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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UTRGV chapter.

Neida Alcantar 

When I have a favorite song, I have it on repeat for the whole month. This month, I’ve been favoring ‘Nothing In Return’ by Toronto-based, bedroom pop producer, Monsune. I discovered the audio video of this song on my Youtube recommendations and I honestly didn’t expect much. However, when I listened to it, I was more than overwhelmed. This song instantly hyped me up the first time I heard it. I decided to give the music video a chance, and if it isn’t just the cutest thing. It’s the simplest music video that could ever exist: it just shows the artist hanging out with his buddies at the park, but Monsune’s quirky expressions and cute head bobs kills me every time (heart eyes). Not to mention, the artist sampled four different songs from different time periods to create this masterpiece. That says a lot. The song’s been on repeat for 3 weeks now and I haven’t grown tired of it whatsoever.

Kennedy Castillo

My favorite music is constantly changing, currently though I’ve been listening to Imagine Dragons non-stop. I have several favorite Imagine Dragons songs including “Whatever it Takes”, which is a fairly new song. Some of my other favorite Imagine Dragons songs are “Radioactive”, “Thunder”, “Believer” and “It’s Time” The songs are a mix of alternative rock and electro pop. Last year my most listened to artist(s) on Spotify was Imagine Dragons. I highly recommend listening to one of their albums (my favorite is evolve), they have upbeat music that is sure to put you in a good mood.

Renata Cruz

Music is hard to categorize as “favorite”, for I find a special place to the many genres I listen to. But one of the bands that I find myself going back to is Coldplay. Growing up I listened to songs like “Viva La Vida”, “Green Eyes”, “Adventure of a Lifetime” and of course “The Scientist”. When I listen to these songs, I get a remainder of my childhood and the many places where these songs came with me. My all time favorite song is “Clocks”, the piano, the chorus and the lyrics create a beautiful melody. In the future I wish to attend to one of Coldplay’s concert and be a witness of their beautiful music.

Laura De Leon

It’s so hard to choose a favorite song, as most of us have mentioned, but if I had to choose, I would pick the song that I have been listening to all month long. “Don’t Take The Money,” by Bleachers is such a synth filled pop song about the struggles of a relationship. Jack Antonoff, the man behind Bleachers, is a musical genius. Before he became a producer on both Taylor Swift’s and Lorde’s album, he was in a band called, fun, and after becoming obsessed with that band I started to listen to his older band, Steel Train. When he announced Bleachers would be releasing a second album I become obsessed all over again! I definitely recommend the entire album, and his old stuff too. The video to this song is also great so give it a watch! You can also hear him on the soundtrack for Love, Simon, which he also produced. 

Erika Elizondo

I have been told by many people that my taste in music is “odd” to not say the word weird, but I’ve never cared so much about what people say. I love listening to K-pop which is Korean Pop, ever since I was introduced to it in High School! My favorite band is Big Bang, they are a group of 5 bad boys that sing so nice! I even went to a showing of their concert at a movie theater once 5 years ago and I loved it. Sadly, now with college I haven’t been able to stay on top of all the new releases of K-pop and keep playing my 2010s K-pop hits. However, I have seen the band BTS on my spotify and fell in love with their music. My favorite songs from them are “Best of Me” and “Save Me” which are so romantic and catchy at the same time! If you have not listen to these bands, you should definitely give them a try!

Berenice Gonzalez

My music taste is all over the place as it probably is with most people. I listen to some fine 90s R&B to early 2000s R&B/ Hip Hop then there’s funk Brasileiro and sometimes just some stuff from my local band scene. One of the songs from this month that I believe has gotten a lot of hype has been “Bum Bum Tam Tam” by MC Fioti. This song has been hyped up so much this past month because they made a remix of the song with artists such as: MC Fioti, Future, J Balvin, Stefflon Don, and Juan Magan. I’ve been noticing that the reggaeton scene has been incorporating a lot more brazilian artists into their music in these past couple of years. We can also see this collaboration with Maluma’s song “CorazĂłn” featuring Nego do Borel, which has that song in Portuguese called, “VĂŽce Partiu Meu Coração”. I highly recommend these songs if you want to be familiarized with funky brasileiro. Espero que todos gostem da mĂșsica brasileira! TĂĄ muito legal~

