Photograph: Addictive Creatives/Stocksy United
Britain entered 2020 anticipating the usual: work, weddings, summer holidays. Crazy nights out. Cozy nights in. Hugs.
Instead we got a pandemic and embraced new interests to offset the anxiety and ennui. We found solace in silence and long-distance socialising, meeting up with friends over Zoom and filling our schedules with quiz after quiz. It was also a year of political awakening: Black Lives Matter protests, now in their seventh year, grew into global mass movements as thousands risked their health to stand against racism and police brutality.
All these new ways of living and thinking required soundtracks. Enter Spotify, whose playlists have helped millions across the world through this tumultuous year. Here are 10 playlists that tell the story of 2020:
Booming baking
Remember the halcyon days of early lockdown when you thought you’d become a domestic deity, when sales of home-baking ingredients in the UK soared by 49% during the first 12 weeks of lockdown and 86% of us attempted to bake our own cakes. All that extra time in the kitchen clearly required the perfect cooking tunes – and millions of users tuned in to Spotify’s Your Kitchen Stereo this year as a result. With artists including Phoebe Bridgers, HAIM and Amy Winehouse, it’s perfect whether you want to focus on what you’re doing or simply dance around the kitchen.
Commuting from the bedroom to … the bedroom
In January, 5.7% of people in the UK were working solely from home. By April, this number had risen to 43.1% and has fluctuated according to the levels of government restrictions ever since. Without the familiar buzz of office working, many are said to have struggled to stay motivated. With more than 1.2 million followers, Spotify’s Music for Concentration playlist was the sound of trying to stave off procrastination at all costs.
Jumping jacks, anyone?
Much as with baking ingredients, sales of home-exercise equipment surged in the UK, and fitness app downloads grew by 46% across the world as we replaced gym memberships with our own resistance bands, dumbbells and yoga mats. To keep us all moving and shaking, Spotify launched Spotify Pumped, a customisable workout playlist that enlists celebrities such as Dani Dyer and Tazer Black to provide words of motivation as you work up a sweat.
Clapping for carers and key workers
Now for a very British playlist. Clap for carers became a weekly show of support to the NHS, shop workers, teachers and others who were on the frontline of the pandemic in Britain – often working many hours for not a great deal of money. Between April and June, Spotify transformed its UK Throwback Thursday nostalgia playlist into Thank You Thursday, full of uplifting songs conveying gratitude for lockdown’s heroes
24-hour parenting
Suddenly, you weren’t just a parent: you were a teacher, chef and entertainer all in one, all while trying to do your day job from home. According to the Office for National Statistics, of the total number of working parents with school-aged children who said their work had been affected by the pandemic, 20% said this disruption was at least in part due to having to work around childcare responsibilities. Perhaps that’s why so many people took advantage of Spotify’s Pop 4 Kids playlist to keep their little ones entertained with songs from Kidz Bop, JoJo Siwa and other kid-friendly acts.
Black Lives Matter goes global
Spotify’s Black Lives Matter playlist has been going since 2015, but engagement rocketed in the wake of George Floyd’s death in the US – 2020’s streaming figures were up a whopping 3000% on 2019’s. “Music has always been a force that challenges the status quo and empowers social change, expressing the emotions of the oppressed and helping articulate those emotions to a wider audience,” says Sulinna Ong, Spotify’s head of music for the UK and Ireland. “In 2020 a lot of people who weren’t previously aware of how deep-rooted racism is in society started to become more aware, and wanted to educate themselves more fully about Black lives and culture. Our BLM playlist became one facet of that, which led to a significant upsurge in people listening.”
Staying buoyant when the days felt difficult
In a study by the mental health charity Mind, more than 60% of UK adults said that their mental health had worsened during lockdown, rising to 74% among 18-24 year olds. There’s no single answer to improving mental wellbeing, but music is clearly playing a role for many – with more than 6 million followers, Spotify’s Mood Booster playlist featuring uplifting tracks by artists such as Harry Styles, Khalid and Sia, was one way people from all over the world sought to keep themselves in check.
But not beating yourself up about the bad days
As much as we try to push through spells of low mood, sometimes there’s nothing else for it except heading back to bed and hiding from the world. With research suggesting stress can slow cognitive function, sometimes the only thing you can do is get under the duvet, eat some snacks, and dust yourself off again tomorrow. When do-nothing days are just what the doctor ordered, Spotify’s Duvet Day is the perfect medicine, with calming tracks from The Japanese House, Clairo and Foals.
Escaping from reality
Video games have been immensely popular compared with previous years as the world whiled away the hours that would have otherwise been spent in galleries, gigs, at parties or whatever else we did in the before times. In-game soundtracks aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, however, which probably explains why Spotify’s Top Gaming Tracks playlist has racked up hundreds of millions of streams this year.
When you missed the sound of conversation
Between April and May, the Office for National Statistics found that 31% of people in the UK who said their wellbeing had been affected by lockdown reported experiencing loneliness in the seven days before being surveyed. With the absence of day-to-day chatter on the bus or in the office, as well as not being able to see friends and family physically, huge holes were created in our social lives. Little wonder that podcasts became a friend for many this year. Spotify’s global podcast streams doubled in 2020, with thousands turning to its Best Podcasts of the Week playlist for expert podcast recommendations.
Relive the music and sound that got you through 2020 with Spotify Wrapped
