Music‌ ‌style‌ ‌has‌ ‌changed‌ ‌and‌ ‌progressed‌ ‌through‌ ‌the‌ ‌centuries.‌ ‌Today,‌ ‌people can pick and choose the music they listen to.‌ ‌Gen‌ ‌Z‌, ‌as‌ ‌far‌ ‌as‌ ‌the‌ ‌high‌ ‌school‌ ‌drag‌ ‌goes,‌ ‌hold‌s ‌on‌ ‌to‌ ‌their‌ ‌music.‌ ‌What‌ ‌makes‌ ‌music‌ ‌so‌‌ enjoyable‌ ‌can‌ ‌vary‌ ‌to‌ ‌the‌ ‌emotion‌ ‌it‌ ‌carries‌ ‌and the ‌significance‌ ‌that‌ ‌is‌ ‌contained‌ ‌in‌ the ‌sound‌ ‌waves‌ ‌that‌ ‌create‌ ‌poetry‌ ‌in‌ ‌these‌ ‌catchy‌ ‌rhythms.‌ 

Concerts‌ ‌add‌ ‌a‌ ‌new‌ ‌side‌ ‌to‌ ‌the‌ ‌music‌, ‌people,‌ ‌especially‌ ‌teens,‌ ‌involved‌ ‌and‌ ‌performing‌ ‌as‌ ‌artists‌ ‌go‌ ‌on‌ ‌tour‌ ‌each‌ ‌year.‌ ‌For‌ ‌example‌ ‌Senior ‌Lauren‌ ‌Spencer‌ ‌describes‌ ‌concerts‌ ‌as,‌ ‌“exciting‌ ‌and‌ ‌it’s‌ ‌such‌ ‌a‌ ‌wonderful‌ ‌experience.”‌ ‌According to Biography, heartthrob‌ ‌Shawn‌ ‌Mendes‌ ‌back‌ ‌in‌ ‌2015‌ ‌commented‌ ‌saying,‌ ‌“Everyone‌ ‌should‌ ‌go‌ ‌to‌ ‌a‌ ‌concert‌ ‌at‌ ‌least‌ ‌once‌ ‌in‌ ‌their‌ ‌life.”‌ ‌Concerts‌ ‌and‌ ‌music‌ ‌go‌ ‌hand‌ ‌hand,‌ ‌while‌ ‌concerts‌ ‌help‌ ‌form‌ ‌a‌ ‌sense‌ ‌of‌ ‌community‌ ‌with‌ ‌the‌ ‌fans‌ ‌and‌ ‌the‌ ‌artists‌ ‌themselves.‌ ‌A‌ ‌good‌ ‌example‌ ‌of‌ ‌this‌ ‌is‌ ‌the‌ ‌biggest‌ ‌boy‌ ‌band‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌world‌ right now, ‌”BTS,” who‌ ‌loves‌ ‌their‌ ‌fans‌ ‌more‌ ‌than‌ ‌anything.‌ ‌With‌ ‌millions‌ ‌of‌ ‌fans‌ ‌around‌ ‌the‌ ‌world‌ ‌people‌ ‌can not‌ ‌help‌ ‌but‌ ‌wonder‌ ‌what‌ ‌community‌ ‌feels‌ ‌like‌ ‌until‌ ‌they‌ ‌end‌ ‌up‌ ‌in‌ ‌a‌ ‌fandom‌ ‌like‌ ‌the‌ ‌Army. The Army are the fans that continuously support BTS.‌ ‌Fandoms,‌ ‌concerts,‌ ‌and‌ ‌community‌ ‌all‌ ‌come‌ ‌along‌ ‌with‌ ‌the‌ ‌language‌ ‌we‌ ‌all‌ ‌share that is music.

As far as concerts go, most people in their adolescent years have experienced at least one, which in a way fulfills Shawn Mendes’s wishes. In addition, as his popularity has grown so has the community within his fandom. Freshman Katelynn Tang has seen him live. Besides Shawn Mendes, as he has seen a bit of a music change through his growth ever since his first single “Life of the Party,” Tang says, “I find it interesting to see when artists change their music style and grow.” As universal as music is, Tang makes note that there is character development as artists age and their life experiences change. Furthermore, a few examples are Taylor Swift and Shawn Mendes, who are one of the most popular artists in the Industry.  

Despite the new rising artists in the contemporary world, some people can not help but go back to the music that their parents listened to. Junior Natalia Valvanosays, “I like 80s music because I grew up listening to it because my parents like listened to it and it’s fun to have something in common with them.” It can not be denied that the 80s music part in time made history bring all sorts of artists like Madonna and Michael Jackson. In their time they proved a legacy that speaks to people like Valvano. In addition, it creates connections between generations on a more universal level. The same goes for sophomore Olivia Birch, saying, “80s new wave is probably my favorite type of music. It’s just really catchy and I really like it.” 80s new wave is definitely a style that has remained hidden especially now in the 21st century. It consists of old school pop. Overall, even though it has been well hidden, it has made its way to a high schooler now in 2019. 

Contemporary music like rap, pop, and even country are now on the rise. While the music industry with the new platforms to stream music on, is progressively getting weaker, concerts and the enthusiasm from fans have never been as extreme as they are now. Tang comments, “I’ve seen Travis Scott live… and I really just like the energy concerts have to offer, especially since everyone that shares the same music taste is there.” Tang continues, “…[The Shawn Mendes]  concert was the most memorable because he really showed passion in his performance, unlike anyone I have seen prior to him.” People like Tang are willing to spend money on experience such as concerts to get an everlasting memory in return. 

Popular culture is a big part of people picking and choosing their distinct styles of music, as mentioned before contemporary music has diffused very rapidly to the younger generations. In addition, popular culture is interesting because despite some stereotypes revolving around country music, it seems to have risen claiming a bigger part of the popular culture than what the relative public might consider. Spencer, obviously still in high school definitely identifies very strongly with country music. When she was asked what her favorite genre of music she did not hesitate to respond with, “I really like country, I grew up on it and it’s definitely something I really like listening to…. One of the concerts I went to was a music festival where I got to see all my favorite country artists.” While there is still a separation between people and the music genres they choose, different people identify with different music, bringing uniqueness into the music industry while still being able to form a sense of community.  

While the energy and hype of concerts is definitely a soul-filling experience, people might not expect that calmer music is making its way into the hearts of Gen Z. Spencer says, “I’ll change what I’m listening to depending on my mood. I’ll play calmer music if I feel too hyper.” R&B has definitely been a style of music that has grown more popular. Tang comments, “R&B is probably one of my favorite music types.” This calming side of music has made its presence known in the music industry making its impression on Gen Z. 

Despite what is happening at the moment, a lot of memories are correlated to the sounds, music, concerts, and lyrics we listen to. “When I was really little I went to go see Selena Gomez like any other girl,” comments Valvano. While she was popular at that time, she spoke to an audience that now spends their days at a high school. Going back to 80’s music, Valvano, as mentioned, grew up on it. As her parents experienced those memories. They gave her a gift of showing them a part of them that can only be resembled through music. While Burch was not there for herself to experience the 80s era of music first hand she and her parents shared the language of music.

Overall the how music has changed through artists and the different times has definitely had an impact on the music choice adolescents have. Furthermore, contemporary music has reached the ears of Gen-Z showing them bigger energy made up of concerts. Mood plays into the role of choosing the type of music, especially for someone looking for a calmer, R&B has come into play.  All in all, despite differences in taste universally people share the language of music.