A teenage philanthropist, entrepreneur, producer, author, editor, lawyer, president, and highly acclaimed tweeter once famously said: “Headphones in, world out.” A couple of thousand retweets and a verification later, the quote still holds value, and that value is growing.

   What a day and age of musical expertise we live in. It’s only fitting that such a phrase has been accepted and practiced by teenagers across the city. I mean, let’s be honest. It’s pretty challenging to resist indulging in the modernized vinyl record, especially given the wide range of musical styles, agendas, and lyrics, to choose from! One moment you’re enthralled by the poetic words of: “wiggle, wiggle; wiggle, wiggle” to the thought-provoking: “Jasonnnnnnn Derulooooo!” It’s truly inspiring.

   Legendary lyricist Iggy Azalea recently released an album, pulling on America’s heart strings with profound music videos for her songs “Fancy” and “Black Widow.” These music videos featured shots of Azalea happily dancing around, all smiles and fun, making her an instant family favorite. America is grateful for her gift – Australia, apparently, was not. We made our appreciation for her evident when she was awarded both favorite rap/hip-hop album and best rap artists at this year’s American music awards, which came to no one’s surprise besides rival rap group, The Lonely Island. Azalea was a shoe-in for the victory, beating out relatively unknown, on-the-rise rappers including M & M and Drake, who looked up to her and bowed down to her during her acceptance speech. One day, boys, one day.

   Fortunately, Azalea is not the only one to be hit with such a strong amount of support. Twelve-year old Ariana Grande went from graduating 8th grade to performing at such awards shows as the American Music Awards and Grammys – imagine the awe of her classmates.Her music and lyrics go without question of her pure genius (initially revealed on her esteemed Nickelodeon TV show) “Bang bang, into the room. Bang bang, all over you.” We may all wonder what it is that she really is talking about, but at least it is a catchy tune. She is joined in the rankings by hundreds of others…may their legends live on.

   Another golden age for music – not that anyone is too sure there was a first. We live in a justified era for students to roam the halls with “headphones in, world out” – a quote changing lives one character at a time, earning screenshots and thoughtful responses (or thoughtful emojis, but to each his own) on the twitto-sphere. We salute you, award-winning, Hollywood-icon, lyrical geniuses. We hunger for more verses of endearing bang banging into the room. We will always remember to clap along if we are happy, and live in compliance to the motivational motto “all about that bass; no treble.” Serenade us with your raw, unadulterated talent. An ode to 2014’s music…cheers to what’s to come.