Lancaster Uni’s definitive Spotify Wrapped 2021

It’s December! Time of deadlines, flat Christmas dinners gone wrong, and most importantly, Spotify Wrapped. In what felt like a bigger event than Christmas itself, Spotify delivered everyone their Wrapped on a quiet evening last Wednesday and the internet subsequently exploded.

Just in case you’re not sick of seeing your mates’ Wrapped on their Instagram stories, we’ve compiled as many Lancaster students’ Wrapped as we could to produce the ultimate Lancaster Wrapped, and find out what Lancs students are really listening to as they sit on the top floor of the 100.

Unfortunately, we did find an Ed Sheeran fan, so please be warned.

The artists

It might not come as a surprise to anyone to find that Taylor Swift was Lancaster’s favourite artist this year by a huge margin. This is to be expected in a university with a huge Taylor Swift society and easy access to Taylor’s beloved Lake District. And with Taylor releasing three albums within a year, there was plenty to listen to.

We reached out to SwiftSoc to see what they had to say, and they said: “Why are you surprised?! She’s literally Taylor Swift. Swiftie presence in Lancaster is huge. Honestly, we think we all feel a connection to folklore and evermore because we are so close to the location that inspired Taylor.”

Second-year Eleanor managed to have their top songs made up entirely of Taylor Swift’s Long Pond Studio Sessions

Coming in second, by another huge margin, was self-proclaimed Swiftie Olivia Rodrigo, who dropped her debut album at the beginning of 2021. You’re lying to yourself if you haven’t listened to “drivers license” at least 50 times this year (HE SAID FOREVER BUT SHE DRIVES ALONE PAST HIS STREET). Brb, crying.

Coming in after Olivia was Doja Cat, who’s had more viral songs this year than I’ve had completed assignments; followed by Tyler, The Creator, and Lil Nas X. With honourable mentions going to runners-up One Direction (we know you miss year eight), Shawn Mendes, and Bo Burnham.

The songs

If Lancaster Wrapped’s artist was Taylor Swift’s moment, then its song is most definitely Olivia Rodrigo’s. Rodrigo steals three whole spots on the top songs of 2021, with “good 4 u” coming on top. This could be due to the impeccable music video that was released alongside it, or because Lancs students are just really, really mad at their exes – or both, we’ll never know.

good 4 u had the most Lancaster #1 spots overall

Also featured in the top songs is Ricky Montgomery’s TikTok hit “Line Without a Hook” that proves at least some people in Lancaster are in happy relationships (or are dreaming about them), and Lil Nas X’s MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name), a song that I’ve watched people go feral over in Sugar.

The genres

In a completely-expected turn of events, Lancaster University’s favourite genre of music is Dance Pop, with honourable mentions going to Indie Rock, Indie Pop, and Soundtrack. A huge shout out to the person who’s proving that they spend most of their time studying by having their top genre as Lo-Fi Beats, and another to the people who had Emo, Stomp and Holler, K-Pop, and Broadway as their top genres. Keep doing you.

@Lancs, just give them their first now

The minutes

According to our exceptionally scientific methods, Lancaster University’s average listening time this year was a respectable 40,177 minutes, which leads a person to wonder just how many of those minutes was Olivia Rodrigo’s “good 4 u”.

The honour of the most minutes of music listened to goes to second-year County student Ellie Shawcross, who amassed a whopping 153,251 minutes of listening time in 2021. We spoke to her to ask just how she managed it. She said: “I have the attention span of a rock. The music goes on when I wake up and off when I go to bed. If I’m not talking to someone I’m listening to music (most likely Taylor Swift).

Ellie’s incredibly impressive Spotify Wrapped

“In all seriousness, excepting the fact that I cannot bear silence, as an English Literature and Creative Writing student, I have to listen to music when I’m reading, writing, doing lectures… It’s all the time.”

So there you have it! Here’s Lancaster University’s definitive Spotify Wrapped roundup! Until next year!

Related articles recommended by this writer:

• Meet ‘LUSwiftSoc’: The new group of Lancs students dedicated to Taylor Swift
• 10 things Lancs students can relate to if they live with all girls
• Which Red (Taylor’s Version) song are you based on your Lancs uni college?