With the past few years seeing an exponential rise of social media use, artists have been able to use apps like Tiktok and Instagram to not only serve as a catalyst for their musical careers, but also revive their status from years and even decades ago. Mid to late 2024 was an especially successful time for both new and old music to gain popularity. One of the most prominent examples of the effects social media can have on music artists is Decide by Djo. Joe Keery, well known for his role as Steve Harrington in “Stranger Things”, used the pseudonym ‘Djo’ to separate his music from his acting career. The album, released in 2022, faced little discussion for almost two years until one of the singles, “End of Beginning” began trending as a background for videos centered around change and growing up. Full of synth beats and experimental, 80s-reminiscent melodies, “Decide” focuses on complex feelings head on. The album deals with similar themes to that of its famous single, including those of isolation and the difficulty of dealing with growing fame, like in the tracks “Figure You Out” and “Half Life”. Though Djo and his audience may be experiencing feelings like isolation and struggle with change for different reasons, he has still been able to give his listeners music to connect to by writing about these topics at the base of these emotions, giving virtually anyone who listens a sense of relatability.
Another artist to see a major rise in popularity from social media in recent months is Imogen Heap, who has been releasing music since the late 90s. While she has had various songs of hers over the years become popular like “I Smoked Away My Brain” with A$AP Rocky and “A New Kind of Love”, she hasn’t seen as much recognition from any other song before “Headlock”. Imogen Heap’s discography is best described as electropop, centering around Y2K-esque beats. “Speak for Yourself ”, her second studio album released in 2005, contains many of the artist’s most successful and classic titles, including “Hide and Seek”, “Just for Now”, and of course “Headlock”, all holding tens of millions of streams respectively. Much of the album brings up themes of love and crushes, and uses intricate and unique production techniques to create Imogen Heap’s darting vocals and music, adding breezy and fast-paced melodies to more lighthearted songs like “Goodnight and Go”, and deep synth and heavy electric guitar to melodramatic tracks like “The Walk”. Imogen’s recent success exemplifies this generation’s overall acceptance of music from various genres and decades, further proving the significant effects social media has had on trending music today.
Unsurprisingly, Djo and Imogen Heap are not the only musicians that have been able to open up a diverse audience to music that is heavily influenced by earlier decades. Clairo’s “Charm” debuted summer 2024, and was able to further cement her place as one of the most influential singer/songwriters of this generation, returning back to her more upbeat tunes that were not as present in 2021’s acoustic-heavy “Sling”. Tracks like “Juna” and “Slow Dance” are some prime examples of the album’s strong late-60s early-70s feel, reminiscent of artists like Margo Guryan and Kitty Craft’s retro stylistic choices. “Charm” incorporates various keyboard melodies, drum beats, and even flute solos that all create the effect of the ‘turntable static’ sound that is so heavily included throughout the album’s 11-song tracklist. “Charm” is full of bright, eclectic songs that still makes sure not to shy away from deeper themes that were much more easily noticeable in Clairo’s previous album. Revolving around the complexities of relationships, the album is able to convey the difficulties of moving past a romantic relationship while still mentally existing in it, yet in a way that is not as prominent at the first listen. However, when songs are repeated a second or third time, it is plain to see that Clairo has a clear understanding on the intricacy of human nature so much so that she can easily describe such while masking these deeper themes backed by lighthearted scores.
One of the most recent artists to see a track gain popularity through social media is Ravyn Lenae with her song “Love Me Not”. “Love Me Not” is part of the album “Bird’s Eye”, released August of last year. Though it includes various recognizable features such as Childish Gambino and Ty Dolla $ign, the album itself has not seen as much acclaim compared to its seventh track and previous albums mentioned. While “Bird’s Eye” has not seen as much praise yet, it is nonetheless an incredible example of the talent of modern-day R&B artists due to its expert production and lyrics. Songs like “1 of 1” and “Genius” show Lenae’s skill of creating upbeat, catchy rhythms backed up by excellent lyricism that touches on similar topics of relationships to that of Clairo. Lenae’s most recent album may remain underrated now, but it is sure to follow in the footsteps of “Love Me Not” with its equally high-quality tracks. As the single continues to grow a larger and larger audience, the album that follows along with it is guaranteed to secure Ravyn Lenae as an artist who is paving the way for music that will become decade-defining.