It all began with Miley Cyrus announcing that her blond wig will return in the upcoming Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary show in 2026. While it’s still unclear what that will entail, this announcement caused many millennials who have grown up watching the Disney show to express their excitement for this celebration of Hannah Montana’s musical legacy.
Then, Ed Sheeran released a music video for his new song “A Little More” featuring none other than the Harry Potter star, and Sheeran’s celebrity doppelganger, Rupert Grint. Grint famously starred in Sheeran’s music video for “Lego House” almost 14 years ago, and if you were around that time, you might remember the excitement people had for this collaboration (after they realized that it indeed wasn’t Ed starring in his music video). This time around, people were as excited for the appearance of the actor as before, but mostly because of the nostalgia they felt thanks to this musical recreation.
Lastly, the final hit to millennials’ nostalgic hearts was when Demi Lovato joined the Jonas Brothers on stage in New Jersey and surprised the ecstatic crowd by performing some of the most beloved songs from the iconic Camp Rock movies. The internet was flooded with recordings, reactions, and memes of Lovato singing alongside Joe Jonas, beautifully belting their most famous duets. After not being seen in public with the Brothers in years, this performance marked this surprising reunion as a healing experience for many young adults.
Separately, all of these musical moments sound great and invoke a magical sense of nostalgia for many. It makes perfect sense for people to be excited about Miley Cyrus singing their favorite Hannah Montana songs live, or to tear up when they see Demi Lovato singing “This is Me” live on stage. Together, however, these nostalgia-inducing moments border on exploiting a longing for the good old times simply to get our attention. Too much of that feeling, and we might lose the longing altogether.
It is truly great to see old friends coming together on stage, and to listen to musical performances you never thought you would hear again. However, that just reinforces the possibility of the music industry becoming as unoriginal as the film industry. The current reality is that Hollywood’s main focus is on either sequels, remakes, or live-action versions of the same films we had 20 years ago. With Freakier Friday currently playing in theaters, The Devil Wears Prada 2 in production, and Disney live-action remakes being announced left and right, original content is being pushed to the sidelines.
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How long will it take for the music industry to reach the point where it, too, can no longer exist without constantly relying on remakes and throwbacks that keep it alive?
We already have enough artists producing songs that shamelessly use samples of other famous songs in an attempt to either avoid creating an original sound or to draw attention from different audiences. When Doechii’s “Anxiety” was released, the song was hit with heavy criticism due to its blatant sampling of Gotye’s 2011 hit “Somebody That I Used to Know.” Alongside that, music created and produced completely by AI is also gaining more attention, setting another artistic obstacle to the industry, especially when it’s often difficult to recognise when a song is created by artificial intelligence in the first place.
One sampling may be fine, one surprise reunion moment during a concert is great, but let’s leave it at that. Otherwise, before we know it, the music industry will constantly attempt to sell our memories back to us. Music, like any other beloved art form, needs originality and creative thinking. Keep the nostalgia at bay; it doesn’t need to turn into a business model.
If you yelped with glee after finding out about the Hannah Montana tour, or got thrown back to the best years of your life after hearing Demi and Joe sing “Wouldn’t Change a Thing” to each other, that’s great! We need every reason to smile, and there is no point in viewing these nostalgic musical moments with disdain. The only thing we should do is proceed with caution and appreciate the new creations of music just as much as we appreciate the old ones. While we wouldn’t change a thing about our past, we want to see a change in the future, not a reimagined version of the same things just for the sake of feeling nostalgic.
