“Bummer Summer”: Sad Music Tops Gen Z’s Spotify Searches

Music can influence our emotions, and listening to happy or sad tunes can reflect the world around us and or even alter it. 

A new report by Spotify Technology SA reveals that Gen Z, aged between 9 and 24 and numbering over 68 million in the US, has been searching for the saddest music on the streaming music platform this summer than any other generation. 

“Sad” is the most-searched term for Gen Z listeners on Spotify globally, and they’re tuning into our sad playlists—including pop-infused sad hour, R&B-inspired All The Feels, rap-heavy tear drop, sad sierreño, sad girl country, and sad girl starter pack—more than any other age group. –Spotify blog 

Spotify said they created a new playlist called “bummer summer” to match the mood of Gen Z:

To match the vibe in the US and Canada, we launched bummer summer, the ultimate lineup of moody jams and soul-filling songs. Complete with tracks from d4vd, Frank Ocean, Phoebe Bridgers, Lana Del Rey, Big Thief, and Billie Eilish, the playlist echoes the honesty and transparency that Gen Zs emulate in their lives and listening—and harnesses the ability of emotive, lyrical music to enhance any mood.

Krista Scozzari, Spotify’s North American Marketing Lead, explained the trend shows “Something really unique about this generation. They embrace their feelings so much. They’re really flipping the stigma of vulnerability. Gen Z has brought a raw, authentic new reality to expressing their emotions, and we’re seeing that in how they listen. We wanted to celebrate this powerful thing they’re doing.” 

Spotify spoke with Michael Bonshor, Ph.D., a music psychology expert, who said:

“Sad music can help us to release, express, channel, or purge our emotions.” 

We must consider some possibilities of a depressed Gen Z: Is it that corporate media brainwashed them into believing in imminent ‘climate doom’? Or maybe maybe ‘Bidenomics’ and two years of crushing inflation have paralyzed this generation’s economic mobility? Or perhaps this heavily medicated generation is mentally ill. 

But the sour mood is shared across generations and social classes. We saw this with the viral hit of Oliver Anthony’s gritty coal country ballad “Rich Men North Of Richmond.” The song remains number one on iTunes (as of Monday).