recently i’ve been looking into mainstream music from the 2010s, a retrospective to my adolescence. genuinely what was happening in 2010s mainstream pop music. the top 10 chart from 2013 really delivers a good snapshot of this
Billboard’s 2013 Year-End Hot 100 Chart
1. “Thrift Shop” - Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
2. “Blurred Lines” - Robin Thicke ft. T.I. and Pharrell Williams
3. “Radioactive” - Imagine Dragons
4. “Harlem Shake” - Baauer
5. “Can’t Hold Us” - Macklemore and Ryan Lewis ft. Ray Dalton
6. “Mirrors” - Justin Timberlake
7. “Just Give Me a Reason” - Pink ft. Nate Ruess
8. “When I Was Your Man” - Bruno Mars
9. “Cruise” - Florida Georgia Line ft. Nelly
10. “Roar” - Katy Perry
I thought maybe it was just a ‘post recession pop’ phase for the early 2010’s, but no, looking through the rest of the charts for the decade, it doesn’t start getting better until 2020. In the later 2010’s, we start to see newer artists climb the charts and there are better songs featured, but the overall vibe of mainstream pop music is still questionable looking back now. Check out the top 10 from 2018
Billboard’s 2018 Year-End Hot 100 Chart
“God’s Plan” - Drake
“Perfect” - Ed Sheeran
“Meant to Be” - Bebe Rexha ft. Florida Georgia Line
“Havana” - Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug
“Rockstar” - Post Malone ft. 21 Savage
“Psycho” - Post Malone ft. Ty Dolla Sign
“I Like It” - Cardi B, Bad Bunny, J Balvin
“The Middle” - Zedd, Maren Morris, Grey
“In My Feelings” - Drake
“Girls Like You” - Maroon 5 ft. Cardi B
This is around when we start seeing more rap and Caribbean influences in mainstream pop, which will change the landscape for pop music in the 2020’s. Looking through these charts, it honestly seems like what saved pop music throughout the 2020’s so far has been all the new names coming into the mainstream. We can see Post Malone coming up in the 2018 chart bringing new influences pop music. It’s pretty interesting to see how pop music almost went stagnant without new names entering the game.
That of course is not to say that there was not good music in the 2010s. Of course there was!! I’m talking about mainstream pop. And again, of course these songs don’t become mainstream without people liking them. But I’m sure we can all agree mainstream doesn’t necessarily mean good 😝
These are just some thoughts I had. Let me know what you guys think. What is your least favorite mainstream 2010s track? Do you have a favorite? Maybe one you genuinely love, or a guilty pleasure? What are your favorite non-mainstream 2010s tracks?
