The much-anticipated Spotify Wrapped season has arrived, giving users a chance to reflect on their music and podcast listening habits from the past year. The yearly event kicked off on Wednesday, with fans eager to share their personalized listening statistics across social media platforms.
This year’s edition features an innovative “music evolution” feature, allowing users to track their shifting musical tastes over 2024. Similar to Spotify’s existing “daylist,” this tool creates tailored music profiles capturing users’ preferences at various times throughout the year. Users can also check their longest listening streaks for their favorite artists, adding a fun aspect to the experience.
Additionally, Spotify rolled out a personal AI-generated podcast that summarizes each user’s listening habits. This podcast utilizes Google’s Notebook LM app, known for producing engaging summary podcasts based on users’ notes.
As in previous years, Spotify revealed its top artists, podcasts, and authors based on streaming numbers. Taylor Swift dominated the charts, becoming the top artist with an impressive 26.6 billion streams, largely influenced by her Eras Tour and the recent release of her album, “The Tortured Poets Department.” The Weeknd and Bad Bunny followed in second and third place, respectively, while Drake, despite his recent controversy over streaming numbers related to Kendrick Lamar, held the fourth spot, with Billie Eilish rounding out the top five.
Although Drake’s controversial track, “Not Like Us,” didn’t make the global top songs list, it achieved the distinction of being the second most-streamed song in the U.S., accumulating over 928 million streams. The most-streamed global song was identified as “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter, which soared past 1.6 billion streams.
On the podcasting front, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” “Call Her Daddy” by Alex Cooper, and “This Past Weekend with Theo Von” secured top spots in the global rankings. These shows made headlines after hosting prominent political figures like President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
In an exciting expansion, Spotify introduced its inaugural global audiobooks list, following the introduction of 15 free hours of audiobook listening for Premium subscribers. The book “A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J. Maas claimed the top spot, with its sequel, “A Court of Mist and Fury,” coming in at third.
This year’s Spotify Wrapped highlights not only the most popular music and podcasts but also the evolving nature of personal listening experiences, encapsulating the diverse interests of users during 2024. The addition of new features and multimedia content signals Spotify’s commitment to enhancing user engagement and satisfaction, paving the way for an even more interactive listening journey in the future.