It’s once again officially the time of year where I expose my music taste from the last 365 days (…are you ready?). Sharing my top 100 most listened to songs of the year (according to Spotify Wrapped) has become a bit of a tradition here on F O and so, despite the chaotic year that we’ve all had, I thought I’d keep with traditions and share my playlist for 2020. If for any reason I’ve managed to fool any of you into thinking that I might be cool (lets be real, that’s highly unlikely) then you’re definitely not going to be thinking that after seeing my top 100 songs of 2020…
My Top 100 Most Listened To Songs of 2020
I’ve got say that there’s some really rogue songs in this years playlist. I’m not going to lie and pretend that I have no recollection of listening to them because, if they made their way into my top 100 then obviously I listened to them a lot. But, do you ever look at your most listened to songs of the year and think ‘wow, did I really listen to that song THAT MUCH?’. Anyway, I’ll analyse the list in a second…first lets see what’s actually on there.
…told you there were some strange ones on there this year. Bananza (Belly Dancer) by Akon?? Let’s just blame that on the 2020 madness.
My Top 100 Songs of 2020: Analysing The Playlist
Okay, time for the breakdown. This year I spent a lot of time listening to albums on repeat, rather than just a few songs here and there. So it’s no surprise to me that so many songs from the same albums made it on the list. But I did find that a lot of the songs on there were tracks that I listened to on repeat at the beginning of the year and then didn’t really touch for the rest of the year. Take Cherry by Harry Styles for example. Just from the name alone I have absolutely no idea how the song goes, but at one point in the year I must’ve listened to it on repeat. So strange!
Another thing that I found was that a lot of the songs on the list were from my workout playlist. I don’t know about any of you but I have a workout playlist of music that I pretty much only listen to when I’m in the gym. It’s rare that I’ll actually listen to any of the songs on there in my day-to-day life. So I’ve ended up with loads of upbeat pop tracks on the playlist (which, tbh I’m hardly mad about).
Analysing The Playlist: My Favourites
I think when it comes to finding out what our most listened to songs of the year are we all have a few songs in mind that we know will definitely be on our playlists. Songs that you know for sure you’ve listened to on repeat throughout the year. For me they were Soul Control by Jessie Ware, Nothing Revealed/Everything Denied by The 1975, After The Love Has Gone by Earth, Wind & Fire, and I Wanna Be Your Lover by Prince.
Looking back at the list now though, there were a few tracks that I didn’t necessarily know would be on there but am glad to see that they made it on the list. Aretha Franklin’s Day Dreaming was one of them. It’s a track that I added to my ‘Lockdown Walking’ playlist, which is a playlist literally just for when I go on walks during lockdown (if any of you want the playlist then let me know). And it’s just such a calming and soulful song. Aretha at her best for sure.
Analysing The Playlist: Any Overlaps With Previous Years?
Onto possibly my favourite thing about this annual series…the overlaps. I always find it so fascinating to see if there are any overlaps with previous playlists and this year there were a few of them. I’ll start with my 2019 overlaps first. Kicking them off are a few 5SOS tracks, Easier and Teeth. Both were released as singles last year before being featured on their 2020 album CALM. I had CALM on repeat when it came out back in March so it’s no surprise to see that a couple of tracks from the album made it onto the playlist as well as overlapping with 2019. Then there were a few Jonas Brothers songs as well as Harry Styles’ Lights Up and Miley Cyrus’ Mother’s Daughter (a classic workout song of mine).
As for 2018 overlaps, I only spotted the one track which was That’s What I Like by Bruno Mars. Right at the end of 2020 I rediscovered Bruno Mars’ 2016 album 24K Magic and went through a bit of a ‘listening-on-repeat’ phase with it, which explains That’s What I Like ending up on the 2020 list.
