5 Pop Songs You Need to Know from 2015

It’s a new year, which means new music! Here are 5 pop songs you need to know from 2015.

“Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars

“Uptown Funk” is a song by English record producer Mark Ronson from his fourth studio album, Uptown Special (2015), featuring American singer and songwriter Bruno Mars. The song was released as the album’s lead single on 10 November 2014. “Uptown Funk” peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for seven consecutive weeks, becoming the longest-running single of 2015 and of the 2010s decade. The single also spent 31 weeks atop Australia’s ARIA Singles Chart, the joint-second longest stay at number one in Australian chart history, behind Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” (1982). Globally, “Uptown Funk” has sold over 10 million units making it one of the best-selling singles of all time.

In early September 2014, Theophilus London tweeted a link to the song’s music video teaser then uploaded an additional video to his own YouTube account captioned with “#uptownfunk you give me something I need”. The song was subsequently confirmed as a single from Uptown Special. “Uptown Funk” was written by Ronson, Mars and Jeff Bhasker; it features additional writing from Philip Lawrence and Nicholas Williams (a.k.a. Wiki) and was produced by Ronson, Bhasker and Mars.

“Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran

“Thinking Out Loud” is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, released as the third single from his second studio album, × (2014). Written by Sheeran and Amy Wadge and produced by frequent collaborator Jake Gosling, “Thinking Out Loud” is a pop and soul ballad about young love. Upon its release in 2014, the song debuted at number 26 on the UK Singles Chart. It spent 19 weeks on the chart before finally peaking at number one in February 2015, making it both Sheeran’s first UK chart-topper and first US top-ten single. In June 2015, “Thinking Out Loud” became the first single to spend a full year in the UK top 40.

Sheeran wrote “Thinking Out Loud” with Amy Wadge, a Welsh folk singer-songwriter. He was inspired to write the track after watching a couple dance at his friend’s wedding in September 2013 in Gloucestershire. Believing that he might not get married himself, Sheeran thought that what he did have was love for his then long-term girlfriend Cherry Seaborn; he felt compelled to write a song about how that love would last forever. In an interview with NPR’s Sarah Rodman published on 17 May 2014, Sheeran stated: “‘Thinking Out Loud’ is one of those magical songs where you just never know how big it will get … It sounds like an everlasting love song; I wanted to capture that feeling.” The lyrics were written over two years; they originally appeared in early drafts of × but were cut until Wadge persuaded him to put them back as she believed they were part of “a good story”.

After consulting with producers Benny Blanco and Rick Rubin about which songs could be singles from ×, unable to choose between “One” or “Photograph”, Sheeran ultimately decided upon an acoustic ballad for its third release because he felt that it was missing from modern radio. He told NME regarding this decision: “‘One’ was always going to be an easy next single because ‘The A Team’ had done so well … It’s nice having something different [on radio] now – new sounds – so hopefully this stands out.”

“Take Me to Church” by Hozier

“Take Me to Church” by Hozier is a song that was released in 2014, but gained popularity in 2015. The song is about religion, and how Hozier sees it as a way to control people. He believes that people should be free to love who they want, and not be controlled by a higher power.

“Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift

From her highly-anticipated fifth studio album, “Shake It Off” was the first single released from 1989. The song debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent four weeks atop the chart. “Shake It Off” is a synthpop, electronic dance track with lyrics thatcriticize Swift’s haters and foster a positive outlook.

“All About That Bass” by Meghan Trainor

“All About That Bass” is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Meghan Trainor for her 2014 debut EP and her 2015 studio album, Title. The song was written by Trainor and Kevin Kadish, and it was produced by Kadish. “All About That Bass” was released on June 30, 2014, as the lead single from Title. The song peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for eight consecutive weeks and topped the charts in 58 other countries, becoming Trainor’s biggest international hit to date. A critical and commercial success, “All About That Bass” earned Trainor several awards and nominations, including Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.