We are one month into 2024, and there’s no better way to get the year started than reflecting back on the hits of last year. Will the trends be the same, or will a new style emerge in 2024?
The last couple of months in 2023 led to many artists coming out with long awaited albums and songs. Taylor Swift, Drake, and Misski will all be featured in this throwback to 2023 music.
“1989” album Taylor’s Verizon
This long awaited re-recorded album was first announced on August 9th and came out on October 27th. It topped “The Billboard 200,” posting 1.653 million album units. This is nearly 400,000 more than the original did in 2014. I loved listening to classics like “Wildest Dreams” and “New Romantics” while still getting to hear how much Taylor Swift’s sound had evolved. But my favorite part was the vault songs, new additions to the albums, like “Now That We Don’t Talk” and “Is It Over Now”. The songs are catchy and the lyrics are well written. I think this album has a lot of her best vault songs yet.
“For All The Dogs” album by Drake
Fans had been eagerly waiting for this album since it was first announced on June 24th. They were not disappointed as it was released on Oct 6 and had 402,000 equivalent album units within its first week. This marks the largest streaming week of 2023 and the fourth largest ever. I enjoyed many of the featured artists like SZA and J. Cole on the album. There were some great songs like “Virginia Beach” and “First Person Shooter”. But some of the samples were too long. Many fans noticed that this album showcased how Drake’s music style is changing. Some disliked this change, others liked how the music is more mellow. I think his lyrics have improved on this album, which is something he has gotten criticism for in the past. Overall, I think the album had some really good songs, but others could have been better.
“The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We” album by Mitski
This album was released on September 15th. It is about all types of love, including loving a place, yourself, and others. The album also delves into the struggle of the contradictions of love. It is very similar to many other Mitski albums, but it also seems to have more soft and acoustic songs than earlier albums. My favorite song from the album was “My Love Mine All Mine ” which is probably the most popular song from the entire album. It is even now her most streamed song on Spotify. I think a lot of the lyrics on the album were beautiful, but not a lot of the songs stood out to me.
In conclusion, I think all the albums were good. 1989 Taylor’s Version exceeded my expectations and was definitely my favorite album. Drake and Mitski albums could have been better, but they both had some really good songs as well. Overall, the new releases were definitely hits and it was a great season of music.
