Personalisation. That’s something Spotify is very good at. After another (almost) 12 months of uncertainty, one thing is certain — we listened to a lot of music and podcasts through the year and chances are that much of it was on Spotify, the streaming service that has changed how music is listened to or made. And as always, it’s time for Spotify’s Wrapped experience, which revales the most listened to artistes and albums for (most of) 2021.
This year, the Stockholm HQ-ed company has added more social media features so that you can share your favourite music with a customised movie, aura, or playing cards, ensuring discussions begin among friends and family members. It’s the kind of personalisation, Apple Music needs to look at.
To see ‘Your 2021 Wrapped’, simply head over to the app on your mobile phone and press ‘play’. On hindsight, I listened to more music than I should have (instead of working). Perhaps you too have done the same.
The few features that make Spotify Wrapped personal are 2021: The Movie (pairs your top songs with classic scenes from a movie that’s all about you), Your Audio Aura (Spotify worked an aura expert to visualise your audio aura based on your top two music moods), Playing Cards (an interactive, data-based game that you play and then share with your friends), and 2021 Wrapped Blend (fans can see how their 2021 music tastes match up with friends). Of course, you can share your Wrapped experience on social channels like Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Now to the music that made waves through the year and podcasts that we loved.
MUSIC (India)
• Arijit Singh remains the most streamed artiste and joining him are Pritam, A.R. Rahman, BTS, Tanishk Bagchi, Shreya Ghoshal, Jubin Nautiyal, Neha Kakkar, Anirudh Ravichander and Vishal-Shekhar.
• The most streamed song of 2021: Raataan lambiyan by Asees Kaur, Jubin Nautiyal and Tanishk Bagchi. Other top songs: Ranjha by Jasleen Royal, B Praak and Anvita Dutt; Brown munde by AP Dhillon, Gminxr, Gurinder Gill and Shinda Kahlon; STAY (with Justin Bieber) by The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber; Lut gaye by Jubin Nautiyal, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Manoj Muntashir, Butter by BTS; Agar tum saath ho by Alka Yagnik, Arijit Singh, A.R. Rahman and Irshad Kamil; Tu aake dekhle by King and Arpan Kumar, Shayad by Pritam and Irshad Kamil; and, Montero (Call Me By Your Name) by Lil Nas X.
• India’s top 10 most streamed albums in 2021 are: Shershaah, Kabir Singh, Moosetape, Love Yourself ‘Answer’, Love Aaj Kal, Justice, BE, Map of the Soul: 7, Master and Future Nostalgia.
• The three most-streamed female artists include Shreya Ghoshal, Neha Kakkar and Asees Kaur.
PODCASTS (India)
• The most popular podcasts on Spotify in India this year are: The Mythpat Podcast, The Ranveer Show, The Stories of Mahabharata, Naallanaa Murukku — The RJ Balaji Podcast, Srimad Bhagavad-Gita Adhyaya 1, The Joe Rogan Experience, Speak Better English with Harry, On Purpose with Jay Shetty, Bhaskar Bose (Hindi Thriller Podcast) and Unconventional Ghalib.
• While The Ranveer Show is the most popular podcast in cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Pune, local content stands out in Hyderabad, Chennai and Calcutta where Purijagannadh (Telugu), Naallanaa Murukku — The RJ Balaji Podcast (Tamil) and Sunday Suspense (Bengali) take the lead, respectively
• Four of the top 10 most streamed episodes are from The Mythpat Podcast.
• Seven of the top 10 most streamed episodes are from Spotify Originals.
• Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Jaipur feature among the top 10 cities that stream podcasts.
