Not to brag, but I was in The Weeknd’s top 1% of listeners 😌
Just like 2020, 2021 hasn’t been the easiest year for us all. But whether you were listening to Britney Spears or Linkin Park, music has helped us all get through it. And in these times, Spotify decided to keep track of what we were listening to – resulting in many active listeners being embarrassed because they found out they listened to 330 minutes of Nickelback songs in 12 months. Others managed to save their Spotify Wrapped in November before it was too late, downloading several Indie albums to put on repeat, covering up the chart hits they dance to every morning because apparently mainstream music is no longer ’trendy’. And whether you think my list is trendy or not, I gathered my top 10 most listened to songs on Spotify this year. Let’s take a look:
10. Rock Me by One Direction
Favourite lyric: Under the moonlight as we stared to the sea, the words you whispered I will always believe
As a faithful directioner, there was bound to be one song from Harry, Niall, Louis, Liam and Zayn on this list (or maybe two). This Take me home song was a great introduction to the pop-rock theme that Louis created on the Midnight Memories album, and despite it not being my favourite 1D track (or even in my top 5), it has an addictive pre-chorus that lured me into listening to it at least once a week this year.
9. Love To Lay by The Weeknd
Favourite lyric: But she told me that to love her is so crazy
If Spotify Wrapped collected my top albums of the year, Starboy would take first place merely for this song. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times daily I listened to Love To Lay upon first discovering the album (yes, I’m a new XO) but the reason it didn’t quite make the top 5 (or the top 8, for that matter) is simply because I went to Urban Outfitters and found it on Vinyl, deciding to listen to it on a record player instead.
8. Blazed by Ariana Grande ft Pharrell Williams
Favourite lyric: Yes you may have a different face, but your soul is the same inside
Sweetener is another album that would have made it to my most listened to albums of 2021 (Spotify, you really need to do this next year) and is solely responsible for Ariana Grande being my fifth most listened to artist (since I’m incapable of even just naming a non-single from any other album). Through blazed, arguably my favourite song on Sweetener, I found that Ariana and Pharrell’s voices sync perfectly and his production really does her sweetened lyrics justice.
7. Bubblegum Bitch by MARINA
Favourite lyric: Don’t care if you think I’m dumb, I don’t care at all
In early 2021, I remembered hearing a song by Marina And The Diamonds (I’m guessing it was Oh No!) on Musical.ly a few years back and decided to find some of her songs, only to realise she had changed her stage name to just MARINA. I instantly recognised Primadonna and Bubblegum Bitch and have been listening to the both of them ever since. No matter how many times I try to branch out and discover some of her other songs, I always resort back to these two great songs (especially Bubblegum Bitch) that I truly believe can never be topped.
6. Better Than Words by One Direction
Favourite lyric: I don’t know how else to sum it up, cause words ain’t good enough
Here we have yet again another 1D track. This time it’s my second favourite song from Midnight Memories (Diana being my favourite of course). What I always found fascinating about Better Than Words was that every line is a reference to a another famous song such as ’God only knows’ by The Beach Boys or ’Hips Don’t Lie’ by Shakira. On another note, I think we can all agree that this is the best One Direction song to yell at the top of your lungs whilst running at 12mph on the treadmill.
5. I Feel It Coming by Daft Punk & The Weeknd
Favourite lyric: You’ve been scared of love and what it did to you, you don’t have to run, I know what you’ve been through
Out of all the Abel songs on my playlists, I did not expect this one to be in my top 5 most listened to songs of the year, but I guess I have been listening to I Feel It Coming since 2020, making it the song that lead me to my Starboy discovery (thanks Daft Punk – you are my favourite artists that have collaborated with Abel, don’t tell Lana).
4. Wildflower by 5 Seconds Of Summer
Favourite lyric: I love it when you wear your hair down over your shoulder, cause I wanna hold ya
Wildflower was that one song this year that stayed in my playlist for a good few months before I listened to it. I added it initially because I had heard a snippet of it on a music channel, but ended up totally forgetting about it. When Wildflower finally came up on shuffle (the playlist had about 90 songs), I could not stop listening to it. At one point I’m pretty sure I just had a playlist for this song, Just My Type by The Vamps and Saint Laurent by No Rome that I would listen to every day.
3. Cool by Dua Lipa
Favourite lyric: We’ll get the heat and the thrill, gives you more than any pill
Funnily enough, Cool was my least favourite song on Future Nostalgia when I first listened to the album and did a review on my failed youtube channel. Turns out it grows on you, to say the least. However, Love Again and Boys Will Be Boys are still my favourites, with Future Nostalgia coming in at a close second.
2. Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift
Favourite lyric: And if I bleed you’ll be the last to know
I think it’s safe to say that Cruel Summer was on every Spotify user’s Spotify Wrapped this year (and last year) whether they’re a Swiftie or not. Just like how Sweetener was the sole reason for Ariana Grande being my fifth most listened to artist this year, Lover and Reputation were my sole reasons for Taylor being my fourth most listened to artist this year.
1. If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know) by The 1975
Favourite lyric: Well I found my hotel, I called up the twins, it’s seven in the morning so they won’t let me in
In case you hadn’t already noticed, I listened to this song all year and never got bored of it. In fact, I could listen to the guitar-based intro on repeat for a year and not get bored. The verses are addictive, the instrumentals are addictive, Matty Healy’s vocals are addictive. Everything about this song is addictive.
After this, you’ll definitely want to follow me on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/user/9kobs6dksic2t0fgqv02dmhzb?si=CD3rSmZhRU6iPtL8tqb-ZQ
