The 2010s are now old enough to become genuinely nostalgic.

That feels slightly offensive.

But it is true.

Songs released in 2010 are now more than 15 years old, and the current revival of Katy Perry’s “The One That Got Away” shows that younger listeners are already rediscovering the decade as catalogue music.

Here are 30 songs that may have temporarily disappeared from your brain.

1. Icona Pop ft. Charli XCX – I Love It

For approximately two years, every advert sounded like this.

Still brilliant.

2. Capital Cities – Safe and Sound

Trumpets.

Indie pop.

2013 in audio form.

3. Mike Posner – Cooler Than Me

Before “I Took a Pill in Ibiza”, this was Posner’s defining hit.

4. fun. – Some Nights

A band name specifically engineered to be impossible to Google.

Enormous chorus.

5. Gotye ft. Kimbra – Somebody That I Used to Know

Not exactly forgotten, especially after Doechii revived the instrumental through “Anxiety”.

But hearing it instantly returns you to 2011.

6. Neon Trees – Everybody Talks

Peak colourful indie-pop.

7. American Authors – Best Day of My Life

The soundtrack to approximately 400 corporate advertisements.

8. Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks

The indie-folk boom briefly conquered mainstream radio.

9. Grouplove – Tongue Tied

Still appears randomly and makes everything feel like a coming-of-age movie.

10. Bastille – Pompeii

EH-EH-OH.

You already heard it in your head.

11. WALK THE MOON – Shut Up and Dance

A wedding DJ’s emergency button.

12. Rixton – Me and My Broken Heart

Remember Rixton?

Exactly.

13. Magic! – Rude

Reggae-pop had an unexpected mainstream moment.

14. Nico & Vinz – Am I Wrong

One of those songs that seemed to be playing everywhere and then vanished overnight.

15. OMI – Cheerleader

Specifically the Felix Jaehn remix.

Instant summer 2015.

16. Lilly Wood & The Prick and Robin Schulz – Prayer in C

Another huge European dance remix that briefly took over the planet.

17. Mr. Probz – Waves

The Robin Schulz remix defined a particular era of tropical/deep house crossover.

18. Duke Dumont ft. AME – Need U (100%)

British house returned to mainstream pop.

19. Route 94 ft. Jess Glynne – My Love

Jess Glynne’s voice over one of the decade’s best house records.

20. Kiesza – Hideaway

Great song.

Even better one-take-style video.

21. Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne – Rather Be

Classical strings somehow became one of 2014’s biggest pop sounds.

22. Sigma – Nobody to Love

Drum and bass briefly became daytime radio music.

23. Secondcity – I Wanna Feel

A perfect example of mid-2010s UK house.

24. Naughty Boy ft. Sam Smith – La La La

Before Sam Smith became a global superstar.

25. Duke Dumont – Ocean Drive

Still sounds like warm weather.

26. Years & Years – King

Synth-pop that seemed futuristic in 2015 and now sounds beautifully nostalgic.

27. MØ – Final Song

One of the decade’s underrated pop records.

28. Jonas Blue ft. Dakota – Fast Car

A tropical-house version of Tracy Chapman that became absolutely enormous.

29. Lost Frequencies – Are You With Me

Minimal dance-pop made for sunsets and airport lounges.

30. Zedd ft. Foxes – Clarity

EDM’s emotional peak.

Possibly.

Why does 2010s pop already feel nostalgic?

Because pop nostalgia moves quickly.

The people who were:

10 in 2012 are now in their twenties.

18 in 2012 are now in their thirties.

Music attaches itself to incredibly specific memories.

First smartphones.

Tumblr.

University.

Festivals.

School.

Early Instagram.

Summer holidays.

Those associations eventually become more powerful than the song itself.

Why are these songs coming back?

TikTok is dramatically accelerating catalogue discovery.

A song doesn’t need to be “old enough” for a formal revival.

One viral clip can turn a forgotten 2014 single into a current hit.

That has already happened with songs from much earlier eras, and increasingly it’s happening to 2010s pop.

What should Radar cover next?

This list naturally connects to:

best songs of 2010
best songs of 2011
best songs of 2012
forgotten EDM songs
forgotten UK No. 1s
2010s indie songs
songs from the Tumblr era
best tropical house songs

The 2010s are becoming a search category in exactly the way the 1990s and 2000s already are.

Which is unsettling.

But excellent for playlists.