Welcome back to another day of Blogmas, a.k.a. “Ashley overshares on the Internet in a festive way.” And today…oh today…we’re diving into my Spotify Wrapped, the annual digital slap to the face. So far on this blog, I’ve talked a lot about books, movies, and cozy vibes but I need to be clear about something:

Music is my life force. My oxygen.

If there’s a single feeling in my body, there’s a song for it.

When I’m happy? Music.

When I’m sad? Music.

Heartbroken? MUSIC.

Confused? MUSIC.

Delulu? MUSIC BUT LOUDER.

Because of the year I had, my Spotify Wrapped looks like a musical mood board of every emotion I’ve cycled through since January. Let’s get into it.

My Total Minutes Listened: 14, 825

Spotify said, “Wow, baby…you processed some THINGS, huh?”

14,825 minutes.

That’s 10 full days of my year attached to headphones.

10 days of:

• dancing in my kitchen
• having main character moments on walks
• soundtracking my soft girl era
• plotting my villain origin story
• healing
• hyping myself up
• emotionally spiraling
• emotionally thriving

Genres I Explored: 186

Which is wild because I didn’t even know there were 186 genres. I feel like this means my listening habits make NO SENSE to the algorithm. Some poor Spotify intern is probably like:

“Why did she go from 2000s Disney Channel soundtracks to existential R & B to musical theater power ballads to Afrobeats to the Encanto soundtrack…all in 50 minutes?”

Here are my Top 5:

1. Soft Pop – This is the genre you put on when you want to heal, cry, self-soothe, and feel held by the music without fully collapsing. It’s the emotional weighted blanket of genres.
2. Musicals – Um, I don’t just listen to musicals. No. I perform them. I am never beating the musical theater nerd allegations.
3. Soundtrack – Because I apparently live my life like a cinematic event, obviously. This is also explained because I listen to a lot of instrumental soundtracks when I write (which I’m currently doing right now).
4. R & B – It’s healing, sexy, sad, and soulful. Everything the heart needs in one genre. Enough said.
5. Children’s Music – This one made me cackle. Between camp, school, classroom dance breaks, and the occasional listen to every Disney movie soundtrack EVER MADE, children’s music definitely earned its spot.

The Songs That Held Me Together

My Top 5 Songs of the year:

1. My Days – from The Notebook: The Musical
2. Wait For Me (Reprise) – from Hadestown
3. I Wanna Go Back – from The Notebook: The Musical
4. What It Sounds Like – from K-Pop Demon Hunters
5. How It’s Done – from K-Pop Demon Hunters

It’s absolutely no surprise that my Top 5 songs of the year are all from musicals/soundtracks.

I’m just gonna explain why two of these are definitely here.

Every year, I discover a new Broadway musical and make it my whole personality. 2023 was all about Six. Last year introduced me to Hadestown. This year, it was The Notebook: The Musical. The Notebook is one of my favorite romance movies of all time so needless to say when I found out there was a MUSICAL?? I immediately had to give it a listen.

My Days is a powerful song about reclaiming your power, rediscovering your voice, walking away from hurt, and being brave enough to want more. It’s sung when Allie makes her choice and the first time I heard this song, I cried like a child. This one resonated a lot with me this year.

I’m honestly surprised What It Sounds Like is only at #4 and think it’s only because this album came out in the middle of the year. This song has been my anthem for the last half of the year. “I broke into a million pieces and I can’t go back/But now I’m seeing all the beauty in the broken glass…” means…a lot. In a way, I did break this year for reasons I won’t get into just yet, but in breaking, I became someone new. This is my 2025 year set to music.

My Top Artists of the Year and I’m Not Surprised

• Little Mix – Little Mix being my #1 is the least surprising thing ever. OF COURSE they topped the list…again. this British girl group has had a hold on me since I first heard Wings in like 2011. You don’t just listen to Little Mix – you LEVEL UP. They literally have a song for every era I lived through.
• Beyonce – If Little Mix was my cheer squad, Beyonce was the commanding general of my comback tour. Between Renaissance vibes and Cowboy Carter, she sang the confidence in me that I temporarily misplaced. If Beyonce is ever not on my Spotify Wrapped, there’s a problem.
• Huntr/x – I love that this fictional girl group has infiltrated my Top 5 and my subconscious like they’re really selling out stadiums in real life. I LOVED the movie (obviously) and also again, I work at both an elementary school, a summer camp, and have younger nieces and nephews. This would have followed me everywhere unfortunately.
• Joy Woods – Yes, she’s here because I listened to My Days 71 times and I’m not mad at it. Moving on…
• Demi Lovato – I don’t think anyone else can do duality like Demi. She goes from soft vulnerable ballad to full rock meltdown to recovery anthem in under 5 minutes. So…the energy of my year. Demi is the soundtrack for:
  • ugly crying
  • healing
  • having a plot-twist moment
  • being messy but self-aware

And that, my friends, is the unfiltered musical autopsy that Spotify lovingly dropped into my lap this year. From Broadway heartbreak ballads to Little Mix resurrecting me like a phoenix during a workout, my Spotify Wrapped is basically a coming-of-age soundtrack for my grown behind.

Music didn’t just accompany my year – it narrated it, scored it, patched it together, and dragged me through my feelings like a personal trainer.

Here’s to the songs that saved me, the artists who witnessed my chaos and didn’t judge, the playlists I used like therapy, and the 14,825 minutes of sheer survival.

And here’s to next year – may my Spotify Wrapped of 2026 be just as dramatic (but not the real life stuff though because whew boy I had enough drama to last a lifetime).

See you tomorrow for Blogmas Day 6, besties!