Songs of the Last Five Years

2017 to 2012. 

Looking back on music I’ve found the years since 2012 to be kind of… blegch. Which got me thinking, reflecting on this lousy stretch: which tunes will be considered the icons of this weird five-year spread? What will be played at the parties, fill out karaoke playlists, and be the backbone of digital 2010s radio stations ten years (or the 2010s-themed parties in twenty years) from now? Here are my guesses for a Top 40 of Pop.

NOTE: I loathe some/many of these tracks. This is just my prediction for what’s going to last, not my personal endorsements.

NOTE NOTE: The fact that I’m even making this list is rather silly, considering how many of these I only knew in the vaguest terms, and had to look up by lyric or digging. I don’t listen to pop music! So if the song made it through my radio-free bubble, I guess it has to be pretty well-known.

All About That Base – Meghan Trainor, 2014.

Alright – Kendrick Lamar, 2015.

Anaconda – Nicki Minaj, 2014.

Applause – Lady Gaga, 2013.

Bang Bang – Jessie J, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, 2014.

Black Beatles – Rae Sremmurd ft. Gucci Mane, 2016.

Chandelier – Sia, 2014.

Counting Stars – One Republic, 2013.

Cranes in the Sky – Solange Knowles, 2016.

Despacito – Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee, 2017.

Fancy – Iggy Azalea ft. Charli CXC, 2014.

Formation – Beyoncé, 2016.

Gangnam Style – Psy, 2012.

Get Lucky – Daft Punk ft. Pharrell, 2013.

Happy – Pharrell, 2013.

Hello – Adele, 2015.

Hotling Bling – Drake, 2015.

I Love It – Icona Pop ft. Charli XCX, 2012.

Ivy – Frank Ocean, 2016.

Let It Go – Idina Menzel, 2013.

Mask Off – Future, 2017.

Q.U.E.E.N. – Janelle Mona eft. Erykah Badu, 2013.

Radioactive – Imagine Dragons, 2012.

Roar – Katy Perry, 2013.

Royals – Lorde, 2012.

See You Again – Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth, 2015.

Shake It Off – Taylor Swift, 2014.

Shape of You – Ed Sheeran, 2017.

Stay With Me – Sam Smith, 2014.

Sugar – Maroon 5, 2014.

The Fox (What Does the Fox Say) – Ylvis, 2013.

The Sound – The 1975, 2016.

Thrift Shop – Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, 2012.

Timber – Pitbull ft. Kesha, 2013.

Trap Queen – Fetty Wap, 2015.

Turn Down for What – DJ Snake ft. Lil Jon, 2014.

Uptown Funk – Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars, 2014.

Wagon Wheel – Darius Rucker, 2013.

Work – Rhianna ft. Drake, 2016.

Wrecking Ball – Miley Cyrus, 2013.

Fun Fact: While compiling this list I legitimately wondered, and had to look up, if The Wallflowers’ “One Headlight” (released in 1996) was recorded in the past five years. I am old.