A lot has happened in the world of music in the four years the Class of 2016 has been in college. One-hit wonders rose and fell just as quickly. Nowadays, it’s easy to forget that Miley Cyrus even had a “comeback.”

Below you will find the top three songs and three pop, indie/alternative and hip hop albums that provided the soundtrack for each school year. Also included are the three most notable artists to perform at Syracuse University events that year.

Without further ado, here’s a guide to the last four years of music as an SU student.

 

Freshman Year: 2012-13

The 2012-2013 school year arrived in the wake of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The opening and closing ceremonies brought British artists like Ed Sheeran, One Direction and Arctic Monkeys to the American musical consciousness. In the fall semester, Taylor Swift released her album “Red,” marking the artist’s departure from country into pop radiowaves worldwide. Meanwhile, Justin Timberlake released “The 20/20 Experience,” his first album since 2006. Also, “Gangnam Style” and “Harlem Shake” went viral, leading to countless YouTube parodies and some chart domination of their own.

Pop

Songs:
Taylor Swift – “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – “Thrift Shop”
Baauer – “Harlem Shake”

Albums:
Taylor Swift – “Red”
Justin Timberlake – “The 20/20 Experience”
Bruno Mars – “Unorthodox Jukebox”

Indie/Alternative

Songs:
The Lumineers – “Ho Hey”
Mumford and Sons – “I Will Wait”
Imagine Dragons – “Radioactive”

Albums:
Tame Impala – “Lonerism”
The National – “Trouble Will Find Me”
Mac DeMarco – “2”

Hip-hop

Songs:
Kanye West ft. Big Sean, Pusha T, 2 Chainz – “Mercy,”
Kendrick Lamar – “Swimming Pools (Drank),”
Ace Hood – “Bugatti”

Albums:
Kendrick Lamar – “Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City,”
Chance the Rapper – “Acid Rap,”
A$AP Rocky – “Long. Live. ASAP”

Syracuse University Highlights: Ke$ha, Childish Gambino, Calvin Harris

 

Sophomore Year: 2013-14

A summer characterized by the new Kanye West album “Yeezus,” a new Jay Z release and a Backstreet Boys reunion headlined much of the fall semester’s music. In sadder developments, rock pioneer, Velvet Underground frontman and SU alum Lou Reed died in October, putting a sour note on an otherwise great school year for music. The most notable of the year’s releases was Beyoncé’s sudden self-titled album, the first of many mainstream surprise releases to “break the internet.”

Pop

Songs:
Pharrell Williams – “Happy”
Miley Cyrus – “Wrecking Ball”
Katy Perry – “Dark Horse”

Albums:
Beyoncé – “Beyoncé”
Katy Perry – “PRISM”
Miley Cyrus – “Bangerz”

Indie/Alternative

Songs:
Haim – “The Wire”
Lorde – “Royals”
Bastille – “Pompeii”

Albums:
Vampire Weekend – “Modern Vampires of the City”
Daft Punk – “Random Access Memories”
Arctic Monkeys – “AM”

Hip-hop:

Songs:
Drake – “Hold On, We’re Going Home”
Big Sean feat. Kendrick Lamar and Jay Electronica – “Control”
Kanye West – “Bound 2”

Albums:
Kanye West – “Yeezus”
Drake – “Nothing Was the Same”
Jay Z – “Magna Carta Holy Grail”

Syracuse University Highlights: Kendrick Lamar, Zedd, 2 Chainz

 

Junior Year: 2014-15

A year with another major Taylor Swift release had the artist conquering the pop scene once again. On the hip hop scene, Kendrick Lamar dominated critics’ circles and music charts alike with “To Pimp a Butterfly,” barely a year later already seen by some as a landmark in music history. Coming off a summer where a song like “Fancy” could conquer the airwaves for so long, a year that would have otherwise seemed hopeless ended up strong.

Pop

Songs:
Iggy Azalea – “Fancy”
Taylor Swift – “Shake It Off”
Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”

Albums:
Taylor Swift – “1989″
Ed Sheeran – “X”
Sia – “1000 Forms of Fear”

Indie/Alternative

Songs:
Hozier – “Take Me to Church”
Alabama Shakes – “Don’t Wanna Fight”
Walk the Moon – “Shut Up and Dance”

Albums:
Beck – “Morning Phase”
Sufjan Stevens – “Carrie & Lowell”
Father John Misty – “I Love You, Honeybear”

Hip-hop

Songs:
Big Sean – “I Don’t F*** With You”
Rae Sremmurd – “No Flex Zone”
Kendrick Lamar – “Alright”

Albums:
Kendrick Lamar – “To Pimp a Butterfly”
J. Cole – “2014 Forest Hills Drive”
Drake – “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late”

Syracuse University Highlights: Schoolboy Q, Kygo, Cash Cash

Senior Year: 2015-16

Following Beyoncé’s lead, artists of all kinds released “surprise albums” this past school year, with new releases from Kanye West, Rihanna, Future, Radiohead, Chance the Rapper and again Queen Bey herself taking up the headlines throughout the semester. The deaths of music icons Prince and David Bowie overshadowed much of the good news, though Bowie’s final album “Blackstar” made for one of the best musical parting gifts of our time.

Pop

Songs:
The Weeknd – “The Hills”
Justin Bieber – “What Do You Mean”
Rihanna feat. Drake – “Work”

Albums:
Beyoncé – “Lemonade”
Rihanna – “Anti”
The Weeknd – “Beauty Behind the Madness”

Indie/Alternative

Songs:
Twenty One Pilots – “Stressed Out”
Coldplay – “Adventure of a Lifetime”
Cold War Kids – “First”

Albums:
David Bowie – “Blackstar”
Tame Impala – “Currents”
Grimes – “Art Angels”

Hip-hop

Songs:
Drake – “Hotline Bling”
Desiigner – “Panda”
Kanye West – “Famous”

Albums: Kanye West – “The Life of Pablo”
Future – “DS2″
Anderson .Paak – “Malibu”

Syracuse University Highlights: Big Sean, X Ambassadors, Chance the Rapper

Published on May 10, 2016 at 10:00 am