Toni Hobrecht
Spotify Wrapped is an annual review of developments on the audio streaming platform. It also includes the top songs, artists, podcasts and listening trends of 2022. For the third year in a row, the top artist is rapper and singer Bad Bunny, followed by Taylor Swift and Drake. Spotify also revealed which artists were the most shared on social media. The most viral artist was Taylor Swift, followed by The Weeknd and Bad Bunny.
Interestingly, none of the top 3 songs were by any of the top artists. At number 1 is Harry Styles with “As It Was” followed by Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves” in second place and “Stay” by The Kid LAROI. The popularity of all three tracks comes mainly from their presence on social media like TikTok and in Instagram Reels.
Spotify also revealed the most streamed Throwback albums and tracks. Here Eminem is at the forefront with “The Marshall Mathers LP” followed by “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush. Interest in Kate Bush’s track increased by 8,700% after being featured in Stranger Things 4. Wedding content on Spotify is also back in demand after two years of the pandemic, skyrocketing by 620%.
YouTube Music, a platform that has one-eighth of Spotify’s user base, also released its annual review called Recap. The Google company did not disclose detailed numbers, but allowed users to create a “music personality” based on listening habits. A lot more so see was in the top YouTube videos of 2022.
