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The majority of people listen to music or the radio when driving. You may be heading to your workplace or to school, when you catch yourself thinking at least once (if not a hundred times): “Wow that song is great, but I haven’t even heard of the artist.”
It might not even be the radio where you hear a song that you immediately know will become one of your favorites; it could be at a house party, a family event, a music festival, or even through the wall of your loud next-door neighbor.
At this moment you may come to the realization that you haven’t really been up-to-date on the latest hits. Many people would misinterpret this statement, thinking that it must be because they are old or because good music is no longer produced.
Well, age doesn’t define your musical taste. Sometimes events in your life just keep you busy and scavenging for new songs on online playlists may not be your top priority.
Time flies and there is certainly no stopping or slowing down for the music industry. Solo artists, bands, and other musicians are constantly coming out with new songs and albums. Just like we follow our daily duties and routines of going to school or work every morning, artists continually produce new content. For them their studio is the normal work environment, where they also share their talents with the recording labels, allowing us, ‘listeners,’ to enjoy it.
But how can you enjoy a song when it doesn’t even sound familiar or the name of the band seems to have appeared out of nowhere and quickly gained popularity?
Currently, we are experiencing a change within the music industry. Of course, change itself is continuous, however now that we have reached the 2020s, there is a clear generational change. Songs that you may have grown up listening to on the beach with an ice cream in your hand 30 years ago can no longer be heard on the radio, or very rarely.
Everyone has sweet childhood memories about going on vacations with their family or friends and perching the radio on a stone by a stream or rolling down the windows so the music would reach the bonfire where everyone gathered. You might even have a clear recollection of the song that way playing when you had your first kiss.
As cliché as it sounds, you probably have also wondered where those good old times and songs have gone. Well, I don’t want to destroy your illusions, but those times have passed, both the good times you had as a kid and the songs that now may only be found on vinyl records or CDs.
Of course, you should listen to your old favorite songs, not only because they could take you back in time to your nice memories, but because simply there are good songs. Even though your frequently listened-to songs are no longer found on the charts does not decrease their artistic value.
Nevertheless, just because you don’t recognize an artist doesn’t mean you shouldn’t listen to them or research their music or their background more. You shouldn’t restrict yourself and instead should move on with the times and enjoy currently recording bands and artists.
So who are the currently striving contemporary artists that you may have been missing out on? Looking at Billboard 100 or perhaps Spotify playlists that compose the weekly top 10 or 50 could be the starting point of your catching up on recent music. The latter application is also very useful as it also assembles playlists specific to certain genres in case you do have a preferred style of music.
Nowadays the most dominating genres of music on the charts are pop, RnB, Rap, and Hip-Hop.
Singer of country rap single “Old Town Road,” Lil Nas X only rose to fame recently but has been producing incredible singles one after the other. Lil Nas X also known as Montero Lamar Hill is a young American singer, rapper, and songwriter born in 1999. Ever since gaining viral popularity not only nationwide, but worldwide, has won 22 music awards and has been nominated 89 times. The remix of his song “Old Town Road” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus has been awarded The American Music Awards for Favorite Song in Rap/Hip-Hop in 2019. However, that’s not all. In 2020 Lil Nas X won two Grammy Awards for that song as well.
His debut studio album ‘Montero’ has just been released on September 17th, 2021 by Columbia Records and has numerous songs that have already been nominated for greater awards. This includes his hip-hop/pop single “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” is nominated for Best Pop Video (International) and “Industry Baby” (featuring Jack Harlow) for ‘Best Choreography in a Video’ by UK Music Video Awards in 2021.
“Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” has topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and has “Sun Goes Down,” “Industry Baby,” and “That’s What I Want” as follow-ups. The album also features a few guest appearances, including those of Doja Cat, Jack Harlow, Miley Cyrus, Megan Thee Stallion, and Elton John.
Lil Nas X can produce two types of songs: songs that make you dance no matter where you are and songs that hit you right in the feelings. By sharing his experiences as a young Afro-American man (that is also a part of the LGBTQ+ community) he gave both voice and comfort to thousands that may have been experiencing similar treatment by the public.
However, that’s not all! Lil Nas X’s ‘Montero’ album raised over $100,000 for charity, including those that aim to reduce the spread of HIV through raising awareness and providing the required education as well as those charities that fight for greater LGBTQ+ representation.
Lil Nas X is not only a blessing because of his music, but because of his humanity.
Another currently popular artist is 18-year-old Olivia Rodrigo. If you have younger children then the name might actually sound familiar. That is because Olivia Rodrigo starred on Disney Channel in a series named “Bizaardvark” as well as in Disney+’s “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.”
However, after releasing her debut single “Drivers License” in 2021, Rodrigo topped charts worldwide, writing her name into contemporary pop music history. “Drivers License” was followed up by multiple successful singles, including “Good 4 U” and “Deja Vu” before releasing her debut studio album “Sour” on May 21st, 2021.
Rodrigo’s breakthrough single “Drivers License” won three MTV Video Music Awards in 2021, including “Best New Artist,” “Song of the Year” and “Push Performance of the Year.”
Olivia Rodrigo’s songs are true anthems for the youth as she sings of teenage love and of heartbreaks that often come with it. However, her passionate songs can also be enjoyed by adults as they can also relate to those emotions due to experiences from their pasts and also presents.
Another familiar name can be American rapper and songwriter: Kanye West. Kanye is the type of artist that produces one of the albums of the decade before disappearing for a few years and eventually returning with a new album. Kanye West has sold over 160 million records worldwide and is considered one of the world’s best-selling music artists. He is also one of the most awarded music artists of all time as he has been awarded a total of 22 Grammy Awards.
Kanye’s most recent work is his tenth studio album “Donda,” which was released on August 29th, 2021, and is composed of hip-hop, progressive rap, and gospel. The release date of the album was delayed multiple times as Kanye wanted to perfect it. According to some critics he has achieved that, claiming that it’s his greatest work so far, while others consider Kanye an incompetent supervisor of his album as it’s incoherent due to its large range of genres and themes.
The album “Donda” is named after Kanye’s late mother, Donda West, and represents his struggles in the past years, including mental health issues, addiction, family relationships, separating from wife Kim Kardashian, and many more. Despite the album’s simplicity, Kanye manages to passionately share his emotions with the listener, earning a well-deserved number one position on the U.S. Billboard 200 and on many other charts as well.
If you are unsure on how to dive into current music, then perhaps exploring the music of Lil Nas X, Olivia Rodrigo and Kanye West could be a place for you to start. Based on the number of awarded winning albums of the year, music production can be classed as one of the top home jobs of the quarantine period. If you enjoy creating music then you could give it a go yourself!
