Being sad is never a good feeling unless you’re wanting to feel sad for a reason. Music is the universal language. People have playlists for every single occasion, party dinner, time of day, and mood that you’re in. My Spotify playlist consists of over 30 playlists for the large range of moods that I’m always in. Not exactly sure why I have so many emotions but I guess it’s all part of being human. For the longest time, I’ve always why I’m more drawn to sad music than happy music. After taking a few psychology classes in college, I’ve learnt that we often gravitate towards sad music to improve our moods. When we feel a certain type of way, we form connections through the melody, lyrics, and emotions expressed in the songs. Not only are you able to listen to the music but the songs enable your body to produce dopamine, which greatly benefits you because you feel better and happier.

As I previously mentioned, I have over 30 playlists on my Spotify account and the one I gravitate toward the most is my “Sad Girl Playlist”. This playlist is a mix of extremely sad music and happy sad music. The number one artist on my sad girl playlist has to be Taylor Swift. I’ve been a fan of Taylor Swift for as long as I can remember, and she was one of the artists that inspired me to pick up the guitar. Something about her Fearless album makes me feel like I’ve been transported back to high school, crushing over a boy that doesn’t even notice me. The overall tone and message of this album are to “embrace the challenges of love”. One of my top favourite songs from her has to be “White Horse”, where she talks about falling in love and dreaming about a fairy tale life with this person but after a while realizing that the moment you’ve been waiting for will never happen. Even in my early 20s, I’ve experienced this in my past relationships, there are times you hope for the dream experience but it never comes. My second favourite song is “The Way I Loved You”, which is about being in a relationship with an amazing person who does everything right but constantly thinking about that one person who was complicated, messy, and frustrating. There are phases you go through in life, where the one you need isn’t the one you want because the one you need doesn’t evoke any emotions from you. Sometimes, feeling more is better than not feeling anything, even if those emotions drive you crazy.

The next artist up on the list is Olivia Rodrigo. Olivia’s songs have broken the internet a few times and for good reasons too. The infamous song “Driver’s License”, is a staple in my sad girl playlist. I’m not the type of person who usually listens to the top 40 hits often but after hearing about this song everywhere I go, I knew I had to listen to it. “Driver’s License”, is so overly dramatic that I’m absolutely in love with it. The track is about the typical teenager breakup, where a girl isn’t over her ex because he left her for someone else and it just hits all the right spots. However, the second song that I heard from her album is probably my favourite. “Traitor”, is about a boyfriend lying to her and falling in love with someone else when they were still together. The line in the song that hits me the most is “You talked to her when we were together, You gave me your word but that didn’t matter It took you two weeks to go off and date her, Guess you didn’t cheat, but you’re still a traitor”. Personally, I can’t speak for everyone but that line really hit close to home in most of my past relationships, especially when they bring the person they left you for around as a trophy. These songs are a vibe and they definitely have the “Sad Girl Playlist” background music moment.

Old school Halsey was my favourite Halsey. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love all the music she has put out but Badlands has been and will always be my favourite album of hers. Halsey named this album Badlands as a reference to her state of mind and to give a physical place as a metaphor for the desolate and lonely place that is her thought process. As someone who struggles with long-term anxiety and depression, Halsey’s song “Control” is about her struggle with mental health and how no one is able to understand her. In the song, she speaks out about how children are afraid of her and that they should be, because of her mental health she is unable to control herself and how much it scares her. Causing her to be stuck in a never-ending loop, crying for help but with no one able to help her. Another popular track from Halsey is “Gasoline”, which also talks about mental health issues. In this song, Halsey questions the listener if they’re as deranged as her and if wonder if they recognize themselves in the mirror. The song also discusses if we’re a part of “the machine”, in which we float around in life with no sense of direction or hope.

Last not least, another one of my favourite artists, Melanie Martinez. The album name speaks for itself, Crybaby is quite a sad record. Although the aesthetic is very bright in colour and the tone of the song is very happy, the message, however, gives these songs a happy but sad feel to them. “Playdate” narrates a story about Melanie feeling that she doesn’t matter to her friend and that she spends a lot of time. The song further explains how she wants it to seem as if she doesn’t care about how little he seems to care for her or communicates with her. At the end of the song, she admits that she does care and accepts that her feelings are valid and that it’s perfectly okay to feel this way.

I guess you can say that I’m a little obsessed with sad songs, but it makes me really happy when I listen to them. Most of the time when we feel sad, we often also feel as if no one understands us but music is the universal language. If you’re feeling upset, there’s a song out there for you. Therefore, I highly encouraged you to make your own sad human playlist and sing those songs at the top of your lungs. Trust,me, you’ll feel a million times better afterwards.