Many pop artists gained prominence in 2022. From legacy artists with a chart history stretching back over a decade, to relatively new artists, this year has been full of new music. The four following artists have all reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Taylor Swift
Swift had a significant year, as 2022 marked the release of her ninth studio album, “Midnights”. Her album broke multiple records on the Billboard Hot 100, including simultaneously occupying 10 positions in the Billboard Hot 100’s top 10, beating records from the Beatles (most simultaneous top positions occupied) and Drake (most songs simultaneously in the top 10). The singer also released two music videos to promote the album: “Anti-Hero” and “Bejeweled,” both of which have over 30 million views on Youtube. In the “Anti-Hero” video, Swift is depicted as a giant who interrupts a dinner party and dies. She appears in her standard form at a funeral, but the giant Taylor Swift comes back to life. The small Swift climbs up on a roof and shares a drink with a woman, with the giant Swift eventually joining them. The “Bejeweled” video features Swift as Cinderella, hiding under a bejeweled outfit as she rides an elevator taking her to a variety of different rooms.
Harry Styles
Harry Styles, the ex-One Direction member, gained much popularity in 2022. He released his third studio album, “Harry’s House”, which contained the single “As It Was”. This song was particularly important this year, as it stayed on the Hot 100 for 15 weeks, making it the biggest hit of the year. His 2022 tour, “Love On Tour”, including a 15-show residency at Madison Square Garden, sold out each of the allotted dates. Dates in other countries had similar demand, with the artist selling out four shows at Wembley Stadium. A highlight of the tour included Styles’s and Live Nation’s combined donation of over 1 million dollars to Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund.
Lizzo
Lizzo released her fourth album, “Special”, on July 15. It contained the single “About Damn Time,” which was released on April 14. It is a song centered around celebration and reached #1 on the Hot 100 for two weeks. The song’s accompanying music video featured the singer leaving a support group meeting and changing into a glittery blue outfit while dancing ] in various environments. To promote the song, she has also performed the song on various shows, including The Today Show, SNL, which she hosted, and The Bet Awards, despite not being nominated for any awards from the latter. She was, however, nominated for several Grammy awards, including Record of the Year and Album of the Year. The song also gained fame on the social media platform TikTok, as the platform-star Jaeden Gomez choreographed a dance to the song that went viral, to the point where Lizzo herself performed the dance on Late Night With James Corden.
Steve Lacy
Steve Lacy had a successful year in 2022. The R&B singer released his second album, “Gemini Rights”, on July 15. Most notably, the album contained the single “Bad Habit”, which spent 3 weeks on the top of the Billboard Hot 100. In it, a guy regrets not knowing that one of his potential girlfriends wanted him. The song’s music video has Lacey in a variety of plain environments with constantly changing colors and the occasional visual trick, such as silhouettes. He also performed the song on Saturday Night Live. “Bad Habit” also went viral on Tiktok, where users incorporated the song’s hook into videos about their own bad habits. Perhaps most infamously, the large fandom he gained from the app led to an incident where he asked his fans to sing the line after the hook at a concert, only to receive silence. Much like the song itself, this incident also went viral, along with other occurrences, such as when he broke a fan’s camera at a concert and berated his audience for throwing objects on his stage. Despite these incidents, he was nominated for Record of the Year at the 2023 Grammys.
Bailey Kanthatham is an Entertainment Contributing Writer. He can be reached at bkanthat@uci.edu.