My Top 100 Songs of 2020: Special Mentions
To finish off I’ve got a few little special song/artist/album mentions. Firstly, can we all just take a sec to appreciate the fact that, despite the album only coming out in November, five tracks from Kylie’s album DISCO (2020) made it into my top 100 songs. My commitment to the queen of pop has become so real since I featured her in The Legend Slot. Secondly, I’m loving that Burna Boy’s album Twice As Tall (2020) also made a huge feature in this years top 100. 7 songs made it on there! I absolutely loved this album, and it’s clear to see from just how many tracks made it onto the playlist.
Anyway, I’ll end it there before I end up giving you a full analysis of every song on the playlist. But before you head off make sure to let me know some of the songs that were on your 2020 top 100 list. Did you have any surprises on there? Anything to rival Akon’s Bananza? I want to know!
Female Original
Liked this? Then you’ll love this: 5 Ways To Find New Music (When You’re Stuck In A Music Rut).
I was just pleased that my taste evolved this year! Even with a particular genre, I moved past music I used to listen to for years and finally found new artists and better sounds. I’m an apple music user, so my wrap up looked different, but it was still fun to reminisce :’)
Expanding my knowledge of music is one of my favourite things to do so it’s great to hear that you’re happy with how your taste has evolved in 2020! Ahh yes, I remember you mentioning that you were an Apple Music user – I know they do something similar to Spotify but I wasn’t sure exactly what kind of ’round up’ they did x
it was essentially one long playlist based off of my top listens in 2020, and it’s actually still updating weekly, so i’m getting a decent feel for what i listened to the most!
Oh that’s cool!
You’ve got some fantastic choices here, and I love that you’ve shared your playlist and then analysed it! I think my playlist would be very pop-focused as I love songs that make me feel happy- and my top spotify artist this year was Taylor Swift, of course! Thanks for sharing x
Thanks so much! Both of Taylor Swift’s albums have been absolutely incredible! x
SUch a great play list! I spotted some that are already on mine and checked some more out! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed reading and listening 🙂 x
I love how you mixed older music with younger music in this playlist! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much! I definitely have a bit of an eclectic music taste haha x
Some really fab songs on here! You have inspired me to look at my top songs 🙂
Thanks so much! 🙂
I recently burned myself a music CD with twenty of my favorite songs to listen to while I work out! Music really lifts my mood and gets me motivated to move.
Watermelon Sugar is one of my top listened to this year too! After that, I loved Kings and Queens by Ava Max. I See Fire by Ed Sherran and The Last Goodbye by Billy Boyd are two songs I always listen to addictively; they are both ending credits to the final two Hobbit movies and I love the soulful tunes.
Thanks so much for sharing this!
Oooh I love that! Music definitely has the same affect on me. Watermelon Sugar is such a tune! Thanks for sharing a few of your most listened to tracks of 2020 as well x
Great set of songs, a lovely listening year for you! I definitely had some surprises in there too, a couple of soundtracks popped up that I had forgotten I’d listened to 😂
Anika | chaptersofmay.com
Thanks so much! Haha love that – the surprises are definitely what makes the playlist though aren’t they 🙂 x
I have listened to Kylie’s album non-stop since it came out – it is such a bop and I absolutely love it! Definitely deserves to be in the top 100 songs!
Tash – A Girl with a View
DISCO is just such an amazing album isn’t it! I’m not even surprised that so many songs from the album made it into my top 100 – I had it on repeat as soon as it came out x
Merry Christmas!!
I love that your taste in music is totally different than mine. It gives a good alternative to the tunes I love. I have not listened to Miley Cyrus for quite a while! Love that you have a huge diverse range of songs as well. Pretty cool when you listen to the same songs for years. This year, I was a huge fan of Pop Smoke. His album that was produced by 50 Cent was great. I also found myself going back to a 2009 song by Gucci Mane LOL.
