Bohemian Rhapsody ~ Queen
On this infamous hit by this infamous group, Opera and Rock meet to create a song with so many layers that it never gets boring. To this day a variety of generations can recite the lyrics and the fact these words do not have a meaning emphasises how monumental the vocal and melodies are.
Applause ~ Lady Gaga
The ARTPOP era was a controversial era for Gaga fans, or just pop fans in general. The princess of pop took her dramatic pop to a new level, and this was perfectly demonstrated in the lead single Applause. The song itself says Pop culture was in art, now art’s in pop culture, in me.
American Boy ~ Estelle Ft Kanye West
Estelle and Kanye West teamed up to mix the two opposing ends of the music industry; Pop and Rap. Since then we have seen multiple musicians gather together to produce similar projects but nothing has really emulated this track and it is truly where this genre begun.t
Braveheart ~ Neon Jungle
This is probably the least well known song on the list, along with Neon Jungle being the least well known artists on the list, however I feel that Braveheart lingered around the charts in 2014 enough to pave the way for more electronica hits that aren’t afraid to incorporate harsher sounds and non western genres like J-Pop into their music.
Good Vibrations ~ Beach Boys
The countless samples alone exemplify just how wide the impact this song had on the world was through complex instrumentals and soaring harmonies. Brian Wilson offered musicians a lot of techniques to be influenced by, even calling this song a “Pocket Symphony”.
Video Games ~ Lana Del Rey
In the 2012 of upbeat pop, Lana Del Rey was releasing what we would now call ‘sadcore’ music. Her music no doubt comes with an aesthetic with many connotations and layers, so she did not only influence music with Video Games, she influenced style too.
Waka Waka ~ Shakira
When a song goes viral it is bound to have some sort of impact on the industry, and Waka Waka did more than that. Shakira made sure the decade began with something everyone could enjoy. Something timeless, fresh not overly produced with the nice addition of a whole other language.
Smells Like Teen Spirit ~ Nirvana
Nirvana started off the 80s by introducing a rock/punk audience to a more relatable angst feel. The intro is recognisable to this day and it’s safe to their namesake has not aged. Smells Like Teen Spirit was the pivotal point at which the band reached a mainstream crowd, resonating with a variety of listeners.
The Hills ~ The Weeknd
The rest of the decade was filled with songs like The Hills, blending a pop sound with an electronic R&b sound. It’s now become recognisable thanks to the thousands of perfume adverts featuring this song and similar songs that follow.
Truth Hurts ~ Lizzo
Obviously this century has had it’s fair share of female rappers, but it feels as if we will be hearing songs like Truth Hurts ten years from now. This busy lyric, nothing but upbeat style of music feels ultra modern, and whilst everyone knows who Lizzo is, in terms of music I feel she is somewhat under appreciated.