42 Musician & Rock Star Jokes: The 2022 “Renaissance, As It Was & The Upside Down” Edition

In 2022, the music industry felt like a giant reunion party. Beyoncé took us to the disco, Harry Styles invited us into his house, and Taylor Swift made us all stay up until midnight. It was the year of the “Running Up That Hill” resurgence, the moment we realized that Bad Bunny was officially the biggest artist on Earth, and the year a slap at the Oscars (sadly) had its own remix within minutes.

The 2022 Soundboard Top 10: “Renaissance, Harry’s House & The Midnight Rain”

1. The Harry Styles “As It Was” Domination: Why the ringing bell? Because Harry invited us into a world of 80s synth-pop and stayed at #1 for 15 weeks, proving that a jumpsuit and a catchy hook are the ultimate global currency.
2. The Beyoncé “RENAISSANCE” Party: Why the silver horse? Because Queen B returned to give us a continuous club mix that saved our summer and reminded everyone that “you won’t break my soul.”
3. The Taylor Swift “Midnights” Mayhem: Why the anti-hero? Because Taylor occupied the entire Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time, proving that “it’s me, hi, I’m the problem” was the most relatable lyric of the century.
4. The Kate Bush “Stranger Things” Resurgence: Why the hill? Because 37 years later, “Running Up That Hill” hit #1 globally, proving that Gen Z has excellent taste when they aren’t busy on TikTok.
5. The Bad Bunny “Un Verano Sin Ti” Takeover: Why the sad heart? Because Benito released an album so massive it stayed in the Top 2 on Billboard for nearly six months, making Spanish the official language of every beach on Earth.
6. The Steve Lacy “Bad Habit” Viral Spark: Why the “I wish I knew”? Because a lo-fi guitar song became a #1 hit because of 15-second clips, leading to concerts where fans only knew exactly 10% of the lyrics.
7. The Lizzo “About Damn Time”: Why the flute? Because Lizzo gave us the ultimate “feel-good” anthem of the year, proving that a disco bassline is the best cure for any bad mood.
8. The Kendrick Lamar “Mr. Morale…” Return: Why the therapy session? Because Kendrick returned after five years with a complex, heavy, and brilliant record that proved he was still rap’s greatest philosopher.
9. The Rosalía “MOTOMAMI” Revolution: Why the helmet? For the Spanish star who mixed every genre possible to create an experimental pop masterpiece that sounded like the year 3000.
10. The Sam Smith & Kim Petras “Unholy”: Why the “body shop”? For the dark club anthem that became an inescapable earworm and made history as Kim Petras became the first openly trans woman to have a #1 hit.

