It’s the best time of the year…well, for me that is. However, according to social media memes, it is a nightmare for everyone else. Yes, I am talking about this year’s Spotify Wrapped. For some reason, between 2018-2019, it felt as if Spotify’s users had grown exponentially. I mean, EVERYONE was posting about their year in music. I loved it. I think it is so interesting to see what everyone in my life had been blasting for the year. It’s totally invasive. I mean, c’mon, music is basically the gateway to people’s emotions.
So, let’s talk about what my year was like, according to my Spotify. However, I cannot go any further without throwing a little diss to Apple Music. This was the first year I saw people posting that platform’s year review. I must say, like I always do, it looked like trash. Spotify is out here giving everyone a little light show and interactive experience, where Apple is just giving you a bland black and white list. No fun.
ANYWAYS, now I am ready to talk about my year. Every Spotify Wrapped each year is different. This year, they started by taking you through the seasons. The Winter was about as cold as my heart. I was navigating my way through the grieving process still, so I found solace in Ariana Grande. Of course, darkness always has light, so there was some Loud Luxury to spice things up. Spring still had a dash of Ari, but it was Coachella season. Thus, I found myself blasting my new found love Gryffin, as well as throwing in Dillon Francis. Summer was honestly iconic. We have Dillon, we have Gryffin, we have Hayden James, and we of COURSE have Call Her Daddy. I’ll talk about why Summer was so iconic later. The Fall was just about the same, however I rudely phased out Hayden James for a brief period. I mean, I was just non-stop with Gryffin. Thanks Alana for that one. If they were to include this Winter, I am positive it would be The Weeknd’s new singles, back to back.
Then, Spotify gives you a little party to announce your #1 Artist. Mine comes as no surprise, Dillon Francis. I mean, I have always loved him, but 2019 was another level. It obviously was due to the fact that I was going to see him almost every other month. ALMOST. They then go to show you what your top songs of the year were, and put them into a playlist because they’re just TOO sweet. Mine was, “Love No More,” by Loud Luxury. If you’ve heard this song, you just know the vibe. I will say, I was a little surprised by this. I knew I listened a lot, for personal reasons, but not this much. I will say, my favorite part is looking at how many minutes I’ve spent listening to music. It’s never as much as I expect. Another cool thing about this is, since the year is not entirely over, the minutes are still going up every time I login. As of today, December 15, 2019, I have listened to 41,073 minutes of music. I wouldn’t trade those for the world! Spotify wraps up the presentation by giving you the artist you streamed the most this whole decade. I am absolutely sure nobody is surprised to hear that mine was, The Weeknd.
So, let’s talk about why I love this little magic Spotify makes every year. I find that every year it shows me what I really went through. This year, giving me a gist of each season was super special too. Like I said, the beginning of the year I was really grieving. So, it was really powerful to see how I started to pull myself to a more positive mindset, through my music choices. Summer was especially special to me because of my playlist, TEA. I’ve talked about it in previous blog posts, so I won’t beat a dead horse. The nostalgia hearing the first couple of songs from that specific playlist on my wrapped however, was unmatched. They spend this whole build up teasing what you listened to every season, but everyone is always waiting for the final product of their top 5 songs. “Ocean Drive,” has been on my lineup every year since 2015. It never gets old seeing it, or hearing it for that matter. It was cool seeing my top songs of the whole entire decade on a playlist this year as well. “Love No More,” actually made it to my decade lineup. If that puts into perspective how many times I was relentlessly hitting repeat. I always make jokes to one of the artists in Loud Luxury about that song in particular. I constantly will tell him I am blasting it to get over whatever boy I am into during that time. Only to turn around and message him that I took ten steps back. It’s quite comical. Did not work to help me with my boy issues, but did work to help me have a party in my head.
Around this time of year, I always make predictions as to what next year will hold for me. Right now, all I can say confidently, is that “Ocean Drive” will still make the cut. However, for the rest, I can’t be too certain. So many artists are releasing new music, I have no idea what will be my favorite anthem in a month. Probably The Weeknd, but again, I never even have to clarify the obvious.
Whether you had your Spotify Wrapped, or your Apple Music yearly review, I hope it brought you as much joy as it brought me. If it didn’t, maybe take a second to analyze what you went through in 2019. Then take a step back and realize where you are now. Does your music reflect that? If so, stop to think about why. Like I said, music is the gateway to our emotions, whether we are conscious of it at the time or not. So, sit back, reflect, and enjoy the music. Can’t wait to see what 2020 holds for all of us in this new decade!
Surfing the Soundwaves 