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Sam Smith released their fourth album, “Gloria,” Jan. 27. An album focusing on their inner growth, Smith breaks out of their previous trend of sad songs with an album focusing on their self-acceptance.
“It really encompasses a lot of the queer experience. This was the first album that Sam Smith really jumped into their identity and queerness,” senior Logan Buckley said.
Smith included a wide variety of songs from pop tracks, ballads and even a choral track. However, criticism arose relating to how well all the tracks work together.
“The thing is that it feels like there’s a couple different projects happening at once. Which makes it kind of incohesive. It doesn’t feel like one project,” Buckley said.
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Her first full length album, Gracie Abrams released “Good Riddance” after being an opener on both Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift’s tours. These tours helped her gain traction in the industry, bringing in lots of new fans.
An album about growing up, Abrams writes songs about the challenges she experienced as she got older, including breakups and mental health struggles.
“I did not have anything I disliked about it. It was very calming. And it was good to cry to,” sophomore Sammi Gaylord said.
Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd- Lana Del Rey
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Reflecting on her family, Lana Del Rey released “Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd.” Del Rey used an honesty that her fans felt was lacking in past albums.
“I feel like the music was kind of whimsical. It was very subjective and you could interpret it in so many different ways,” freshman Alayna Khan said.
In relation to the unusually long album title, Del Rey features a couple abnormally long song names, like “Grandfather please stand on the shoulders of my father while he’s deep-sea fishing.”
“I feel like she could do a little bit better with the names,” Khan said.
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After Bebe Rexha’s “I’m Good (Blue)” featuring David Guetta blew up, she released her album “Bebe,” with the song as one of the singles. The album included many collaborations with big names such as Snoop Dogg and Dolly Parton.
“My favorite song on the album was ‘Seasons’ featuring Dolly Parton. I thought it was just a really pretty song,” freshman Will Ruscitella said.
However, with a lot of similarity between songs, Rexha has come under some heat.
“There actually was not that much that I liked about it,” Ruscitella said. “I don’t know if there was enough division in between the songs that made the album diverse.”
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Country artist Megan Moroney’s success with the single “Tennessee Orange” created lots of excitement and buzz about her album “Lucky.”
“I really only like one song on the album. And that’s Tennessee Orange. And I’ve been listening to it since it was a single on there. And I think it’s a very cool thing, the whole concept,” sophomore Sammi Gaylord said.
Moroney released her 13 track debut album May 5. In the area of lyrics, Moroney was heavily involved, co-writing every single track.
“The actual music was good, but the lyrics for most of the songs just meant nothing. Like, I could not relate to most of them,” Gaylord said. “It was like she was just writing something to put it out there and make money.”
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Former member of iconic boy band One Direction, Niall Horan released his third solo album. According to Horan, this album is his most emotional yet.
“My favorite song on ‘The Show’ was the self-titled song, ‘The Show,’” freshman Will Ruscitella said. “It was so good. It actually gave me chills.”
Fans have applauded Horan for his songwriting abilities throughout the 10 tracks.
“Even if I didn’t like the songs, you could tell they were songs that Niall put a lot of work into,” Ruscitella said.
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In her quest to re-record her first six albums in order to own her music, Taylor Swift released the re-recording of her 3rd album, “Speak Now.” Swift added never before heard “vault” tracks that slipped through making the original tracklist.
“I like the fact that she is owning her own music now,” sophomore Sammi Gaylord said.
Swift used a variety of instruments in the instrumentals of the tracks. This includes acoustic guitars, electric guitars, drums and even the fiddle.
“There’s a couple songs where if you listen to it with headphones, it’s like hearing colors. And I think I think that’s really fun because I just listened to it on repeat and I’m like, ‘Whoa, that tickles my brain,’” Gaylord said.
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Hozier’s alternative album “Unreal Unearth” tells his experience of the COVID pandemic through the ideas of the poem “Inferno” by Dante Alighieri which details a trip through the nine circles of Hell.
“I like how he wrote it in an organized fashion as it walks you through the different layers of Hell,” freshman Arleigh Hill said.
Hozier tells a different story with each track, some corresponding to a specific circle of Hell or piece of the poem “Inferno.”
“My favorite song is ‘Abstract,’ the alternate name ‘Psychopomp,’ Hill said. “It is very meaningful and it has many hidden messages.”
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After the smash success of Olivia Rodrigo’s debut album “Sour,” fans sat impatiently for over two years waiting for Rodrigo’s return. Until Sept. 8, when Rodrigo released her once again purple themed album “GUTS.”
Rodrigo tries out a new angsty, pop-rock sound, singing about her experience with heartbreak, freedom and growing up in the music industry.
“I really enjoyed the emotion she put into her music and the lyrics she wrote for each song,” freshman Connor Plunkert said.
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Rapper Drake released “For All The Dogs” Oct. 6. Drake released a large number of songs with features – including artists like SZA, 21 Savage and Yeat.
“I feel like the songs that had features on them, they were like the best ones,” freshman Alayna Khan said.
This album has received very mixed reviews from fans, criticized for the similarities between tracks.
“For me, it was just a hit or miss and for some of the songs, the actual music was kind of repetitive,” Khan said.
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The Kid LAROI shot into fame after touring with rapper Juice WRLD and releasing hit song “Stay” with Justin Bieber. Working with famous musicians in the industry helped The Kid LAROI to expand his fanbase and later release the album “THE FIRST TIME.”
“What I love about ‘THE FIRST TIME’ is the wide variety of different genres and styles that can put you in different moods,” freshman Brett Buckley said.
The Kid LAROI writes about his experience with fame at a young age and the grief that comes along with a breakup. He experiments with sounds of hip-hop, R&B and pop.
“In some songs LAROI sings a lot and in some songs he’s rapping, which I love,” said Buckley.
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As a connection to her debut album “Pink Friday,” rapper Nicki Minaj put out “Pink Friday 2.” Many songs immediately went viral on social media, particularly TikTok. Minaj sampled many different hit songs like “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” by Cyndi Lauper.
“The entire record is essentially a sample fest. Just about every standout track samples another big hit,” senior Logan Buckley said.
Some fans were disappointed with the creativity in this album compared to the original “Pink Friday” album.
“This album is such a flop,” Buckley said. “There’s no artistry. And so I haven’t even been able to fully get through it. Because it just becomes so unbearable.”
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