With 2014 wrapping up, it’s only right that we look back and reminisce about all the quality music that’s been released this past year. Right now, we’re in a Taylor Swift, Hozier, and Uptown Funk trance, but remember back when Pitbull had the stranglehold on the music game with "Timber" in January and February? Those were the days when you would turn on the radio and only hear “Timber,” “Dark Horse,” “Let Her Go,” and “Counting Stars” on endless repeat. The industry rode the Beyoncé and Katy Perry surfbort into 2014, but that started to change in late February when The Fray, St. Vincent, and Schoolboy Q all released albums on the same day. Oh, and so did Sean Paul.
Even though “Collard Greens” and “Birth in Reverse” were well made songs, 2014 hadn’t seen it’s first breakthrough hit until early March when “Best Day of My Life,” “Believer,” and wait for it … “Happy” were released. Pharrell dominated the Billboard Hot 100 with his upbeat song made for Despicable Me 2, which in case you live under a rock, sounds a lot like his verse in “Drop It Likes It’s Hot.” While ”Happy” dismounted “Dark Horse” and held the top spot until May, more artists were coming up along the way. Before I continue though, yes the rumors are true, my dad’s ringtone was “Happy” for months and it was agonizing. Anyway, to close out March, Rick Ross released Mastermind to rival Schoolboy Q, Skrillex returned once again, Shakira brought some flair to the charts, and Foster the People’s long awaited sophomore album, Supermodel, didn’t pack as much of a punch as Torches did, but still led alternative charts with their single “Best Friend.”
April came and went, as some well-known artists such as Jason Derulo, Drake Bell, Neon Trees, and Iggy Azalea (I’ll discuss the emergence of her later, maybe) released albums. May was the same way as headliners The Black Keys, Austin Mahone, Rascal Flats, Coldplay, and Sarah McLachlan all delivered new material. Still though, by the end of May, the charts were being held hostage by “All of Me,” “Problem,” “Turn Down for What,” and newcomer “Fancy.” Iggy dominated with “Fancy” from June to the end of July, which was actually pretty “Rude” if you ask me *insert smirking face emoji*. While Iggy reined queen of the charts, the best albums of the year came out, which is no coincidence. In June, Sam Smith broke out as a star with In The Lonely Hour, a powerful album led by his amazing voice. Ed Sheeran didn’t sink into a sophomore slump with X, as he only confirmed his position as one of the best. Those albums are quality, but the real queen returned in June. Lana Del Rey blessed the world with Ultraviolence, as her melodic voice returned for a third time to ward off the evils of the world.
The music world slowed as the summer went on, and I’ll quickly describe the music from August to October. A song called “Rude” emerged, my anaconda don’t, no flex, no treble, “Hot Boy” was a thing. This EDM song called “Animals” or something like that had some success, the trumpets they go, and Taylor Swift returned and claimed she had officially switched from country to pop with 1989 (lol Taylor, lol). I almost forgot ... remember when U2 magically put their album on our phones? Yeah, that was fun I guess. Am I wrong about any of these things?
To close out this year in music, rock gods Nickelback reappeared, as did Nick Jonas. Along with these two, Calvin Harris, Azealia Banks, 5SOS, One Direction, Nicki Minaj, Charli XCX, and J.Cole all released albums to help get us to the end of the year. I’m just thinking out loud here, but after the music that’s come out this year, nothing was the same. Wait, that last one was a 2013 reference, sorry about that.