Thank you! I always find it fun to find out what music people who have a completely different music taste to me are listening to as well. Miley Cyrus’ new album has some really great tunes on it – definitely worth a listen. Thanks for sharing some of your favourite tunes from this year 🙂 x
One thing I can take from this year is that 2020 allowed me to discover new artists and songs during the lockdown and it’s been nice to listen to music other than what is in the charts! I absolutely adore Ariana Grande’s new album, my favourite songs from there are POV, Safety Net and My Hair. One artist I discovered this year is Anja Kotar, her song House Party pretty much sums up my life in lockdown! A great playlist of songs Faye! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
I think that’s been the case for a lot of us tbh which is amazing! Ariana Grande’s new album is incredible isn’t it. I’ve had it on repeat x
I always find it fascinating going through my Spotify wrapped up breakdown. Apparently, this year I was listening to a lot more country than I had in years past (it’s my favourite camping playlist) and I was OBSESSED with the group Halestorm! I couldn’t believe how many different Halestorm songs made it onto my top 100… Although I will admit, there are few artists that can get me pumped up while doing housework or plugging away at things like pin creation the way that Halestorm can lol
Oooh I love the variety of music you mentioned! Hahaha sounds like the ultimate ‘pin-bossing’ band x
Nice list of songs! Funny a lot were from your workout list.
Thank you! It’s crazy how many of my workout songs made it on there x
I seriously need to download Spotify because Apple Music doesn’t have anything like this and I’m super curious as to what I listened to most this year. Btw I’m diggin the Harry Styles selections (lowkey Harry fan over here bahaha). Thank you for sharing!
I don’t know where I’d be without Spotify haha! Glad you’re on board with the Harry Styles tunes…who isn’t a fan?! x
I love this! Always trying to add to my playlists and keep diversifying.
Thank you! I’m the same x
You have no idea how much I was looking forward to this. I fully relate to the workout playlist! I think 30 of my top 40 songs were my favourites from my running playlist because I don’t update it that often and it’s by far my most listened to playlist! I had a lot of repeat artists in mine this year too as I went through a really strong phase in spring where I essentially was only listening to 4/5 albums on repeat. I’m quite shocked I didn’t see more Legends Slot inspired additions in here! x
Sophie
Aww thanks Sophie! I love sharing my top 100 songs every year, even if it does just expose my chaotic taste in music haha, so it means a lot that you enjoy reading the posts! I’m exactly the same when it comes to my workout playlist, I hardly ever both to update it. I was pretty shocked that there weren’t more Legend Slot songs in there as well! But I guess I listen to a lot of songs by the artists in the series rather than listening to the same songs over and over. I ended up with 4 Legend Slot artists in my top 5 though! x
Love the Spotify End of Year Wrap Up! Always intriguing to see what random songs have made it into my Top 100. You’ve got some great tracks on there. Mine was a pretty eclectic mix – anything from Taylor Swift to My Chemical Romance, or from the Wicked soundtrack to Enter Shikari.
Apparently Russian Pop has snuck in to my Top 5 genres too – it’s become a bit of a guilty pleasure.
It’s a lot of fun to look back on isn’t it! Russian Pop is a rogue one but I love that it made it into your top 5 haha 🙂
https://www.femaleoriginal.com
I used to think I had variety but when I looked at mine it was all the latest pop and tiktok music haha I love your mix! You’ve got a little old and a little new which is the perfect mix. xo
http://www.lynnmumbingmejia.com
Who doesn’t love a bit of pop! Thanks so much 🙂 x
I hadn’t actually looked at my top 100, just my top played list! Mine had a lot of Taylor Swift which I’m not surprised about as that all I seem to have listened to whilst working from home as i find it calming! I love how much Harry Styles and 5SOS are in your list, girl after my own heart haha.. xx
I’ve been loving Taylor Swift’s two new albums – both are incredible! Hahaha both Harry Styles and 5SOS are on my workout playlist so I listen to them all the time. I’m fully going through my fangirl phase at 23 it seems haha x
Ah nice! There are so many addictive songs that I love too!
Have a great day!
Thank you! x
what a great list! I always seem to find a few 5SOS and Harry Styles in my yearly playlist – must be universal mood sort of acts! Thanks for sharing x
Thank you! I swear 5SOS make it into my playlist ever year haha x
These are some brilliant songs, I haven’t checked out my Spotify top 100, tempted to look now lol
There are definitely some rogue ones on mine (which I kind of love haha). Oooh do it! x