The Full 2022 Musician & Rock Star Archive

11. The Arctic Monkeys “The Car”: Why the slow tempo? For Alex Turner ditching the leather jackets for a 70s cinema vibe and a vintage car, confusing everyone waiting for “R U Mine? Pt. 2.”
12. The SZA “SOS” Drop: Why the 5-year wait? For the year-end masterpiece that proved she was the undisputed queen of modern R&B, ruling the charts through the winter.
13. The Drake “Honestly, Nevermind” Shock: Why the house music? For the surprise drop where Drake decided he was a DJ in Ibiza, leaving half his fans confused and the other half on the dancefloor.
14. The Jack Harlow “First Class”: Why the Fergie sample? For the man who proved that a clever flip of a 2000s hit is a guaranteed ticket to the top of the charts.
15. The Wet Leg Debut: Why the “Chaise Longue” hype? For the duo that proved indie rock could be funny, dry, and incredibly catchy, winning two Grammys in the process.
16. The Red Hot Chili Peppers (Double Release): Why two albums? Because John Frusciante was back and the band had so much funk they couldn’t fit it into just one record.
17. The Tems Global Rise: Why the “Wait For U”? For the Nigerian star with the golden voice who appeared on every major hit and became the new favorite artist of your favorite artist.
18. The Fontaines D.C. “Skinty Fia”: Why the Irish pride? For the band proving that post-punk could be poetic, traditional, and heavy all at the same time.
19. The Paramore “This Is Why” Return: Why the anger? For Hayley and the boys returning with a post-punk sound that captured the exact feeling of not wanting to leave your house.
20. The Machine Gun Kelly “Mainstream Sellout”: Why the title? For MGMT successfully leaning into the “villain” role and keeping the pop-punk revival alive for another year.
21. The Pusha T “It’s Almost Dry”: Why the production? For the drug-rap king teaming up with Kanye and Pharrell to deliver the sharpest bars of the year.
22. The 1975 “Being Funny in a Foreign Language”: Why the blue suit? For Matty Healy being less chaotic and more melodic, producing their most “pop” and polished record yet.
23. The Muse “Will of the People”: Why the masks? For the band continuing their mission to provide the soundtrack for every futuristic uprising.
24. The Future “I Never Liked You”: Why the eye mask? For the man who officially became the “Toxic King” of rap while delivering one of the biggest hits of the year.
25. The Joji “Glimpse of Us”: Why the crying? For the most heartbreaking piano ballad of the year that came from a former YouTube comedian and hit the global Top 5.
26. The Björk “Fossora”: Why the mushrooms? For the Icelandic legend going “biological” with an album full of bass clarinets and gabber beats.
27. The Megan Thee Stallion “Traumazine”: Why the honesty? For Megan dealing with public drama by dropping a raw, aggressive album that proved she wouldn’t be silenced.
28. The GloRilla “F.N.F.” Breakthrough: Why the “Let’s goooo”? For the anthem that introduced us to the new voice of Memphis rap and the “Ratchet Girl Summer.”
29. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Cool It Down”: Why the 9-year wait? For Karen O returning to show everyone that she is still the ultimate icon of art-rock.
30. The Mitski “Laurel Hell”: Why the 80s synths? For the indie darling returning from “retirement” to make us all dance to our own existential dread.
31. The Blackpink “Born Pink”: Why the world tour? For the K-Pop queens officially taking over the world, headlining stadiums from Seoul to New York.
32. The Florence + The Machine “Dance Fever”: Why the “King”? For Florence embracing her inner “vampire” and creating an album perfect for dancing around a bonfire.
33. The Ozzy Osbourne “Patient Number 9”: Why the Jeff Beck solo? For the Prince of Darkness proving that he will outlive us all while making one of his best late-career albums.
34. The Death of Taylor Hawkins: Why the “My Hero” silence? For the heartbreaking loss of the Foo Fighters’ heartbeat, leaving a void in the rock world that can never be filled.
35. The Death of Coolio: Why the “Gangsta’s Paradise” finale? For the loss of a 90s legend whose music defined an entire era of hip-hop cinema.
36. The Death of Takeoff: Why the Migos tragedy? For the loss of the “quiet genius” of the group, a tragedy that changed the face of Atlanta rap forever.
37. The Death of Christine McVie: Why the “Songbird”? For the loss of the soul and the melody behind Fleetwood Mac’s biggest hits.
38. The Death of Loretta Lynn: Why the “Coal Miner’s Daughter”? For the passing of a true country pioneer who told the truth when no one else would.
39. The Coachella Hologram Era: Why the technology? For the year we started wondering if we were actually seeing the artists or just a very high-quality digital projection.
40. The Ticketmaster Meltdown: Why the “The Great War”? Because Taylor Swift fans actually managed to make the US government investigate why it’s so hard to buy a concert ticket.
41. The BeReal Notification: Why the 2 minutes? Because while we were at concerts, we were all frantically trying to take a photo of our blurred faces and the stage at the same time.
42. The 2022 Final Music Vibe: Why did the year feel like a neon-lit dream? Because we spent the year dancing to Beyoncé, living in Harry’s House, and climbing that hill with Kate Bush, while realizing that whether it was Midnights or Un Verano Sin Ti, we were all just searching for a “Renaissance” of our own.