“2021 was an overall great year for the music industry. I feel that since Covid, a lot of new, more underground artists have been blowing up, on social media especially.” said junior Alaina DeRose. “We had a lot of great releases and I’m looking forward to what awaits this year.”
This year, 24 artists reached the number one spot on Billboard’s Top 100. Some of which earned their first number one single as well. These artists include Olivia Rodrigo, Glass Animals, Silk Sonic, Polo G, The Kid LAROI, and Jack Harlow.
“My most played artist this year was The Kid LAROI. He’s continuously dropping great music. If anyone is dropping new music for 2022, I hope it’s him,” said junior Parker Scherer.
The Kid Laroi’s first album dropped in 2020. According to Forbes, the production was done by 21 record producers, including Benny Blanci, Bobby Raps, and Taz Taylow. The Kid Laroi’s currently untitled first ever studio debut is set to release in 2022.
“Hands down the best part of 2021 was when Taylor released her version of Red,” said DeRose. “Swift released her remastered 2021 album on Nov. 12, then released a short film she directed for her song, “All Too Well.”
According to Forbes, teenage pop artist Olivia Rodrigo released her first debut album, “Sour,” this year, solidifying its spot as America’s favorite breakup album. According to Forbes, Rodrigo has “won 3 MTV VMAs including Best New Artist and has been nominated for seven 2022 Grammy Awards.”
“I think Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo should collaborate in 2022. Their energy bouncing off each other would result in a great piece,” said sophomore Stephanie Zustovich.
According to Forbes, the teen pop-rock sensation came in second with her debut album, beaten out by country singer-songwriter Morgan Wallen who claimed the biggest album in the US of 2021. His album ended the year with over 3.226 million copies sold.
“I love country music. Morgan Wallen is one of my favorite country artists and one of my top artists according to Spotify. In fact, I will be attending one of his concerts this February,” said junior Amanda Ford.
Despite his musical success, Wallen received a large amount of backlash after being filmed using a racial slur while out with friends. The LA Times reported his apology video where Wallen commented that he wanted to “do better.” Big Loud Records suspended Wallen’s recording contract indefinitely.
American rapper, Baby Keem, cousin to rapper Kendrick Lamar, released his third album on Sept. 10 with Columbia Records. This album features guest appearances by Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, Don Toliver, and Brent Faiyaz.
“Melodic Blue was my favorite and most listened to album on Apple Music this year. Keem is a great musician with a fun and refreshing energy,” said junior Evan Cormier. “I have been listening to Keem since his first mixtape in 2018. This is his first studio album and I truly think that he is going to become a bigger hit soon. A lot of young artists have been finding themselves in the spotlight, Baby Keem should be one of them.”
According to Billboard, Dua Lipa’s “Levitating” triumphed as number one on the Billboard 2021 year-end Hot 100 Songs Chart. Because of this, the year-end number one Hot 100 list was led by a female artist for the first time in 10 years, since Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep.”
