Artists need to gain back footing on the University of Maryland campus or students need to put their ears to the ground. Either way, when asked, most students struggled to name any new albums they had heard about from this year, much less any they enjoyed.
Habib Camara, a junior psychology major, said CHROMAKOPIA by Tyler, The Creator has stayed on repeat, though we both couldn’t remember whether that release was from this year or not.
It was last year, in October.
Camara noted a definite 2025 failure: Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl album.
“There’s no redeeming quality, like genuinely. And I’m not even a Taylor hater. I enjoy some of her songs,” Camara said.
Drew Levitan, a sophomore psychology major, didn’t bother with Swift’s 2025 album, deciding to just appreciate her older songs. He has been connecting back with familiar artists, polishing older songs with a new perspective on them. But when asked about any other new projects, it was hard to recall many.
Levitan suggested our savior is trapped in Las Vegas, adding, “If Bruno Mars made an album, it’d be great.”
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In retaining relevancy, some artists overshoot the mark.
Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco publicly dissected their relationship with their joint album release in March. In “I Said I Love You First”, Gomez put Blanco on a pedestal even.
Although they came across as condescending in their interviews, perhaps Blanco was holding a master class in PR to get people talking.
Johanes-Icart Toussaint, a junior information science major, called Young Thug’s song “Ninja” on his 2025 album UY Scuti a major miss. After listening to it with him, it feels like Justin Bieber paid money to pull a Freaky Friday again just to repeatedly say a particularly harsh word with bad autotune, using shock value as marketing.
There’s never truly a dull year in the music industry, though. Toussaint enjoyed the Deftones album Private Music, dropped in August, and Bad Bunny’s DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS release. Toussaint plays these on his headphones constantly.
“If I don’t have my earphones or headphones, I dread it,” Toussaint said.
Keaira Ball, a freshman real estate and the built environment major, said although she loves Doja Cat, the artist’s new album disappointed.
“It wasn’t hitting the same,” Ball said. “I love Doja, but it just wasn’t hitting.”
Levitan is open to new music recommendations from anyone, but he feels that the opportunity does not really present itself.
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“I might not present myself as approachable sometimes. I know the headphones definitely make it hard … but it’s something that makes me comfortable,” Levitan said.
Jordan Ellis had headphones playing for three hours straight before I approached. Zoning out the loud sounds of campus, the freshman psychology major typically sticks to curated playlists during “transitionary periods.”
Regarding this year, Ellis noted that Sabrina Carpenter seems to be on a good run, though, “the Drake album was rough.”
Taking this time to slow down, as a college student especially, feels like another toss onto the daunting ‘to-do’ pile. Hopefully next year will be refreshing. Maybe Bruno Mars will hit the charts once again, pushing us out of our headphones to a karaoke stage to thank him.
