This week is Spotify Wrapped week, the week where the world’s biggest music streaming service gifts new playlists to all its subscribers based on all the music they’ve been listening to each year.
Your Wrapped playlist is therefore always both a joy and a bit of a head-scratcher, revealing everything that you love and some things that you didn’t quite realise that you loved quite so much… Baby Shark? Again? Really?
It’s all very personal and provides deep insight into your musical taste that you’ll probably want to keep to yourself… Although, increasingly (and brilliantly) big name artists now take the opportunity to share their lists, not only showing us what trend-setting, forward-thinking musical geniuses they are but providing an interesting insight into what’s currently making their musical brains tick.
Charli XCX was quick off the mark, broadcasting a screenshot that showed that Drain Gang member Bladee was her most-played artist of the year with the rest of her top five panning out as Air, A.G Cook, Clairo and Mk.gee. Interesting juxtaposition of Bladee and Air there… Obviously she likes to wind down after too much hardcore hip-hop.
So-hot-right-now US vocalist Chappell Roan, perhaps unsurprisingly, listened to a lot of Ariana Grande, Charli XCX, Heart, Justice and Kacey Musgraves. Her top song was Heart’s Barracuda.
Olivia Rodrigo’s gave her BFF Chappell Roan a double high five, revealing that Roan was her top artist and her top song was Roan’s Good Luck, Babe.
Similarly Maisie Peters, an artist who opened for Taylor Swift on her Eras tour, revealed that Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department song Down Bad was her number one.
And also paying her old school respect, Miley Cyrus’s top artist was Britney Spears (this despite her not releasing a new album since 2016’s Glory with a single Mind Your Business release in 2023).
Camila Cabello on the other hand branched out, revealing a taste for Afrobeat this year with top three tracks: Ijo (Laba Laba) by Crayon, Kontrol by Maleek Berry and Charm by Rema.
Playlist payola?
Of course, such an opportunity to reach out to (potentially) millions of fans to promote music they might not have heard is now a bit of a business opportunity. Thus we see unheard of artists suddenly getting a vast boost through a high profile endorsement and – perhaps – there’s a little gamesmanship at play with labelmates, tour buddies and BFFs all getting the appropriate corporate approved props and love.
And special mention to artists whose playlist feature themselves… Or is even entirely comprised of themselves…
So while Addison Rae went old school, revealing a top most-played five artist list packed with classics - Madonna, Lady Gaga, Charli XCX, Britney Spears - there’s – oops – herself at number five.
More dramatically, the only artist that Lil Nas X listened to more than himself was Camila Cabello. (Cabello at number one, Nas X at number two…)
Likewise Clairo confessed that while her top artist was the rather off-topic Lana Del Rey, her number two choice was… [cough] Clairo…
Of course, the queen of self-appreciation was Ice Spice, who last year famously posted that her top artist was herself, with her top five comprising entirely of songs by herself…
Fortunately this year it seems she’s broadened her horizons, instead listening to Cash Cobain, Drake, Future, Bktherula and Partynextdoor (in that order).
Phew.
