Leona Marquess has always been someone who thinks a lot; since a young age, thoughts swarmed her brain like snow in a blizzard, waiting for the storm to pass. Just like many other kids, I often found myself daydreaming throughout elementary school, middle school, and rarely in high school and college, but still often enough to keep my imagination alive. I guess Walt Disney would be pleased with me in that sense.
Laughter is timeless; imagination has no age, and dreams are forever. — Walt Disney
Bridgerton is precisely what I would describe or be able to put into words as something I would enjoy daydreaming about. Exquisite balls, beautiful gowns, palaces with ornate gardens and tea, and of course, dancing the night away with dashing gentlemen. I mean, what girly girl doesn’t?
But what makes Bridgerton appear so seamlessly like a dream? So many things make this show borderline perfect, but the one that really sticks out to me and many, many fans all over the world is the classical music covers of pop songs. I mean to be fair, many people, I’m sure, did not see Wrecking Ball taking place in Bridgerton, but nonetheless, when performed by the Midnite String Quartet, it now has more than 4 million streams on Spotify. Who would have thought?
Each season, Bridgerton is effectively connecting genres and generations of timeless art, introducing those who might not have ever listened to classical music to now be adoring fans, all thanks to the hit show. Bridgerton was the most-watched show in English Netflix history, with now over 627 million hours viewed, introducing millions of people to the beauty of classical music.
Classical music has been inclining over the years, with rap music and EDM, and pop slowly taking over. Although, in a study done by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, it is found that Gen Z is more likely to turn to a classical tune compared to people ten years ago. During Covid-19, classical music hit a second boom in March 2020. The streaming of Mozart and Bach was mainly the most popular during those hard and long three months. 34% of those streaming classical music today are between the ages of 18-25.
Although the majority is still 70 and older streaming classical music, still, 34% is not bad, as many of my peers find classical music boring and uninteresting. I find peace knowing 34% are just like me and love to consume classical music in their off time.
In conclusion, classical music lovers just like myself are thrilled to see a bridge forming between classical music and pop music, as well as Gen-Z and millennials sharing a love for classical music. We can all thank Justin Kamps for being the music supervisor for Bridgerton season two and bringing in pop music we all love in a classical form, such as “Thank You, Next” and “Girls Like You.” Definitely an exciting chapter for Gen Z and the music industry.
