Taylor Swift Takeover? SLHS Students Favor One Artist

The holiday season brings forth many exciting things, such as fresh snow, long breaks, and quality time with family and friends. Among these things is Spotify Wrapped. Every December, Spotify users look forward to seeing their most listened to songs, genres, and artists. 

Eighteen seniors, twenty-one juniors, eighteen sophomores, sixteen freshmen, and two staff members filled out a survey in regards to their Spotify Wrapped this year, and there were many things that they loved about it. 

Some students loved seeing it to admire how their taste evolved throughout the year. Luke Roller stated, “I enjoy the progress it shows me and how far my music taste has come. It is constantly adapting, and it’s awesome to see that visually.” Others, such as Mrs. Crawford, look forward to the social aspect of it. She said, “It’s fun to compare lists with friends at the end of every year!” Others simply like it because of their connection to music. Maxim Chalupa stated, “Since music is so important to me, I really value the ability to look back over my year, see my Wrapped, and remember how music makes my year.”

With seventy-five people being surveyed, there were fifty different artists who came out as someone’s number one. BTS, Frank Ocean, Drake and Harry Styles all had two people report them as their number one; four people even admitted to having Kanye as their Top Artist this year. But, there was one artist that stood out among all the rest as having the biggest fan base at Spring Lake: Taylor Swift. 

Out of the seventy-five surveyed, thirteen people reported Taylor Swift as their Top Artist in 2022. This makes up 17% of people that filled out the survey. Nine people had a Taylor Swift song as their most listened to song this year. Lillian Zuelke stated, “I like being able to see how much time I spend on nothing but Taylor Swift,” in regards to how she felt about Spotify Wrapped. 

It would be easy to assume that these high numbers are a result of the pop singer’s recent release of her new album. But, only one person reported a song from Midnights as their number one song this year, and the album was only released a few months ago. The other songs were on evermore, folklore, and 1989  – evermore and folklore both being released in 2020, and 1989 released way back in 2014. Somehow, Swift has collected a large, somewhat cultish fanbase over the years that still enjoy her old music along with songs she has just released.

Overall, whether Swifites or not, Spring Lake students simply love Spotify Wrapped! Hannah Ernzer puts it well, stating, “I really love to see the amount of minutes I spent listening to music because it’s such a huge part of my life. In general it is also a unique and fun way to review your music throughout the year.” We all can’t wait to keep listening to music and get our Spotify Wrapped next year!