Sounds of the Decade: A Look Back on 10 Year-Defining Songs

As we reach the end of the decade, now’s the perfect time to reflect on the growth that music and the world has seen in 10 years.

Written by Andrew Zhang
Illustrated by Paige Giordano

While the chapter closes on the 2010s and we look ahead to the future, it’s important to look back and remember how much our world has changed over time. However, thinking about life a decade ago can be a little frightening — we were still on the iPhone 3GS, and Drake hadn’t released an album yet. To help us remember the changes that have occurred, here’s 10 incredible releases that defined each year of this tumultuous decade.

2010: “OMG” - Usher

It may be mind-boggling to think about how long ago 2010 was, just like it’s crazy to think that Usher’s party classic “OMG” came out 10 years ago. The song describes his attraction to a certain girl, so much that he can only say “Oh my gosh.” Looking back on 2010, international events — both good and bad — created similar “OMG” reactions across the world.

In 2010, Apple created the first iPad, sparking an entirely new section of the electronics industry. Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger released Instagram with the hope of creating a way people could share their lives through images (a project that definitely turned out well). In the music world, an empire was created as the members of One Direction joined together from their time on “The X Factor.”

On a more serious note, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill caused severe environmental damage to the Gulf of Mexico. The Haiti earthquake caused incalculable damages and displaced 1.5 million people. WikiLeaks made its first big document dump, pitting countries across the world against each other as the organization spilled government secrets on the internet.

2011: “Set Fire to the Rain” - Adele

Adele exploded onto the scene in 2011 as people around the world obsessed over her voice and emotional sincerity. “Set Fire to the Rain” describes Adele’s dramatic breakup with a former lover and realization of how much that person had changed her life.

She describes how her breakup showed herself the influence her lover had, just as 2011’s events brought abrupt changes to the world and made us think about the power individuals held. Steve Jobs died of pancreatic cancer, leaving behind a technological revolution. Amy Winehouse passed away after a beautiful career on musical truth of drug struggles and rehab,

Additionally, 2011 saw fiery destruction like the English riots from the shooting of Mark Duggin, the magnitude-9 Tohoku earthquake that ravaged Japan, and an airplane crash that killed an entire Russian hockey team. Ultimately, “Set Fire to the Rain” tells a story about dealing with big change, knowing that you don’t have to immediately reconcile with your difficulties — something the world needed during 2011.

2012: “Gangnam Style” - PSY

“Gangnam Style” was released on July 15, 2012 and quickly became a viral hit across the world. The song set records like the first Youtube video to exceed one billion views, and arguably helped K-pop music break into Western mainstream media.

In similar history-making fashion, athletes at the London 2012 Olympics thrilled the world — Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian of all time, Gabby Douglas became the first African-American to win the gymnastics all-around, and the Spice Girls reunited for the Closing Ceremony.

“Gangnam Style,” referring to the upscale Seoul neighborhood, is a celebration of culture and success. 2012 held similarly joyful festivities such as GIF’s 25th birthday, Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee, and the world not ending on December 21.

2013: “Happy” - Pharrell Williams

Originally part of the “Despicable Me 2” soundtrack, “Happy” evolved to take on a huge role by itself — Williams released a 24-hour music video for the song, which charted as the Billboard Top 100 No. 1 song three separate times. The song has a simple premise of letting go and enjoying life, with lyrics that attempt to unite people together through happiness.

2013 was definitely a happy year for the world. The Harlem Shake flooded social media, as people released videos of groups doing the dance in the craziest places — even airplanes. Miley Cyrus released Bangerz, developing her own image after gaining fame from Disney. Apple released iOS 7, establishing the way iPhone software still looks today.

Additionally, the world was inspired by the activist Malala Yousafzai, who made an impassioned speech to the United Nations about the importance of worldwide education. After surviving a terrible shooting by the Taliban, she showed us the beauty of human virtue.

2014: “Stay With Me” - Sam Smith

Sam Smith released the somber song “Stay With Me” about avoiding loneliness. In 2014, the isolation of certain groups of people demanded the world to listen.

We were in constant disbelief during 2014 as American police brutality reached a breaking point. Eric Garner’s scream of “I can’t breathe” became a symbol of this violence. In Cleveland, Ohio park, 12-year old Tamir Rice was shot by Cleveland law enforcement. Riots in Ferguson rose from the murder of unarmed Michael Brown by a police officer.

