Apple Music has been canvassing its in-house curators on the key musical trends of 2022, picking out five in particular as part of a ‘2022 So Far: Top Tracks and Trends’ report. It’s an interesting snapshot of what’s happening in music at the moment, starting with Gen-Z embracing “earnest, introspective ballads that probably could’ve been written 30 years ago, not to mention geared toward audiences 30 years older”.
Apple Music also cites a revival of Bad Boy Records-style use of prominent samples of older tracks which it suggests might be “a counter-reaction to rap’s massive creative leaps over the past decade… Sometimes, it’s nice to just have a little comfort food”.
The other trends include Afrobeats, Alté, and Amapiano continuing to spread well beyond Africa; drum’n’bass enjoying an unexpected revival fuelled by TikTok-native artists like PinkPantheress, piri & Tommy Villiers, and Yaz; and K-Pop artists beyond BTS finding global audiences.
“Don’t think of it as a passing of the torch so much as an ongoing widening of the field. Maybe they’ll eventually drop the K and call it what it is: pop,” is Apple’s take.
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