2015 was the year of Taylor, Ed, Fetty, Sam, Adele, and the Weeknd. In 2015, listeners sung along to smash singles like Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” and “Bad Blood,” Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’s “Uptown Funk,” Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s “See You Again,” OMI’s “Cheerleader,” The Weeknd’s “Can’t Feel My Face” and “The Hills,” Justin Bieber’s “What Do You Mean?” Fetty Wap’s “Trap Queen” and “679,” and Adele’s “Hello.” Let’s take a look at this year’s biggest moments in music.
- Adele says “Hello.”
Ah, Miss Adele. How we adore her. That album. That voice. Back in 2012, when her album 21 smashed records all over the world, earning the British songstress countless awards and worldwide renown, it seemed like the we had found the new Amy Winehouse. And then, for three years, we didn’t hear anything from the powerhouse diva. So, when it heard about 25, the world lost its mind. Released in November, the album has already broken numerous records, cementing our British queen back into pop culture; this time, we hope she’s here to stay.
- “Bad Blood” stuns the world
Next, we have Tay Tay, and her anthem “Bad Blood.” The single was released on May 17 from her fifth studio album 1989, eventually reaching number one in Australia, Canada, Israel, New Zealand, Scotland, and the United States, the third song from 1989 to do so. It won Video of the Year and Best Collaboration at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards. The song and its music video were nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Music Video at the 58th Grammy Awards. The music video is described by Rolling Stone as a “futuristic neo-noir video.” Billboard drew parallels between the video and the music videos for the Britney Spears songs “Toxic” and “Womanizer“. The video broke Vevo‘s 24-hour viewing record by accumulating 20.1 million views in its first day of release, beating the 19.6 million 24-hour record previously held by Nicki Minaj for the music video of her song “Anaconda” in 2014. It was later broken by Adele‘s “Hello” in October 2015, with 27.7 million views in the first 24 hours.
- Ed Sheeran dances – really dances
Next, we have red-headed Ed, whose “Thinking Out Loud” from X became the first single to spend a fully year in the UK top 40. It also became the seventh single to have achieved triple platinum in the UK during the 21st century. In October 2015, the song became the first to be streamed over 500 million times on Spotify, and is also one of the most streamed songs in the UK. In the video, the British singer-songwriter executes a ballroom dance with Brittany Cherry, a contestant from the televised American dance competition So You Think You Can Dance. After first 24 hours, the video had over 2.7 million views on video-sharing website YouTube. As of December 2015, it has over 890 million views, making it the twenty-first most viewed video on the site.
- The Weeknd lights the VMA stage on fire
At the 2015 VMAs, even Kanye West was dancing to The Weeknd’s live performance of “Can’t Feel My Face.” Need I say more?
- One Direction says goodbye, at least for now
And finally, the world witnessed English-Irish pop boy band One Direction. Following their single “Drag Me Down,” released on July 31 form their fifth studio album Made in the A.M., the group revealed that they would be going on hiatus in 2016 to take a break. Member Louis Tomlinson confirmed that this break would last around 18 months. On December 13, One Direction performed on The X Factor final. The group’s last televised performance as a group before their hiatus will be on New Year’s Rockin’ Eve on December 31. Cue crying fangirls.
And so, those were some of this year’s biggest, most shocking music moments. As is with any year in music, 2015 was full of interesting fun, and I’m sure everyone is as excited as I am to see what surprised 2016 will have in store for us.
