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The Soundtrack of Your 24th Year: Songs About Turning 24



Tragically, Biggie was murdered on March 9, 1997. Life After Death was released on March 25, a previously scheduled date, as his sophomore album. Lead single "Hypnotize" posthumously became his first No. 1 on the Hot 100. More importantly, it became a cultural touchstone and remains unequivocally one of hip-hop's greatest songs.




songs about turning 24



"A lot of people ask what MMMBop means, we've talked a lot about time," Zac Hanson told E! in October 2018. "Well MMMBop as a word, it represents time. It represents the fact that time passes very quickly. ... And so in a story about reaching for what's important and kind of driving towards the impossible dream, MMMBop is telling you go now, go now, go now, because in a moment, in an MMMBop, life will be over and have passed you by."


There was a time in 1997 when you couldn't drive anywhere, even the quickest of errand, without turning on the radio and hearing Third Eye Blind's "Semi-Charmed Life." Even now, as soon as you hear that "Doo doo doo, doo do-doo-doo," it will be stuck in your head for the rest of that day. Don't forget, though: as catchy and lighthearted as it sounds, "Semi-Charmed" is about doing crystal meth.


McGrath and Sugar Ray are forever synonymous with "Fly," but the frontman discussed the band's under-appreciated range with People around The Masked Singer's fifth season in early 2021: "I don't think people look at Sugar Ray as a hard rock band. Certainly not the radio songs and certainly not the music most people have heard. Though the origin of this band comes from a hard rock background, so it's something I can do."


Megan Armstrong (@megankarmstrong) is a writer with previous work appearing in places such as Billboard, Bleacher Report, GQ and others. She's most interested in writing about people and how they live their lives, through the framework of music, entertainment and sports.


Sometimes you fall in love, sometimes you fall out of love. Experiencing heartbreak is unfortunately a part of growing up. AKMU sings about the heartbreaking and complex feelings that come with the impending end of a romance. This is the song for those emo late-night drives.


Love knows no age, and neither does the shyness to confess your feelings to someone. Every 20-year-old relates to IU as she sings about how she struggles to convey her true feelings to her crush but fails as her actions and intentions contrast. It looks like dealing with love shenanigans during your twenties is universal!


Once you reach your mid-twenties, you realize that all debates about age are obsolete and that the only thing that matters is what you deem your age as. IU shares your sentiment in her song where she highlights the importance of making life decisions without feeling the obligation to fit in a box that restricts a person from truly pursuing their personal choices.


Speaking of songs on the radio nonstop, "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO might take the cake. Billboard has this song ranked as the sixth most successful song of all time. Sixth! Dance songs always have an advantage with being memorable since they are played at, like, every school dance.


Mariah Carey actually had three songs on my radar, all which almost made the cut. But I gave the edge to "We Belong Together" over "Shake It Off" and "Touch My Body." Fun fact, at one point, while this song was No. 1 on U.S. Billboard, "Shake It Off" was No. 2.


It was a coin flip between this and "Dance, Dance," but I think lyrically, people recognize this song more...especially the chorus. This list has plenty of songs that were "career-launchers," and this simple jam was enough to make Fall Out Boy one of the biggest names in alternative/emo rock for years.


Someone once said this was the "best video of all time," but hey, the song itself was a hit. Beyoncé is one of the many artists on this list where I could have put 10 of her songs in a hat and picked it. There was something about this one, though, in the mainstream where everyone knew the words.


I feel like a lot of rock/pop-rock songs could have made this list, but it isn't about my opinion, but the popularity among the masses...and Train was always on the tracks (cues laugh track). It won the Grammy for Best Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals.


