The year 2020 has been one deranged year. Between a global pandemic, the tense political environment, and the murder hornets, music has always been there no matter what. 2020 has been a great year for music. Numerous albums have been released, and many artists have hit their big break. 

Towards the end of the year people tend to look back at their choices and Spotify Wrapped is a nice way to look back at your music throughout the year. You can compare the music you’ve listened throughout the year and check your streaming analytics while you’re at it. 

Harsh Danayak is a Sophomore at Oakdale High School. stated that his top 3 artists for this year we’re Juice WRLD, Eminem, and  Jack Harlowe, and his top three songs were Blastoff (Juice WRLD), Whats Poppin remix (Jack Harlow), and Godzilla (Eminem) . 

Grace Djoko is also a Sophomore at OHS. Djoko responded that her top artists were Tom Misch, Sango, and Yussef Dayes, meanwhile her top three songs were Dumebi (Rema) Used to be (Ralf Gum), and Beverly Hills (Phonte).

Another way music has brought us together is the way we interpret and find meaning through our favorite songs. Danayak replied “ Fighting Demons[…]motivates me to power through the stress in my life and get through times that are tough.” 

Grace noted that Dumbei “[…]propelled me to think outside the box. While having fun and enjoying myself. “

Many people have reported that all this time in isolation has helped them see and understand themselves. Websites like Hobbydb have seen an uptick in activity with new users trying to find and express themselves. 

Djoko voiced,“ My taste in music changed slightly since the beginning of the year. Now I listen more to R & B in comparison to rap music. 

Djoko continued, “ My taste in music has changed a little bit. I am more of a hip-hop guy and I used to have a fixed perspective in the genre of music. As the year went on and when everyone was getting bored. I started to listen to different types of Hip-Hop and my perspective towards music grew.”

Finally, music has had different impacts on people throughout the year. Djoko affirmed this by answering, “Music had started being a big part of my life once quarantine started. First it was a way to pass time but as school started, I always have music playing in the background while doing school work.” 

Djoko  admitted, “Music hasn’t really affected me this year. On the flip side, I can understand how music could have affected others in a positive way.”

2020 has definitely been a year, but one thing we all can strive to bring into the new year is a new sense of self awareness.