Tag: mark ambor

It’s Never Too Early To Spread Festive Cheer, Our Spotify Holiday Singles Are Here

October 15, 2024

The air is turning crisp, and it won’t be long until everyone is walking around with an extra jingle in their step. As our listeners are continuing to seek holiday music earlier and earlier each year, Spotify is ready to give listeners an additional dose of holly jolly with our newly released Spotify Singles as part of our Holiday Collection.

Every year, a selection of artists can choose to record a cover of a classic holiday hit, or an original song that channels the spirit of the season. For 2024, we have five tracks to add to your holiday playlist. “We worked very carefully with each of our artists to pick the perfect holiday song for them—taking into account things like production style, voice, tone, and personality,” explained Talia Kraines, Senior Editor of U.S. Pop at Spotify.

This year’s festive hits are:

“Run Rudolph Run” by Mark Ambor

“Holiday Road” by Kesha

“River” by Max Richter

“Driving Home for Christmas” by Dasha

“Emanuel” by Miel San Marcos

Each track brings a sense of nostalgia as listeners hear some of their favorite seasonal lyrics in a whole new way. “Mark Ambor’s ‘Run Rudolph Run’ is a really rootsy, fun version of the song where you can hear the production he uses in his album, Rockwood, shine through,” said Talia. “It’s authentic and feels very real to him.”

“‘Driving Home for Christmas’ is a holiday song that is huge in the U.K. and Europe but isn’t known very well in the U.S. We saw this as a great opportunity to give this holiday song a whole new audience in America with Dasha while sharing a new version for countries where the song is already beloved,” she adds

And while the ’80s hit “Holiday Road”—despite its name—isn’t a traditional favorite, Kesha’s pop twist makes it a fun, upbeat track perfect for the season. “Her vocals make me think of The Go-Gos or The Bangles here,” noted Talia. “It feels like a monumental year for Kesha, and we’re thrilled to be a part of it—she’s reclaiming her joy and owning her own voice.” 

Find these tracks, as well as past Spotify Holiday Singles in our Holiday Collection playlist.

Check Out Our Updated Songs of Summer Predictions (Complete With Five New Wild Card Picks)

July 25, 2024

Last month, Spotify’s annual Songs of Summer predictions made their return, and fans have rallied around the anthems they can’t get enough of. Some have been working late (…’cuz they’re a singer), while plenty have been feeling so Julia. Meanwhile, others have been looking for someone to match their freak. 

Now, for the first time ever, we’re giving you a midsummer update that reveals the top 15 songs from our original list, along with five new “wild card” songs. These updated predictions reflect our final contenders for the Song of Summer as we approach the end of the season.

Backed by Spotify data and cultural buzz, and hand-picked by our global team of editors, our wild cards were either released after we made our initial predictions, or they’ve experienced a recent spike in global streams. Wild card track “360” by Charli xcx, for example, has experienced an 80% increase in U.S. streams in the past month, while streams of “HOT TO GO!” by Chappell Roan have spiked 110% globally on Spotify. 

Spotify’s updated Songs of Summer list 

(Listed alphabetically by artist first name; wild card picks in italics) 

Over the last year, we’ve seen increased popularity of dance and Afro house globally, and summer is the perfect time for these songs to cross over into the mainstream.

“‘Move’ has been an undeniable hit this summer and an obvious choice for our editors as one of our wild card additions,” said Luisa Kristen, Senior Editor, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland at Spotify. “The song features the perfect recipe of beautiful Afro house production, earwormy melody, and pop lyricism—sounds that tend to thrive with listeners in warmer weather globally.”

Luisa also noted that in the last few weeks, the song has charted all around the world across many parts of Europe, the U.K., and the U.S. It drove record streams for the German group globally on its release day and was recently added to Today’s Top Hits—a monumental achievement for German artists and the Afro house genre overall. 

“Stumblin’ In,” which was released in November 2023, is also a strong example of how a song can have an extensive lifespan, cross borders, and experience a cultural resurgence during different moments of the year. It highlights the power of Spotify—our editors have tested it in various playlists, and since its release, it has grown and reached new listeners around the world. 

Tinashe’s “Nasty” also surged during the first two weeks of the Songs of Summer predictions reveal, both globally and in the U.S. Since then, the song has seen over a 110% increase in streams globally and in the U.S.

Celebrating 2024’s Songs of Summer

To continue the summer fun, we hosted our 2024 Songs of Summer event in Brooklyn this week, featuring electric performances from two of our contenders, Tinashe and Tommy Richman.