Wow! What a year! We’ve had a great deal of different types of music released, and come back to life, in this calendar year.
You might be surprised of the music, as wedding DJ’s, we play. The requests alone are sometimes the most eye-opening!
Years ago, DJ’s had a few ways of finding what was hot to play…
- Local record shops and the Billboard Top 100 list
- The American Top 40 on your local radio station. At the end of this post, I will post a link from the 1980’s from countdown king Casey Kasem
- Other DJ’s. Yep, we would listen to what other guys would play at the clubs and quickly write it down and go buy it!
In 2024, much of that has changed. Music generally has a shorter life on the radio and even at the club. TikTok, Instagram, and other social media websites gives us 10-20 seconds of a song with a catchy video and it becomes the next biggest hit. As DJ’s, we love bringing in that fresh energy and excitement to a party with the newest trending jam!
On TikTok, Tommy Richman and “Million Dollar Baby” was the top song. This song peaked for ten consecutive weeks starting in May 2024.
On Instagram, we saw a hit with Australian rapper Masked Wolf “Astronaut in the Ocean”. It was originally released in June 2019 and made a huge comeback in 2024!
On Billboard, they chart the most downloads and record sales. This year’s hit song is not one from Taylor Swift or Beyoncé, but a solo rapper called Shaboozey. He achieved commercial success with his 2024 single “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”; the single spent nineteen weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100, tying with Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” as the longest-running Hot 100 number-one song of all time! The best part of this song is that it’s both hip-hop and country. The reaction I have seen is that the dance crowd is transformed to a local dive bar, and they all raise a drink in hand and sing along!
We also keep tabs on the trending songs our clients pick. Chappell Roan had three big hits this year… “Pink Pony Club”, “Good Luck, Babe!” and “Hot To Go!”. So, for dancing, my big pick of the three is “Hot to Go!”. It is an experience you have to feel on the dance floor, with a vibe like a modern-day “YMCA”. This song is such ear-candy, and the video brings it’s infectious energy and moves to the party!
Also, Sabrina Carpenter was the musical artist of the Summer. She had a few big hits like “Please Please Please”, “Feathers”, and “Espresso”. “Espresso” is still a song requested often and can make a party jump! It was also the most streamed song as per Spotify of 2024.
Bonus track! While this classic disco group faded from pop culture in the late 80’s, the Mamma Mia! Movie & Musical has brought them back and kept them in the heart of all Dancing Queens & Kings. I have noticed a trend at my events of “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)”. But not the studio release… the remix!
Well that is our quick guide to what was hot in 2024. What will music bring us in 2025? We will see you on the dance floor for that!
WAIT!! Here is that link to Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 for September 1985. Enjoy!
