the summer of

What it was like to be 15 in 2015 in America

To be fifteen in America in 2015 was to have “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars everywhere, Star Wars: The Force Awakens on every screen, and The Big Bang Theory on after school. That year, gas cost $2.43 and the Apple Watch was the new thing. Born in 2000? You turned 15 in 2015 — a teenager from 2013 to 2019, right in the window a soundtrack bonds to you for life.

Compiled by the Original Lore archive from period charts, box-office and price records. How we build these · sources noted throughout.

▶ Play your 2015 reel with sounda 30-second video of your year — the song, the screen, the turn.

the mixtape of 2015

Uptown Funk — Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars

  1. Uptown Funk — Mark Ronson ft. Bruno MarsImpossible not to move; it hijacked every wedding, cookout, and cafeteria into instant celebration.
  2. Shut Up and Dance — Walk the MoonA giddy, hand-grabbing anthem that made a crush feel like the only person in the room.
  3. Can't Feel My Face — The WeekndThe Weeknd smuggled darkness into a dance-floor smash you didn't realize you'd memorized by heart.
  4. Hello — AdeleThat single held-breath 'hello' undid everyone who still wondered about the one who got away.
  5. Hotline Bling — DrakeYou did the meme dance ironically, then couldn't stop, then it became the sound of that whole fall.

▶ Play your 2015 reel

why this one mattered

The unstoppable retro-funk groove that dominated every dance, gym, and group chat in early 2015. A 15-year-old knew the whole 'don't believe me just watch' call-and-response and the dance moves; it was pure, universal, era-defining fun.

the year-end #1 was this very song — Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars.

the movies you are watching in 2015

  • Star Wars: The Force Awakens
  • Jurassic World
  • Avengers: Age of Ultron
  • Inside Out
  • The Martian

the tv shows you are binging in 2015

  • The Big Bang Theory
  • The Walking Dead
  • Game of Thrones
  • Empire
  • NCIS

the games you are playing in 2015

  • Super Mario Maker
  • Splatoon
  • Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U
  • Minecraft
  • Just Dance 2016
  • Call of Duty: Black Ops III

what things cost in 2015

What things cost in 2015
Gas (per gallon)$2.43
Movie ticket$8.43
First-class stamp49 cents
minimum wage$7.25/hr
the average income$56,516

trending this year

Apple Music
VIC / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Apple Music
Windows 10
AI-generated illustration
Windows 10
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Altan Dilan / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
The Dress (#TheDress)
Jamie (Flickr), via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
The Dress (#TheDress)
Apple Watch
Albert Tomanek, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Apple Watch

the gadgets you just got

iPhone 6s
NeONBRAND (neonbrand) via Unsplash / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 · CC0 1.0
iPhone 6s
Apple Watch (1st generation)
Crew via Unsplash / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 · CC0 1.0
Apple Watch (1st generation)
Samsung Galaxy S6 / S6 Edge
Rodion Kutsaev via Unsplash / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 · CC0 1.0
Samsung Galaxy S6 / S6 Edge
GoPro Hero4
Photo by Resolution hire (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GoPro_Hero_4_Black.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
GoPro Hero4
PlayStation 4
Vu Hoang (Flickr), via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
PlayStation 4

what everyone is snacking on

Doritos Roulette
Photo by User:Bananasoldier, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Doritos Roulette
Lay's Potato Chips
Evan-Amos, via Wikimedia Commons (released into the public domain)
Lay's Potato Chips
Oreo cookies
Angel caboodle / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 · CC BY 3.0 (also GFDL)
Oreo cookies
Cheetos
annulla, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Cheetos
Pringles
Quant, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pringles_Chip.jpg) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Pringles

what everyone is drinking

Coca-Cola (Share a Coke)
Mike Mozart — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%22Share_a_Coke%22_(14823114294).jpg · CC BY 2.0
Coca-Cola (Share a Coke)
Mountain Dew Kickstart
theimpulsivebuy (Flickr) — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mountain_Dew_Mango_Lime_Kickstart_(32694940642).jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0
Mountain Dew Kickstart
Red Bull Energy Drink
Oto Zapletal, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Red_Bull_energy_drinks.jpg) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Red Bull Energy Drink
Monster Energy
Bxxiaolin, edited by Pittigrilli, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Can_of_Monster_Energy_drink_sold_in_China_(0.33_l),_on_white_background.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Monster Energy
Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte
Push Doctor — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Starbucks_Pumpkin_Spice_Latte_(38404428942).jpg · CC BY 2.0
Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte

what made the news in 2015

  • The Supreme Court legalizes same-sex marriage nationwide in a landmark ruling
  • A gunman kills nine at a historic Black church in Charleston
  • Terror attacks across Paris leave 130 dead in coordinated violence
  • Nations strike the Paris Agreement, a historic global climate accord
Supreme Court legalizes same-sex marriage nationwide
Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy (public domain, US federal government work) · Public Domain (US federal government / White House)
Supreme Court legalizes same-sex marriage nationwide
Paris terror attacks kill 130 in November
Prime Minister's Office of Japan (首相官邸ホームページ), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY 4.0 (Government of Japan Standard Terms of Use v2.0, CC-BY-4.0 compatible)
Paris terror attacks kill 130 in November
Charlie Hebdo shooting in Paris; 'Je suis Charlie'
Olivier Ortelpa, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY 2.0
Charlie Hebdo shooting in Paris; 'Je suis Charlie'
Pluto revealed up close by NASA's New Horizons
NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/Alex Parker (public domain) · Public Domain (NASA, work of US federal government)
Pluto revealed up close by NASA's New Horizons
Pope Francis visits the United States
Architect of the Capitol (USCapitol), public domain, via Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain (US Government work - Architect of the Capitol)
Pope Francis visits the United States

what everyone is saying

  • "On fleek"Viral Vine phrase meaning perfectly styled, especially eyebrows
  • "The Dress (blue/black or white/gold)"Viral photo that split the internet over its colors in Feb 2015
  • "Netflix and chill"Slang euphemism that went mainstream in 2015
  • "Squad goals"Hashtag celebrating an enviable friend group
  • "Left Shark"Bumbling shark dancer from Katy Perry's Super Bowl XLIX halftime show in Feb 2015 that became a meme

top-performing stocks in 2015

Top-performing stocks in 2015
CompanyTickerPriceChange
NetflixNFLX$114+135%
AmazonAMZN$676+118%
Activision BlizzardATVI$39+92%
NvidiaNVDA$33+67%
Alphabet (Google)GOOGL$778+47%

worst-performing stocks in 2015

Worst-performing stocks in 2015
CompanyTickerPriceChange
Chesapeake EnergyCHK$4.50-77%
Freeport-McMoRanFCX$6.77-71%
Fossil GroupFOSL$35-69%
Consol EnergyCNX$8-77%
Michael KorsKORS$40-46%

the summer of 2015.

you can't wait to be older.

…and then it cools. Play the reel to feel where 2015 goes.

Turn 2015 into a 30-second reel →

▶ Play your 2015 reel with sound