Beyoncé’s influence is undeniable.
Spotify has finally released Spotify Wrapped 2024, revealing that the music icon inspired over 36 million people to listen to country music for the first time this year.
Beyoncé released “Cowboy Carter” on March 29, 2024, in collaboration with Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records, according to AFROTECH™. The album’s 27-song track list includes “Blackbiird,” “16 Carriages,” “Jolene,” and “Levii’s Jeans.”
While creating the album, Beyoncé noted that in the rising age of artificial intelligence (AI), she wanted to focus on authentic sounds, as reported by AFROTECH™.
She made good use of various instruments, such as the accordion, harmonica, washboard, acoustic guitar, pedal steel guitar, mandolin, fiddle, tack piano, banjo, and her fingernails as percussion.
On its release day, Spotify announced on X that the album was the most streamed on the platform in a single day in 2024, marking the first time a country album held this distinction this year.
Less than two months later, on May 8, Parkwood Entertainment confirmed on X that the album had surpassed 1 billion streams on Spotify.
Despite the album’s success, Beyoncé did not make Spotify Wrapped’s Global Top 10 Artists list, according to Spotify. The Weeknd ranked No. 2, followed by Drake at No. 4, Travis Scott at No. 6, and Kanye West at No. 8.
“Our annual thank-you to fans around the world, Spotify Wrapped has become deeply ingrained in the lives of music fans worldwide,” said Marc Hazan, vice president of partnerships and marketing, Spotify reported. “What started as a look back at the music and audio that defined the year has become a global cultural phenomenon in its own right, a moment driven by the passion of hundreds of millions of fans.”
Wrapped is in its 10th year, and Spotify enhanced the experience with features including the Spotify Wrapped AI Podcast, created in collaboration with Google’s NotebookLM, AFROTECH™ reported.
In the podcast, two AI hosts from NotebookLM explore users’ favorite tracks and artists, showcasing how their music tastes have evolved throughout 2024. Each episode is a unique conversation tailored to the user, generated using the technology behind NotebookLM’s Audio Overviews.
“The beauty of Wrapped is how much it reflects each individual user,” said Molly Holder, Spotify’s senior director of personalization, according to AFROTECH™. “Whether it’s your top song, total minutes listened, or favorite artist, 2024 Wrapped celebrates how you listened this year.”
“From innovations like Your Music Evolution to the expansion of our AI-driven tools (such as AI DJ, AI Playlist, and Wrapped AI Podcast), users will have even more ways to explore the songs that defined their year,” she added.
