Top summer tracks always give a hint about how everyone's feeling and Spotify has the unique perspective of being able to look into what everyone is listening to these days.
Cheddar News caught up with Lea Palmieri, host and storyteller of owned editorial channels at Spotify, at the Spotify Everywhere pop-up to find out how to integrate Spotify into your everyday life and the trends they are seeing this summer season.
Tell me a little about this Spotify Everywhere pop-up in New York.
Essentially, this was designed to mimic how we listen in our everyday lives, how our days are soundtracked. So the whole point of this is that we bring you around to different rooms. And you're able to learn about different features and integrations that we have at Spotify so that you're able to use Spotify everywhere but in ways that are unique to you.
What is your favorite kind of integration?
I love Blend, which is a way to create a personalized playlist with up to 10 people. I'm obsessed with Friends Mix, which is based on the Blends you make and I like to see what different friends are listening to. I feel proud that they get to then see what I'm listening to. It's just a wonderful way to see a lot of different music, discover a lot of different music.
I also do really like blending [my playlists] with artists. I've been bragging about this all day, but I'm a 96 percent match to Lizzo. It just gives a little extra insight and it makes you feel a little bit closer to the artists that you're listening to all the time.
What are some trends in music that you noticed this summer?
Hot Girl Summer, Stressed Girl Summer, Coconut Girl Summer, and Feral Girl Summer have been some of the most popular, most-searched, and most-streamed user-generated playlists.
[Spotify later told Cheddar News that Coconut Girl Summer playlists are up 950 percent this year, and top tracks include "Island in the Sun" by Weezer; "Diet Mountain Dew" by Lana Del Rey; "Santeria" by Sublime; "Malibu" by Miley Cyrus; "Could You Be Loved" by Bob Marley & The Wailers.]
Wait, Feral Girl Summer?
Feral Girl Summer just means doing what you want, appreciating yourself for who you are, and going for it. Living your best life, that kind of a vibe.
[Spotify later shared that Feral Girl Summer playlists increased more than 320 percent between March and May this year. Top Feral Girl songs included "Psycho" by Maisie Peters; "Get Into It (Yuh)" by Doja Cat; "Thot Sh*t" by Megan Thee Stallion; "I Did Something Bad" by Taylor Swift; "Promiscuous" by Nelly Furtado (feat. Timbaland); "Act Up" by City Girls.]
However, we're seeing everyone is much more on track with the Coastal Grandma Summer now.
Ah, yes! We've covered this on Cheddar News!
We saw plays of Coastal Grandma playlists spike 5,000 percent in the month of May. I understand why. That vibe of feeling cozy, feeling comfortable, feeling relaxed.
Nostalgia for the '80s, '90s, and '00s is a big thing, too. I'm loving this, like the Kate Bush thing that's happening. Her whole entire catalog globally has risen by 1600 percent since the "Stranger Things" Season 4 premiere. I love that there's a whole new generation of people that are discovering her music.
What about podcasts?
I'm obviously biased to like the ones that I've worked on at Spotify, but we've been killing it this year. If you are interested in Spotify news and what's going on, we did an incredible episode of For the Record from the Cannes Lions festival earlier this year.
We did a Discover This episode on fiction podcasts. So after the success of Batman Unburied, we really delved into that world. We've got more coming with Harley Quinn & The Joker: Sound Mind.
Any other listening trends that you found interesting?
I was very excited when the new Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailer came out. We saw that there was a 120 percent increase in Kendrick Lamar listening in general, tied to his previous Black Panther music.
I know we'll have Spotify's song of the summer in a few weeks. But what's yours?
Harry Styles As It Was! But look, Beyoncé came in and so, obviously, that changes the game, always. I just had that on repeat all weekend. But then I always go back to Harry.
This interview was edited for clarity and length.
Updated on August 4, 2022, at 3:05 p.m. ET with a change of "Sad Girl Summer" to "Stressed Girl Summer."