The Billboard charts, while not a perfect mirror of our diverse culture, offer valuable insights into the prevailing narratives and shifts within the music landscape. Looking back, the early 2010s present a clear storyline, especially concerning female artists’ dominance after Rihanna’s chart reign in 2010-11 and the continued ascent of Taylor Swift. Examining the Number One Song In 2010 and the subsequent years reveals significant trends in popular music.
The first half of the 2010s witnessed a remarkable presence of women at the top of the charts. Beyond Rihanna and Swift, artists like Katy Perry, who achieved monumental success but surprisingly never reached Number One after “Dark Horse” during this period, Kesha, Pink, Adele, and one-hit wonders such as Carly Rae Jepsen all marked this era. Miley Cyrus, Lorde, Megan Trainor, alongside established icons like Lady Gaga, Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera, further solidified female power on the charts. While male artists were present, their chart-topping presence was less pronounced in the initial half of the decade. For instance, Drake’s sole number one hit during this time was as a featured artist on a Rihanna track, a stark contrast to his later dominance.
A notable, and arguably troubling, aspect of the early 2010s charts, aside from Rihanna’s success, was the limited representation of Black women, and women of color in general, at the coveted Number One spot. Excluding Rihanna, Janelle Monae stands out as the only Black woman to reach the chart’s peak within a five-year span. Monae’s contribution, although significant to her artistry, was as a featured artist with a less prominent vocal presence on fun.’s widely popular anthem, “We Are Young”. This lack of consistent representation raises questions about the industry’s landscape at the time.
Many of the critical conversations surrounding race and ethnicity, cultural appropriation, and issues of sexual misconduct within the music industry, which are prominent today, were less amplified in the early 2010s. The controversial success of “Blurred Lines” in 2013, becoming the Song of the Summer despite its problematic themes, exemplifies this point. It wasn’t until societal discussions intensified, particularly within the political sphere, that a broader re-examination of pop culture and its underlying issues began to take place.
The methodology of tracking the Billboard Hot 100 also underwent significant changes during this period, reflecting the evolving modes of music consumption. As digital downloads transitioned to streaming platforms, and services like Spotify gained prominence, Billboard adapted its chart-tracking methods to accommodate these shifts in the music industry. This evolution highlights the dynamic relationship between technology and chart representation.
Furthermore, outside of specific genres like country music – notably absent from the Hot 100 Number One until 2019 – the cultural weight of achieving the number one song in the nation became increasingly debated. Sometimes, a number one song was driven by the immediate popularity of a new release from established artists like Katy Perry or Taylor Swift, fueled by dedicated fanbases. In other instances, songs gained momentum through genre-specific charts, as seen with Gotye, or Lorde, who broke barriers as the first female artist since 1996 to top the Modern Rock chart in 2013. Soundtracks from children’s movies also occasionally emerged as unexpected chart-toppers, crossing over to the Billboard Hot 100.
These observations, drawn from chart data, offer a glimpse into the music trends of the early 2010s. While not exhaustive qualitative research, analyzing these data points is crucial for musicians, music consumers, and educators alike to understand the evolving trends and narratives within popular music.
(To be continued in Part II)
