Spotify Wrapped 2025
By The Tiger Times Executive Team
Kat Willson - Head Editor-in-Chief
Top Song: Billy (Yeah Yeah Yeah) - Inhaler
I’m not surprised this song is my top song, purely because of the intense earworm it gave me when it came out early last year – 104 times in a year for me is a lot, especially because I almost exclusively listen to playlists.
I do have something to confess, though: Billy (Yeah Yeah Yeah) is actually my second top song… in reality, my top song is What was I made for - Sad Cat Version, which is the song sung by a cat meowing. The only reason I don’t include this as my top song is that I listened to it the entire month of June and the end of May to force myself to get my work done and stop the music. It worked, but at what cost?
Top Album: Open Wide - Inhaler
I gained an unhealthy obsession with this album last February and March, a rare thing for me. I still enjoy it to this day, and it is an album that I know 9 times out of 10 it will suit my mood/craving for music if I don’t know what to listen to.
Editor's Note: I was actually listening to it while writing this - Kat
Top Artist: Inhaler
Surprise, surprise, Inhaler is my top artist. I’m sure you could never have guessed based on my top song and album. But jokes aside, I was a tad surprised, as I hadn’t listened to them obsessively since last March, but I suppose they appear consistently enough across my playlists to be first. Also, they made up 7,960 of my 31,006 total minutes this year, so I feel like that just shows that I mostly listen to playlists.
I will say that while I was not surprised by my top artist, I was surprised by the other four in my top five, which were: Blossoms at number two, Sam Fender in third, Suki Waterhouse in fourth, and Taylor Swift in fifth.
Blossoms are a band that frequent my playlists, specifically my summer ones, but I didn’t realize I had clocked so many minutes with them during that period – this leads to my point about Taylor Swift.
I am going to do this a bit out of order, but I was SHOCKED that Taylor Swift was in my top five. I do enjoy her music, not all of it, but I do like a good few of her albums (1989 supremacy), but I simply don’t have her on many of my playlists. This brings me to my point: I wish I could have seen my top playlist as I can almost guarantee it was the playlist I play while working at summer camp, as it is almost entirely made up of Taylor Swift with some One Direction, and a few other artists the kids like (and Blossoms, I needed to expose them to some indie rock somehow).
Now let me get back on track. Sam Fender is an artist I love; I just hadn’t realized I listened to him enough for him to be in my top five. This is also due to 90% of my music consumption being through playlists. I saw him live in October in Toronto, which was an amazing experience. The crowd was bumping, and he & his band did a wonderful job of keeping us on our toes. The crowd was especially good for Toronto, as people tend to be more reserved.
Now onto the biggest surprise of my wrapped: Suki Waterhouse. I was very surprised, as while I enjoy her music, I don’t know when I last listened to her music. My assumption is that I must have had an obsession in the spring or something (May must have been Suki and the cat song for me).
Kat’s Wrapped Highlights:
I have some random comments to make re: my wrapped. My listening age is 50, something that surprised me, but I guess my Oasis summer (I saw them live in Toronto, not to brag) aged me.
Plus, I listened to 159 different genres this past year – which is something I encourage you to do as well! There are a few genres I dislike, and I think listening to a wider array of music makes one’s playlists more interesting.
Brie Goodly - Head Editor-in-Chief
Top Song: Thunder - Lana Del Rey
I would not be surprised if I was one of three Ridleians that actually listened to this song, but I’m so incredibly grateful that I’ve discovered this amazing song. Though it may not be Lana del Rey’s most popular song, that doesn’t take away from the song’s beauty. The ballady instruments immediately intrigue me every time I listen and find myself humming the song’s catchy outro. Del Rey’s lyricism really shines in this song and the featured choir ensemble perfectly complements Del Rey’s soft vocals. I believe that this song is one of a kind, and I’m proud to state that it was one of my favourite songs of the year!
Top Album: Blue Banisters - Lana Del Rey
Though it is del Rey’s least streamed album in her 8-album discography, it was my most streamed album on my Spotify profile. Whenever I’m reminded that Blue Banisters is del Rey’s least listened-to album, I usually feel disappointed because I believe that this is one of del Rey’s best pieces of work. This album arguably includes her most personal songs and each song’s soft and ballad-like melody makes this the perfect background for study sessions. I love how the album explores complex topics such as family, mental health, self-esteem, female friendships, and overcoming adversity, many topics that aren’t usually explored in many contemporary mainstream music. I would highly recommend for anyone to give this album a listen and some of my favorite songs from this album (other than “Thunder” of course!) are “If You Lie Down With Me”, “Wildflower Wildfire”, and “Living Legend”.
Top Artist: Lana Del Rey
What a surprise! Following the pattern of my top song and top album, Lana Del Rey takes the cake again for being my Top Artist. My Spotify Wrapped truly exposed how much of del Rey’s discography I listen to. Outside of Lana Del Rey, I would love to highlight the other artists I love! I’ve been a big Swiftie since I was a little kid, so it doesn't surprise me that Taylor Swift was my #2. However, a reason I believe she dropped down my Wrapped list, since she was my former #1, is because I was not a fan of her newest album (sorry Taylor!), The Life of a Showgirl. I grown to really love my #3, SZA, after the 2022 release of CTRL and Charli XCX, my #4, has been a key feature of my erging playlist after the release of her Brat album. Finally, the last artist to appear on this list was Billie Eilish, who I’ve only recently become a frequent listener of. I absolutely loved her album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, and after its release many of those songs have been featured on my study playlist.
