Decade Review: Songs
Music has evolved over the past ten years, here are some of the most notable songs from the past decade.
Blurred Lines was one of the most popular and controversial songs of 2013. Photo from the music video.
December 19, 2019
The 2010’s was a decade of progress. From the end of “don’t ask don’t tell”, to youth around the world protesting for climate action, the decade was characterized by breakthroughs, and art was no exception. The decade might be over, but there is more to go.
Let’s step back and take a look at what made the 2010’s so great in songs:
2010 – Ke$ha, “TiK ToK”
“TiK ToK” was the best-selling single worldwide in 2010 that sold 12.8 million copies in that year alone.
2011 – Adele, “Rolling in the Deep”
“Rolling in the Deep” had sold over 8.7 million copies in the United States, making it the best-selling digital song by a female artist in the U.S.
2012 – Gotye ft. Kimbra, “Somebody That I Used To Know”
Gotye released this song July 2011 in Australia and New Zealand before he released it in the U.S. in Jan. 2012, making it No. 1 on the Billboard’s Hot 100 at the end of the year.
2013 – Macklemore and Ryan Lewis ft. Wanz, “Thrift Shop”
“Thrift Shop” was No. 1 in one in 18 countries countries between 2012 and 2013.
Robin Thicke ft. T.I., Pharrell, “Blurred Lines”
The controversial song became the subject of a legal battle between the singers and the family of Marvin Gaye.
2014 – Pharrell Williams, “Happy”
The song was highly successful, peaking at No. 1 on the Billboard in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and 19 other countries
2015 – The Weeknd, “Earned It,” “Can’t Feel My Face,” and “The Hills”
The Weeknd was slowly gaining recognition until his “big break” after “Earned It” was used for the 2015 film “Fifty Shades of Grey.”
2016 – Drake ft. WizKid and Kyla, “One Dance”
Drake dropped his album “Views” in April 2016. “One Dance” became the most heard song in the summer and trend challenges on the app, Musical.ly, before it became TiKToK.
2017 – Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber, “Despacito”
“Despacito” was considered to be the song of the summer of 2017.
2018 – Drake, “God’s Plan”
“God’s Plan” concluded as the most-streamed song in 2018, with more than 1.5 billion streams.
2019: Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus, “Old Town Road”
Lil Nas X created this western/country rap hit that topped the Hot 100 for 19 consecutive weeks from April to Aug. 2019.
What were your favorite songs of the decade? Send us a tweet with #CTDecadeReview
Check out the decade review in politics.
