It turns out none of us are as unique as we thought. Photo: Getty / TND
Spotify has released its annual personalised recap of the music that got us through the year from hell – and some of the most streamed artists might surprise you.
The list of most streamed Australian artists featured many names you’d expect, including Hilltop Hoods and Flume, who took out first and second place.
Tones And I, whose song Dance Monkey was also the second most-streamed song in the world, and pop-punk band 5 Seconds of Summer took out third and fifth place in the most streamed Australian artists.
But it was The Wiggles who appeared between them at No.4 that had Australians quietly smiling to themselves.
Parents of young children who have listened to the entire Wiggles discography many times over were neither amused nor surprised.
Though many of us haven’t seen a dance floor in months, The Weeknd’s wildly popular, 1980s-inspired dance track, Blinding Lights, still dominated and was the most widely streamed song in the world in 2020.
The album, After Hours, that blessed us with the synth-heavy ear-worm, was the second most streamed album globally, behind only Bad Bunny’s YHLQMDLG.
Post Malone’s album Hollywood’s Bleeding came in third, while the king of masculinity himself, Mr Harry Styles, and British singer Duo Lipa came in fourth and fifth with their respective albums, Fine Line and Future Nostalgia.
The Weeknd, who was the fifth most streamed artist in Australia, was also the fifth most streamed artist in the world behind Bad Bunny, Drake, J Balvin and Juice WRLD.
News of The Weeknd’s music milestones comes just days after he called the Grammys out for snubbing him, accusing judges of corruption.
Green-haired, alternative whisper-singer, Billie Eilish, held onto her crown as the most streamed female artist for the second year in a row.
Taylor Swift came in at No.2, while pop princesses Ariana Grande, Dua Lipa and Halsey took out the rest of top spots.
Since the Spotify Wrapped results they became available in early December, social media users have been quick to share them, leading to a surge in memes poking fun at each other.
Many music aficionados have discovered their edgy and distinctive taste isn’t all that unique after all.
https://twitter.com/popcoyo/status/1333935587112460291
In fact, some have avoided sharing their results entirely. This approach is much easier than explaining why your most played song is Untouched by The Veronicas.
https://twitter.com/darktublerone/status/1334376228149608448
The Australian Federal Police came out swinging, reminding us that nobody cares about us and our basic music taste.
It’s a safe bet that anyone who is notably silent probably spent the greater part of 2020 complaining about the state of modern pop music, only to discover it at the top of their most streamed genres list.
how am i supposed to fuel my individuality complex when my top genre on my spotify wrapped is pop.
— maia (@mxmtoon) December 3, 2020
Others found out they had spent a significant portion of their year pumping the tunes and avoiding social interactions.
spent 94.5 days with Spotify on (25.9% of this year) which goes to show how i spent the entirety of my life this year with a headset on… #SpotifyWrapped pic.twitter.com/4tFyCj9OJx
— kai (@kaixye) December 2, 2020
Some of us have enjoyed snooping through our friends’ lists only to find some hidden gems and embarrassing additions.
Me looking at everyone’s Spotify Wrapped finding new songs to add to my playlists pic.twitter.com/vCvclu9tqi
— Cam the Man (@camdigitydawg) December 2, 2020
And the rest of us learned paying for Spotify Premium only to listen to the same five songs on repeat might have been a financial oversight.
me paying 5 dollars a month to listen to the same 5 songs on spotify for a year pic.twitter.com/rumW6iuQe1
— Pearl Clan | Lillie Ver.Ka 🏳️⚧️ (@heat__end) December 2, 2020