The end-of-year Spotify Wrapped has become somewhat of a Holiday tradition at this point. No other event besides Christmas fills up everyone’s social media feeds quite like the musical retrospective.
The most anticipated categories, of course, are always your Top Artists and Top Songs, but every year Spotify shakes things up with original, brand-new features that albeit a little useless are still really fun.
All 12 different characters in Spotify Wrapped’s “Me in 2023” feature
Last year’s “Listening Personality” feature is back with a twist. Instead of being assigned a music personality like the Adventurer or the Deep Diver, in 2023, Spotify is sorting us all into 12 different characters.
- Vampire: For people who, according to the streaming platform, “listen to emotional, atmospheric” music and love the “darkness.” Whatever that means.
- Alchemist: Listeners in this category love to carefully craft their playlists, much like potion-makers in their laboratory.
- Time Traveler: Just like the name suggests, this card is reserved for fans of the oldies.
- Cyclops: Spotify will assign you this character if you’re “loyal and devoted” to a specific genre. Does Nintendocore count? Just asking for a friend.
- Luminary: For the enjoyers of “light, upbeat music.”
- Mastermind: No, this is not a specific card reserved for Taylor Swift fans. It’s actually for those who listen to an array of different genres. Everyone has that one friend who’s just as into K-pop as they are into Heavy Metal.
- Roboticist: According to Spotify this card is for the users who let the platform’s “clever algorithms work their magic.”
- Shapeshifter: This card goes out to the hyper-fixated who cannot stop listening to one artist, until a new one finally manages to take over.
- Collector: For the listeners who stick to their own playlists and don’t care much about what the algorithm has to offer.
- Hunter: Spotify assigns this card to those who “are always searching for new favorites,” but really it’s all about those of us who skip more songs than we actually play.
- Fanatic: If you relate to the sentence “Your top artist makes up more than a third of your listening” this one is for you (I’m honestly surprised I got “Vampire” and not this one).
- Hypnotist: For people who “play albums all the way through” AKA the card we all wish we’d been cool enough to land.
Sound Town
This personalized feature is a bit odd but frankly fascinating. Spotify will reveal which city, however big or small, in the entire world had the biggest demographic with the same listening habits as you. Let me just say that the people in Davis, USA, have excellent taste in music.
Familiar features with brand-new designs
The news doesn’t end with just fresh features. The same old trusted features also got a makeover. This year, your Top 5 Genres will be presented in a sandwich graphic where your top genre will take up the most space. Whether that’s bacon, cheese, or eggs for you is no one’s business and we respect it.
Top 5 Artists received an update as well. Last year you got to know which song you played the most on a given day, which was a bit awkward for people who went through break-ups or, worse, situationships. Well, this year, thankfully, Spotify is only telling you what month you listened to each of your Top 5 favorite musicians the most. This feature is especially fun for concert-goers who will probably see an uptick in streams for a specific artist during the month they attended their show. My most nostalgic stat was definitely Beyoncé’s dominance in June when I attended the Renaissance Tour.
“Wrapped” Feed
Finally, Spotify introduced a specific “Wrapped” section on the Home screen on mobile. This way you’ll be able to find all “Wrapped”-themed playlists and special features such as “Create a Blend,” which lets you combine your end-of-year favorites with your best music buddy, and “DJ Wrapped,” an AI DJ which will play your favorite songs along with “commentary about your most-streamed artists, genres, and songs this year.” According to Spotify, this last experience will only be available for a week.
Your “Wrapped” feed also includes messages from your most-streamed acts, their merch, and their upcoming live events. And don’t forget, your Playlist in a Bottle is washing ashore as soon as January.
