We're back on the hunt for music's upcoming trends. Though, this one isn't as upcoming as some of our other researched trends. This one just seems to re-enter the music world from time to time, each time just as popular as the last. Introducing, or shall we say re-introducing: mashups.
THE TREND: Mashups have been a growing part of the music industry for years. Whether you were hooked on Daniel Kim’s Pop Danthology series back in the mid 2010’s, or you were a fan of Glee, mashups are a music world staple. If you’ve been living under a soundproof rock, mashups are two or more songs mashed into one track, hence the name. Some artists do this by using a popular beat or melody from one song and combine it with the vocals from another track. Others carefully balance melodies, verses, and beats to create a new sound from the two songs. Be careful, though. Some of these mashups leave their original tracks in the dust.
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY: Every mashup is different, and so is every platform. Because most mashups don’t include mashup in the title, we approached this search a little differently than usual.
Soundcloud mashups are hard to come across, but once they hit your recommended page, you’ll be hooked. We searched for some of our favorite artists in hopes to find some mashups. In a search for Post Malone mashups, we found “Congratulations X September,” featuring Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September” and Malone’s “Congratulations.” The track has over 2.8 million streams, 69.7 thousand likes, and four hundred comments.
Less popular, but still as good in our opinion is a mashup of Harry Styles’ “She” and Everybody Loves An Outlaw’s “I See Red.” The mashup has over 242 thousand streams, nine thousand likes, and three hundred comments.
Youtube has also housed mashups for years. Though we don’t know when exactly mashups become popular, we can thank Daniel Kim for being one of the pioneers in this trend. Unfortunately, Kim removed some of his mashups from the platform, but we were able to find two of his end of year mashups. “Pop Danthology 2014” has over 48 million views and “Pop Danthology 2013” has over 52 million views.
Mashups have also starred in plenty of TikTok trends. Not familiar with any? Check out this “Viva La Vida” mashup up with “Swing” that went viral on the platform recently.
THE SECRET BEHIND THE POPULARITY: Mashups are feel-good tracks, uniting the best parts of each song and turning it into a “megatrack.” What's not to love about that? But as we’ve said, every mashup is different. Some artists choose to completely rework tracks to create a brand new sound, while others just get lazy. Throughout our search, we found some tracks that elevated the artists and lyrics to new levels. On the other hand, we also found some tracks that were great in theory, but not execution. The real secret behind this trend is its customization.
Go ahead, search for a mashup of your favorite song. We promise it’s out there! Any one of those mashups could make you fall in love with the song all over again. There’s truly something for everyone in this trend, no matter who your favorite artists are.
Mashups are also assisting in the resurgence of disco and early rap, which is characterized here with funky, upbeat rhythms as seen in The Sugar Hill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight.” Many rap songs have been mashed together with famous pop songs to create a groovier sound and connect listeners of all different fan bases. With combinations of Migos and the Black Eyed Peas or Galantis and Don Toliver, upbeat and pop rhythms are seeing a new use. Check out one of our favorite Don Toliver mashups below to get the real feel.
THE INVOLVED GENRES: There's no escaping the mashup fever in the music world. Even Miley Cyrus is partaking in this trend with her latest release, “Edge of Midnight,” featuring Stevie Nicks. We’d like to point a finger at a certain genre, but it’s impossible. Rap, pop, EDM, rock, they’re all involved. To be honest, we want every genre involved; the more the merrier! Mashups are a beautiful way to bridge the gap between genres and create music for everyone.
Perhaps Miley Cyrus will pioneer mashups in the upcoming music scene. We haven't seen much of this trend in mainstream music and we aren't sure why. But, we're ready for some carefully curated creations.
Check out some of our favorite mashups below and let us know what mashups you'd like to hear!
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