Since the start of school, I have not stopped listening to music. I constantly have my headphones blasting Spotify or SoundCloud. From walking around campus to studying or riding the bus, music is a constant in my life.
But as much as I love my favorite songs, I’m starting to get sick of my music. I’ve had my playlist of 400 songs on repeat, and still, I’m already tired of my songs. I’ve tried to explore new music, but it’s hard to find the music you really vibe with sometimes. Of course, Discovery Weekly is great, and don’t get me started on all the songs I’ve found through TikTok. However, I still find myself just repeating the same old songs.
But I’ve come to realize I don’t need to discover new songs. There are so many songs I grew up listening to that I’ve just forgotten about. Hit singles and features from amazing artists carried our childhood, from Lady Gaga to the Black Eyed Peas.
I’ve decided for my own benefit, and for anyone else experiencing the issue of being bored with their music right now, to look back at Billboard’s top songs from the past ten years to jog my memory of all these amazing songs we might have forgotten about. And to be more specific to celebrate October, the past eleven years’ songs will be the top songs during the month of October!
2010 October
Bruno Mars, still a top singer in this day and age, is of no surprise the artist with the top song in October of 2010. I know growing up I loved Bruno Mars and always wanted to go to his concert. And seeing that his song “Just the Way You Are” was the top song for four weeks starting October 2 brings back so many memories of this song playing on the radio.
Hearing the title “Just the Way You Are” already makes the lyrics and rhyme pop back in my head. I’m going to go add this classic song to my playlist, and maybe a few other Bruno Mars songs I’ve forgotten about!
2011 October
There was actually not a top song in October 2011 because the songs in September and November 2011 were top singles for many weeks. On September 17, Adele’s “Someone Like You” reached the top single. It stayed the top single for five weeks too! Elementary-school-me would go around the house belting “Someone Like You,” and to this day I still love many Adele songs!
Since “Someone Like You” basically was the top song all of October, I will keep it for this list! I was not surprised that Adele’s song was the top single for so long, as it is such an amazing song. For some deep feels and songs you can scream out, Adele is always part of that playlist.
2012 October
Just a few days before October 2012, on the same day I’m writing this article of September 29, Maroon 5’s single “One More Night” reached the top! Seeing the band Maroon 5 brings back so many memories from my childhood! Scrolling through their songs, I couldn’t believe how many I re-added to my playlist while I jam out later during homework.
2013 October
October 2013 was dominated by two different songs. The first song was Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball,” which reached the top on September 28. That iconic song and music video stayed the top single for three weeks until it was taken over by Lorde’s “Royals” on October 12.
I don’t think anyone could ever forget “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus. Her swinging on that giant wrecking ball is ingrained in our heads, as it made us realize Hannah Montana was gone. I love Miley Cyrus and some of her songs, but personally “Wrecking Ball” is not one of them. On the other hand, “Royals” will forever be a part of my memories. I always think of the Kansas City Royals baseball team when I hear it too!
2014 October
October 2014 was dominated by one song only, which was the top single for a staggering eight weeks! But looking at what the song was, I’m not surprised. This song was everywhere growing up! The radio, grocery stores, restaurants, I could not escape it. Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass” will forever be stuck in my mind for how much it was played growing up. But for that reason, I, unfortunately, will not be re-listening to it.
2015 October
The one and only 2021 Super Bowl artist is the artist with the top single during October 2015. The Weeknd’s “The Hills” hit the top charts on October 3 and stayed there for six weeks. I quite enjoy “The Hills” and some other The Weeknd songs. I have not forgotten about this song though, it’s in my playlist already! It’s great, and I will continue to listen to it!
2016 October
When I saw the top song in October 2016, I was completely shocked not by the song, but by how long it was the top single. “Closer” by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey was the top song starting September 3, 2016, and held the top for a staggering 12 weeks!
“Closer” is a song that is also still on my playlist! Fall 2016 was my freshman year of high school, and I still very clearly remember this song playing while I started homework life. But can I still listen to it? No, not really. 2016 is still too close in time and I’ve heard “Closer” way too many times in my life. But it was a great reminder of the band The Chainsmokers and all the other great songs they have!
2017 October
I will say TikTok really started around 2017, so many songs started blowing up after this app went more and more viral each year. The top song in 2017 was “Bodak Yellow” reaching the top on October 7. Thinking back, I remember learning of Cardi B around this time too, so it makes sense that at least one of her songs was at the top. Again, I already have this song in my playlist but I remember all the good times listening to this song a few years ago!
2018 October
No surprise we reached our first repeat artist for the top song in 2018. Well, repeat artists. Maroon 5 and Cardi B’s song “Girls Like You” took the top spot on September 29 and stayed there for seven weeks! I have not heard this song in forever, and I did not know Cardi B was a featured artist. I’m definitely adding it to a playlist to jam out to later!
2019 October
In October 2019, two songs dominated the month. First was Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts,” beginning on September 7 and lasting for seven weeks. Then on October 19, Travis Scott’s “Highest in the Room” lasted at the top spot for the next week. Both are great songs! Being on TikTok, I have a feeling both sort of grew more popular from TikTok with a few trends circling from the songs. But in general, both are amazing artists with amazing songs that deserved the top anyway!
2020 October
And finally, just a year ago this month, there were a total of three songs that took over the month of October! First, Travis Scott featuring Young Thug and M.I.A had their song “Franchise” reach the top on October 10 for a week. Then on October 17, Jawsh 685 x Jason Derulo x BTS had their song “Savage Love (Laxed-Siren Beat)” have the top song for a week. Finally, on October 24 24kGoldn featuring Iann Dior had the song “Mood” become the top song.
All three songs are great and so upbeat! And despite hearing all these songs a hundred times on the radio and from TikTok, I completely forgot about them. It’s so crazy all the great music that comes and goes, even so recently in time.
And there we are! The top songs in October for the past 11 years since 2010. Just in October alone, there is so much great music I forgot about. Even scrolling through the list I saw so many other songs that I had to re-add to my playlist and get stuck in my head again. I can’t wait to see what the top song is in October 2021!
I feel like I can’t go a minute without music backing me up, and now I have so many songs from my teens and childhood to accompany me once again. I’ve decided to make a Spotify playlist as well if anyone wants to join in on these top singles from the past Octobers and jam out!