For decades, music collaborations have taken over the industry and resulted in record-breaking chart numbers. Fans are always exhilarated whenever the news of a new collab drops.
Fans get excited because music collaboration is a way to hear new music whilst staying within their comfort zone. Whether the artist featured on the release is a different genre or not, it opens the door for fans to find new music.
A majority of collaborations in the music industry are well-received, while others miss the target completely.
Noah Kahan, a recently popularized folk-pop musician, released his album “Stick Season” on Oct. 14, 2022. In a couple of months, he released the deluxe version and titled it “Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever).”
This deluxe album came with an additional seven songs for his fans to listen to. Some of the songs released on the deluxe album, like “You’re Gonna Go Far,” “Call Your Mom” and “Dial Drunk,” quickly became some of his most popular songs to date.
Since the deluxe version of his album, Kahan went on to release seven collaborative songs, many of which were part of “Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever).” After the release of Kahan’s deluxe album, he revealed a collaboration with Hozier on the song “Northern Attitude.”
“I loved it,” said Lauren Chastain, a freshman mass communication major. “I’ve been listening to Noah Kahan and Hozier since 2019. It took my breath away. Hozier’s background vocals are insane in the song.”
Kahan got major feedback from this release, and with this positive reinforcement, he kept going and adding more collaborations to his list of already popular musicians.
“When Noah Kahan revealed that Lizzy McAlpine was going to be featured on ‘Call Your Mom,’ I was very skeptical, but after the first listen, I fell in love,” said Ansley Herrin, a freshman art major.
An oldie but a goodie, “Under Pressure,” the hit song released by David Bowie and Queen in 1981, stood out amongst many of their previous hits.
“One of the best collabs was Queen and David Bowie when they sang ‘Under Pressure,’” said Sarah Chastain, a freshman marketing major. “It was kind of iconic.”
Staying with the oldies, André 3000 and Big Boi were in a joint band called OutKast;whilst singing together, they released an album called “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.” This album quickly became a favorite to many, as their voices worked so well together.
“I was a big fan of OutKast when I was a kid,” said Bailey McAlister, an English professor at GC. “I think their album “Speakerboxxx” embodies 2000s hip-hop, and I really enjoyed it.”
These two artists simultaneously released a song that would go down as one of the greatest for the rest of time.
Liam Payne, a former member of One Direction, and Dixie D’Amelio, a TikTok influencer, have built quite a popular fan base whilst simultaneously being good music artists, and they came together and produced a Christmas song in 2020. The song is called “Naughty List,” which has some questionable feedback from fans.
“I’m a Directioner, and I felt it was taken in the wrong direction,” Chastain said.
On Drake’s most recent album, “For All the Dogs,” he featured a ton of popular artists with different and similar music genres to his own. Many fans were anticipating hit after hit when finding out the artists that may get featured.
One song that stands out among all his latest releases is “Rich Baby Daddy,” which features Sexyy Red and SZA.
“It was very annoying and became overplayed quickly,” said Jack Bowland, a sophomore finance major.
Taylor Swift and Ice Spice rereleased the song “Karma” from Swift’s most recent album, “Midnights.” This collaboration came as a major shock to fans, as this seemed like a reach, even for Swift.
“The lyrics Ice Spice added just didn’t add anything to the song,” said Emma Lamb, a freshman marketing major.
Lorde has been at the forefront of top artists for quite some time, releasing songs that quickly climbed the charts. In 2017, she announced the release of “Homemade Dynamite,” a pop song featuring some of the most popular artists at the time.
This song has features from Khalid, SZA and Post Malone.
“This changed the game,” Sarah Chastain said. “All of their voices just worked so well together in a way I never would’ve imagined.”
“It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere” is a notoriously famous song and quote that originated in 2007 when Jimmy Buffett and Alan Jackson combined their talents into one song. These two musicians together connected people from all over with this simple yet moving song.
“It’s a good song,” Bowland said. “It’s peaceful and makes you want to relax.”
Zach Bryan is another notorious artist who allows features on his albums pretty consistently, including his collaboration with The Lumineers, on the song “Spotless.”
“Their voices and the different genres go together well,” said Neveah Bohannon, a freshman political science major.
The band The Struts released a song with Kesha in 2018 that was featured on the album “YOUNG DANGEROUS,” called “Body Talks.” This song was severely less streamed in comparison to the original version first produced.
“It sounded like they didn’t really collaborate,” McAlister said. “It just sounded like Kesha came in, Struts were trying to be all big and bring Kesha in. I just remember thinking it was weird.”
Music has no guidelines, especially when it comes to collaborations. Collaborations offer a new sense of creativity for artists and an enriching experience for listeners.
