Last month, we sent out a survey to the student body about what your “hot takes” are on music. We posed five questions to you (some specific, some not), and as we sorted through your responses, we wrote up our thoughts on what you said.

Below is how we handled your “unpopular opinions.”

What’s your hot take or unpopular opinion about music?

You said: “Drake is the worst artist ever”

Liv says: ABSOLUTELY 110% I’ve never agreed with anything more! Can we PLEASE stop pretending Drake as that guy; he’s just giving weird uncle vibes and it needs to stop immediately.

You said: “Hardstone Psycho is a top 3 album of 2024”

Sophia says: I have never heard of this album but I did listen to it and it was pretty good. I think my top three songs are “Hardstone National Anthem,” “Attitude,” and “Glock,” in that order.

You said: “Classical music for studying is underrated”

Sophia says: That is literally my secret weapon for studying! I can’t have silence, but I also don’t want music with lyrics because then I get distracted so classical music or lofi is perfect!

You said: “Rufus Wainwright writes absolutely gorgeous music”

Sophia says: This is another person I’ve never heard of, but I did some research on him. He’s a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and composer who has written operas and is mostly known for blending pop, opera, and classical music. He also is the man who sings “Hallelujah” featured in the movie Shrek. I did listen to some of his songs, and they were very interesting. They weren’t really my type of music but he does have a way of blending different music genres together that make his songs stand out in a good way.

What’s an album you can’t stand but everyone else seems to love it? Or vice versa?

You said: “All albums and EPs, singles from Chappell Roan. She had her peak but all her songs now sound the same to me. And her songs are overplayed. It got annoying.”

Liv says: SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK! As someone who started as a die hard Chappell Roan fan, I literally can’t stand her anymore. Not only is her music repetitive, but I also just don’t agree with a lot of the things she says.

You said: “Sabrina Carpenter’s album, ‘Short n’ Sweet’ sucks”

Sophia says: I’m not a huge Sabrina Carpenter fan. I like her older music which isn’t played or recognized as much. I think her Short ‘N Sweet album is OK. The songs were catchy and very easy to start singing along to when they first came out, but now I feel like they’re overplayed way too much to the point where every time one comes onto the radio I want to rip my ears off.

You said: “Cowboy Carter….I’m sorry”

Liv says: Literally don’t be sorry for having the correct opinion! I know it’s basically illegal to speak against Beyoncé at this point, but honestly, I literally can’t stand Beyoncé. I mean, she’s really successful, so I guess she has to be somewhat talented. But every time she opens her mouth, whatever she says is always meant to sound heartfelt, but it just always sounds fake deep and arrogant.

What genre do you like that many people don’t and why? Or vice versa?

You said: A few people mentioned Vocaloid and “Asian Music” (?)

Erin says: I listen to a decent amount of Vocaloid, and I pretty much only do so because a few of my friends forced me to play Hatsune Miku: COLORFUL STAGE Project Sekai (aka PJSK). A lot of the music is really good!! I think it just has that “feel good” energy, and it really makes me happy for some reason?? Some songs I really like(most are from PJSK) are: “Bad Apple!!,” “bug,” “Kuyamu To Kaite Mirai,” and “Help me, ERINNNNNN!!” (The fact that my name is in the title of a song is really amusing to me.)

Now onto… “Asian Music.” I have no idea if the person that submitted that response meant K-pop, J-pop, P-pop, or if they meant traditional and cultural Asian music. The person that put this in our form didn’t specify if they liked it or not either. If you don’t like it, that’s totally fine; it’s not for everyone. However, if it’s a matter of, “oh, you don’t understand what they’re saying,” you can just look up English translations of the lyrics. It’s really not that hard. Some Asian pop artists I personally like are: JENNIE, Lexie Liu (she’s kind of the Chinese version of Charli xcx), XG, Xdinary Heroes, Stray Kids, f(x), aespa. I can’t type out all of my recommendations, but I think everyone can find something to like about these groups. Rap fans seem to really enjoy Stray Kids, and people who like early 2000’s and late 90’s music tend to like BoA.

Most said: Heavy Metal and Country

Sophia says: A lot of people seem to enjoy heavy metal or variations of it. I don’t listen to it that often, mostly when I need to feel pumped up for something. For country there were a lot of differing opinions, some people said they hated it and some people said they loved it, there was no middle ground. I’m with the people who love it. I really love country music, I’ll admit there are some songs that aren’t that great, but I really love it. Some of my favorite artists are Lainey Wilson, Morgan Wallen, and Luke Bryan. Their songs are constantly stuck in my head. Also, Beyoncé is not a country music artist she should stick to her pop songs, like I know she was raised in Texas but she has never done anything country in her music career until Cowboy Carter and it sucked.

How do you feel about Charli xcx?

You said: Varied responses, but most said they don’t like her.

Erin says: I wouldn’t say I’m particularly qualified to talk about Charli because I simply do not listen to her music enough. I don’t hate her music, but I can’t say I like a lot of it either. I feel like people have different reasons for not liking her music, whether it be because she does a lot of hyperpop, and that’s not something they enjoy, or that they don’t like her voice. I took some time to listen to some of Charli’s hits, and I was pleasantly surprised at how many I knew. Some I didn’t realize I’d known. My favorites are: “party 4 u,” “Everything is Romantic,” “Girl, so confusing,” and “Yuck.” I think it’s pretty cool how she has music that spans across genres, so I think people can find something to like in her discography.

Anything else about music you’d like to mention?

You said: “Prime carti was good too”

Erin says: Prior to listening to “Prime/Peak Carti,” I was not a big fan of Carti. However, after I toughed through it and I listened to what his fans consider to be “Prime/Peak Carti,” I found myself liking a decent amount of his music. According to some playlists I found on Spotify, “Prime/Peak Carti” included the albums: Whole Lotta Red, Playboi Carti, and Die Lit. I really liked: ILoveUIHateU, Sky, Over, Foreign, Love Hurts (feat. Travis Scott), and wokeuplikethis*. I also listened to his newest album: MUSIC. Some of my favorites off that album were: “CRUSH (with Travis Scott),” “PHILLY (with Travis Scott),” and “RATHER LIE (with The Weeknd).” Comparing his newest work to “Prime/Peak Carti,” I like his older work better. I feel like the only thing that compelled me to continue listening to MUSIC was the fact that Travis Scott was featured on a few songs (and if you couldn’t tell already, I really like Travis Scott). However, Carti’s new music is not trash, and I enjoyed quite a bit of it. I’d listen to him casually, but not on a daily basis.

You said: ADO SUPREMACY

Erin says: Again, not the biggest fan. However, this is not because I don’t like Ado: it’s because I don’t listen to her regularly. To be honest, the only songs I know by here are “Usseewa” and her feature on Imagine Dragons’ “Take Me to the Beach.” After taking the time to listen to some of her music, I can say that she had impeccable vocal control, and she has a really powerful voice. She sounds pretty cool and I see myself listening to more of her music in the foreseeable future.