Selfie-loving millennials sing songs about ‘I’

YOU’RE so vain, you probably think this song is about you. It isn’t.

“I” is now the most popular pronoun in hit songs – a shift from 20 years ago when it was “You”. The change is down to the “selfie generation”, according to an analysis of chart data.

A comparison of song lyrics from 1997-98 and 2017-18 found that use of the words “me” and “I” has risen 43 per cent. Some of the biggest hits of the past 12 months include I’m The One by DJ Khaled and That’s What I Like by Bruno Mars. The biggest-selling single of 2017 was Shape of You by Ed Sheeran, in which the word “I” appears more than 50 times.

Songs about sex are less popular, but use of the word “body” is up 428 per cent and “pretty” up 2,300 per cent – a reflection, said researchers, of millennials’ obsession with selfies, Snapchat and Instagram. References to designer brands are also up, by 345 per cent.

The research was carried out by Mastercard, sponsor of next week’s Brit Awards, which take place on February 21 and will be broadcast on ITV.

The artist with the most nominations is Dua Lipa, whose self-titled album has sold a million copies worldwide. Single New Rules includes more than 60 instances of “me”, “myself ”, “my” and “I”.