I’ve always been a big fan of music, but I’ve never been one to keep up to date with artists I like. Because I started making these monthly playlists, I started becoming more conscious of the music that was coming out. Because of this, I’ve listened to a fair amount of newer music that came out in 2021. Today I’ve compiled a playlist with some of my favorite songs that came out the past year. I hope you enjoy it!
Let’s start in the genre I always return to; J-pop. And 2021 saw some absolute bangers. With great songs from artists I was familiar with like LiSa and Aimer, as well as songs from artists I wasn’t familiar with like MindaRyn and Yama. MindaRyn is someone I’m especially keeping an eye on. She did the opening theme for Tensura, one of my favorite anime, and she had a new song coming out in February that sounds amazing from the snippet we’ve already heard. I didn’t want to go overboard with one specific artist, so I only added 2 songs from Aimer’s album Walpurgis. Aimer replaced LiSa as the one doing the opening theme for Demon Slayer, and if there’s anyone in the industry who could fill that spot it’s Aimer. She’s performed some of the best Japanese songs I’ve ever heard. So it’s no surprise that her newer songs are in this playlist.
Moving back to the west, there are a few artists that really stood out to me. For starters we had good old Ed Sheeran. I’ve been a fan of Ed Sheeran for a long time. He seems like a nice dude and his music is very pleasant to listen to. I don’t like all of his songs, but I think his songwriting is fantastic. Up next is Coldplay. Coldplay has always been solid and nothing has changed. Their song My Universe with BTS was very good, but from the same album I really enjoyed the song Higher Power. I’ve included both of these songs in the playlist. I’ve also added some of Twenty One Pilots’ new songs, but I’ve talked about them many times already so no need to go over that again.
And how could we forget the re-release of Taylor Swift’s album Red. Well, quite easily actually since I’m writing this at the last moment, because I completely forgot about it. Technically it’s not a new album, sure, but it has some of her best songs on it and I would be remiss not to include it. Back when this music came out, I wasn’t a fan of Taylor Swift at all. I liked her song Love Story back in the day, partially because of how pretty she looked in the music video, and then didn’t listen to her music at all until the release of her 2019 album Lover. After that I started exploring her music more and realized a lot of it was quite to my liking. I’ve included some of the songs I enjoyed the most.
Last but certainly not least, comes Travis Barker. Drummer of Blink182 fame and one of the more prolific artists recently. Everywhere I look he seems to be working with different artists, and his drumming style really helps elevate these songs. It’s introducing me to artists I hadn’t heard of before and I’m here for it. He also played on Avril’s new song Bite Me, which feels just like Avril Lavigne songs did back in the day. The punk-pop genre is far from dead and I’m a big fan. I hoped to have more Machine Gun Kelly in this list, but from what he’s been saying on Twitter there’s 2 albums coming this year, so we have something to look forward to.
And that’s the music I’ve been listening to this year. I’m very much open for suggestions for new music, so if you have anything that you think I’d like, or that I’ve missed in 2021, do not hesitate to comment. Thanks for reading, and enjoy the playlist!
Opal Kaharis 