2020’s return
To time travel is impossible and far-fetched.
Not until I started hearing these sounds, which transported my consciousness back in time. It was when we, the digital community, conquered boredom and isolation that led to an incredible amount of fun, companionship, and even an eventful lockdown.
That transport happened one cozy afternoon in my room. I was curled up in bed, phone in one hand, while I scrolled through my TikTok “For You” page.
My account is just a sea of pop culture memes, a student’s life at university, and mostly about my favorite artist, Tate McRae. When a single swipe from my thumb reveals what’s been lurking underneath, I can’t ignore it or refresh my feed.
The content’s caption said: “Most Iconic Songs in 2020.” I even balled up my position like a millipede. Something knocked my brain that felt so good when the first song started playing: “Supalonely” by Benee. Its striking melody caressed me and all I could do was listen. The way it could lift my soul and take me to that time was a sign that I wanted to hear more of those songs that trigger such memories from the past.
Another iconic song that made my mattress cozier, and I’m confident that each one of you knows this: “Backyard Boy” by Claire Rosinkranz. You will easily remember how it sounds because of its undying lyrics, “Five, six, seven, eight / Dance with me in my backyard, boy / Looking super fine in your corduroy / Drive me ‘round the block / We can go in a loop.”
At night, I crawled under the sheets. I wasn’t sleeping yet because the songs I just listened to were still sailing over my head so I had my phone and opened my Instagram to the Explore page. By the time I became drowsy, I told myself to make one scroll before wrapping up everything. When I did, a content out of nowhere flashed before my eyes. There were stars revolving against the dark backdrop, flowers blossoming, and a man holding a coffee mug.
What caught me was the warmhearted sound of “Coffee” by Beabadoobee and how fast it shot right through my senses. “Don’t stay awake for too long / Don’t go to bed / I’ll make a cup of coffee for your head / I’ll get you up and going out of bed.”
I looked at the comments to see how people’s emotions responded to that. One commenter said, “I feel so nostalgic.” And there was a comment that drew the same visceral reaction from everyone, bringing even more vivid pictures to me about the early pandemic: “Memories of 2020.” It got 10,158 likes and counting.
Seeing it heals me. Seeing it comforts me. We’re in the same boat.
I thought I was the only one revisiting songs in 2020. Just this year in August, Benji Krol and Liza Anokhina, who earned stardom behind the heart makeup in 2020 using ElyOtto’s “SugarCrash!”, one of 2020’s trendy songs, recreated their looks once more. An emphatic statement from viewers that stood out to me was, “We are back at the start,” pertaining to the year 2020. The comment got a mega 1.1 million likes.
Similar to what Jason Derulo did. His song “Savage Love” paired with that legendary dance became a big hit that blew up TikTok’s domain. Derulo and TikToker Justmaiko performed the whole thing again in September, capturing the same energy they had five years ago.
But the person I would never forget who hopped on that trend was my dad. His almost glitching hands while doing the dance movement made me and mom giggle, but the most striking were those crinkly lines on the side of his eyes because he was smiling too much. Also, thanks to Ranz and Niana’s “Savage Love” siblings dance we couldn’t get enough of. On the other hand, my mom who was happily clapping for my sister’s take on “Gatal Gatal” dance was just contagious. Hearing those sounds once again evokes memories like fresh grapes just picked from the vineyard.
People online also associate music with areas in their house, either outside or inside, where they used to dance. Some studies show that hearing a few notes of a song can take us back to a period or place from the past.
To let it all out, I invited my friend to sleep over. In the morning, we challenged each other to guess the iconic songs of TikTok 2020 through a dance. We did “Sunday Best” by Surfaces; “Heartbreak Anniversary” by Giveon; “Say So” by Doja Cat; “Copines” by Aya Nakamura; “Marikit” by Juan Caoile (one that Filipinos loved).
Artists behind those viral songs and TikTokers who made them popular received a lot of attention just as people listening to them now experience a lot of nostalgia.
We lodged them in our minds as part of that memory. We romanticized these collections because they helped us through the ups and downs of that era.
We might not be able to literally travel back to 2020, but we can by listening and dancing to the songs from that period.
We can always bring it back—and we’ll easily remember.
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Kenneth Wayne Batangan Visaya, 19, is from Isabela. He is a sophomore political science student and a retrophile.
