We know Christmas is around the corner when suddenly, on one random day in December, every Instagram story we click through is an assault of the brightly coloured, incredibly detailed listening statistics of every friend, colleague, acquaintance, celebrity or home furnishings account we (probably) follow. And that moment is on Wednesday — it’s officially Spotify Wrapped Day. Sorry, Apple Music Replay. You tried to have your moment by releasing your stats a day early — but, quite frankly, you never really stood a chance.
We seemingly can’t simply enjoy something without discovering how much we love it. Enter Spotify Wrapped, the personalised, comprehensive guide to what we listened to most on the platform from January 1, 2024, until an undisclosed date reported to be in November (they keep details of the specific date locked in a guarded vault somewhere).
The day is so much more about numbers, though. Spotify Wrapped is a day for reflection and self-discovery. It’s about learning who you’ll be cutting out of your life when 2025 rolls around because they spent 76 minutes listening to JoJo Siwa in 2024. And just like when you open any gift, you’re either going to love what you found inside or wish that you never bothered opening it in the first place.
From blazing pride to surprise and embarrassment, we asked the London Standard team to share their first reactions to their 2024 Spotify Wrapped.
I’m not sure what concerned me the most about my Wrapped this year: was it the chilling realisation that I spent 94,211 minutes (roughly 65 days) listening to music, or that I weathered seasons of Catwalk Lo-Fi House, Cheerleading Pop and Smooth Alternative Vogue R&B without noticing? In any case, if you needed any further confirmation that I am indeed a 28-year-old gay man with a nose piercing who rarely strays from listening to female artists, I spent 7,127 minutes in 2024 with the bratty sounds of Charli XCX blaring in my ears. Jordan Page
A first dance, but in the living room
This is the first year Oasis and The Beatles didn’t make my top artists — and it’s probably for the best. Those around me know that my mental health has suffered since missing out on Oasis and Paul McCartney tickets (yes, I’m still looking). Fontaines D.C won my heart with their album Romance, making them the winners of my most listened-to artist, but my most played song was Aw, Shoot! by CMAT. Her music inspired me to pick up the guitar again, and I can confirm that my neighbours are so pleased about this…
My second most listened-to artist is Roy Orbison. My partner and I were supposed to have our first dance to In Dreams at our wedding, but we both got too drunk and forgot. Since then, we’ve spent many nights twirling around the living room listening to his music. I love crooning away to Blue Bayou on karaoke too! Katrina Mirpuri
If in doubt, blame it on the kids
My top 10 are all songs from Frozen and Sing 1 and 2. The perils of allowing kids under six to get at your Spotify. You know you’re in trouble when Taron Egerton is your year’s third most streamed artist (he plays the gorilla in Sing). Nick Clark
Ah, Spotify Wrapped reveal day. Is any other moment of the year so humbling? It should be mandatory for therapy: look, here — this is who I really am. And who was I this year? Well, it depends on which page in the calendar you might flick to. In January I had it all together — lots of classical and symphonic stuff — but by April I’d clearly fallen apart, given on one Saturday I spent more than a third of it, more than eight hours, listening to music. Was I crying in bed? Probably. I was swinging again in June, enjoying things like Chet Baker and Dave Brubeck. By August, I’d caught up with music from this century, preferring Griff over all others.
Four of my five top artists have something in common — they’re all dead (Elgar, Mahler, Sinatra, Nat Cole) — but Max Richter came out on top. He’s alive but most famous for remixing Vivaldi, so there’s that. Still, my top songs show I wasn’t so obsessed with swelling orchestras: Leon’s Hope Is A Heartbreak came out in the top five, as did Thinking ‘Bout Love by Wild Rivers and Stevie Nicks’s Talk to Me. Love, then, dominated. But then, of course it did; this year I asked Twiggy, my now fiancee, to marry me. So there could only be one song that I played over and over. Tina Turner’s Simply the Best. That’s just how I feel about her. David Ellis
Bogus Operandi — the first track on the latest album from The Hives — is the song I tapped on over and over this year as I set off from The Standard’s offices on my cycle commute home. High tempo, high energy and mildly aggressive at times, this album gets me pumped to just the right degree to battle rush-hour traffic on two wheels. Sorry, not sorry to the Mamils and Lime bikers alike who continue to hear this blaring as I zoom past. Samantha Herbert
The year the pop girls reigned supreme
I didn’t need Spotify to tell me I’m the most basic bisexual bitch alive, but it dragged me to hell anyway. June was apparently my “Pink Pilates Princess Strut Pop” season. I don’t even do pilates. I made it into the top 0.5 per cent of listeners for Chapell Roan’s banger tune Good Luck Babe, and yet I was still not quick off the mark enough to see her live in London at the Brixton Academy in September. Unlike my partner, who now gets to revoke my gay card, I guess.
