Spotify Wrapped dropped last week, and we’re thrilled, shocked, and questioning everything… including our assigned Sound Towns. Here’s our thoughts:
Spotify Wrapped basically exists as a holiday in my mind—I always look forward to seeing everyone post their statistics on social media, and will look for any excuse to share my own! This year, Taylor Swift was my top artist (insert shocked Pikachu face here) followed by Noah Kahan, boygenius, Isabel Pless, and Julien Baker. This lineup might be a bit basic since most of these artists were very popular in 2023 (with the exception of Isabel Pless, although I promise you need her music in your life). That being said, I’m just relieved that Morgan Wallen didn’t somehow sneak his way into my top 5 artists like he did in 2021!
- Tessa Stayton ‘25
My Spotify Wrapped was generally predictable, but I did face a few shocks. My top artists were, unsurprisingly, Taylor Swift, Maisie Peters, Noah Kahan, Lizzy McAlpine, and Olivia Rodrigo. They’re all pretty well-known, but I would definitely suggest listening to Maisie if you haven’t heard her music before! I was surprised Noah Kahan wasn’t higher on the list, as I’ve been listening to his music nonstop this year. There were no Taylor songs in my top five, which I thought was strange seeing as she’s my top artist. My top song was actually “ceilings” by Lizzy McAlpine, which I allegedly listened to over 100 times (I promise I am completely fine; I just like the song). I was also surprised that my top genre was apparently Broadway, as I don’t remember listening to an abundance of show tunes this year. Still, it’s less embarrassing than last year when one of my top artists was the writer of The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical soundtrack.
- Allie Ziegler ‘27
Honestly, I was a bit embarrassed by my 2023 Spotify Wrapped and deviated from tradition by not posting my statistics to any social media platforms. So rather than sharing my results within the private sphere of my Instagram followers, I will share them with the boundless possibility of Her Campus readers. Let me clarify, I was not embarrassed by my top artists, among whom were SZA and Lana Del Ray, juxtaposed by Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash. Nor am I ashamed of my three top songs: “Ghost in the Machine” by SZA, featuring Phoebe Bridgers, “Man in the Long Black Coat” by Bob Dylan, and “Hurt” by Johnny Cash. My aversion to sharing my results comes from the overwhelming presence of a specific album: METRO BOOMIN PRESENTS SPIDERMAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE (SOUNDTRACK FROM AND INSPIRED BY THE MOTION PICTURE) by Metro Boomin. I can’t really defend myself from this one. Ultimately I learned that my music taste this year is somewhere between a middle-school boy who wears matching neon Nike sets, a folksy-grandfather living in the Appalachian mountain range, and an emotional girl in her twenties who doesn’t think anyone else “gets it.”
- Catherine Gwinnett ‘24
My Spotify Wrapped is misleading, okay? I listen to plenty of more upbeat songs. I just have certain songs I like to listen to when I’m feeling extremely dramatic and need to capture this particular emotion ten times in a row. That’s how we ended up with “People Watching” by Conan Gray as my most-played song, and “The Archer” by Taylor Swift and “Ribs” by Lorde also in the top 5. To be fair, I graduated high school and started college this year, so a dramatic emotional state is justifiable. As for the other two in my top 5—“Garden Song” by Phoebe Bridgers and “Cherry Wine – Live” by Hozier—I don’t think it’s physically possible for me to get tired of either song. It would be like getting tired of the sunset. I do, however, get tired of being awake eventually, and as a result, I have fallen asleep to these songs on multiple occasions. And as for my top artists, they were in order as follows: Taylor Swift, Hozier, Phoebe Bridgers, Noah Kahan, and boygenius. I was extremely fortunate this year in getting to see all but one of them perform live. The only one I didn’t get a chance to see was Noah Kahan, and if all goes well, I’m coming for him at Fenway Park next summer.
- Kate Bridges ’27
Through my 60,180 minutes (approximately 42 days) of listening this year, I lived a lot of life experiences, drove down many New England roads, and wrote quite a few essays. Honestly, this year’s Wrapped is probably my least surprising yet, considering I was lucky enough to see three of my top five artists in concert: Hozier (#1), Mt. Joy (#2), and the Doobie Brothers (#5). I still haven’t recovered from hearing “Astrovan” and “Cherry Wine” live on the same day. My other two top artists, America (#3) and Harry Styles (#4) really do complete the picture of my year, especially since “Ventura Highway” and “Tin Man,” both by America, stole the top two positions in my top songs list. “Live Well” by Palace, “Eye in the Sky” by The Alan Parsons Project, and “I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near)” by Michael McDonald of the Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan rounded out my top five. While everyone continues to obsess over their assigned “Sound Town,” I think I’ll stay quite cozy with my Soft Rock and “pov: indie” vibes a couple hours north in Burlington, Vermont.
- Lara Beckius ‘24