Pop songs are getting faster and happier

The average tempo of 2020's top 20 best-selling songs is 122 beats per minute, the highest it's been since 2009, BBC reports. The lyrics follow suit - this year they celebrate joy and sensuality and thrill. For the last few years, pop has been getting slower, as artists like Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish incorporate the leisurely cadences and rhythms of southern hip-hop and trap music into their songs. This year the songs are faster and happier, just like in the times of the last crisis.