Music is a popular way for people, especially teenagers who love following trends and pop culture, to relax and entertain themselves. Everyone has their way of listening to music, whether singles or albums, pop or classical. The question is, which type of music is in?
“That’s actually a hard question, because my music is so random, it’s so funny, like I have sad songs, I have pop and then I have rap. There’s Kendrick [Lamar] and Taylor [Swift] in the same playlists. So it’s a little mix, but I don’t really listen to Taylor that much as an unfair comparison, but like, I have Billie [Eillish] and Drake in the same list, so yeah. Because I don’t really follow, like, one specific artist. Like, I just listen to the song,” said sophomore Minna Al-Dabbagh. “Usually, I like to hear it like playing in my sister’s car. I don’t know social media, and I’m like, “Oh, I like that song, and then I’ll add it to my playlist.”
Students like Al-Dabbagh listen to different genres, as long as the music is relaxing and moving, she would listen to them. Many teens would like to follow trends, and that’s why pop music, especially rap, is popular among teenagers. Music that shows high levels of energy can support teenagers mentally and help them obtain a positive attitude.
Albums, which contain several songs under the same topic, are a good way to listen to music since going through every song is like reading a unique story. On the other hand, singles, which are usually the most trending song in albums, combine all the singles in a playlist, which allows you to listen to all the music you like at the same time.
“Okay, so if it’s Megan Thee Stallion, I will listen to her albums, because I really like her, and I love all her albums. And if I want to listen to her, I’ll just listen to one album at a time, but most of the time, I just listen to very specific songs like in my playlist, and it’s just all my stuff, all right,” said Al-Dabbagh.
Students are more likely to listen to their favorite artists’ albums. Otherwise, they would just shuffle all the singles they like.
“It depends on the artist. Generally, I’ll just listen to single songs, but if it’s like Taylor Swift or Noah Kahan, then I’ll go for albums. For albums, any of “Taylor’s Version” versions, albums, and for singles, singles are hard. I like listening to just any of Zach Bryan’s single songs. I don’t usually listen to his albums, though,” said sophomore Megan Bebb. “[My favorite music] kind of varies depending on what mood I’m in, but I usually go for pop or folk-pop music. I’ve been really liking Sabrina Carpenter and Gracie Abrams.”
Bebb has a similar mode of listening to music as Al-Dabbagh. The difference is that artists are also a factor that would affect her choice of albums or singles.
Through these examples and more, it is clear that teens who are passionate about music tend to listen to pop music primarily and that their main preference is for good music, whether it belongs to an album they love or not.
