It’s that time of the year again when Spotify releases its highly anticipated Spotify Wrapped. I always look forward to this because I love finding out how my year in music went. Here’s a look at my Spotify Wrapped in 2023.

5 Songs I Listened to the Most According to Spotify Wrapped

5th: Baby Come to Me by Patti Austin and James Ingram

Baby Come to Me is already a classic love song but I just learned of this song this year. My best friend sang it once during a videoke session at Timezone and I’ve loved it ever since.

Baby Come to Me speaks of a lover’s longing to be with the one he/she loves. It speaks of a desire to be in the presence of his/her love, to hold the person, and to be loved by that someone they hold dear in their heart. Well, that resonated with a longing I felt for someone who was far, far away.

As the lyrics go:

Baby, come to me, let me put my arms around you
This was meant to be and I’m oh so glad I found you
Need you ev’ry day, gotta have your love around me
Baby, always stay ’cause I can’t go back to livin’ without you

4th: Glad You Came by The Wanted

I must’ve listened to this song a thousand times while I was in Australia! My friend, who I was staying with during my vacation there, has a kid whose favorite song is Glad You Came. So every day and every night, we’d listen to this song. So I guess that’s why it made it to my top 5 songs on Spotify Wrapped.

3rd: Flowers by Miley Cyrus

I don’t mind being a single woman. Even though society seems to pity us women who aren’t in a relationship, married, or have a family especially when they’re in their 30s, I’m happy vibing alone. But from time to time, my being single makes me a little sad. And so when those days hit, I put on my single empowerment playlist on Spotify.

When Flowers came out, it became my new go-to song to listen to, to remind me that being single is perfectly okay. What I love about this catchy pop song, is that not only is it a narrative about a woman who doesn’t need a man to be happy but a woman who chooses to be single and independent rather than be in a relationship that no longer does her good. Even the music video sends quite a message.

In the video of Flowers, she takes off her clothing, wades through sprinklers, and jumps into a swimming pool to drown the tension of her past while singing about being able to meet her own wants. Cyrus jumps into the pool for a quick swim before starting an intense exercise. The routine symbolizes her rediscovering her inner strength as she pushes her body to perform. Flowers is a great song about letting go of one’s past and if that’s not an anthem of empowerment, I don’t know what is.

2nd: Gusto Ko na Bumitaw by Sheryn Regis

In this song, Regis sings about holding on to a love that’s clearly gone. But she’s conflicted because a part of her knows she needs to let go and move on but she’s still hoping there’s a way to work things out. You can feel her inner struggles in the song’s lyrics as she wonders who should make the final decision – is it her partner or her? Should she stay or should she go?

If you asked me a few months ago what 2023 brought me, I would have said heartbreak. Because when I thought finally, it was my turn for love, well the joke was on me. And when something ends, you need to let go, right? Cut off contact and move on. But for someone who says she’s a strong and independent woman, I held on real tight to that love even though I knew it was over. Just like in the song, I found myself struggling with whether to stay or let go. A part of me wanted him to come back. The fight between the mind and the heart was seriously a struggle.

Nakikipaglaban sa digmaan na talunan
Hanggang kailan, talo na, pagod na
Akala ko ika’y sa akin pa, pero hindi na pala
Wala na nga ba talaga?

Gusto ko nang bumitaw
Ngunit ayaw pa ng puso
Gusto ko nang bumitaw
May pag-asa pa siguro
Kalaban ang sarili, sino bang dapat pumili?
Sino nga ba, ako ba o ikaw?

But also just like in the song, in the end, I finally chose to let go.

Pipiliin ko na ang sarili
Bibitaw, bibitaw na

1st: All Too Well by Taylor Swift

And finally, my top song in my Spotify Wrapped 2023 is Taylor Swift’s All Too Well. As we all know, Taylor likes to write and sing about the experiences she’s gone through in her life. She’s most known for singing about her relationships. All Too Well, from her Red album, is rumored to be about Jake Gyllenhaal whom she had a whirlwind romance with. For me, this is her most heartbreaking song. You can already feel her pain and heartbreak in the original version but just when you thought it couldn’t get any sadder, she released a 10-minute version.

I was truly in a very sad place in my life for some part of 2023. Describe yourself in one word this 2023? I would have said broken. And Taylor Swift sang how I had felt all too well.

The lyrics that really hit home for me:

And you call me up again just to break me like a promise

So casually cruel in the name of bein’ honest

I’m a crumpled-up piece of paper lyin’ here

‘Cause I remember it all, all, all

Because yes, that’s what our love story was like. He returned to my life only to break my heart again. And so casually cruel.

Incidentally, my 2018 Spotify Wrapped also had a Taylor Swift song as part of my Top 5. Well, that’s my 2023 Spotify Wrapped Top 5 songs.

Are you guys on Spotify? Would love to know what songs made it on your 2023 Spotify Wrapped list.