As we delve into topics like sexuality, class, race, and gender in this class, I began to wonder how these identities have been imposed upon us through media. To be more specific, I wonder how the concept of romantic love have been framed in breakup songs from past to present. These songs were the first sources that constructed my understanding of teenage love and romance.

In recent years, I observe a rising trend of breakup songs, and I find myself drawn towards the emotional aspects of these songs. This makes me wonder if breakup songs have always been this popular. I am also curious of whether the themes and styles have been the same throughout the decades.

In this google sheets, I compiled the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of each year from 1960 to 2023. For the songs in 2023 and 2022, I determined whether a song is a breakup song based on its lyrics and themes because Chatgpt is only updated until 2022. For the songs from the rest of the years, I asked ChatGpt to determine.

I asked ChatGPT to write breakup songs sang by female with respectively 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s pop style.

Add a comment under one of the lyrics to explain why chose your answer to the poll.

If a song is ranked first, it receives 10 points; if ranked second, 9 points; and so forth.

A song only receives points if it is a breakup song

In the end, all of the points for each year is calculated. The higher the points are, the more popular breakup songs were in that year

The graph does not show a clear trend between the years and the popularity of breakup songs.

There is a gap between the years 1973 to 1982. During this period, breakup songs were not popular

Between 1983 and 2023, the graph demonstrates overall stability with a slight, gradual upward trend.

The year 2023 is an outlier: it has significantly higher points than that of the rests of the years.

It is likely that in the next couple years, breakup songs will maintain or even increase its popularity.

The increase in the popularity of breakup songs recent years could be due to the pandemic, which made people more emotional and vulnerable. As a result, listening to breakup songs, which involves a lot of emotions, might be a way for people to feel connected to their emotions.

David Metzer, a music historian at the University of British Columbia, commented that “The thing we all want in a breakup is company, and we want someone to listen to us cry, listen to us complain, listen to us curse that person.”

A 2021 paper suggests that breakup songs might have a negative impact on people's wellness. The study showed that 17% of adolescents, particularly girls, were negatively affected by listening to sad music.

Additionally, it is likely that breakup songs might hinder the process of getting over a past relationship. A study published in PLOS ONE found that the most experienced emotion when listening to sad music is not sadness but nostalgia. Therefore, constantly dwelling on the past might be harmful for the future.

“The songs function to affirm their emotions, validate them, remind the listener they are not alone,” said Bill Thompson, a psychologist at Bond University in Queensland, Australia, who studies why music is important to people.

“Songs play a powerful role in normalizing our experience, in making us feel that we are not this weird, unusual, distorted kind of person,” said David Sbarra, a professor of psychology at the University of Arizona who studies how marital separation and divorce affect health.