Spotify 2021 Wrapped Trend, nostalgia or both?

From The Weeknd's 'Save your tears' to Taylor Swift's 'All too well', my playlist has been on a massive roller coaster ride, just like my life. 

If you have been active on social media for the last few days, you must have caught up with the latest Spotify trend - Spotify 2021 Wrapped.

Ever since Spotify was officially launched in Bangladesh on 23 February, music enthusiasts suddenly had an outlet to express their love for music on social media and the music streaming app quickly picked up popularity. 

On 1 December, Spotify unveiled this temporary feature, which shows both Spotify users and creators a variety of personalised, data-driven and editorially curated content.

Spotify Wrapped has remained an annual feature of the music streaming app since 2016, which shows you an array of interesting data about your music listening behaviors on the app about your top songs, artists, genres, podcasts, total minutes streamed and more.

"I was shocked and weirdly proud of myself when Spotify showed me the shift in my playlist, which mirrored the changes I accepted with time," said Nabiha Bashar, a fresh graduate of North South University.

In addition to your personal recap, this year's Spotify Wrapped experience includes some interesting new features as well.

2021: The Movie 

This feature coordinates three of your top songs with movie scenes - 'the opening credits theme', 'the song playing as you proclaim your love in the rain' and 'the song playing as you face-off against your rival dance crew'.

Your Audio Aura 

Here, Spotify reveals your audio aura based on your top two music moods and the moods are represented by a colour-changing animation on your phone's screen.

Playing Cards

This is an interactive, data-based game that you can play and share with your friends where you have to correctly guess the lie amongst two truths about your music listening behaviour.

2021 Wrapped Blend 

Tapping into the new Blend feature launched this year, Spotify fans can now see how their 2021 music taste matches up with their friends, stream their blended playlist and share the results on social media.

'Wrapped' wrapped

The songs you have listened to are a reflection of you. They are the silent witnesses of your 2021 musical journey, making each category special in its own way.

"Spotify let me know that I listened to 128 different genres and 1,307 artists this year. Sounds crazy, right? Even though I don't know half the names of the artists, I know that I heard their music and surely connected with some of it on a spiritual level," said Subah Tarannum.

Undoubtedly, Spotify Wrapped has redefined the role of music in Tarannum's life and to her, music is the best coping mechanism.

"Spotify hasn't revealed something to me that I wasn't aware of. I know that my music taste is diverse and I spend a good amount of time listening to various artists and songs. But the accuracy of the data, the level of personalization and flashbacks from the beginning of the year made me feel more special," she added.

Spotify is also rolling out 'Wrapped' experience for podcasters and artists. Creators will be able to explore all the ways their fans listened to their music this year through individualised 'Wrapped' microsite experience.

Darimi Barshat, an emerging artist, shared her happy Spotify Wrapped experience with the correspondent, "My first track 'You Got Me' was released on 7 October. It has only been two months but the song has been streamed for 21.2 hours, which was quite unexpected for me, and that too in 16 countries."

"For an aspiring artist like myself, getting access to such stats means a lot. I'm genuinely grateful to Spotify," she added.

According to Barshat, the statistics shown by Spotify Wrapped this year is much more informative and accurate than YouTube. And for creators, this is a thrilling year-end gift.