Spotify Wrapped reveals top songs and podcasts in Australia in 2023
Spotify listeners are opening the app to learn about their 2023 listening habits in the annual Wrapped slideshow, which begins with a key question for music fans: ‘How did your tastes stack up?’
Once upon a time, the particulars of your music listening habits were restricted to the vinyl records stacked next to your home stereo, or the CDs and cassettes scattered inside your car.
Today, the world’s most popular streaming service encourages – nay, practically begs – its millions of global users to broadcast their music tastes at the end of each year.
Spotify Wrapped has become an annual institution, as the Sweden-based technology company has successfully trained a generation of music fans to share screenshots of the top artists, songs, albums and podcasts that defined their listening year.
On Thursday, Australian time, Spotify users opened the app to see what surprises lay in store, as the Wrapped slideshow begins by asking that all-important question for music fans: “How did your tastes stack up?”
As well, the company revealed the treasure trove of data it logs from 574 million listeners worldwide.
Its Wrapped campaign shows that US pop singer-songwriter Taylor Swift was the most-streamed artist on the planet this year, with the 33-year-old racking up more than 26.1 billion streams since January 1.
Swift’s ascendance is unsurprising, thanks to a series of album releases – including both new material in 2022’s Midnights, and re-records of earlier works including her fifth album, titled 1989 – and a record-breaking Eras tour, which will visit Australia in February.
Swift was also the most-streamed artist in Australia, ahead of Canadian hip-hop artist Drake, Canadian pop/R&B performer The Weeknd, British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran and country artist Morgan Wallen.
Spotify’s data showed that the most-streamed Australian artist was one whose audience skews younger: children’s group The Wiggles rated No.1, followed by hip-hop artist The Kid Laroi, indie pop singer-songwriter Vance Joy, electronic musician Flume and veteran hard rockers AC/DC.
Australia’s most-streamed songs were Flowers by Miley Cyrus, Last Night by Morgan Wallen, Kill Bill by SZA, Boy’s a Liar Pt2 by PinkPantheress and Ice Spice, As It Was by Harry Styles.
Among local acts, the most-streamed song was not a new one: Riptide, the ukulele-led single by Vance Joy, which the Melbourne singer-songwriter released in 2013.
In the No.2 spot was Stay by The Kid Laroi featuring Justin Bieber, followed by How Do I Say Goodbye by Dean Lewis, Love Again by The Kid Laroi, and Say Nothing by Flume featuring May-A, which also topped the Triple J Hottest 100 in January.
Among podcasts, the top performer globally was The Joe Rogan Experience, the US comedian’s long-form interview show, for which Spotify reportedly paid about US$200m in an exclusive licensing deal in 2020.
Rogan’s show also ranked No.1 in Australia, followed by Call Her Daddy, Huberman Lab, Casefile True Crime and The Inspired Unemployed.
In a first, the Wrapped feed included video messages recorded by about 40,000 artists – so if your most-streamed performer was someone like Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, Dolly Parton or Queens of the Stone Age, you’ll get a special thanks from them directly.
How seriously you take all of this is entirely up to the individual. But Spotify’s data is fascinating, and given the millions of Wrapped-related screenshots, videos and messages that are shared on social media and in group chats at this time each year, it’s inarguable that Spotify has smartly made itself a central pillar of the music business by asking its users how their tastes stack up.
If you’re a Spotify user, you can access your personalised Wrapped wrap-up here.
Spotify 2023 Wrapped Global Top Lists
Most-Streamed Artists Globally
- Taylor Swift
- Bad Bunny
- The Weeknd
- Drake
- Peso Pluma
- Feid
- Travis Scott
- SZA
- Karol G
- Lana Del Rey
Most-Streamed Songs Globally
- Flowers by Miley Cyrus
- Kill Bill by SZA
- As It Was by Harry Styles
- Seven (feat. Latto) (Explicit Ver.) by Jung Kook, Latto
- Ella Baila Sola by Eslabon Armado, Peso Pluma
Most-Streamed Albums Globally
- Un Verano Sin Ti by Bad Bunny
- Midnights by Taylor Swift
- SOS by SZA
- Starboy by The Weeknd
- Manana Sera Bonito by Karol G
Top Podcasts Globally
- The Joe Rogan Experience
- Call Her Daddy
- Huberman Lab
- anything goes with emma chamberlain
- On Purpose with Jay Shetty
- Crime Junkie
- This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
- Serial Killers
- The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
- TED Talks Daily
- Relatos de la Noche
- Caso 63
- Psicologia Al Desnudo | @psi.mammoliti
- The Daily
- Lex Fridman Podcast
- Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
- El Podcast de Marian Rojas Estapé
- Gemischtes Hack
- The Psychology of your 20s
- Stuff You Should Know
- SmartLess
- La Cotorrisa
- Se Regalan Dudas
- The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast
- Conspiracy Theories
Top Sports Podcasts Globally
- New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce (US)
- Pardon My Take (US)
- The Bill Simmons Podcast (US)
- Fozcast – The Ben Foster Podcast (UK)
- Fantasy Footballers – Fantasy Football Podcast (US)
Spotify 2023 Wrapped Australia Top Lists
Australia Most-Streamed Artists
- Taylor Swift
- Drake
- The Weeknd
- Ed Sheeran
- Morgan Wallen
Australia Most-Streamed Local Artists
- The Wiggles
- The Kid LAROI
- Vance Joy
- Flume
- AC/DC
Australia Most-Streamed Songs
- Flowers by Miley Cyrus
- Last Night by Morgan Wallen
- Kill Bill by SZA
- Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2 by PinkPantheress and Ice Spice
- As It Was by Harry Styles
Australia Most-Streamed Local Songs
- Riptide by Vance Joy
- Stay (with Justin Bieber) by The Kid Laroi
- How Do I Say Goodbye by Dean Lewis
- Love Again by The Kid Laroi
- Say Nothing (feat. May-A) by Flume
Australia Most-Streamed Albums
- One Thing At A Time by Morgan Wallen
- Midnights by Taylor Swift
- SOS by SZA
- Harry’s House by Harry Styles
- Starboy by The Weeknd
Top Podcasts in Australia
- The Joe Rogan Experience
- Call Her Daddy
- Huberman Lab
- Casefile True Crime
- The Inspired Unemployed