My top 3 year-round artists
Throughout my life, and even from season to season, my music taste changes. Each season of the year brings about a different feeling, which leads me to listen to different songs and artists. There are three artists, however, that follow me with every season. Maybe it’s because their music can be versatile, or perhaps it’s just because I like the sound of their voice. Either way, I’d like to share a little about these artists and my reasoning for enjoying their music so much.
My number one artist is Taylor Swift. Pause. I understand that this is controversial. Most people either love her or hate her. I’ll admit that she is very mainstream, which tends to put people off. I have my reasons, though. Bear with me.
Taylor Swift’s music is versatile. Yes, her songs all sound slightly similar, but this is simply due to the fact that she is the one singing every song. Her voice doesn’t change from song to song, but the melodies and lyrics contain many different themes and tones.
Taylor’s career began with country. She gained popularity through her country songwriting and was thus known as a country singer for the first few years of her career. Eventually, she transitioned into pop. Her album “Speak Now” was her first album with a more pop sound. There are a few songs on this album that still contain some of the acoustic, country sounds like “Mean” and “Back to December.” Most of the songs in this album, however, strayed away from her country roots.
Taylor stayed pretty close to her pop sound through her albums “Red” and “1989,” briefly transitioning into a darker pop sound with “Reputation,” then back to lively pop with “Lover.” In 2020, Taylor dropped “Folklore,” presenting her listeners with a folky sound they’d never heard from her. She continued this with “Evermore,” which is my personal favorite. She released her most recent album, “Midnights,” last fall. This album sounded more similar to her pop albums but contained more mature lyrics and a slightly darker sound.
All of this is to say that I firmly believe Taylor Swift can be versatile. Her versatility and relatable lyrics keep her songs in the rotation throughout my seasonal playlists.
The next artist I can’t seem to leave in a season is Noah Kahan. His songs typically have similar vibes to them, folky with hard-hitting lyrics, but they seem to fit every season of my life and of the year. I first discovered Noah when he released “Stick Season” but have been continually drawn in by his newer releases. His older albums contain pretty similar energy to “Stick Season.”
Noah’s music brings light to many relatable situations, especially that of homesickness or longing to be in a certain place. He also has many songs relating to love, nostalgia, and negative self-image. His deep lyrics hit home for many listeners.
Noah also has a trend of inviting musical artists of vastly different backgrounds, such as Post Malone and Lizzy McAlpine, to cover many of his already-released songs. The diverse sounds of these artists bring new diversity to Kahan’s music that listeners didn’t know they were missing.
The variance between Noah Kahan’s lyrics and melodies provides enough variety to keep his music relevant in every season. However, his personal sound makes a spot for him in every album I create on Spotify.
The final artist stuck in my rotation is Phoebe Bridgers. Her style is very distinct. Truthfully, much of her music has the same tone. Not only because of the sound of her voice but also because of the actual tone of the song. Her lyrics carry similar weight throughout her songs, both as a solo artist, but also as one of the singers in Boygenius.
Phoebe’s music isn’t often uplifting, but it is always relatable. She words her songs in such a way that readers can picture themselves in her life, whether or not they have actually gone through everything Phoebe writes about. This relatability, as well as the generally soothing sound of Phoebe’s voice, maintains her spot in my seasonal lineup.
These three artists have all accomplished great success and fame in their careers. My taste in musical artists is anything but underground. I do not claim to have unique music taste. However, these artists all stay relevant because they are immensely talented.
They all earned their spots in my, and much of gen-z’s, musical reservoir. They have distinct sounds that most listeners can relate to, despite the time of year. Some of these artists have more versatility throughout their music than others, but that also comes with time. I, along with these artists’ mass followings, excitedly await each of their next steps.