the summer of
What it was like to be 15 in 2019 in America
To be fifteen in America in 2019 was to have “bad guy” by Billie Eilish everywhere, Avengers: Endgame on every screen, and Game of Thrones on after school. That year, gas cost $2.60 and Disney+ was the new thing. Born in 2004? You turned 15 in 2019 — a teenager from 2017 to 2023, 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 2019 reel with sounda 30-second video of your year — the song, the screen, the turn.
the mixtape of 2019
bad guy — Billie Eilish
- bad guy — Billie EilishThat whisper-quiet bass and 'duh' were the sound of being sixteen and unbothered and a little dangerous.
- Old Town Road — Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray CyrusYou took your horse to the old town road so many times it became the whole spring's inside joke.
- Sunflower — Post Malone & Swae LeeThe song that refused to leave; still floating from car speakers into the following year and beyond.
- Sweet but Psycho — Ava MaxAva Max's ice-cold pop-villain hook was the confidence you faked until it almost felt real.
- 7 rings — Ariana GrandeAriana's flex over a Sound of Music flip was the last carefree summer before everything changed.
why this one mattered
The defining Gen-Z teen anthem of 2019 - Eilish, a teenager herself, made bedroom-pop menace the sound of being 15, and the whispered 'duh' hook was inescapable on TikTok, AirPods, and high-school hallways.
the year-end #1 was Old Town Road - Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus.
the movies you are watching in 2019
- Avengers: Endgame
- The Lion King
- Toy Story 4
- Spider-Man: Far From Home
- Joker
the tv shows you are binging in 2019
- Game of Thrones
- Stranger Things
- The Mandalorian
- Chernobyl
- Succession
the games you are playing in 2019
- Pokémon Sword and Shield
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Minecraft
- Fortnite
- Luigi's Mansion 3
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
what things cost in 2019
| Gas (gallon) | $2.60 |
|---|---|
| Movie ticket | $9.16 |
| First-class stamp | $0.55 |
| minimum wage | $7.25/hr |
| the average income | $68,703 |
trending this year
the gadgets you just got
what everyone is snacking on
what everyone is drinking
what made the news in 2019
- The House of Representatives impeaches President Trump over the Ukraine phone-call scandal
- Notre-Dame cathedral burns in Paris as the world watches
- The redacted Mueller report on Russian interference in the 2016 election is released to the public
- Scientists reveal the first-ever photograph of a black hole, the supermassive one in galaxy M87
what everyone is saying
top-performing stocks in 2019
| Company | Ticker | Price | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced Micro Devices | AMD | $46 | +148% |
| Lam Research | LRCX | $292 | +118% |
| KLA Corporation | KLAC | $178 | +101% |
| Target | TGT | $128 | +95% |
| Chipotle Mexican Grill | CMG | $837 | +94% |
worst-performing stocks in 2019
| Company | Ticker | Price | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora Cannabis | ACB | $2.00 | -58% |
| Mallinckrodt | MNK | $3.00 | -89% |
| Macy's | M | $17 | -45% |
| TripAdvisor | TRIP | $30 | -37% |
| DXC Technology | DXC | $38 | -49% |
the summer of 2019.
you think you've got all the time in the world.