Varesh Gorabi 

My favorite song right now (it changes every couple of weeks) is “My Tomorrow”, by Coely, from her album Different Waters (2017). I found her music through a Reddit comment, and now she’s my favorite rapper. Coely is from Belgium but most of her songs are in English. Her music is considered as hip-hop/soul, although “My Tomorrow” is mostly rap. I don’t normally listen to rap, but her voice, style and lyrics are phenomenal. Her song “My Tomorrow” is about not just wishing for success but actually taking action, and not giving up. She sings of how she didn’t have much when she was growing up – “Grew up in poverty with just one of my parents/No money to spare, the money wasn’t there.” I also can’t help but be touched when she mentions her mom being by her side as she’s living the dream now. A sentiment that also appears in her song “Celebrate” which is all about how much Coely appreciates her mom. “My Tomorrow” remains my favorite song from her album though. Overall, the song’s heartfelt and positive message combined with its catchiness and Coely’s powerful voice makes it impossible to listen to just once. Even if you usually don’t listen to rap, give this song a try!

Juan Pablo Hernandez

Here’s the thing: I don’t actually listen to much music these days. (I couldn’t tell you who’s charting on Billboard’s Hot 100.) Presently, I listen to podcasts (e.g., “How Did This Get Made?,” “WTF with Marc Maron,” “Raised by TV”) for auditory pleasure. However, when I need a pick-me-up during my runs, there’s only one band for the job: Foo Fighters. The Dave Grohl-fronted rock band is known for its blend of heavy guitar riffs and soft, melody-friendly elements. My favorite Foo Fighters tracks include: “This is a Call,” “Everlong,” “Next Year,” “Times Like These,” “Another Round,” “Long Road to Ruin” and “Walk,” among others. Currently, my go-to Foo Fighters song is “The Sky Is a Neighborhood” (inspired by Grohl’s fondness for astronomy and Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s “The Most Astounding Fact” video) from their ninth studio album “Concrete Gold.” The song features Grohl’s bombastic vocals, a choir of “ah’s” and, of course, roaring guitars. So, sit back and turn it up to eleven; you’ll be belting out the song’s anthemic lyrics in no time. Check out the sci-fi/fantasy-inspired music video below, directed by Grohl.  

Cinthia Monsivais

I love finding new music to listen to and am constantly searching for new songs and artists and making playlists. I usually do a monthly favorite playlists of songs I’ve been listening to for that current month, whether they be new or old. One of my favorites from my March playlist is “Sunflower” by Rex Orange County. It’s a really sweet song that makes me feel like I’m at the beach and a warm summer day. Another favorite hat I recently heard at the Dreams Festival at Yerberia Cultura this spring break is “I Don’t Know You” by The Marías. I had never heard of this group and when I heard them at the festival I fell in love with this song. If you’re looking for new music that has a soothing and warm feeling to it give these songs a listen!

 

 

Bilingual/Biliteral/Bicultural
Kennedy Castillo is a student at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley majoring in communications. She is the founder of her personal brand Kennedy C Media consisting of KennedyCBlog.com, The Simply Kennedy Podcast and Kennedy Castillo Youtube Channel. She previously worked with Riddle & Bloom as an Amazon Prime Student Ambassador. She is a freelance writer with published articles in Woman2Woman Magazine, Glue Magazine, Lune Magazine, Vinazine and Her Culture Magazine. She is the current Campus Correspondent and President of the UTRGV Her Campus Chapter and previously worked as a Her Campus Chapter Advisor, Her Campus Chapter Expansion Intern and Her Campus High School Ambassador Program Advisor.
A Mass Communications major, with a minor in Art and Graphic Design. Passionate about creativity and food. 
UTRGV Class of 2018  Mass Comm Major Mexican-American Studies Minor