Distant Memory
Every now and then, I remember the winter of 2019. It’s been so long now that it almost feels like a fever dream, but even when you can’t remember what happened during a special moment, you remember exactly how it made you feel. This was exactly what that year felt like. Despite it being filled with awkward, teenage-coded memories, I still look back and feel such deep nostalgia. There is also a sense of dissatisfaction, as no one knew what we had until we lost it. 2019 was a time where pop culture and social media was at an all time high, but it also felt like the last inkling of freedom before it was taken away.
The Shift
2019 was filled with such immense creativity, from musicians to social media influencers. We were given iconic songs by artists like Don Toliver, BROCKHAMPTON and Doja Cat. The songs featuring these artists showed the growing relationship between social media and music production. Songs by these artists were now being featured on social media platforms by prominent influencers. Everyone was learning the ‘Renegade’…, and by everyone, I also mean me.
The influencer takeover of social media is a concept that reaches back far before 2019. Youtube and Musical.ly were extremely prominent platforms that creators would use to connect with a vast following. However, in 2019, the shift to the platform TikTok would have cultural weight that is still felt in the world today. TikTok specifically showed the significance of influencers in the music industry. Creators like Charli D’Amelio and Addison Rae were at the forefront of this cultural shift. We started to see how songs that were used by these creators became extremely popular. Arizona Zervas’s “Roxanne,” a song that gained popularity on TikTok, even peaked at No. 4 on “Billboard” the week of Dec. 28, 2019.
our secret
Creating videos and being part of something bigger than myself seemed more obtainable during that year. Collages of emojis, Thrasher T-shirts and LoFi beats became a part of my everyday life, not just some distant reality lived only by influencers. It was like every teenager in the world was in on a secret that only we knew.
New reality
December of 2019 was truly the calm before the storm. A few months later, in March of 2020, the world would face an intense cultural shift that would affect each of us. Music and social media transitioned from being a fun activity to partake in occasionally to something that was necessary to maintain our connection to one another. Our media had lost the creativity and whimsy that winter of 2019 captured perfectly. Every single teenager embraced the new reality we had to face, but we still yearned for a level of authenticity.
The Encore
Now, as I enter my senior year of college, I have witnessed the revival of fun that was once seen all those years ago. Songs like “Ain’t In LA” by Adéla and “DANCE…” by Slayyyter have brought us back to the pop genre like never before. Different forms of media have begun placing effort again into young adult shows like “Adults” and “Sterling Point.” Music and media have continued to unify us and show us the importance of embracing the moment.
The winter of 2019 serves as a reminder that even when we undergo cultural changes that shift our ability to connect with one another, we will always find our way back to each other through art and creativity.