Apple Music announced the release of «2022 to Today: Top Songs and Trends”, a playlist that highlights the top 5 trends that the Apple Music team believes will continue to shape the music landscape in the coming months.
With this list, listeners can explore the trends that are setting musically so far this year, with the biggest songs of 2022 so far, to get a clear idea of what will hit the Apple Music charts next year. year.
Five current streaming trends on Apple Music
In the first half of 2022, some trends emerged that are influencing different musical styles: the massive return of sampling in hip-hop, the turn of Gen Z to composing introspective lyrics, the new air of drum ‘n’ bass and the impact of Africa in global pop.
Here you can see how the music scene has been changing with this playlist of the most memorable songs of the year so far. Plus, you can find out what topics should be on the radar as soon as possible to see which ones will make it to the end-of-year lists more prominently.
Gen Z pop embraces the classic, introspective ballad
Experts say one thing they’ve noticed about some young pop stars is how surprisingly grown-up they sound.
Tate McRae with “Feel Like Shit”, Benson Boone with “In the Stars” or Lauren Spencer-Smith with “Flowers”: serious, introspective ballads that could probably have been written 30 years ago, not to mention they’re aimed at an audience 30 years older. (It’s probably not much of a coincidence that Holly Humberstone released a beautiful retelling of Prince’s “I Would Die 4 U” earlier this year.)
Maybe it’s the legacy of Taylor Swift, whose music has always had an adult-contemporary glow, or maybe these artists are a little burned with irony. Whatever the case, they reach deep and hit their feelings head-on.
The renaissance of Bad Boy-style sampling
Part of what made Bad Boy Records’ sound so distinctive – and so compelling – in the late ’90s was the way they could take a very familiar song and turn it into something new: “Every Breath You Take” by The Police for “I’ll Be Missing You” by Diddy and Faith Evans, “I’m Coming Out” by Diana Ross for “Mo Money Mo Problems”, etc.
It’s a move that can be heard on songs like Lizzo’s “About Damn Time” (which features “Hey! DJ” by the World’s Famous Supreme Team), Jack Harlow’s “First Class” (“Glamorous” by Fergie and Ludacris) and ” Big Energy” by Latto (referencing Mariah Carey’s 1995 classic “Fantasy”, which in turn borrows the riff from Tom Tom Club’s 1981 song “Genius of Love”).
It could just be nostalgia – nothing draws audiences in as easily as what we already know – but it could also be a reaction against the huge creative leaps in rap over the last decade: the rise of Atlanta trap, emo rap, Drake, Tyler, Young Bandit , Kendrick Lamar.
The sounds of Afrobeats, Alté and Amapiano continue to travel
African pop has had an international presence at least since the late 1960s, when Miriam Makeba’s “Pata Pata” became an American R&B hit.
But the globalization of hip-hop – and the cross-pollination of global pop through tracks like Drake and Wizkid’s “One Dance” – has only increased the visibility of African artists, whether in collaboration with Western musicians (think Adekunle Gold and Ty Dolla “One Woman” by $ign and Fireboy DML and “Peru” by Ed Sheeran) or on their own (think “Free Mind” by Tems and “Kwaku the Traveler” by Black Sherif).
And if Billboard’s dedication to a dedicated Afrobeats chart in March is any indication, it means we’ll be hearing more of this in the future.
Drum ‘n’ Bass has been back for a long time
Of all pop’s current flirtations with ’90s nostalgia, few have been as deliciously unexpected as the return of drum ‘n’ bass.
He can be heard in the work of TikTok-released artists like PinkPantheress (“Break It Off”), piri & Tommy Villiers (“soft spot”) and Yaz (“Mr Valentine”), whose breakbeat-infused bedroom pop directed the sound in playful directions.
But it’s also central to producers like Chase & Status and Nia Archives, whose reverence for classic drum ‘n’ bass – its futurism, its intensity – has put the style in a new light for fans of underground dance music.
And if tracks like Ed Sheeran’s fast-paced “Shivers” or Luude’s D’n’B version of Men At Work’s “Down Under” (featuring Colin Hay himself) are any indication, it could very well be. conventional.
K-Pop’s worldwide expansion continues
BTS is not only the biggest group in K-pop, but pop as well. But its success has also fueled broader interest in the genre and a growing awareness of other artists who continue to push it forward, from established milestones like BLACKPINK (who, in 2019, became the first K-pop girl group to play Coachella). ). and NCT DREAM (the teen subgroup of NCT who changed their name in 2020 when they became legal adults) to younger names like LE SSERAFIM (the international group that confidently released “FEARLESS”) and Apple Music Artist Up Next aespa (” Illusion”), a group made up of real members and their virtual counterparts. So all this indicates that they might end up dropping the K and calling it what it is: pop.
Some of the biggest songs of 2022 so far
Future, “WAITS FOR YOU (feat. Drake and Themes)»
Future’s ninth studio album, I NEVER LIKED YOU, was a huge hit on Apple Music, breaking the record for most flows on the first world day on an album released in 2022.
He also gave Future the biggest hit of his career on the Global Daily Top 100 with “WAIT FOR U”. The song, which features Drake and Tems, has spent more weeks at number one than any other Future single.
Harry Styles, “As It Was”
In the more than two years since “Fine Line,” it seemed as if Harry Styles was heading to an even more ubiquitous level of stardom, and the arrival of “As It Was” proved that he was. The song became Styles’ first #1 on the Global Daily Top 100, heralding Harry’s House as his biggest album to date.
Upon its release, “As It Was” broke two world records: the most first-day streams for a song released in spatial audio, and the most first-day streams for a song released in 2022. among the top three songs on Apple Music.
Jack Harlow, “First Class”
“First Class” made Jack Harlow a streaming superstar. The song, which showcases Fergie’s 2007 hit “Glamorous”, was Harlow’s first No. 1 on the Global Daily Top 100, rising to the top immediately upon its release and staying there for 21 straight days.
In the two months after the release of “First Class”, which included the release of the album “Come Home the Kids Miss You”, Jack Harlow’s Apple Music streams around the world nearly quadrupled. “First Class” continues to hold the record for the most first-day streams worldwide for a hip-hop song released in 2022.
Glass Animals, “Heat Waves”
A year after emerging from anonymity and reaching the top 40 of Apple Music’s Daily Top 100, “Heat Waves” hasn’t cooled down one bit. In fact, it wasn’t until early 2022 that Glass Animals’ success became a mainstay of the Global Daily Top 100’s top 10, peaking at #4 in April.
Overall, “Heat Waves” has helped Glass Animals increase its flows by 330% over the past 18 months compared to the previous 18 months.
Bad Bunny, “Titi Me Wonder”
With the release of their fifth studio album, “Un Verano Sin Ti”, Bad Bunny helped make Latin music history on Apple Music. He broke two world records, helping Latin music have its glory day in Apple Music history.
While it was “Moscow Mule” that broke the record for first-day streams for a Latin song, “Titi Me Pregunto” emerged, over time, as a fan favorite. In late May, three weeks after the album’s release, the song entered the top 5 of the Global Daily Top 100, and has remained there ever since.
Gayle, “abcdefu”
One of the big stories of the first half of 2022 is “abcdefu”, the big debut by pop-rock singer GAYLE. The song was released on Apple Music in the finals of 2021, and it was in the top 5 of the Global Daily Top 100. The viral success has helped Gayle to see a 500% increase in streams in general for a year to another.