A lot has changed in the past four years for the Class of 2026, and as the students have changed, so has music. Music can work as a time stamp for what is going on in the media, society, and even our everyday lives: Consider the Beatles encapsulating the ’60s, Britney Spears taking over the 2000s, and Justin Bieber everywhere in the 2010s. Similarly, music can be used to document the high school experience.
Starting off the summer before freshman year, Olivia Rodrigo shot into popularity with her first album, Sour. A week before the album’s release came the single “Good 4 You,” which instantly debuted on Billboard’s Hot 100. Some of Rodrigo’s popularity can be credited to her relatability with teenage audiences. She brought something new and unique to the pop music scene, perfectly timed with the start of high school.
Stranger Things Season 4 was released during this time, and like other seasons, it was practically inescapable. Whether or not you watched the show, you definitely heard about it from those around you, and you heard its renowned needle drop on Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill.” Despite the song being originally released in 1985, it was all over the radio in 2022.
During sophomore year, a lot of trending music was a mix between older songs resurfacing as well as newer releases. For instance, in the fall, Lana Del Rey performed her first-ever Pittsburgh show at Star Lake Pavilion. At this time, some of her older songs, like “Video Games,” were trending as social media reminisced on the early 2010s. Later on that same year, “Say Yes to Heaven” was released as a single on Spotify, peaking at #54 on Billboard charts.
At the same time, Luke Combs was trending for his take on Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car.” That song has been nominated for a Grammy both in 1989 and 2024, and Combs’ cover brought an older country sound back into the mainstream. This year as a whole could very well be categorized as bringing back older music and having it appeal to current audiences.
During junior year, there were quite a few releases with distinct, memorable trends. Everywhere you turned, you heard “that’s that me espresso,” “fien, fien, fien,” or “H-O-T-T-O-G-O.”
Also during this time, Bruno Mars made a comeback, releasing his duet with Lady Gaga, “Die with a Smile.” Previously, Mars was mostly known for his older releases, like “Marry You Anyway,” but “Die with a Smile” set the stage for more recent hits like his 2026 release, “I Just Might.”
Senior year is when the nostalgia really starts to kick in and you start listening to older songs from your childhood that bring back good memories.
A couple songs that immediately come to mind are “Good Old Days” by Macklemore and Kesha, as well as “I Lived” by One Republic. Songs like these are on repeat for seniors who are sad they are going to be leaving all of their best friends, but happy they made lots of memories with them.
Some other songs that will resonate with seniors are “Back to Friends” by Sombr and “Ordinary” by Alex Warren. These songs have been all over social media, but they also carry some of the main stories and emotions that seniors could relate to.
