Another year is nearly in the books, and that means another set of catchy pop songs — and another skillful curation of some of 2015’s best in a mashup from DJ Earworm.
Earworm (aka Jordan Roseman) has created the yearly mashup track (typically called The United States of Pop) since 2007, but this one is particularly impressive as it features double the number of tunes used in years past for a total of 50 tracks. The song, aptly titled 50 Shades of Pop, features a plenty of tracks from some of this year’s biggest stars, including four by Taylor Swift, four by The Weeknd, three by Justin Bieber and, obviously, Adele’s mega hit Hello.
“I try to get a feel of what is in the zeitgeist,” said Roseman to Billboard, which premiered the song earlier today. “Music has been going through a softer phase than it was a few years ago so there’s that return of adult contemporary. That’s maybe represented by the Ellie Goulding track, it’s very lush and soft. And then there’s sort of retro, uptempo dance stuff, and that’s represented by The Weeknd track.”
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Roseman, based in San Francisco, further explained that this year’s edition is “more eclectic than it was five years ago.” The full tracklist does include many songs you’d expect: Drake’s Hotline Bling, Fetty Wap’s Trap Queen, Major Lazer’s Lean On, Bieber’s Sorry, Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’ Uptown Funk and One Direction’s Drag Me Down. But it also features slightly less prominent pop tracks from artists like Swedish synthpop riser Tove Love and pop rocker Andy Grammer.
For even the most avid pop listeners, it’d be nearly impossible to identify all of the songs as most last for just a few seconds. Listen for yourself, though, and reminisce over some of the most popular tracks from 2015.
