Disclaimer: I know no one cares about my Spotify Wrapped.
And I do not care about anyone else’s either. But I am going to write about it anyways.
I love music. I do not go a single day without opening Spotify and playing one of my thousands of playlists. I listen to music when I get ready in the morning, when I walk to class, while I do homework, and while I sleep.
So I wasn’t surprised when my Spotify Wrapped revealed I had listened music for 40,963 minutes (that’s 28 days straight). My listening peaked on August 4 with 537 minutes of music. This day was my last day in my apartment in Italy. I was listening to music while I packed my luggage all night.
According to Spotify, I was in the top 7% of listeners worldwide for 2023. Spotify has 551 million users, so that is a pretty crazy number to achieve.
I listened to 48 different genres of music. However, I do not give much thought to this statistic because Spotify often considers songs a different genre than the artists do.
In 2023, I listened to 1,659 different songs. This year I strived to find new music at least once a week and I found some of my favorite songs because of that.
My number one most played song, “The Blonde” by TV Girl, was a result of my constant hunt for new music. I started listening to this song on May 26th. Over the course of the rest of the year, I listened to that song 182 times. The strongest memory I have tied to this song is sitting on my balcony in Italy, doing homework and enjoying the warm night air. The song has a very unique synth sound that works well when played on repeat for long periods of time. I listened to this song over and over for days and I never got sick of it. I still play it pretty frequently even now.
“Sometimes I Need To Be Alone” by Ricky Montgomery was my second most listened to song. This song came out September 29, 2023 with the release of Ricky’s third album “Rick”. The way Spotify Wrapped works is that it stops collecting listening data October 31 so the recap can come out at the end of November. In order for that song to become my number two most listened to song in just one month, I would have to have played it on repeat for days. And that’s exactly what I did. As soon as the album came out and I discovered this song, I quickly realized it was my favorite off the album and added it to several playlists. But instead of listening to it when it came up on those playlists, I left it on repeat for about a week straight. And then I went in streaks of putting it on repeat at least three or four different times a week.
As my top artist this year, The 1975 were bound to have a few songs in my top five. My third most played song was “Guys”. This is the last song on their fourth album “Notes On a Conditional Form”. This is my favorite album of their and “Guys” is my favorite song from The 1975. This song has a very personal meaning to me and has inspired my next tattoo. The song is all about being thankful for the friends and family around you that stick with you through everything. I am always thankful for my parents and brother who support me through anything.
My fourth most played song was “Me & You Together Song” also by The 1975. I do not specifically seek this song out like I do many of the other songs in my top five, but it is on almost all my playlists. Even if you are not a fan of The 1975, this song is such an enjoyable listen. It is so upbeat, and I rarely skip this song when it comes on. I dance to it all the time in my room, too!
My fifth most listened to song was “Cry” by Cigarettes After Sex. If you know anything about this band, you know the majority fo their songs are pretty depressing. I chose “Cry” to be my cry song of the summer. In Italy, I listened to this song a lot when I was having bad days or when I felt a little homesick. To this day, I still cannot listen to that song during the day. I have only listened to it a handful of times since returning to America, and I have to be prepared to cry every time I do.
My top five artists did surprise me a bit. There were no solo artists, only bands. As I mentioned, my number one was The 1975. That does not surprise me at all. I listen to them all day every day. According to Spotify, I listened to them the most in August.
My second most listened to artist was 5 Seconds of Summer. I guess this makes sense when I think back. I listened to them more consistently in the beginning of 2023 than I did towards the end. Their old pop punk songs hit just as hard today as they did in 2014. I listen to their new, more mature songs a lot as well. I also listened to them the most in August.
The Backseat Lovers are a band I discovered this year. They made their way to my third most listened to artist of the year. I listened to them the most in April which is around the time I first discovered their music. Their album “When We Were Friends”, which I have a poster of on my wall, has so many great songs that appear on several of my playlists. My favorite song of theirs, however, comes from a different album. “Words I Used” is from the band’s most recent album “Waiting to Spill”. I love this song so much and it definitely a song I would play on repeat for hours at a time.
The Neighbourhood, despite them not being much of a band anymore, wound up as my fourth most listened to artist. I also listened to them the most during the month of August. I know exactly why that is. I remember putting their song “Silver Lining” on repeat before proceeding to sleep for 12 consecutive hours in Rome. I also played their song “Cherry Flavoured” a lot during the summer too. They are both great summer songs.
And talk about a completely dissolved band being on the list, One Direction has made an appearance for the third year in a row in my most listened to artists. Though they were in the top spot the past two years, I still can’t let that band go. I did not realize I listened to their music that much still, but many of my playlists are stilled filled with old school 1D hits. I listened to them the most in July.
Other honorable mentions are “Night Shift” by Lucy Dacus, “Out Like a Light” by Ricky Montgomery, “Fade Into You” by Mazzy Star, and “Easy Lovers” by Piero Piccioni.
I highly recommend listening to all these songs and branching out into some music you wouldn’t typically listen to. You might find some of your new favorite songs.