SPOTIFY WRAPPED REVIEW
My review of my 2024 Spotify Wrapped
Proof that I have good music taste
Certain times of the year hold a special kind of magic for me. I’m an autumn girl through and through–maybe it’s the crisp air, the cozy vibes, or the pumpkin-spiced everything, but I’ll admit, I’m a little biased because my birthday is in October (the best month out of the year btw, and I’m willing to argue that because it’s just fact). I love the early moments of spring when the flowers bloom and the trees come back to life, and surprisingly, back-to-school season has always been a favorite time for me with the return of football games and getting back with friends I haven’t seen all summer. But I think one of my favorite times of the year comes specifically around the holidays, like an early Christmas–Spotify Wrapped season.
640 million Spotify users, myself included, wait all year long to be “diagnosed” by their Spotify Wrapped. If you are one of those 640 million people, then you know the anticipation when this time of year comes around. The constant checking and refreshing of the Spotify app to see if your Wrapped has arrived yet, the pure rush of excitement when you wake up one morning and see the big button flashing “Your Wrapped is here!”, and the explosion of graphics that dance across your screen when you press it.
Spotify Wrapped is a viral marketing campaign by Spotify, a music streaming app, that is released annually since 2016 between November 30 and December 6. The campaign allows Spotify users to view a compilation of data about their activity on the platform over the past year and invites them to share it on social media. Spotify Wrapped typically includes the five musicians, songs, and musical genres that a Spotify user listened to the most throughout the previous year. Its release is generally accompanied by billboards and teasers on Spotify’s social media and has historically correlated with a boost to Spotify's engagement ratings.
My favorite part about Spotify Wrapped is when it’s finally released, people flood social media with snapshots of their top songs and artists, sparking conversations and uncovering shared musical tastes with their friends. I genuinely love going through people’s stories on Instagram and seeing the kind of music my friends listen to regularly. It's always interesting to compare my own Wrapped results with theirs, especially since it gives me a deeper insight into our mutual love for certain genres or tracks. Speaking of which, looking back at my own Wrapped this year, here is a breakdown of my top artists, top songs, and some of the trends in my listening habits.
BEHOLD! MY 2024 SPOTIFY WRAPPED!
Judge all you want, I’m happy as a clam with my diagnosis!
But since you’re already here, you should go and follow me on Spotify :) Just pinky promise me you’ll come back and read the rest of the blog after you do!
If you know me and my music taste, you know my Spotify Wrapped isn’t much of a surprise. Going down the list of my top artists, at number one we have Quarters of Change. I discovered QOC last year on a daily music playlist that Spotify had made for me. Spotify has this cool feature where it makes you special playlists that fit to your music taste and will include songs and artists that you listen to on the regular, as well as new artists that you have never listened to before but would like their music. And boy, when I heard QOC for the first time on that playlist, my world changed for the better. So thanks Spotify!
Quarters of Change is an indie-rock boy band from New York City and are absolute GODS at shredding electric guitars. Their catchy melodies and poppy beats scratch an itch in my brain every time I listen to them. The first time I saw them play live was a week after I had originally discovered their music. They were coming to a fraternity on campus to play for a philanthropy event, with tickets selling at just $10. I was sold. I went by myself to the concert and stood right at the front of the stage. They’re one of those bands that don’t need any autotune and are even better performing in person. I had the time of my life. People were crowd surfing, banging their heads to the beat, and playing air guitar during each major guitar rift. I even got a selfie with the lead singer after the show. QOC went on to open for the Jonas Brothers later that year and played at major music festivals like Austin City Limits and Lollapalooza.
I got my girl friends hooked on them and we went to see them in September of this year in Durham, it was even better the second time, especially since I went with friends. Funny enough, 4 of my top 5 songs on my Spotify Wrapped are Quarters of Change songs. Heaven Bound, Asphalt, Dead, and Hollywood Baby, are all AMAZING songs that I admit, I do listen to each at least once a day. The only other song that isn’t QOC is Ariana Grande’s “Yes, and?”, which is also quite the bop.
Then from there, we go to Taylor Swift at number two and Sabrina Carpenter at number three. I’ve always been a fan of Taylor and have seen her in concert three times before. I grew up listening to her and have loved seeing her rise to fame. I don’t consider myself a crazy die-hard Swiftie, but I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Taylor as I’m growing up and expanding my music variety. Sabrina Carpenter has been having her big breakout year as a pop artist. I grew up watching her on Disney Channel in Girl Meets World and Adventures in Babysitting and loved some of her old songs when she was a teenager. Now she’s thriving in her “no more Disney contract” era and released her sixth album Short n' Sweet in August – and is also her first No. 1 record.
My fourth top artist is The Moss, another favorite indie band of mine. I had a big kick of listening to them at the beginning of the year, as my friends put me on to them when we went to their concert at Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro last December. They kind of remind me of a more earthy/hippy version of QOC, because they have great guitar skills and really catchy songs but are more mellow and down to earth. I like to think of The Moss and QOC as two different versions of myself. The Moss is my everyday granola and bubbly self, while QOC is more like my angsty and indie rockstar alter ego. The two bands really balance out my taste in alternative indie rock music.
And last but not least, my fifth top artist needs no introduction, because it’s the queen Bey. I have always been a Beyoncé fan, but in the most recent years with the releases of her 2022 album Rennaissance and her 2024 album Cowboy Carter, I have started to foster a deeper appreciation for her as an artist. My best friend Harrison is probably one of the biggest Beyoncé fans that I know, and I think that listening to him speak so highly about her and her artistry really opened my eyes to a bigger meaning behind her music. Her two most recent albums are a part of her new 3-part album series that she recorded over the past three years, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Each album is dedicated to three different genres of music–RnB/rock, hip-hop/house, and country–that have a profound influence of Black culture. Beyoncé's mission with these albums and their genres, often associated with white artists and audiences, is deeply rooted in the rich heritage of African-American creativity, innovation, and resilience. So I CANNOT WAIT for what she releases next!
This sense of connection through music extends beyond my top 5 artists—Spotify is one of my favorite social media platforms and plays a huge role in how I experience and share music daily. I put a lot of effort into curating my playlists, each one holding songs that are tied to special memories, emotions, genres, and people. Sharing music is one of my love languages, and creating playlists for others is something I really love doing. It's exciting when I discover a song that resonates with me and I feel eager to share it with friends, hoping they’ll appreciate it too. I also enjoy following my friends on Spotify and exploring their music. It's always rewarding to stumble upon a new song or artist we can bond over.
Spotify Wrapped feels like a time capsule of my experiences, emotions, and the connections I’ve made through music. It’s a reminder of the power music has to bring people together and capture moments in time. Whether it’s through my curated playlists, sharing songs with friends, or discovering new artists to love, music continues to be one of my favorite ways to connect—with myself, my memories, and the people around me. Now, it’s time to spend the next 11 months meticulously curating my listening habits so I can impress my next Wrapped… or at least justify the 57 hours I spent listening to Quarters of Change.
