Queer listeners hilariously react to Spotify Wrapped 2023

From bisexual-coded Sound Towns to boygenius calling fans gay, this year's Spotify Wrapped was queer AF!

Entertainment . Written by Alice Linehan.

This article is about Spotify Wrapped. The image shows a hand holding an iPhone with the Spotify logo on the screen.

With December creeping up around the corner, all our attention has been drawn towards one of the biggest occasions on our social calendars. No, not Christmas – Spotify Wrapped day!

That’s right, on Wednesday, November 29, the music streaming platform released its annual campaign, allowing its 574 million users to delve into their listening history from over the previous year. Needless to say, the internet has exploded with responses, reactions and memes, and LGBTQ+ people are among those to have shared their thoughts.

While each Spotify Wrapped is specific to the individual, some universal trends have emerged from 2023. For example, not only was Taylor Swift the top artist for many of her devoted queer fans, but she also took the overall number one spot globally, followed by Bad Bunny in second and The Weeknd in third.

Bisexual singer Miley Cyrus’ record-breaking break-up anthem ‘Flowers’ came in as the top song of the year, followed by SZA’s ‘Kill Bill’ and Harry Styles’ ‘As It Was’. Bad Bunny took the crown for the most-streamed album with Un Verano Sin Ti, beating out Midnights by Taylor Swift and SOS by SZA who trailed behind.

 

As well as releasing data surrounding the artists, songs, albums and podcasts of the year, Spotify also gave insights into the pop culture trends that influenced listeners in 2023. Among those noted was the impact of Eurovision, as the winning song ‘Tattoo’ by Loreen and the runner-up ‘Cha Cha Cha’ by Käärijä both reached the top 10 global daily chart the day after the final.

New to this year’s Wrapped was the ‘Me in 2023’ feature which assigned each user one of 12 characters that best reflected their streaming habits, and the display of listeners’ top 5 genres as a stacked-up sambo.

 

 

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One section that was particularly effective in capturing the attention of the queer community was ‘Sound Town’, which matched fans to a city based on their listening and artist affinity. Dubbed the new ‘Am I Gay? Quiz’, LGBTQ+ users appeared to populate three specific US cities more than anywhere else.

Those who listened to Phoebe Bridgers, Charli XCX and Mitski were aligned with Burlington, Vermont, fans of Japanese Breakfast, Caroline Polachek and Omar Apollo were mostly based in Berkeley, California, and artists like Chappell Roan, boygenius and Muna sent you to Cambridge, Massachusetts.

 

Another addition to this year’s Spotify Wrapped was the artist message, with users receiving a video from the individual or group that they streamed most. 

 

If you haven’t already, check out your Spotify Wrapped in the app or on desktop and see how you listened in 2023.

© 2023 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.

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