If 2020 was the year that flipped the world on its head, 2021 was the year that we got used to seeing things upside down. With “normal” thrown out the window, we embraced the unknown and championed all of the things that make each of us unique.
Spotify’s 2021 Wrapped is a celebration of this — the millions of weird and wonderful ways to listen and live in a world that continues to keep us on our toes.
Spotify is today unveiling its annual 2021 Wrapped campaign and personalized user experience as well as the list of top artists, albums, songs, playlists and podcasts that helped soundtrack the year for users in India and across the world.
The brand campaign will run across traditional and digital OOH, connected TV, online video, social media, web and the Spotify app in 33 markets worldwide (the app experience will be available to users in over 100 markets). In India, the campaign centers around the theme of ‘totally normal for 2021’, and includes traditional TV advertisements as well.
So, how did India listen this year? Here’s what Spotify saw:
Top Lists – India
Music
Keeping steady at #1 from 2020, Arijit Singh remains the most streamed artist
Other top artists: Pritam, A. R. Rahman, BTS, Tanishk Bagchi, Shreya Ghoshal, Jubin Nautiyal, Neha Kakkar, Anirudh Ravichander and Vishal-Shekhar
No guesses for the most streamed song of 2021 – Raataan Lambiyan `by Asees Kaur, Jubin Nautiyal, Tanishk Bagchi
Other top songs:
Ranjha by Jasleen Royal, B Praak, Anvita Dutt
Brown Munde by AP Dhillon, Gminxr, Gurinder Gill, Shinda Kahlon
STAY (with Justin Bieber) by The Kid LAROI, Justin Bieber
Lut Gaye by Jubin Nautiyal, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Manoj Muntashir
Butter by BTS
Agar Tum Saath Ho by Alka Yagnik, Arijit Singh, A.R. Rahman, Irshad Kamil
Tu Aake Dekhle by King, Arpan Kumar
Shayad by Pritam, Irshad Kamil
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 結 ‘Answer’, Love Aaj Kal, Justice, BE, MAP OF THE SOUL : 7, Master and Future Nostalgia. Fun fact: 3 of the top 10 albums are by BTS!
The 3 most-streamed female artists include Shreya Ghoshal, Neha Kakkar and Asees Kaur. Additionally, Asees Kaur also features as the top most streamed artist from Spotify’s EQUAL program alongside Renuka Panwar
Discovering new music on Spotify continued through 2021 as listeners grooved to fresh sounds. The top 5 genres that have seen the highest year-on-year growth in India – Concurso De Talentos Argentino, Indie Rock Italiano, Kyrgyz Hip Hop, Sinhala Indie, and Musica Ponta-Grossense. Who would’ve thought!
Wondering what to stream on Spotify? Top Hits Hindi, the most-streamed playlist in India this year with 636k followers, nearly double from the previous year, when this playlist was still at #1. New Music Punjabi, Punjabi 101, Today’s Top Hits and This Is BTS comprise the remaining top 4 most streamed playlists
Podcasts
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
Similar to last year, 50% of the top 10 podcasts consumed are in fact Originals from Spotify
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 Kolkata where PURIJAGANNADH (Telugu), Naallanaa Murukku – The RJ Balaji Podcast (Tamil) and Sunday Suspense (Bengali) take the lead, respectively
Curious about the most popular podcast episodes this year? Here goes: How I met Triggered Insaan! (The Mythpat Podcast), Mahabharata Episode 1: Beginnings (The Stories of Mahabharata), Chaliye shuru karte hai and Pros and Cons of being a Youtuber with Slayy Point (The Mythpat Podcast), Ep 8 – Ye Na Thi Hamari Qismat (Unconventional Ghalib), Shlok 1 (Srimad Bhagavad-Gita Adhyaya 1), Welcome back, RJ Balaji – Naallanaa Murukku (Naallanaa Murukku – The RJ Balaji Podcast), Childhood games with Urmila (The Mythpat Podcast), Episode 1: Kahani Mere Bachpan Ki (Virus 2062 with Ali Fazal & Richa Chadha), and The Pursuit of Happiness (Naallanaa Murukku – The RJ Balaji Podcast)
4 of the top 10 most streamed episodes are from The Mythpat Podcast
7 of the top 10 most streamed episodes are from Spotify Originals
Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Jaipur feature among the top 10 cities that stream podcasts
Check out the top lists for global Wrapped, here.
EXPERIENCING YOUR OWN WRAPPED 2021 THROUGH EXCITING NEW FEATURES
And just like 2021, this year’s Wrapped experience is full of the expected and unexpected with fan-favourite experiences mixed with surprising new ones that connect fans with each other and their favourite creators.
Eligible users can access their personalized Wrapped experience today, exclusively in the Spotify mobile app (iOS and Android). In addition to what fans love most about Wrapped, we’ve added a few new features to look out for:
New data stories to express your year in audio – Besides your top artists, genres, songs, podcasts and minutes listened, the personalized Wrapped experience includes several all-new features, including:
2021: The Movie – Your top songs paired with classic scenes from a movie that’s all about you.
Your Audio Aura – We worked with an aura expert to visualize 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. We’ll display several statements about your listening this year, and you’ll have to guess which are true.
2021 Wrapped: Blend – Tapping into the new Blend feature launched this year, Spotify fans can see how their 2021 music taste matches up with friends, stream their blended playlist and share their results on social media.
Exclusive experiences for top fans – Plus, we’re adding a special surprise: Videos from one of more than 170 artists and creators thanking fans for having them in their Wrapped.
These thank you videos will appear if fans have a song by one of the participating artists in their “Your Top Songs 2021” or “Your Artists Revealed” playlists.
For the very first time, we’ll be rolling out Spotify Clips for Podcasts and fans will be able to view special thank you messages from some of their favourite podcast hosts by visiting a participating show’s page on Spotify.
Continued shareability – We know that Spotify fans love to share their Wrapped cards on social channels like Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, so go ahead!
The 2021 Wrapped hub is also now available on Spotify, which features a variety of personalized, data-driven and editorially curated content. A sample of what you can find in the 2021 Wrapped hub includes:
Your 2021 Wrapped – personalized music and podcast playlists, such as Your Top Songs 2021 and Your Artists Revealed.
Top Tracks & Artists of 2021 – Data-driven playlists that feature music from the top artists globally and in your local market.
Best New Podcasts of 2021 – Data-driven selection of new podcasts from inspiring creators that are pushing boundaries.
Best Episodes of 2021 – Curated selection of top podcast episodes throughout the year.
Spotify has also rolled out its Wrapped creator experience for podcasters and artists. With access to their own individualized Wrapped microsite experience, creators can dive into all the ways in which their fans listened this year through Spotify for Artists and Spotify for Podcasters.