Music represents an important part of culture and society. Numerous individuals bond through their music taste and utilize music in every aspect of their life. Artists work to create songs that fans can relate to and obsess over, leading certain songs to gain higher numbers of listens than others. This factor leads various music enthusiasts to debate whether artists gain popularity on their own or solely through their hit songs. Although musicians work to build a career around all their songs, their popular hits commonly define them as an artist.
Throughout previous decades, different styles of music have gained popularity and views. For example, in the 1990s, grunge and hip-hop style songs flew to the top of the charts, no matter the artist. Radio stations streamed these songs that drivers listened to on the way to work or in stores. Radio playlists consist of songs that appear as well known rather than focusing on a specific artist, which furthers the idea that songs obtain higher recognition than their creators. During the spring of 2022, the song “As It Was” by Harry Styles began circulating on radio networks. This song highly succeeded and ended up boosting Styles’ popularity and now remains his highest viewed song. Before the release of this song, he had amassed fewer monthly listeners and fans. Other artists also experience this boost as one of their songs quickly gains popularity and becomes his or her breaking hit.
Music and specific songs commonly become paired with specific memories in one’s mind. Individuals usually hold onto songs used as part of a trend or referred to as the song of the summer and later find them nostalgic. July 2024, the song “Apple” by Charli XCX broke the media and rose to popularity on every social media app. Users would create TikTok dances to the song and it also constantly played on the radio. Tiktokers named this the song of the summer and later, in the fall, reminisced about the “Apple” era. Charli XCX released a whole album at the same time as “Apple,” but the media only stuck to a single song out of the whole album. Similarly, songs such as “Heat Waves” by Glass Animals and “Tumblr Girls” by G-Eazy gained popularity during the summer and listeners now reminisce and refer back to the prime era of these songs. All of these songs that become the song of the summer or gain popularity through trends truly define an artist and create a name for that artist.
“Trends and the idea of a song of their summer definitely leads to specific songs being reused over and over again. This kind of makes me skeptical at first, but if I see a song over and over again because it’s part of a trend, I am extremely likely to add it to my playlist. For example, the song “Bad” by Wale was used in a trend on TikTok and I did end up adding it to my playlist and still listen to it to this day. I completely think that if one’s song is found on TikTok or in a trend, then they are set,” magnet junior Gabby Sutton said.
In the music industry, specific artists gain fame and receive awards for their work at events such as the Grammys or the American Music Awards (AMAs), which reward the artists themselves rather than their specific songs. Artists also produce tours to showcase and play all of their songs for fans. For instance, Taylor Swift recently completed The Eras Tour, which showcased 44 to 46 of her songs per show and she sold out almost every show. Individuals, specifically in their teenage years, commonly look up to Swift, which further shows the importance of the artists themselves. Fans also spend money on merchandise of their favorite celebrities to wear and to display their fondness of that artist.
“I fully believe that artists get famous for all of their songs and for them as a person overall. Even though some specific songs might be really good, they wouldn’t get to that point unless they had support from others before. Also, if only one or two songs made a person famous, no one would go to concerts or idolize certain celebrities,” junior Trenton Spottsville said.
Although specific artists rise to the top of the charts and gain popularity, their songs with the highest numbers of views continue to bring new fans in. A listener usually discovers artists through songs used in trends and on the radio in the first place, which shows that popular songs intrigue individuals. Music enthusiasts can also enjoy listening to different artists and styles of music instead of just sticking to one particular artist. Furthermore, music streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music create playlists and recommend popular songs that a listener may enjoy based on their music taste. This leads individuals to listen to a range of popular songs rather than continually the same artist.
While both the music and the musician show importance in establishing one as an artist, popular songs overall define an artist and build up a name for them. Nearly all individuals also prefer to listen to specific songs rather than a specific album from an artist. Whether a song plays on the radio or joins one of the numerous TikTok trends, specific songs overall gain the highest amount of popularity.
