Quiz: How Fast Can You Pick the First Word in the 2010s Hit Song Title?

Hop in your time machine, because it’s time to head back to…the 2010s? This decade might not seem like too long ago to some of us, but actually, as I write this, we’re getting closer to the end of the 2020s, and some of the kids born in the year 2010 are turning 16 this year. Now that you’re probably feeling extremely old, why not keep your mind sharp by testing out your memory of some of the biggest songs of this long-bygone era? 

How many did you get? Is it time to revisit the megahits of the 2010s, or do you remember those days all too well?

The music of the 2010s

Music of the 2010s was, arguably, a little all over the place. Many earlier decades were defined by certain genres—who could extricate grunge from the ‘90s, after all, or disco from the ‘70s? By the 2010s, streaming was just starting to take off, rock and roll’s heyday was arguably decades in the past, and the most popular music of the day was mainstream pop and adult contemporary.

Divas and boy bands ruled the day, with women like Adele, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, and Lady Gaga dominating the charts. Meanwhile, boy bands like One Direction and BTS were also all the rage. If there was one genre that really peaked during this time, it would have to be EDM, which had existed since the 1970s but reached new heights between 2011 and 2014. The early 2010s were a huge time for megawatt house beats and festivals overall.

Trends and changes in the music world of the 2010s

Some unique trends emerged in music in the 2010s. “Whisperpop,” a style of quiet singing used by artists like Billie Eilish, Lana Del Rey, and Lorde, became popular. Indie and alternative music thrived thanks to bands like the Arctic Monkeys and Tame Impala, and hip-hop and trap also boomed, with players like Kendrick Lamar bringing conscious rap to the forefront. 

But the biggest change in the music world during this time was the explosion of streaming. Napster had existed since 1999, but Spotify launched in 2008 and debuted in the U.S. in 2011, and soon became ubiquitous. Social media also completely changed the music landscape over the course of the 2010s. Artists were already under pressure to go viral on social media when TikTok launched in 2016, but the platform added a whole new level of pressure and possibility to the music industry. 

Never had it been so easy to be “discovered”—and never before had music required so much posting and marketing by the artist. In the 2010s, it also became even more difficult for artists to make a living with music sales thanks to streaming, putting more pressure on artists to tour and causing concert ticket prices to soar.

Things also changed significantly in 2020, a year that saw touring largely shut down for a time due to the pandemic. This event permanently disrupted and altered the music world in ways that people are still trying to understand, and definitely marked the end of an era. The young years of the 21st century were over, and a strange new world marked by big questions about AI had begun. 

Nowadays, it’s almost hard to believe that back at the start of the 2010s, Taylor Swift was a country artist, Rihanna was still very actively releasing music, and “pandemic,” “Zoom,” and “AI” were entirely historical or theoretical topics for almost all members of society. If you’re now feeling a sudden desire to blast Kesha’s “Tik Tok,” Adele’s “Someone Like You,” Gotye and Kimbra’s “Somebody That I Used to Know,” or Fun and Janelle Monáe’s “We Are Young,” we don’t blame you one bit.