It's officially that time of the year: DJ Earworm has just released "United State of Pop" 2014! The annual mega-mashup has become a staple in year-end pop music, compiled using the top 25 songs of the year according to Billboard 's Year-End Hot 100 chart. Since 2007, the San Francisco-based DJ has masterfully mixed these chart-topping hits into one cohesive pop song. Watch the brand new music video for "United State of Pop 2014" and take a trip down memory lane with us as we look at the past 7 years of DJ Earworm's awesome mashups.
In an interview with Billboard, DJ Earworm explained how this year's mashup has differed from past mixes. "The thing that has been most notable in the past two or three years is the decline of EDM. The 'United State of Pop' became this dance track from '09 to '12, and then starting last year, there just wasn't enough in that genre to fully support it, so I went down-tempo. And this year, 'Timber,' which was popular in January, is the only popular dance track I'm dealing with. It's definitely down-tempo, so you have to decide, how is this going to go? How am I going to maintain the energy levels while being true to the sound of the year?"
What kind of music did Earworm have to work with? He explained that 2014 was "dominated by these slow, ponderous songs like 'Say Something' and 'All of Me,' and then swaggering hip-hop songs like 'Turn Down for What,' 'Talk Dirty,' and 'Black Widow.' Then you have totally up-tempo songs like 'Happy' and 'Shake It Off,' too. It's a little bit more diverse, and definitely softer than it's been."
"I would love the whole thing to be perfectly blended each time, but it also has to be digestible...Some years, it's a pretty straightforward instrumental from one source, but this year is the most blended instrumental I've been able to achieve yet," recalls Earworm to Billboard.
Care for the full list of the sampled songs in this year's "United State of Pop" release? Here it is, via the YouTube video's description:
A Great Big World feat. Christina Aguilera - "Say Something"
Ariana Grande feat. Iggy Azalea - "Problem"
Bastille - "Pompeii"
Dj Snake & Lil Jon - "Turn Down For What"
Hozier - "Take Me to Church"
Idina Menzel - "Let It Go"
Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX - "Fancy"
Iggy Azalea feat. Rita Ora - "Black Widow"
Jason Derulo feat. 2 Chainz - "Talk Dirty"
Jeremih feat. YG - "Don't Tell 'Em"
Jessie J feat. Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj - "Bang Bang"
John Legend - "All Of Me"
Katy Perry feat. Juicy J - "Dark Horse"
Lorde - "Team"
Magic! - "Rude"
Maroon 5 - "Animals"
Meghan Trainor - "All About That Bass"
Nico & Vinz - "Am I Wrong"
One Direction - "Story of My Life"
Passenger - "Let Her Go"
Pharrell Williams - "Happy"
Pitbull feat. Ke$ha - "Timber"
Sam Smith - "Stay With Me"
Taylor Swift - "Shake It Off"
Tove Lo - "Habits"
Now, for the big comparison! Check out the past 7 years of the awesome "United State of Pop" series below:
"United State of Pop" 2007:
"United State of Pop" 2008:
"United State of Pop" 2009:
"United State of Pop" 2010:
"United State of Pop" 2011:
"United State of Pop" 2012:
"United State of Pop" 2013:
How does this year's "United State of Pop" mashup measure up to the past years' mixes? Sound off in the comments section below!
