Because of COVID-19, musicians are releasing fewer songs and albums, but don’t fret, music lovers. Several big-name artists have used the time in quarantine to create new music, and the result is welcoming, to say the least. 

Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber released a quarantine love song on May 8 titled “Stuck with U.” The catchy tune came with a music video featuring footage of them both with their significant others, Hailey Bieber and Dalton Gomez. Fans and families got to share the spotlight in the video by dancing with their loved ones, while safely quarantining at home. 

The song’s chorus repeats the lyrics,  “I still wouldn’t change being stuck with you, stuck with you stuck with you.” Quite fitting, it expresses the need to quarantine at home and to appreciate the moments with loved ones, while everyone is healthy.

“‘Stuck with U’ is a song that made me so happy to know celebrities even understand what all of us are going through. It also made me feel sure that we’re all in this together and that we should not let this pandemic get in our way of achieving stuff,” Todd Garcia, Jupiter High junior, said. 

Net proceeds for the Grande-Bieber collaboration benefit the First Responder’s Children’s Foundation. You can watch the music video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE49WK-oNjU

The band OneRepublic released the single “Better Days” on March 25, while self-quarantining.  

“We were in the final week of our fifth album deadline when a global pandemic was declared by the WHO. A few of us unknowingly got exposed to somebody with COVID-19 in London and ended up in quarantine in L.A. at my studio for two weeks,” lead singer Ryan Tedder told Rolling Stone magazine. “With only two songs left to finish, one of them happened to be ‘Better Days.’  We write about real experiences and events that happen to us — this is what happens when you write a song during a crisis.”

During the month of Sept., a portion of the streams and downloads of “Better Days” were donated to MusiCares’ Covid-19 Relief Fund, helping artists in the industry whose lives have been affected by the pandemic. 

OneRepublic is currently working on the music video for the song, inviting fans to be a part of it by submitting clips to the Cinebody app. In the meantime, here is a link to the single, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOrMAW4pKuA

K-Pop group BTS released their first-ever entirely English song, “Dynamite,” on Aug. 21, along with the music video. Before the song’s initial release date, fans all over the world spread the word promoting a goal for the video to reach 100 million views in the first 24 hours of release, and they surpassed that goal with 101.1 million, making it the most-viewed music video in 24 hours in YouTube’s history. The music video also set records on YouTube with nearly 3 million viewers upon release.

“We planned to record an English song during the Pandemic because the world is going through so much stress and we wanted to do some good,” BTS’ leader, RM, told USA Today on Aug. 19.

According to the band, the song aims to bring a surge of much-needed energy for many, while the disco-themed music video radiates positivity with vibrant colors, retro props and over-the-top hairstyles. 

“I think ‘Dynamite’s message to people around the world is it’s okay to not always be okay,” Zayra Caballero, Jupiter High junior, said. “What matters is the way we react to the thing’s we’re going through. I think the song and the music video can help people through these unprecedented times to see the good things we still have in this world. This song definitely brings a positive and comforting feeling to those who may feel alone and it’s a way of saying you’re not alone, but rather we’re in this together.” 

One of the song’s most memorable lyrics is, “Life is sweet as honey, yeah, this beat cha-ching like money, huh, Disc overload, I’m into that, I’m good to go, I’m diamond, you know I glow up – Shining through the city with a little funk and soul, so i’ma light it up like dynamite.”