Change. What is change? Why do things in your life change? Most of us fear change as it might have a negative effect, therefore we often try to temporize or go around it. Truth is, you may have to get out of your comfort zone from time to time to embrace that change since who knows? Maybe you end up enjoying it because that is what change allows; new and exciting experiences separate from the old and overused ones. As Kaitlyn’s grandma says, “Variety is the spice in life.”

One thing that often changes in your day to day life are your top favorite songs. With over 1.5 billion songs out there, 22 million song tracks released per single year, and approximately 100,000 songs uploaded to digital services daily, your favorite songs are bound to change! Typically, your taste in music (favorite genre) stems from the environment you grew up with infused with your unique culture. For example, Kaitlyn adores country music which is what she grew up around. Gina personally doesn’t. She’s more into pop which she frequently hears from her mom’s radio station (HIT Radio) on her phone connected to the Alexa device in the kitchen. In the car she likes to listen to the Kiss 102.3 radio station. Kaitlyn favors the Sirius XM radio station. However, the most popular radio station in the US is WHTZ-FM (iHeart Radio/ 100.3).

Besides what you grow up around, your favorite song might also likely change based on what you’re feeling in the moment. From upbeat to depressive vibes and lonely to partying vibes, there are plenty of songs that would fit the mood and help you feel better. For example, when it comes to sorrowful songs, it can help knowing that there is another person in the world who relates to your pain along with all of the people that have listened to it. The last thing we can think of that has a noticeable impact on people’s top songs is the well-known app with over 1 billion active users from 154 different countries; TikTok. Numerous trends root from TikTok where users can upload videos commonly to a song. That song becomes popular in a matter of days when other users start to join in on the trend. Artists like Charlie Puth (“You Turn Me On Like a Lightswitch”), Gayle (“ABCDEFU”), and JVKE (“Upside Down” + “Golden Hour”) have greatly benefited from this and it has kicked off their musical careers. For us, hearing a 15 second snippet of a catchy song in a TikTok can get stuck in our heads for the rest of the week.

Have any of you heard of “Anti-hero” by Taylor Swift or “Made You Look” by Megan Trainor? These two songs have equally arisen from TikTok. Both Taylor Swift and Megan Trainor have been famous for a while due to this popularity boost. Taylor Swift had been famous since 2004 when she signed a music publishing deal with Sony. Megan Trainor has also been famous for a while and that is thanks to her song “All about that bass” which took her to #1 around the world in 2014. However these 2 artists are still popular and are still making new songs, I believe that Tik tok helped them get this far.  Did you know that over 170 songs that were trending on Tik Tok in 2021 charted on the billboard Hot 100? Did you also know that over 1 billion people have the TikTok app. That means that over 1 billion people are listening to viral songs on tik tok helping to make artists famous, and that’s not even counting others who just hear songs on music apps or the radio. Some of our classmates’ favorite songs were also viral on TikTok at one point as well. 

Taylor Swift released a new album called Midnights (3am Edition). In the album, songs like “Anti-hero,” “Lavender Haze,” “Midnight Rain,” “Bejeweled,” “Maroon,” and “Snow on the Beach” are featured. All of those songs are in the US top 15 music charts, “Anti-hero” at #1! Mae’s favorite song is “Calm Down” by Rema and Selena Gomez which is #16. Gina’s is “Bad Habit” by Steve Lacy which is #4. These songs are pop, which is the leading genre on social media platforms such as TikTok and Youtube. However, country is another leading genre is responsible for the popularity of Kaitlyn’s and Andy’s current favorite song which is “Something in the Orange.”

In conclusion, songs that people all over the world dance to on platforms such as TikTok and Youtube frequently have an influence on the US top charts. However, some people (such as a significant portion of our classroom) prefer to stick with the classics. Now we have some questions for you. Do you have TikTok? What’s your favorite radio station? Have you listened to any of these top 16 songs or T Swift’s newest album? Lastly, is your favorite song one of the older classics similar to our classmates? Leave a comment below answering one (ore more) of our questions!