The Cultural Values of 2021’s Top Songs
Music is extremely personal and important to people around the world, so the most popular songs at any given moment say a lot about current cultural values. So, here are the top 3 most-streamed songs on Spotify of 2021 and what their popularity says about the values and desires of our culture.
1. drivers license by Olivia Rodrigo
The 2021 rise of Olivia Rodrigo was absolutely insane, and it began with “drivers license”, an incredibly specific and intense song about teenage heartbreak, blowing up on TikTok. Now, I have to acknowledge my bias here because I am a huge Olivia Rodrigo fan, and I likely accounted for about half of the 1.1 billion streams this song achieved in 2021. Ok, maybe not that many, but it was still my most-streamed song of 2021.
With that being said, I think it’s very significant to have an honest and heartbreaking song written by a teenage girl so championed by the world and the music industry. The success of this song shows people, especially young women, around the planet that it’s ok to feel insecure and sad, and that those feelings are universally relatable. The success of this song also shows that people still want vulnerable music that they can relate to and feel deeply.
2. MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) by Lil Nas X
This song by Lil Nas X is a catchy rap song about falling for someone. There are certainly some sexually explicit lines, but that’s pretty much the standard in the pop and rap genres today.
The music video, which boasts over 467 million views, is the really shocking part. You’ve probably seen the video, but if you haven’t, it consists of Lil Nas X dancing down a pole into Hell and then giving the devil a lap dance. For Lil Nas X, this was an allusion to his religious trauma surrounding his sexuality. Nevertheless, there was a ton of controversy around this music video, but there are also just as many people supporting the video.
This song shows us that we seem to like and popularize things that are controversial and shocking. It also reveals how pop culture's view toward Christianity is rapidly shifting.
Judeo-Christian values have been the foundation of the western world for centuries, but these values are disappearing. The popularity of a song and music video that combats Christianity in such an extreme and provocative way is very telling of the direction of our society and the change in values we are beginning to see, particularly with Gen Z.
3. STAY by The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber
This song may seem like an average pop song, but there is actually a surprising amount of depth to it. It’s about asking someone to stay with you even though you keep making the same mistakes even when you promise you won’t.
I’ve always felt that the best songs are the ones that feel a little too honest and make you think to yourself, “I can’t believe the singer is admitting to feeling this way”. I think those sorts of songs end up being the most relatable due to their unfiltered honesty. “STAY” is a great example of this unfiltered honesty, while still being an upbeat and fun love song. The success of “STAY” reveals how people enjoy catchy pop songs but also value lyrical depth and honesty.
As you can see, these 3 songs have pretty diverse sounds and messages. I hope that you were able to see what these songs that you heard throughout 2021 reveal about the cultural values as well as what people want in music.
Written by Peyton Price - Entertainment Values