Brie’s Wrapped Highlights:
Compared to many of my Ridley peers, I’ve actually listened to a very small amount of music, with only a humble 9,000 minutes.
In addition, Spotify claimed that the listening age was 25, which is probably explained by my love of 2010s pop music.
Safiya Ahmed - Editor-in-Chief
Top Song: I Want You - Inhaler
This is a relatively old song from Inhaler; however, it is one of my favourites. I wouldn't, however, say it IS my favourite, but I listen to so much Inhaler that it is pretty much equal opportunity as to which song would be my #1.
Top Album: Open Wide - Inhaler
I am not surprised this was my top album in the slightest. I loved this album, and it was basically the only thing I listened to once it was released until my tour date.
Top Artist: Inhaler
2025 was definitely my year of Inhaler. I listened to a lot of Inhaler in preparation for their tour, and then in the months following to remedy my post-concert depression.
Though I haven’t been listening to them as much, they definitely remain high in my rankings, however I find it difficult to pinpoint exactly where.
My second most-streamed artist was Arctic Monkeys, which also did not surprise me. Arctic Monkeys have been a long-time favourite of mine, and I am more surprised they weren’t #1. Also, both Inhaler and Arctic Monkeys are featured heavily on my longest, and most frequently played playlist, so I definitely understand why they have their spots.
My third artist was Taylor Swift. This was shocking, as I do not typically listen to Taylor at all, and if I do, it's a select 6-8 songs. None of these songs are even featured on my top songs list, so I was quite surprised she ranked this high on my list, especially above my fourth artist, Fontaines D. C.
I am very surprised Fontaines didn’t rank higher on my list, especially as I had quite the Fontaines summer and autumn. Also, my top 5 songs featured two Fontaines D. C. songs.
Finally, my fifth most streamed artist was Albert Hammond Jr. Albert Hammond Jr. is the son of Albert Hammond (the artist behind “It Never Rains in Southern California”, which you may know), and the guitarist of The Strokes. I have been an ardent fan of The Strokes for many years, and they were the band that introduced me to indie rock, so I have also deep dived into the careers of the individual band members. Albert Hammond Jr.’s solo catalogue is amazing and very underrated, and I have had difficulty finding anything else like it.
Safiya’s Wrapped Highlights:
My listening age was 78. I do stream quite a few classics, and I did see Paul McCartney in concert this past November, however I figured the somewhat contemporary artists who dominated my Wrapped would mean I’d have a slightly younger listening age. Maybe 55?
Quinn Martindale - Editor-in-Chief
Top Song: Semi-Charmed Life - Third Eye Blind
This is an older song from the 90s, but I really love it. It’s a go-to in whatever mood or activity I’m feeling that day, from just hanging out to skateboarding. It’s my favourite song from TEB and one of my favourites from the era (late 90s-early 2000s)
Top Album: Whole Lotta Red - Playboi Carti
Playboi Carti is one of my favs, and WLR is my favourite of his albums. When it came out, people didn’t like it, but to me, it’s his most unique and cutting-edge record. It came out in 2020, and I loved it then and still do now. It's really a cool record and kind of was the turning point in Carti’s career where he developed new characters and themes that pushed boundaries. It’s just a really good album with few to no skips in my opinion.
Top Artist: Deftones
I really love Deftones. I have known about them and listened to them for a while, but this year I really dove in and listened to their whole discography. They have a cool aesthetic to them, and they really go for a lot of different emotions. They are one of my favourite bands because I love their music and the kind of genre they helped create.
My second favourite artist was Playboi Carti. He is my favourite rapper because he kind of changed the genre. He was a pioneer of cloud rap, and his music isn’t generic; it's very unique and fits for a lot of occasions.
My third artist was the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. They are probably my overall favourite band because they just match my vibe the best. I love how chill and relaxed their music is, and I think they have a perfect harmony of lyrics, instrumentals and vibes.
Quinn’s Wrapped Highlights:
My listening age was 72, which is a bit odd considering I listen to relatively youthful music, but I guess my random Beatles and the Doors binges make up for it. I would say I have quite a diverse palate of music, but I definitely have my favourites. I was a part of the “grit collective,” so maybe next year I will lower my listening age a bit (Not too much).
*Editor's Note: Kat & Safiya would like to highlight that they are obsessed with live music, and that they both (coincidentally) saw Inhaler and Oasis live in 2025, but they didn’t go together or discuss these events till after the fact.
But putting that aside, we here at the Tiger Times would love to encourage people to keep an eye on their local concert venues for upcoming shows! While concert prices are crazy right now (stay tuned for the next edition of The Tiger Times…), live music is a wonderful thing to enjoy, and both Kat & Safiya have been able to see some amazing artists for very reasonable prices (not Oasis).
