‘It is what it is’: My thoughts on this year’s Spotify Wrapped top artists and snubs

Spotify released its 2025 Wrapped, and I was certainly surprised by who took the crown in some of the categories.

As someone who has watched Taylor Swift’s success explode over the last couple of years, I was surprised she wasn’t the top artist on Spotify this year. She broke records everywhere she went, so I find it hard to believe that another artist could squeeze ahead of her to the top.

If anyone could beat her to be the streaming platform’s artist of the year, I thought it would be Sabrina Carpenter or Lady Gaga.

So when I saw Bad Bunny clinch the spot, my first thought was “I don’t really know who Bad Bunny is, so why would he be the top artist on Spotify?”

Yet he had 19.8 billion streams on Spotify this year, which is interesting.

Bad Bunny dethroned Swift from the top global artist title, which she has held for the last two years — and it does not make sense.

Bad Bunny should be in the top 10, maybe even lower on the list. I haven’t even heard one song of his on the radio.

His album,  DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, also took the crown for top global album of the year, which again, truly surprised me. I thought Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet would have taken the crown this year, considering she has gained superstar status in such a short amount of time.

Is Carpenter destined to be the next Taylor Swift? We will likely find out in the future.

As for Swift, she is a global icon in her own right, and it surprises me that she does not take the No. 1 spot in every music category she is eligible for. Swift, however, is the top artist in the U.S., while Bad Bunny is fifth, so maybe she is not as popular in the other countries as we thought.

“Die With A Smile” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars took home the top global song — and I can happily agree with Spotify for this category. I heard the song on the radio at least 10 times a day, no exaggeration.

This collaboration was exceptional. On their own, their music is incredible, but together, nothing beats it! Their song has some of the catchiest lyrics people can relate to. Everyone has been in love at some point in their lives, so this record is one that a lot of people like to belt out in the car.

As for podcasts, I’ve never heard of The Joe Rogan Experience, so I can’t say it doesn’t deserve to be the top podcast of the year on Spotify, but I did expect Call Her Daddy to be higher on the list. Call Her Daddy came in fourth, behind The Mel Robbins Podcast.

Call Her Daddy featured some very famous guests this year, including Khloé Kardashian and Cardi B. I watched most of the 2025 episodes — and I can tell you Alex Cooper really took the time and energy to make this podcast fun, relatable, and engaging.

I wish Call Her Daddy earned the crown this year for top podcast, but, who knows, it may in 2026.

I give this year’s Spotify Wrapped list a 6/10 score. I would have liked to see Swift top some of the categories, but it is what it is.

Maybe we will see an unexpected artist make their way onto next year’s list. I guess we will have to wait another year!