Every December across America, everyone comes together in jolly fashion, greeting friends and family with open arms for their favorite holiday. Snowfall, bright lights, and candy canes indicate it’s the most wonderful time of the year–Spotify wrapped season. All users are obsessed with Spotify revealing their hidden favorite songs, their year’s biggest artists, and their most re-playable albums. This year, so many talented artists released new albums, but after asking over 100 Noblesville High School students, only few rose as the favorites they streamed the most.
GUTS – After her three-time GRAMMY winning, chart-shattering debut album, “SOUR,” Olivia Rodrigo’s fandom only grew as her second album “GUTS” was the most popular answer from female NHS students surveyed. Similar to her previous work, Rodrigo comes through again with more themes of teenage heartbreak, but the sequel to “SOUR” throws a curveball as Rodrigo expands her range with a new rock sound. While some tracks still sound similar to previous works, Rodrigo uses her patented brutal honesty and bravery to get creative on her latest project.
UTOPIA – Travis Scott teased his fourth studio album, “UTOPIA”, for three years. After being announced in 2020, Scott finally released the album this year. Many students around NHS think it was worth the wait as “UTOPIA” was the most common answer amongst male students. Scott’s trap hip-hop style returns as a great majority of the tracks use synth sounds to give the listener a futuristic feel. Music industry legends such as Drake, Beyoncé, and The Weeknd deliver on their features throughout the album, creating one of the biggest collaborations of the year. With 19 songs, it’s hard to keep a listener engaged for that length of time. Still, Scott’s long awaited product seems to have lived up to the hype.
THE RECORD – Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus group together to form Boygenius and create the Mill Stream’s most popular choice for album of the year with “the record.” This is the third project from the group and their first full album, nominated for six GRAMMYs next spring. The debut album from Boygenius showcases deep lyricism from each member of the group, harmonized beautifully together in a soft, indie style. “The record” may be challenging to listen to casually, as there are some very deep and darker themes. However, for listeners who enjoy a deeper connection to their music, “the record” is a melting pot of talent from arguably three of the best indie artists of our generation.
