Spotify Wrapped 2021: New Features & Artist Messages

Spotify Wrapped 2021: A Comprehensive Review of the Year's Listening Habits

The eagerly awaited Spotify Wrapped experience is now available to users, artists, and podcast creators. This annual retrospective provides Spotify listeners with a personalized overview of their musical and podcast consumption throughout the year. Artists and creators, in turn, can analyze how their audience engaged with their content.

New Features Enhance the Wrapped Experience

This year’s Wrapped introduces several enhancements. Notable additions include Wrapped Blend, enabling comparison of listening habits with friends, alongside expanded sharing options for TikTok. An interactive in-app game and personalized video messages from artists further enrich the experience.

Spotify is also integrating its live audio platform, Spotify Greenroom, into the Wrapped presentation. Select artists will host live shows as part of this integration.

A Cinematic Journey Through Your 2021

Traditionally, Spotify Wrapped highlights top songs, artists, and podcasts. This iteration presents data in a novel format – “2021: The Movie.” Your frequently played tracks are paired with cinematic scenes, such as opening credits, intense montages, or climactic face-offs, creating a visually engaging recap.

TikTok Integration and Cultural References

Recognizing TikTok’s influence on music discovery, Wrapped acknowledges popular TikTok memes like “Bones Day” and “Good Soup.” These trends, having transcended the platform, have demonstrably impacted music streaming numbers. Users can now directly share their Wrapped cards to TikTok, alongside existing options like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat.

Deeper Connections with Wrapped Blend

Building upon the existing Blend playlist feature, Wrapped Blend allows users to compare their individual Wrapped results with those of a friend. This comparison reveals similarities and differences in musical taste, fostering social interaction. Shared Wrapped Blends can be streamed and distributed on social media.

Exploring Your Audio Aura

The new “Audio Aura” feature offers a genre-agnostic perspective on your listening year. It identifies your top two “moods” based on your listening behavior and visually represents them.

An Interactive Game for Social Sharing

An in-app game, inspired by “Two Truths and a Lie,” encourages engagement. Users share statements about their listening habits, challenging friends to identify the false ones. This interactive element is designed to increase social sharing and participation.

Personalized Messages from Artists

Spotify collaborated with over 170 artists and creators to produce short video messages thanking fans for their support. Users whose Wrapped includes participating artists or podcast hosts will receive these personalized videos.

Exclusive Q&A Sessions in Spotify Greenroom

Select artists and podcasters will host exclusive Q&A sessions in Spotify’s Greenroom live audio app for their most dedicated fans. These hour-long, password-protected rooms will offer a unique opportunity for interaction. Public Wrapped-themed episodes will also be featured on Spotify’s “Most Necessary Live” and “LOREM Life” shows.

The Wrapped Hub and Personalized Playlists

The official in-app Spotify Wrapped Hub, launching today, provides access to year-end playlists and features. This includes personalized playlists like “Your Top Songs of 2021” and “Your Artists Revealed,” as well as data-driven playlists showcasing top artists and podcasts.

Insights for Artists and Creators

Artists and creators gain access to dedicated microsites, offering insights into their fans’ listening journeys and relevant data.

Spotify’s Shopify integration will enable artists to email links to their merchandise to fans featured in their top fan lists.

Top Artists and Tracks of 2021

Spotify revealed the most streamed music and podcasts of 2021. Bad Bunny led as the most streamed global artist, with over 9.1 billion streams, followed by Taylor Swift, BTS, Drake, and Justin Bieber.

Olivia Rodrigo’s “drivers license” was the most streamed song, exceeding 1.1 billion streams. Other top songs included Lil Nas X’s “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name),” The Kid LAROI’s “STAY (with Justin Bieber),” Olivia Rodrigo’s “good 4 u,” and Dua Lipa’s “Levitating (feat. DaBaby).”

The top albums of the year were Olivia Rodrigo’s SOUR, Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia, Justin Bieber’s Justice, Ed Sheeran’s “=” and Doja Cat’s “Planet Her.”

The most popular podcasts were The Joe Rogan Experience, Call Her Daddy, Crime Junkie, TED Talks Daily and The Daily.