By Ava Cole ‘22, Arts & Entertainment Writer

It’s official. The year 2020 has begun, and with it starts a new decade. The past ten years have been filled with some of the most noteworthy musical trends: K-Pop began to make a name for itself in the US with bands like BTS, Latin music gained more traction later in the decade with Spanish hits like “Despacito,” and technology helped form more electronic, techno-sounding beats, leading to the rise of EDM (Electronic Dance Music). Country music took on a more “pop” sounding style, like country duo Dan + Shay, and rap music has never strayed so far from its origins, focusing less on the lyrics (like Eminem’s music) and more on the beat and overall feel of the song. And of course, this decade became a time where selling records and albums was no longer as important. Streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music allow listeners easier access to any song or artist. Nowadays, the number of streams a song or album gets is a much better indicator of success and popularity. With all of these musical changes and trends, it’s important to look back at the last decade and see how some of the most popular albums and songs helped define the music of the 2010s. Here are the most popular albums and songs starting from 2010 until the end of 2019. 

2010

Most popular song- Ke$ha, Tik Tok 

Ke$ha’s “Tik Tok” reached number one on Billboard’s Hot 100 in January of 2010, and stayed there for nine weeks. The pop song was deemed that year’s biggest digital single, selling 12.8 million copies. Spotify was not available in the U.S until 2011, and therefore streams were not important to a song’s popularity during the time “Tik Tok” came out. 

Most popular album- Eminem, Recovery 

Some hits off of Eminem’s album, Recovery, include “Not Afraid” and “Love the Way You Lie,” both of which reached number one on Billboard’s Hot 100. His album was the best-seller in 2010, and since then he has released two more albums: Revival and Kamikaze (2017 and 2018 respectively). These two albums were nowhere near as successful as Eminem’s previous, showing how much rap has changed over the decade. 

2011

Most popular song- Adele, Rolling in the Deep 

This song really put Adele on the map, as it reached number one on Billboard’s Hot 100 and sold 20.6 million copies. Soulful and full of heartbreaking but also hopeful lyrics, “Rolling in the Deep” was a number one hit different from those like Ke$ha’s pop songs, and brought a different style of music to pop culture. 

Most popular album- Adele, 21 

While “Rolling in the Deep” was a hit off of this album, Adele’s 21 came with other popular songs, such as “Someone Like You.” These songs carried the same solemn tone, but still sold nearly 30 million copies globally. 

2012

Most popular song- Gotye, Somebody That I Used to Know 

Already popular in Sweden and Australia, Gotye released “Somebody That I Used to Know” on free online music platforms, and once it was officially released in 2012 it became a musical sensation, selling 13 million copies worldwide. Many Swedish influencers are known for their electronic beats, but Gotye strayed from this idea and created a song both mainstream and unique. 

Most popular album- Mumford and Sons, Babel 

Streaming platforms like Spotify became more popular, and in the first seven days of Mumford and Sons release of their album Babel over eight million people had streamed the album. It was record breaking at the time, and shows that as people began to stream their music, album sales went down. Despite Babel being considered one of the most popular albums of 2012, it only sold a little under three million copies. 

2013

Most popular song- Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Thrift Shop ft. Wanz

Macklemore’s “Thrift Shop” was one of his biggest hits: upbeat, catchy, and definitely unique. Basically, Macklemore rapped about, well, thrift shopping, which differed from the usual topics of rap, drug use, alcohol, expensive clothing. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis were named Spotify’s most streamed artists in 2013, mainly due to the success of both “Thrift Shop” and “Can’t Hold Us.” 

Most popular album- Justin Timberlake, The 20/20 Experience 

Justin Timberlake releases his first album in seven years, with most of the songs strangely close to seven minutes long; will it fail, or will it thrive? If being deemed the number one album of Billboard’s Top 100, selling nearly a million copies in its first week and having two songs at the top of the charts is anything to go by, we can safely assume it was a huge success. With a mix of R&B, pop, and soul, The 20/20 Experience became 2013’s most popular album. 

2014

Most popular song- Pharell Williams, Happy 

Originally on the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack, Williams’ “Happy” surpassed 25 million streams that year, and with about 6.5 million sales his track reached triple platinum status in 2014. It was the best-selling song of the year. Pharell’s unique voice paired well with the groovy, upbeat rhythm of “Happy,” which is often thought of as a feel-good song. 

