BSI History
2000 to Present — 25 years of musical mood data
Billboard Sadness Index Over Time
BSI Value Historical Event
Notable Events
Mar 2000
Dot-com Peak
BSI 44
44/100
Sep 2001
9/11 Attacks
BSI 42
42/100
Nov 2001
Post-9/11 Escapism
BSI 26
26/100
Oct 2002
Dot-com Bottom
BSI 30
30/100
Aug 2005
Hurricane Katrina
BSI 50
50/100
Oct 2007
S&P 500 Pre-Crisis Peak
BSI 42
42/100
Mar 2008
Bear Stearns Collapse
BSI 30
30/100
Sep 2008
Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy
BSI 22
Recession Pop begins — dance music dominates as economy crashes.
22/100
Oct 2008
Peak Escapism (GFC)
BSI 20
20/100
Mar 2009
S&P 500 Bottom (666)
BSI 22
22/100
Jun 2009
Recession Pop Peak
BSI 24
24/100
Sep 2012
Gangnam Style
BSI 47
47/100
May 2014
"Happy" (Pharrell) Era
BSI 40
40/100
Nov 2015
Adele "Hello" Peak
BSI 53
53/100
Nov 2016
Post-Election Mood
BSI 55
55/100
Mar 2020
COVID-19 Pandemic Declared
BSI 65
65/100
Apr 2020
COVID Lockdown Peak Sadness
BSI 70
70/100
Nov 2020
Pfizer Vaccine News
BSI 28
28/100
Mar 2021
Vaccine Euphoria Peak
BSI 20
20/100
Jun 2022
Bear Market + Vibecession
BSI 43
43/100
Mar 2023
SVB Collapse
BSI 43
43/100
Jul 2023
Eras Tour Mania
BSI 44
44/100
Jun 2024
Brat Summer Begins
BSI 38
38/100
Aug 2024
Peak Brat Summer
BSI 30
30/100
Feb 2025
Kendrick GNX Dominance
BSI 39
39/100
Feb 2026
Current Week
BSI 31
31/100
Key Insight: The Escapism Pattern
Notice how the BSI drops (charts get brighter) during recessions? When times get hard, people don't wallow — they seek musical escapism. The 2008 financial crisis gave us Gaga and Kesha. COVID was the rare exception where genuine sadness briefly dominated the charts.