Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, 11:17 a.m. 

I was sleeping in because I felt ill, and when I woke up to check my notifications, there were maybe five people who texted me that Spotfiy Wrapped was out. I opened mine up, and saw my top song. 

“Eat me” by denn. 

Dang it.  

Spotify had more than 120 million users in 2021, and at least half of them posted or shared Wrapped results on social media, according to TIME Magazine. The number of Spotify users has grown by 132 million since then. It shows how significant Spotify has become nowadays.

“What type of music do you listen to?” I, and many others, hear often. In this generation, music has become such a staple of who people are and what they assume of you. 

When I play a song, it reflects on my mood and what’s going on in my life. Listening to Clairo means I’m usually studying or locked in. If I’m listening to rap means I’m probably driving or working out. 

 Most of the people I know, including myself, have an aux playlist — a playlist for when someone has me choose music — and a private playlist. Music is who I am, and it reflects me.

After I opened my Spotify Wrapped and people asked who my top artist was, I wasn’t necessarily ashamed. I was kind of excited to see that I was a top 1% listener of Tyler the Creator, not only because he’s well liked, but also because that’s very different from my previous years. 

But my top songs are a completely different story. Some of my top songs… “This Charming Man” by The Smiths, “Vienna” by Billy Joel, “DOGTOOTH” by Tyler the Creator, very overplayed and very different from one another. 

I understand why they’re my top songs, because I listened to them so consistently, but I think they’re overplayed.  

For many, music is an everyday occurrence. But to me, and everyone else who anticipates Spotfiy Wrapped, it feels like learning something you didn’t know about yourself yet. It gives you a sense of identity.