2010s Music Quiz: Guess the Song from the Streaming Decade

The 2010s were the decade streaming took over, and this quiz is built from the songs that ruled it: Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars, Avicii and Calvin Harris, Billie Eilish, The Weeknd, Arctic Monkeys and a run of indie singalongs that soundtracked every festival summer. It's perfect for a group in their twenties and thirties, and it's the rare music quiz where the teenagers at a family gathering have the upper hand.

How to play this quiz

1. Open this page on the big screen (a TV browser, a laptop connected to the TV, or a laptop on its own), press "Play this quiz" and then "Start". The room opens with the playlist already loaded.
2. Everyone scans the QR code with their phone and enters a name. The first person to join is the host and picks the mode and points target from their phone.
3. Our recommendation: "Song and year" mode. Nobody struggles to recognise "Shape of You", but very few people can say whether "Riptide" came out before or after "Pompeii". The timeline is what separates people who lived through the decade from people who know these songs from short videos.
4. If you go for "Song only", play to 10 or 15 points and cut "Seconds to buzz" from the default 30 down to 15, so games move quickly.
5. Whoever buzzes first has 20 seconds to type the title, with suggestions from the playlist. A wrong answer costs a point, and the song keeps playing for everybody else.

Songs that might come up

Deezer maintains the playlist and it can change; these are some of the songs in it, among others.

Pop

• "Just the Way You Are" – Bruno Mars (2010): bright piano and "When I see your face".
• "Call Me Maybe" – Carly Rae Jepsen (2011): the stabbing strings in the first second.
• "Somebody That I Used to Know" – Gotye (2011): that xylophone-like intro.
• "Thinking Out Loud" – Ed Sheeran (2014): slow guitar, and a wedding first dance favourite.
• "Shape of You" – Ed Sheeran (2017): the marimba riff.
• "Havana" – Camila Cabello (2017): Cuban-style piano and "Havana, ooh na-na".
• "Someone You Loved" – Lewis Capaldi (2018): piano and that strained voice.
• "bad guy" – Billie Eilish (2019): the dry bass and finger snaps.

Dance and EDM

• "Wake Me Up" – Avicii (2013): acoustic guitar and Aloe Blacc's voice before the drop.
• "Hey Brother" – Avicii (2013): a bluegrass feel before the build.
• "Lean On" – Major Lazer and DJ Snake (2015): MØ's voice and the chopped-up vocal hook.
• "Faded" – Alan Walker (2015): soft piano and "You were the shadow to my light".
• "Closer" – The Chainsmokers (2016): gentle synth and "Hey, I was doing just fine before I met you".

Indie and rock

• "Pumped Up Kicks" – Foster the People (2010): the whistle and the bass line.
• "Sweater Weather" – The Neighbourhood (2012): clean guitar and a near-whispered vocal.
• "Do I Wanna Know?" – Arctic Monkeys (2013): stomp and handclap, then that riff.
• "Riptide" – Vance Joy (2013): the ukulele.
• "Pompeii" – Bastille (2013): the "Eh-eh-oh, eh-oh" chant.
• "Counting Stars" – OneRepublic (2013): "Lately I've been, I've been losing sleep".

Hip-hop, R&B and Latin

• "One Dance" – Drake (2016): piano and a sampled female vocal before Drake comes in.

Difficulty and tips to win

The hard part is that artists repeat a lot. There are several songs each from Calvin Harris, Billie Eilish, Bruno Mars, Arctic Monkeys, The Weeknd, Avicii and Adele, so recognising the voice is only half the job.

• Three Avicii tracks, two of them folky. "Wake Me Up" and "Hey Brother" both open with an acoustic, rootsy feel. If it's Aloe Blacc singing, it's "Wake Me Up". The third is "Waiting for Love".
• Four from Billie Eilish. "bad guy" is the one with the bass and snaps. "ocean eyes", "lovely" (with Khalid) and "everything i wanted" are all slow; a male voice joining in means "lovely".
• Covers on the timeline. Birdy's "Skinny Love" (2011) is a cover of Bon Iver's 2008 song. Don't let the original throw your placement.
• Songs that came back. The Weeknd's "Die For You" was a 2017 single that returned to the charts in 2023. If you know it from your feed, it's older than you think.
• Two songs with the same rude title. This playlist has CeeLo Green's "Fuck You" (2010); Lily Allen's song of the same name lives in our 2000s quiz.

Playing across generations

This decade flips the usual family quiz: the kids know almost everything and the parents buzz late. A few things that help:

• Play in mixed teams sharing one phone, one adult and one teenager each.
• Use "Song and year" mode. Parents often can't name the song but remember which summer it was everywhere, and that's exactly what you need to place it.
• Follow it with a round of the 2000s songs quiz, where the advantage swings back.

For more on the timeline side of things, read our music timeline game strategy guide.

FAQ

Do we need an app?

No. Track Attack runs in the browser: the screen plays the clips and each player buzzes in from their phone after scanning a QR code. No accounts, no Spotify or Deezer subscription.

How many people can play?

A group of friends or a family, each on their own phone, or in teams sharing one.

Can we play without a TV?

Yes, a laptop with decent speakers is enough. The TV just makes the scoreboard easier for everyone to see.

Is there any Latin music?

A little: Becky G's "Mayores" and Anuel AA's "China" are in there. For a full night of it, try the reggaeton quiz.