A Year In Review—The Music Of 2015

2015 was an interesting year for music. Adele’s latest album was released, and was such a hit that when her tour tickets went on sale in America, they sold out in mere minutes. 2015 was the year a lot of us felt a lot more comfortable saying that we liked the Biebs. This makes it more acceptable for my 8-month-old niece to dance whenever she hears his songs. 2/3 of the Jonas Brothers made a comeback, and I’ve got to say I’m digging it.

Since the year is almost over, I figured I’d take a look at some of the best songs of the last twelve months. Some of these are hard to believe they’re from this year.

"Uptown Funk" – Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars
Most of us probably have a love/hate relationship with this song at this point. When it was first released, I didn’t care for it at all, but it took no time for me to shamelessly jamming out to it in my roommate’s car. Unfortunately, now that it’s been so overplayed, the stars have to align for me to enjoy the song as much as I used to.

"Drag Me Down" – One Direction

After Zayn Malik left One Direction, I can only imagine a lot of their fans as Lindsay Lohan in "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" when her favorite band calls it quits. The other members of One Direction definitely did not let that… drag them down. I had to, sorry. Whenever this song comes on, my current roommate and I make it a point to turn it up.

"Sorry" – Justin Bieber
Where do I even start? Justin Bieber has had a rough celebrity life. Seriously, this kid’s relationship was all kinds of rocky, people hated him for being a bit of a punk, and whenever we hear his name, the first thing most of us do is have war flashbacks to "Baby". That did not stop him. Nope, not J. Biebs. He picked himself up and released a bunch of catchy new music. You go, Biebs.

"Sugar" – Maroon 5

I will forever love Maroon 5. While I will never believe that this video was a surprise to all those people getting married (seriously, I’m just too skeptical) I have to admit – who wouldn’t want Adam Levine to show up at your wedding? Aside from the part that Maroon 5’s appearance might steal some thunder, at least people won’t be forgetting your reception any time soon.

"Levels" – Nick Jonas

When I found out that Nick Jonas was making a comeback, I was thrilled. I’ll be the first to admit that the Jonas Brothers were my One Direction. Granted, I was never a crazed superfan. However, there was a time where I was ready to go to Poland to see them in concert with my sister while stationed overseas. Nick Jonas though. Homeboy. How you been?

"Cheerleader" – OMI
This is one of those songs that I could not stand when it came out. I would always change the station or skip it when it came up on Spotify. Over time, however, I found myself liking it more and more. Soon, I was singing my heart out to this song while doing the dishes in my apartment. Sorry, neighbors.

"Fight Song" – Rachel Platten
This song is arguably one of the most emotional songs of the year. When I first heard it, I immediately was like, "heck yeah, I dig it." And then I actually realized what the song was about, and I loved it even more. Since then, countless covers of this song have been made, sung by survivors and fighters, and almost all of them have been able to give me those chills. I can’t hit all of these notes, but that won’t stop me from trying.

"Bad Blood" – Taylor Swift

Okay, alright, I know. "1989" came out in 2014, but it was late enough in the game that a lot of her songs didn’t really hit the charts until 2015. "Bad Blood", for example, was one of those songs. When I got the album for Christmas, I just knew this one was going to be great. And it was. Can we talk about that music video? That’s one impressive cast list. 99% sure all of us have had dreams of being in a badass girl gang like this at least once in our lives.

"Can’t Feel My Face" – The Weeknd
Again, this song took some time getting used to. In fact, all of the songs by The Weeknd did. However, I embrace the desire to sing along whenever I hear this. I have a lot of important questions for you. Where did you come from? He’s been posting music since 2010 on YouTube. How have I not heard of you before? What is the secret of your hair?

"Hello" – Adele
Adele, you’ve been in hiding for a while, and clearly you’ve been at work. I’ll admit – I’m not the biggest fan, but I can appreciate your music. I have my roommate to thank for getting me to like "Hello". I just have a question. How did you not get irritated at the wind in this scene?

"GDFR" – Flo Rida ft. Sage the Gemini
I have Spotify to blame for this one. Over the summer, every commercial was for this song. It’s super catchy though, so I mean. There’s that.

"See You Again" – Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth
This song. This. Song. This is the song that hit everyone in the feels. This is the reason why everyone left the movie theater in tears after "Furious 7". With the music video being a tribute to Paul Walker, no one was safe. It didn’t matter if you didn’t watch the movies, it was still emotional.

"Talking Body" – Tove Lo

Tove Lo is one of those artists that I would never admit to my parents that I listen to. Love her music though, even if I don’t quite agree with the lyrics. There’s just something about it that hooks me in, and at this point I’m not even trying to fight it.

"Hotline Bling" – Drake
Apparently this song is amazing. I’ve only heard it a few times, honestly. It’s alright, but I can see where people love it. It’s also inspired a few memes and vines that are hilarious.

"Uma Thurman" – Fall Out Boy

“Listen to this song – this song is going to be the song of the summer, I can just feel it.” These were the words I was told prior to hearing Uma Thurman for the first time. No truer words have ever been spoken. Fall Out Boy, keep 'em coming.

Honorable Mentions:

These are just a few of my favorite songs that didn’t quite make the charts, but definitely deserve to be heard.

"Emperor’s New Clothes" – Panic! At The Disco
As a follow-up to "This Is Gospel", this song gives me life. It’s great. The video is a little on the freaky side, but there’s just something so satisfying about seeing Brandon Urie turning into the devil.

"Can’t Sleep Love" – Pentatonix

Anyone who knows me knows that I love Pentatonix. They’re an a capella group that made their start on the show "The Sing Off." Since then, they’ve amassed nearly 10 million subscribers on their YouTube channel, won a grammy for their Christmas album, sang the Star Wars tribute at the 2015 AMAs, and played Team Canada in Pitch Perfect 2. Their covers are marvelous, and their original songs are fantastic.

If you want to relive the music of 2015 without listening to every song in the Billboard Top 100, I highly recommend taking a look at these mashups!

Here's to wondering what next year will have in store for us.