During the 2010s, we have seen the rise of new artists and genres nearly every year.

In the beginning of the 2010 decade, “Call Me Maybe” was a new breed of viral song with a wholesome vibe. A flirty piece of pop euphoria, “Call Me Maybe” has since become a mainstream karaoke song and car ride staple. 

In the mid years of the decade, “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift had a huge impact on American pop, with 2.8 billion views on YouTube. 

Billie Ellish’s 2019 song “Bad Guy” is a sinister, strange type of pop that opened up a new possibility in the path of music trends.

Artists in hip hop were also able to gain attention later in the decade as the internet’s influence expanded.

Mumble rap, emo rap and trap, a form of hip hop centered on the topic of living in poor neighborhoods, became new popular forms of rap.

The music streaming platform SoundCloud allowed previously unknown artists such as Smokepurpp, Lil Pump, XXXTENTACION, Juice WRLD, Rich the Kid, Travis Scott and countless others to rise to the top of the charts. New artists are constantly rising to fame after being first noticed on that platform. 

However, the 2010s music world was not without its tragedies. Lil Peep, Mac Miller and Juice WRLD all lost their lives to drug abuse, while XXXTENTACION lost his life during a robbery. 

Numerous rappers were also arrested. Tay K was sentenced for murder, while Bobby Schmurda was arrested for attempted murder and drug and gun possession. 

Meek Mill was arrested for a probation violation and started a prison reform movement after his release as a result of his experiences. Snitch 9 was also arrested for racketeering assault, firearms offenses and one drug trafficking charge and snitched on his gang for a lighter sentence. 

We both greatly enjoyed this decade of music. Whenever we felt saddened or stressed out, the artists that rose this decade helped us get through these tough times. We can’t wait to see what the new decade has in store for us.