This school year has been filled with many new songs. The Torch sent out a form to the entire student body at Kennedy High School, asking students to choose a song. The options included: “Daisies” by Justin Bieber, “Man I Need” by Olivia Dean, “Drop Dead” by Olivia Rodrigo, “I Just Might” by Bruno Mars, “Love Me Not” by Ravyn Lenae, “12 to 12” by Sombr, “Choosin’ Texas” by Ella Langley, “White Keys” by Dominic Fike, “Ordinary” by Alex Warren and “Fate of Ophelia” by Taylor Swift.
The top song released this year, as voted by Kennedy students, was “I Just Might” by Bruno Mars. The form took into account the opinions of over 200 students, with 17% choosing the lead single.
“I chose ‘I Just Might’ because it makes me happy, and I like the beat,” Freshman Brielle Anderson said.
“I Just Might” came out on Jan. 9, 2026, with 23.5 million streams, 32.6 million radio impressions and sold 13,000. It held the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, making it Mars’ 40th career Billboard placing.
“I absolutely love Bruno Mars, and his new hit album has been on repeat for me. This song, of course, has been my favorite,” Junior Emmie Diehl said.
The poll results were split. The difference between first and second was four people, while second and third were tied. The runner-up songs were “Man I Need” by Olivia Dean and “Ordinary” by Alex Warren, followed by “White Keys” by Dominic Fike, which some may call the song of the summer.
“White Keys by Dominic Fike, I believe, is the best song for this year because it gives off summer vibes, and I fully believe that this summer is going to be peak and great,” Freshman Lillian Franklin said.
Over 30 people who responded to the form are big fans of “I Just Might.”
“My favorite memory was when he first came out and played his new song, Risk It All,” freshman Peyton Daley, who went to his concert on May 13th, said.
Mars’ last top song was “Die With a Smile”, his collaborative single with Lady Gaga. Before these releases this year, Mars hadn’t had a hit song since 2021’s “Leave the Door Open,” proving that his comeback has started and his work has paid off.
