As the 2010 decade comes to a close, everyone is jumping at the opportunity to reflect on some of the best songs to hit the music industry. The trend is everywhere on social media, with videos with captions like, “Goodbye to our childhood, the 2010s did us well,” or “Celebrate the good times,” flooding the different trending feeds. People are clearly in a nostalgic mood as we approach the end of 2019, because many people believe they have to say goodbye to their childhood. As we are all now realizing, the 2020s are no longer a distant number of the future but they are here and now and for many of us it is a scary thing to think about.
The generation that makes up current college students right now are feeling that pressure of growing up that most kids experience when transitioning into adulthood, but we are also experiencing the end of a decade which makes it feel like time is going even faster. As kids growing up in the digital age we have had so much media at our disposal and so much to explore and enjoy. The music industry has always been a successful business, but in our lifetime it has grown into an even bigger empire with so much music being created and shared. As we look back so many of our favorite songs are those made during the 2010s, hearing them brings back some of our best memories. As you may have guessed I am joining in on the trend with my own shorter list of the best nostalgic ‘bops’ of the last decade.
- “Tik Tok” – Ke$ha
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Ke$ha was an icon during the 2010s, a bad-ass girl who partied a lot (obviously not the best image for kids/teens) but for many of us she represented that rebellious side that we had or wanted to have. I remember listening to Ke$ha on my iPod Nano jamming out in the backseat of the car, which now saying it sounds like a prehistoric sentence. More recently Ke$ha resurfaced in society revealing that her producer, Dr. Luke, actually abused, manipulated and sexually assaulted her. Despite all this Ke$ha filed a lawsuit in order to distance herself from him, and has tried to use her story as a way to prevent others from suffering the same hardships.
- “California Gurls” – Katy Perry
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Another big female pop star of the 2010s was Katy Perry. I personally had her song “Hot n Cold” as my very first ringtone when I got my first flip phone (again, that is a seemingly prehistoric sentence to the younger generations). She never failed to come up with smash hits that would be stuck in everyone’s heads long after the song was released.
- “Airplanes” – B.o.B ft. Hayley Williams
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Airplanes is one of the many hits of B.o.B including singles like, “So Good,” “Magic,” and “Nothin’ On You” ft. Bruno Mars. They are all very catchy hits that do not disappoint, and they were played everyday on the radio until everyone knew the lyrics. “Nothin’ On You,” and “Airplanes,” in particular were No. 1 and No. 2 hits in the year of 2010, according to Billboard.
- “Bad Romance” – Lady Gaga
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Lady Gaga to many is a queen of pop in the 2010s as she created a rift in the music industry with her consecutively popular songs and outrageous music videos. One of the key aspects of her musical personality in the 2010s is her stage presence – she wore crazy outfits (including a literal meat dress which caused quite a lot of discussion), her songs were incredibly creative and unique and her music videos made little to no sense.
- “Love The Way You Lie” – Eminem ft. Rihanna
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Eminem is another prominent rap artist of the time with other hits like “Rap God,” “Lose Yourself,” and “Not Afraid.” He continues to produce even now in more recent times: Kamikaze, which released in August of 2018, was his ninth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, selling 434,000 album units according to Forbes.
- “Love On Top” – Beyonce
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Beyonce, still ever as popular as when she was in Destiny’s Child in the 90s, continues to produce songs that become hits. Other huge singles of hers include “Halo,” “Irreplaceable,” “Single Ladies,” and “Crazy In Love,” ft. (her husband) Jay Z.
- “You Belong With Me” – Taylor Swift
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Taylor Swift was another one of those artists that brings back so many good memories of the 2010s, especially ones of our childhood and times where we worried about little and had a lot of fun. Some of her other classic songs from the 2010s include “We Are Never Ever Ever Getting Back Together,” “Love Story,” “22,” and “Style.”
- “Call Me Maybe” – Carly Rae Jepsen
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This is one of those songs that exploded overnight (or at least it felt like it did). Everyone was singing this song and it was played all hours of the day on pop radio stations. It may have become overplayed, but it still is representative of some of the most popular music of the 2010s.
- “The Lazy Song” – Bruno Mars
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“The Lazy Song” is one of those songs that everyone enjoyed because it was relatable, funny, and it was blowing up on YouTube. Bruno Mars currently holds the title of the male artist with the most number one hits with his eight chart-toppers, according to Billboard.
- “Rolling in the Deep” – Adele
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Adele grew very popular after the release of this song in particular, as everyone went crazy for this song and her incredible vocal talent. Some other smash hits of hers include “Someone Like You,” “Skyfall,” “Hello,” and “Set Fire to the Rain.”
- “Super Bass” – Nicki Minaj
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Nicki Minaj first blew up after her release of this song, which went on to hit number five on the Top 100. She also became an iconic female rapper that encouraged other women to pursue rap and essentially accelerated the platform. Other hits of hers include “Starships,” and “Anaconda.”
It is really hard to try to capture an entire decade of good music. Even so, not everyone has the same tastes or likes the same artists. Everyone has their own collection of nostalgic and sentimental songs that are symbolic of their childhoods. I personally love the band Coldplay, and even though they have had their popular hits, they have also had many songs that are not for everyone. So I encourage you to go back and listen to some of your own favorite songs of the decade and create your own playlist.
Attached here is a link to the playlist that I have been putting together with some of my own favorite songs of the 2010s. It is a collaborative playlist, meaning anyone can add songs they think fit the theme, so feel free to add any that you believe represent the 2010s.