It’s that time of year again—the grand finale of 2024—when we all love looking back to relive the highlights. Spotify Wrapped and Apple Music Replay remind us of our most-played anthems, while Best of 2024 lists flood our feeds. Personally, I geek out over Goodreads’ Best Books, the top podcasts of the year, and Time’s Person of the Year. What’s your favorite year-end roundup?
This year, a few artists totally stole the spotlight. Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” was the undeniable earworm of 2024, reigning on the Billboard Hot 100 for nearly 20 weeks. Charli xcx gave us the wildly addictive album Brat, which not only defined our summer but became so iconic it earned “brat” the title of Collins Dictionary’s Word of the Year. And let’s not forget Billie Eilish, Sabrina Carpenter, and Beyoncé, who kept making waves alongside Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, and a triumphant Hozier comeback. Plus, we welcomed rising stars Chappell Roan and Benson Boone into the mix.
For us, 2024 was packed with memorable moments in music and beyond. January kicked off strong with Julianne’s stellar Grammy Awards profile—her sixth year running! The Super Bowl in February brought us an exciting new profile, spotlighting the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers. The celestial spectacle of April’s eclipse was truly otherworldly. We introduced a vibrant new Pride profile that’s perfect for bringing a party vibe to the bike any time of year. May brought us a brand-new Pedaling to the Piano profile (to add to our existing profile from last year). June had us celebrating Global Beatles Day with a set of playful Beatles covers. Summer turned up the heat as we brought the magic of the Paris Olympics into the cycling studio. For all you ’80s fans, August was a time to celebrate Duran Duran’s iconic music. And October? It rocked. Literally. Our Rocktober profiles—like Queens of Rock and 1980s Rock ‘n’ Ride—quickly became fan favorites. As the weather cooled into the fall/winter, we brought back some amazing Obsessed with Cycling Drills (OCD) about Fartleks and Turbine Speed Intervals. To top off the year, in December, we added yet another variation of one of our more popular profile objectives—ramp intervals—this one including five ramps plus an epic climb!
Here is what we suggest for some of those memorable music moments of 2024:
A Bar Song (Tipsy), Shaboozey, 2:51, 162 bpm
From Wikipedia: “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” tied “Old Town Road” as the longest-running number-one song of all time on the US Billboard Hot 100 with 19 weeks at the top of the chart, the most for a song by a solo artist. It is nominated for Song of the Year, Best Country Song, and Best Country Solo Performance at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards, with Shaboozey also being nominated for Best New Artist.
I like to use this track as a recovery at 81 bpm. It also makes for a wonderful warm-up track, especially if you were doing a fun theme ride about drinking and bars (for which you’d have half a gazillion songs to choose from)!
Good Luck, Babe, Chappell Roan, 3:38, 117 bpm
NPR critic Sheldon Pearce chose the track as the best pop song of the year, writing of the refrain: “‘You’d have to stop the world just to stop the feeling’ is such a monumental read that feels like a gut punch. It’s the kind of direct emotional attack that you can’t escape even as a bystander.”
Use this song as a slow climb. Note that the tempo slows at the end to about 80 rpm—use this short-lived moment to increase your cadence as you climb. Another option is to use the song as a second warm-up track, breaking from the beat to start in the 80s rpm and surging the legs to 100+ rpm on the chorus.
Beautiful Things, Benson Boone, 3:00, 105 bpm
From Wikipedia: “Beautiful Things” is a ballad about the meaning of life, where Boone reflects on gratitude for life, love, and the volatility of happiness.
The song has an indistinct bpm, so you can start riding at any cadence to the gentle beginning, then surge the legs with power and intention on the two 20-second intense surges of his voice and instruments at 1:25–1:46 and 2:21–2:41. Include this track in the middle of an interval series or as your second warm-up song.
This year we covered these Trending Tracks:
Murder on the Dancefloor, Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Texas Hold ’Em, Beyoncé
Disco, Surf Curse
The following 2024 top songs made our Monday Mainstream Music series:
Apple, Charli xcs
Espresso, Sabrina Carpenter
A Bar Song (Tipsy), Shaboozey
What a ride it’s been! Which of these moments were your favorites, or what stood out most to you this year?