Most popular album- Taylor Swift, 1989 

So many hits in one album: “Shake it Off,”“Blank Space,” “Bad Blood,” “Styles,” “Wildest Dreams.” This album was Swift’s transition from country to pure pop, as she used synthesizers and processed instrumentals to create most of her songs on the album. Within its first week of release 1989 sold over one million copies and topped the Billboard Hot 100. 

2015

Most popular song- Hozier, Take Me to Church 

This song is packed with metaphors and underlying meaning, the most popular interpretation being that Hozier is singing about a gay couple and their struggles to live in a world where at the time differing sexual orientation was not quite as accepted. The Irish singer, with his deep and soulful voice, captured America’s attention with “Take Me to Church,” getting over 87 million streams on Spotify that year and by July of 2015 had sold more than 4 million copies. 

Most popular album- The Weeknd, Beauty Behind The Madness 

Another album with a variety of hits (“Often,” “The Hills,” “In the Night,” “Earned It”), none of The Weeknd’s albums have represented his musical style more than Beauty Behind The Madness. Mysterious, dark, not quite R&B, but still melodic and heavily emphasizing his soft vocals, this album contained two number-one singles, as well as having many of his songs surpass 4 million streams in the first week. The album debuted at number one in the U.S. 

2016

Most popular song- Drake, One Dance

By October of 2016, Drake’s “One Dance” reached one billion streams on Spotify, and Billboard named it 2016 Song of the Summer. With multiple rhythms and cultural inspirations, mainly from afrobeats, “One Dance” was not typical of Drake’s music in the sense that it had a more spiritual, abstract rhythm, but people loved it nonetheless. 

Most popular album- Drake, Views  

“One Dance” was a part of this album, as well as his well known songs “Hotline Bling” and “Controlla.” Views debuted with 245 million streams and number one on Billboard’s Hot 100. The monotonous sound of Drake’s voice was overshadowed by the catchy beats and lyrics that he produced, propelling his album to success in 2016. 

2017

Most popular song- Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, Despacito ft. Justin Bieber 

Here we can see the rise of Latin music in American pop culture. Bringing Justin Bieber on this track certainly helped “Despacito” gain popularity, as it surpassed one billion streams on Spotify and topped the Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. This fast-paced song, spoken mainly in Spanish, was named the 2017 Song of the Summer. 

Most popular album- Ed Sheeran, ÷

This album was named 2017’s biggest album of the year, selling more copies than Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. Thanks to his hit single “Shape of You,” which was featured on the album and has now reached 2 billion streams on Spotify, Sheeran’s ÷ album produced many other popular songs, such as “Castle on the Hill” and “Perfect.” 

2018

Most popular song- Post Malone, Rockstar ft. 21 Savage 

Post Malone owned 2018. His long awaited album Beerbongs and Bentleys quickly rose to popularity, with 438 million streams on Spotify just in the year it was released, and it featured his hit single “Rockstar.” The song broke Apple Music’s first week streaming record, as well as staying on Spotify’s global chart for more than 108 days straight, and remained number one on Billboard’s Hot 100 for eight weeks. 

Most popular album- Drake, Scorpion 

Drake also had one of his most successful albums yet, Scorpion. In the first week of its release, the album had one billion streams. Songs like “God’s Plan,” “Nonstop,” and “Nice for What” were all huge hits, and the album contained a strong bass and memorable lyrics, with many people remembering key phrases from his songs. These phrases helped spread this album’s popularity. 

2019-

Most popular song- Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello, Señorita 

Not quite an example of Latin music, but it has managed to rack up over a billion streams. A calm melody and a catchy chorus sung by Cabello, in addition to the duo revealing their relationship to the public, definitely helped “Señorita” reach top song of 2019. 

Most popular album- Billie Eilish, when we all fall asleep, where do we go?

Many people like this young star for her cynical lyrics and almost overwhelming bass that seems to make its way straight to your core. She does not fit in with the typical pop music, focusing more on the darker side of human nature, but this is exactly why her album has reached number one on Billboard’s 200 three times.