2024 was the 'year of pop music.' These are the 5 songs Vancouverites streamed most
Taylor Swift named global top artist by multiple streaming services, but wasn't in Vancouver's top 5 list
It'll likely come as no surprise to Vancouverites who were subject to a recent weekend of Taylor Swift mania that pop music — and female pop artists — led global music charts in 2024.
Streaming service stats show Swift's music was part of a larger trend of upbeat, catchy and occasionally emotional pop songs sought out by listeners worldwide. And B.C. was no different.
According to Spotify — which broke down annual listening habits by major city — Vancouverites jumped on board with the edgy undercurrents and country twang pop artists have been delivering in their latest hits.
"I think this was the year of pop music," David Metzer, a music professor at the University of British Columbia, told CBC News.
Top 5 most-played Spotify songs in Vancouver:
- Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter.
- A Bar Song (Tipsy) by Shaboozey.
- Beautiful Things by Benson Boone.
- I Had Some Help by Post Malone ft. Morgan Wallen.
- Birds of a Feather by Billie Eilish.
Vancouver's top Spotify tracks aligned closely to the global top five songs from the streaming service, which had Espresso, Beautiful Things and Birds of a Feather in its first three slots, but Gata Only by FloyyMenor and Cris MJ and Lose Control by Teddy Swims in fourth and fifth place.
Apple Music placed Espresso, Beautiful Things and A Bar Song (Tipsy) in its top five, as well as Not Like Us by Kendrick Lamar and Cruel Summer by Swift.
It named Billie Eilish the 2024 artist of the year, while Spotify and Amazon Music gave the honour to Swift.
Metzer says the pop music dominating the charts in 2024 isn't the same genre people knew in earlier decades.
The professor says artists this year, and particularly young female artists, harnessed the expectations of pop music — the catchy melodies, bright vocals and conventional song structure — to deliver more sincere storytelling than the previous work of artists like Britney Spears, Katy Perry and Justin Timberlake.
Metzer said artists like Swift, Eilish and Chappell Roan have gone beyond generic songs on romance and happiness to offer listeners a look into their real lives. He said they're delivering the exuberance people crave, but with more awareness of the real human experience.
"[It's] an exuberance that sees beyond the exuberance in many ways, to the larger world around it," he said.
Metzer reckons it's an authenticity music lovers have been yearning for.
Different trends in CD check-outs
Of course, streaming platforms aren't the only place British Columbians are consuming music.
The Greater Victoria Public Library (GVPL) tracks its most-borrowed CDs — and says the discs patrons requested the most in 2024 were a mixed bag.
Top 10 most-borrowed CDs from GVPL:
- Hackney Diamonds by The Rolling Stones.
- 1989 (Taylor's Version) by Taylor Swift.
- The Tortured Poets Department by Taylor Swift.
- Midnights by Taylor Swift.
- Speak Now (Taylor's Version) by Taylor Swift.
- Live at the Fillmore, 1997 by Tom Petty.
- Evermore by Taylor Swift.
- One Deep River by Mark Knopfler.
- 1962-1966 by The Beatles.
- Visions by Norah Jones.
While Swift still swept most of the board, the list makes clear that B.C. residents are far from solely focused on modern pop.
Metzer noted that selecting a CD or vinyl record is a different experience than picking a song off a streaming service, where an algorithm decides what a person is recommended.
"The reality of it is it's a medium that will homogenize music, that will aim to create a similarity, because the goal of it is to keep you streaming," he said of services like Spotify and Apple Music.
For British Columbians looking to explore new music in 2025, Metzer recommended actively seeking out different genres and searching for new artists, and then creating a mixed playlist of it all.
"My friends always call it a bumpy ride, but I like the bumpy rides," he said. "I mean, it keeps you awake, it makes you appreciate each song."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
