On Sunday, Jan. 10, British musician David Bowie died after an 18 month battle with cancer.

“I was woken up at 3 a.m. on Monday morning because I kept getting text messages on my phone. The first one I saw was ‘David Bowie is dead’, and a swarm of feelings engulfed me; anger, sadness, outrage. It was a sleepless night, to say the least,” freshman Rebecca Gibson said.

In 1967 Bowie released his first album, The World of David Bowie, whose track “Space Oddity” gained much attention in Europe. After that initial album, he went on to release 27 studio albums, nine live albums and 46 compilation albums.

“His music made me more interested in music itself. The first song of his I found was ‘Let’s Dance,’ and it all started there; I had to hear more,” senior Donte Hopkins said. “I don’t know how many times I’ve listened to ‘Space Oddity’ on repeat or sang ‘Cat People’ while driving. ”

He was known as an experimental artist who pushed the boundaries of music and social standards for generations, his songs ranging in topics from gender-ambiguous space aliens to the loss of friends.

“My mom used to play his music for me, and with the wide range of music he created, anyone can connect with him,” freshman Ian Fleming said. “My middle name is Bowie, so I felt like a little part of me died with him. He played a large part in forming the person I am today.”

Two days before his death, on his 69th birthday, he released his final album entitled Blackstar. It was designed to be a parting gift for fans, featuring the song “Lazarus” that opens, “Look up here, I’m in heaven.”

“I didn’t listen to Blackstar until after he died. I kept telling myself that I would get around to it, and I regret not listening to it sooner. It’s amazing to think that he cared about his fans so much he made an album literally on his deathbed for us,” Fleming said.