Happy birthday, Rita Ora! As the singer-songwriter and actress celebrates turning 24, HELLO! Online takes a look at what the stars have in store for Rita, and you... This is what Rita, who is a Sagittarius, can be expecting today: When people are reluctant to discuss 'an elephant in the room', we must wonder why. Might it simply be because if it were acknowledged, it would lead to questions like, how did that elephant get into the room in the first place? How did it pass through the door? And if it came in long ago, as a tiny baby elephant, and has been growing ever since, how can anyone ever hope to get it back out again? Or perhaps the room has a very large pair of French windows. The solution to a problem may not be as obtuse as you fear. Click here to read your horoscope


The common theme of this song is expressed through the repeated chorus, voicing avoidance and uncertainty about responsibilities. In a true pessimistic fashion, the son adopts the same attitude as his father, leaving him to feel the weight of a life spent separated from his family.


The insightful lyrics of Andy Grammer show ways that a positive attitude can bring about change. This reminder helps to shed brightness on frustrations and helps listeners adopt this chorus into their daily lives.


As Ariana faced the terrible realities of death and loss, she may have learned a difficult lesson about picking up the broken pieces and continuing life as best as she can. The positive outlook of this song suggests that it is a fulfilling perspective.


The narrator and his girlfriend explore many physical pleasures throughout this song, yet they keep returning to the desire for something else. This song addresses the meaning of life through indirectly discovering those things that only leave him wanting more.


In real life, you may find that healing is a long road, and recovery looks different than you might have hoped. In the moments when recovery or healing is feeling tough, having a variety of songs that explore the complexities of these processes can be comforting.


Whether it's a Christian song related to your faith or a pop song to lift your spirits, consider some of these songs and their messages of hope for the path to healing. You can even consider putting together a playlist and sharing it along with a Spotify gift card for a unique, personalized gift.


This song, all about complacency, can be heartening for anyone who feels like they are in a rut and want to break out of it. The healing and recovery processes are often longer than expected, and this song can be helpful in the journey.


Continuing the faith-tradition theme from earlier, these gospel songs express the combination of sorrow and hope that can be a powerful reminder that others have walked difficult roads before you and made it through to the other side.


This classic is about how God cares for all beings, from simple birds up to our complex human lives, and that we will get through what is happening to us. Feeling cared for can bring comfort during a healing process.


This song, while focused on the afterlife, can be an incredibly hopeful song for those who are in the process of healing and want peace about an uncertain future. Recognizing that one can be at peace even in the face of a long road to healing can be very comforting.


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2) Some (younger) ages get mentioned in dozens of songs, other (older) ages are barely referenced. I examine these trends quantitatively and compare them to other trends, like how political stances change with age.


To check out this more political explanation, we can compare the list of songs to other variables measuring socialization. Since the list is US-centric, I use the 2006 World Values Survey from the US and graph five-year moving averages of three forms of political participation: joining a boycott, signing a petition, and voting in the last election. The two more conventional forms of participation (voting, and petitions) both rise almost linearly with age. The more unconventional form of participation (boycotts) remains fairly steady although it declines later in life. All three forms of participation are negatively correlated with song frequency, at -0.59 for turnout and songs, -0.72 for petitions and songs, and -0.20 for boycotts and songs, and the first two correlations are statistically significant at conventional levels.


Over the years, as an observant T Swift fan, I've noticed her penchant for mentioning ages in her songs. Maybe she does this so she can look back on these songs and remember how old she was when she had these experiences. Or maybe she does it so her fans have another level to relate to her on. For at least my past seven birthdays, I've checked to see if Taylor Swift mentioned my new age in one of her songs.


"She said, I was 7 and you were 9. I looked at you like the stars that shined in the sky. The pretty lights. And our daddies used to joke about the two of us, growing up and falling in love. And our mommas smiled, and rolled their eyes, and said 'Oh, my my my.'"


You don't have to look hard to find this one. In fact, it's the name of the song. This song is also on Swift's Fearless album. It's about her beginning high school. She talks about friendship, love, and dreams. She even mentions the name of her real life best friend at the time, who she is still friends with now. Since it's the name of the song, 15 is mentioned multiple times.


We return to Mary's Song for this one. After the two young kids have grown up a little, their perspective on both life and each other changes. This is a turning point in their relationship. Remember, the song is told from the girl's perspective, so she's talking about her age. 2ff7e9595c


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