Also in 2014, the Communist Party of China made a decision to reform Hong Kong voting that was widely seen as an act to restrict democracy. In response, Hong Kong citizens took to the streets for length protests during the infamous Umbrella Movement.

As “Stay With Me” showed the sometimes damaging powers of isolation, 2014 helped promote the importance of understanding and solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter and the Umbrella Movement.

2015: “Here” - Alessia Cara

Alessia Cara’s breakout single “Here” details her distaste of being at a party and wondering how she put herself into the situation. 2015 highlighted issues we really wished we could change — for example, the shootings that seemed to happen everyday. It was the first year in American where the chance of dying from a gun exceeded the likelihood of dying from a car accident. We asked “how did it ever come to this?” and started to become immune to news of gun violence.

While the song may have depressing undertones, “Here” has another message about having “big dreams” to make the world a better place. In 2015, people around the world cheered as Obergefell vs. Hodges legalized marriage equality in America. Across the Pacific Ocean, the Chinese government reformed its controversial one-child policy.

Both “Here” and 2015 detail stories of social struggles, but also taught us to never stop hoping for a better future.

2016: “Cranes in the Sky” - Solange

“Cranes in the Sky” describes Solange literally looking into the sky, seeing construction cranes and realizing that she lives in a time of transition. Additionally, the song preaches the necessity of enduring pain — coping with it and letting go.

2016 definitely felt transitionary. Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election, succeeding Barack Obama and ushering in a new era of American politics. David Bowie, George Michael and Prince died, leaving behind monumental music legacies. The Brexit referendum occurred, changing the future outlook on globalization.

This year of transition gave us the opportunity to learn from the brevity of life, teaching us to confront our personal struggles and make them go “away, away, away...”

2017: “Perfect Places” - Lorde

While 2016 was a year of transition, 2017 showed us the we still needed to endure more struggles in order to reach a better place.

In “Perfect Places,” Lorde sings about how she “hates the headlines and the weather.” 2017 saw disasters on an unprecedented scale. Natural disasters like Hurricane Harvey appeared to take on a deadlier form, while mass shooting events like the Las Vegas terrorist shooting seemed to never stop.

With all the bad events, 2017 showed we all couldn’t “stand to be alone” and that societal progression requires participation from everyone. In that spirit, #MeToo brought a generational change of much-needed sexual violence awareness and millions took to the streets in the first annual Women’s March.

2018: “Nice For What” - Drake

A single off Drake’s album Scorpion, “Nice For What” celebrates women excellence and representation and gave us another uplifting summer anthem from the Canadian rapper.

2018 definitely got “some representin’ in here” and started recognizing what everyone was “bringin’ to the table.” In popular culture, “Black Panther” and “Crazy Rich Asians” brought groundbreaking representation to mainstream film. “Ocean’s 8,” the crime movie featuring stars such as Rihanna and Sandra Bullock, brought an all-female spin to a male-dominated classic.

We also saw greater representation in government. Americans elected a historically-diverse Congress — including the first Muslim congressmen, the first bisexual congresswomen, and the youngest congresswoman in history — that would forever change the politics in the U.S.

“Nice For What” is also a feel-good anthem, and stories such as the Thai boys soccer team’s cave rescue and Meghan Markle wedding Prince Harry kept 2018 a happy year to remember.

2019: “Juice” - Lizzo

Although the year has been stressful, 2019 rose out of 2018’s tailwinds as a much-needed year of positive energy. Lizzo’s single “Juice,” from her third album Cuz I Love You, perfectly embodies what the year is about — nothing but self-love.

In the spirit of how Lizzo sings she “don’t even gotta try” to prove herself to others, 2019 has been a year of self-love. Lizzo herself rose to stardom as an advocate of self-love. Megan Thee Stallion helped create the “Hot Girl Summer” mantra of not caring about others’ opinions and feeling good about yourself. We also became increasingly caring towards the environment, with Europe banning single-use plastics and young Greta Thunberg starting a global climate movement to protect the planet everyone shares.

“Juice’s” hardest hitting line is “If I’m shinin’, everybody gonna shine.” We all have our struggles, some bigger than others. But we also have our triumphs — the happy things that uplift us and inspire us to become better versions of ourselves. Ultimately, “Juice” and the entire decade taught us that at the end of every day, our human ability to share our lives to those around us is the best way we can collectively move forward to face the future together.