MusIc You should l Isten to

Throughout 2022, many artists within the music industry made a return to the spotlight. After a hiatus due to the pandemic, The Weeknd, Bad Bunny, Beyoncé, and Kendrick Lamar were among the top artists in 2022 who released new music. After much anticipation, listeners were left with career defining albums well deserving of attention. Many upand-coming artists also made some incredible music in 2022, including JID and Adeem the Artist. Across many different genres we saw some very experimental, genre-bending, and socially aware albums that leave me hoping for even more progress this year. With apologies for being a little belated, here is my run through of some of the best music from 2022 that some of you may have overlooked.

Only one week into the year, popstar The Weeknd released his fifth studio album, “Dawn FM”. This was his much anticipated follow up to his stand-out 2020 album, “After Hours”. Comparably, “Dawn FM” contained dream pop, synth pop, and R&B influences that we have seen on previous records. Songs like “Is There Someone Else?” and “Out of Time” cover the themes of regret and lost love. These similarities can be seen across The Weeknd’s work from the early 2010’s and has become what I expect from him.

With the release of “Un Verano Sin Ti” (“A Summer Without You”), another popstar making an eagerly awaited return was Bad Bunny. While many artists release shorter EP’s, Bad Bunny released a massive 23-track album. With that many tracks, there was an opportunity for a lot of diversity in sounds and genres.

“Un Verano Sin Ti” contained a wide variety of influences including reggaeton, cumbia, and indie pop music. The album spent a whopping 13 weeks atop the U.S. Billboard Hot 200 charts. Much more than some party music, “Un Verano Sin Ti” touched on the gentrification of communities within Puerto Rico. Bad Bunny uses his experiences of growing up in Puerto Rico to create the summer-themed “Después de la Playa” (“After the Beach”) and also the politically charged “El Apagon” (“The Blackout”).

The most popular song internationally came from former unofficial front man of One Direction, Harry Styles. “As It Was” dominated the pop charts, spending 15 weeks at number one and breaking the record for most streams of any one song in a single day on Spotify. Loras College Professor of Music, Dr. Glenn Pohland, said that “As It Was” was his favorite song of political or governmental violence in their home country. Even from my brief time in the shelter, I can tell you there are many people in this situation or similar.

Finally, the last major standout to me was something I never considered. Have you ever thought about the implications that building a 40-foot tall (seven feet of which are underground), almost 2,000-mile-long wall could have on the environment? I guess I overlooked it while thinking about the people in shelters waiting to immigrate. It is not a natural landmark, so it is impacting the land and the natural migration of animals in that region. Sure, maybe the smaller animals can fit through the spaces in the iron bars; but there is