An architect of the report tells all

If social media has broken the barrier between creator and consumer, allowing celebrities and influencers alike to speak directly to fans, then Spotify continues to prove itself the exception. With Spotify Wrapped – a year-end report on users’ listening habits – the streamer has taken the art of the middleman to a new level.

The highly anticipated release offers a unique user experience every year and is an annual surprise as Spotify keeps the release date secret. “Wrapped” was unveiled Wednesday, but USA TODAY got a preview of the report the day before, along with insight from one of its longtime creators.

The streaming giant with the green logo spared no expense at their annual signature event. There were lattes with the Spotify symbol engraved into the foam, perfumers who could create a scent to match your musical tastes, and personalized manicures.

Wrapped is always big, but for Sulinna Ong, Spotify’s global head of editorial, who has been working on the project for a decade, something is significantly different this year.

Women dominate the charts on Spotify Wrapped Global

This year, eight of the top 10 most-streamed albums worldwide were by women. From Karol G to Sabrina Carpenter, music listeners flocked to the singers.

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“Women in music, 2024 has been a great year,” said Ong. But it’s not just big names like Carpenter or Billie Eilish who embody the trend. Ong points to Doechii in hip-hop, as well as theatrical, imaginative indie groups like The Last Dinner Party and Lovecat.

A strong sense of concepts characterizes all top artists, says Ong. While the music certainly stands on its own, larger themes emerge that keep fans coming back.

Sabrina Carpenter, for example, draws on the classic pinup glamor of the 60s and bathes her traces in infectious sensuality. Charli XCX and her summer-defining album Brat tapped into the grunge and manic club culture of the 2000s in both aesthetics and production.

“What I see with the artists who are really connecting and having success is the world building that people are drawn to,” Ong says.

“Music is always an indicator of what’s happening in the outside world,” she adds. As society becomes louder and more demanding than ever before, there is a palpable hunger for escape.

“The escape into a world, whether it’s Charli’s world or Chappell’s world, I think that’s an important part of the experience and the reason people connect with it,” Ong explains.

Billboard Women in Music 2024:Karol G, Lainey Wilson, Tems and more on the red carpet

Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX and Chappell Roan are a “trifecta”

Ong points to the “trifecta” of Charli XCX, Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan as architects of the female-led trend, after all three released new albums this year. Their “personality-driven female pop” allowed listeners to empathize with familiar or ambitious narratives while connecting with the artists themselves.

“What these three women have in common is that they have been writing, producing and making music for years… this success may seem overnight, but it is actually the result of years of work and building their audience,” she says.

There may be a strong Venn diagram among their fandoms, but each member of the “Trifecta” has a unique style. Charli in particular brought to the fore a genuine desire for an artist to talk about the messiness of life, says Ong.

“Brat” communicated: “The fact that it’s okay to be messy, to just want to have fun, to kind of let go, there’s no perfection in that,” she said.

Move up? Completed.Women are dominating all aspects of the Grammys this year

Taylor Swift: Now, always and forever

Even as newcomers (and newly minted veterans) burst onto the scene, one thing remained constant: Taylor Swift is an unstoppable force.

Swift was the most-streamed artist worldwide and in the U.S., and her latest album, THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: THE ANTHOLOGY, was the top most-streamed album both worldwide and in the U.S.

“She’s a force all her own,” says Ong. “The Eras tour is a phenomenon.” Giving a three-hour concert in your early 30s that spans different eras and strings together one hit after another is incredible, she adds.

The fact that she was “unafraidly herself” and unashamed in front of a largely female audience helped her rise, says Ong. It turns out that an artist who speaks about heartbreak, embarrassment and the endless balancing act of American womanhood is essential.

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An architect of the report tells all

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