New Rochelle High School’s Music Taste

By Parker Cavanaugh

The students have spoken. After over 100 responses and interviews, data has been collected on our school’s music taste. Surveys were given to a random selection of students from each grade level through the school’s email system, ensuring the lowest chance for bias among respondents. The music people enjoy can help demonstrate their personality, experiences, and values. The information collected in this survey is meant to highlight the similarities and differences between students and represent the community’s adolescent population and its views of pop culture through music.

To begin, students were asked to select their favorite music styles. While there were many different styles featured, there are a few that stand out. Hip-hop and Rap finished at the top of the list, with about a quarter of the population choosing it as one of their favorites. Close behind were Pop (17%) and R&B (16%). Lastly, Alternative and Indie (13%) as well as Rock and Metal music (12%) were other frequently selected options.

Next, respondents named their favorite musical artists or groups. Here, there was a wide range of artists, spanning from ABBA to Playboi Carti. However, there were 13 artists that received the most votes. R&B singer SZA took the crown with 5% of the votes. Toronto-born rapper Drake (4%) was in a close second, and fellow Canadian The Weeknd (3%) shared third with singer Taylor Swift (3%). Other artists receiving significant votes were rappers A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Kanye West, Bad Bunny, and Frank Ocean, singers Billie Eilish, Daniel Caesar, Lana Del Rey, and Mac Demarco, and English rock band Arctic Monkeys. Respondents also had to mention their favorite song at the time of the survey. Once again, Drake, SZA, and Taylor Swift were on top, gaining votes with songs they were in. It should also be noted that rapper Kendrick Lamar received a considerable number of votes in this category.

Finally, students reported their mode of listening to music. An overwhelming majority of interviewees used the Spotify app, one of the oldest music streaming platforms, seeing that it was founded in 2006. Coming in second was Apple Music, with 23% of respondents relying on the program. Two other notable apps were Musi (6%), an alternative to limited-skip apps such as Spotify, and Amazon Music (5%), which comes free with an Amazon Prime membership.