At least I rode for Charli XCX, bequeathing her my top artist of the year slot — and seeing her perform live at The O2 last week. Brat is not just for summer, it’s a lifestyle. Sabrina Carpenter also made it into my top five, making me feel better about spending inordinate amounts on tickets for Primavera Sound next year where I will see the holy trinity of Chappell, Carpenter and Charli. Good luck to me bumpin’ that espresso. India Block
Trance has come a long way from massive clubs filled with people dressed only in white — but the sub-genre has never felt anything less than embarrassing. These days, trance comes in hints or suggestions as if it is disguised behind the cooler deep house or techno crazes. But Nicky Elizabeth’s The Way of Love is an unapologetic banger and apparently what I needed in 2024. William Mata
Something something, Beyoncé
Each year, my Spotify Wrapped arrives like clockwork to remind me of two unassailable facts — I love women and Beyonce particularly. Since the dawn of Wrapped, the crown for my most listened-to artist has only ever been occupied by Bey — and only two men have ever made my top five. I’m pleased to report that this year is no different — Beyonce (top 0.5 per cent of listeners, thank you very much), Chappell Roan, Nicki Minaj, Victoria Monet and Charli XCX were the chosen ones in a particularly crowded 2024 field of women doing excellent things in music. (I swear Minaj fudges my numbers; I don’t know how she manages to sneak in every year).
My top song, which I allegedly streamed 32 times, was the thumping SWEET HONEY BUCKIIN from Beyonce’s groundbreaking 2024 country album Cowboy Carter. I am expanding my horizons though: last year, four out of five of my top songs were Bey. The year before it was a clean sweep. This year, it was only three. Although Billboard has just crowned her the greatest pop star of the 21st century, maybe I just have taste. Emma Loffhagen
A brazen member of the Swiftie cult
Taylor Swift was my top artist this year for possibly the third year running. This was no surprise given that I nearly bankrupted myself buying tickets for the Eras tour (twice) earlier this year.
But amid the comedown from Brat summer and Swift’s tour ending this weekend, I’d completely forgotten about my The Last Dinner Party phase. And I definitely didn’t realise it had been intense enough for Sinner to be my most listened-to track of 2024. I’m in the top 0.05 per cent of the song’s listeners, though, so I guess I’m a The Last Dinner Party superfan? Maybe I’m posher than I thought. Rachel McGrath
Oh-oh, you think you’re special?
As a lifelong Shania Twain fan, I knew attending Glastonbury 2024’s legend slot was my chance to do her justice from the Pyramid Stage crowd — better than the 199,999 others. My top song of the year was That Don’t Impress Me Much — it’s such a fun, feel-good singalong classic that you can act out for extra silliness. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t know the words. Hearing it now takes me back to singing with my best friends in cowboy hats on that golden weekend at the end of June. Abha Shah
I always suspected that my results would be heavily Fred again.. skewed.. but my Spotify Wrapped exceeded even my worst expectations. One, two and three on the list of my most listened to. And not even mainstream Fred. These were his deep-cut offcuts from an old USB that he posted online one day, which duly made their way onto Spotify shortly after. He’s not edgy or cool any more, but my ears don’t seem to have received the memo: they lap those sweet beats up like water.
Plus, I got a video message from Taylor Swift, thanking me for listening to her music. Fred again and Tay-Tay — has there ever been a more cursed (or revealing) music combination? I don’t want your thanks, Taylor, I want to change my listening habits. The only consolation: my fifth most listened-to artist was jazz-dance maestro Berlioz. Is that enough to save my reputation? I guess I’ll let the readers decide. Vicky Jessop