2022 Music Roundup

The listening variety of Truckee High students, charts, and data uncovers the music everyone enjoyed in 2022.

Spotify Charts allow a glimpse at the diversity, trends, and movements in the modern music industry. The site provides clear navigation of the top artists, albums, and songs globally or by country. The statistics are all dictated by Spotify music listeners. 

The charts are broken down even further into certain genres or cities and show if the song, artist, or album is moving up, down, or staying the same in the ranks. 

The number of streams (when a song is played 30 seconds or more), streaks (weeks in a row on the chart), and peaks (highest rank obtained) are also visible on the Charts.

According to Spotify Newsroom’s 2022 roundup, Bad Bunny was the top singer globally and has been the most-streamed since 2020. Taylor Swift came in second in popularity.

Drake, The Weeknd, and BTS are the three other artists that received slots in the global top five. Many popular creators used social media to influence the followers of their new music.

The top five songs this year were “As It Was” by Harry Styles, “Heat Waves” by the Glass Animals, “STAY” by The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber, as well as two tracks from Bad Bunny’s recent album, “Un Verano Sin Ti” that came in first for albums globally. 

Harry Styles’ “Harry’s House”, Olivia Rodrigo’s “SOUR”, Ed Sheeran’s “=”, and Doja Cat’s “Planet Her” came in next in the album ranks.

Nostalgia also proved to play a large role in listening trends this year. Artists like Eminem, Coldplay, Nirvana, Kate Bush, and Coolio had their older songs and albums revisited by many.

Teenagers all over the planet rely on music in their daily lives. HuffPost calls it young people’s “way of defining and sharing their sense of self, identity, or ‘personal brand.’” Some Truckee students give us a glance into the music they listened to in 2022 amidst popular culture. 

Sophomore Elizabeth Mark is constantly seeking good sound quality while listening to music. She enjoys consuming Apple Music through her earbuds or Beats headphones. Mark took a musical journey this year that kicked off with newer releases like The Weeknd’s album “Dawn FM”. 

Then, Mark said, “I wanted to understand more about the influences of modern hip hop and rap.” She enjoyed artists such as Notorious B.I.G., Kanye West, and Tupac. 

Mark notes her discovery of playing the guitar and how it got her more into the rock and indie genres. She would recommend the songs “Happy” by Mother Mother, “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” by The Smashing Pumpkins, “About A Girl” by Nirvana, and “Chop” by Vundabar.

Another student that shared their musical experience this year was junior Annika Porado. They primarily listened with AirPods using the Spotify platform or their record player. Porado’s favorite genre of 2022 was metal.

 “My favorite artists are Fiona Apple, Scowl, Dying Wish, and GEL,” Porado stated. They enjoyed albums “When The Pawn” by Apple, “New Age Filth” by Hail The Sun, and “Remnants of the Vessel” by Faetooth.

Damyn Dettling, a sophomore at THS likes tuning into the classic rock and ‘20s jazz genres. He consumes music using earbuds, his stereo, or records. Dettling said his favorite song was “absolutely ‘Funny How Time Slips Away’ by Willie Nelson.”

In 2022, he enjoyed the albums “The Dark Side of The Moon” by Pink Floyd and “Nothing’s Shocking” by Jane’s Addiction. Dettling also listened to a lot of Jimi Hendrix’s music.

Whether your favorite musical stuff was at the top of the charts, mentioned by the students in this article, or in an obscure corner of the musical world, your listening probably helped shape you and your experiences this year. 

As it comes to a close we can reflect on what songs, artists, genres, and albums defined us and helped us make it through 2022. 

Another year of music is on the verge of beginning. What will be on your playlist?