not 100% convinced that anyone likes his music, even now. So I don’t know. What do you think? I am open to suggestions. I know it doesn’t seem super important, but once we get this sorted out, we will all feel better.