Spotify has introduced a new 'listening age' feature in its 2025 Wrapped annual review. It calculates age based on listened-to songs to playfully reflect formative youth years. Many users, including celebrities and Spiegel staff, react with surprise to the often mismatched results.
Spotify Wrapped, the annual review of users' listening habits, features a new 'listening age' in its 2025 edition. This number derives from music heard between January 1, 2025, and a recent cutoff date. Users who played at least three songs from a consecutive five-year period get a result between 16 and 100 years old. Globally, 21 is the most common age at nine percent of users, while only 0.0013 percent reach 98.
The feature draws on the psychological concept of the Reminiscence Bump, where people strongly identify with music from their youth ages 16 to 21. Spotify analyzed which five-year period a user listened to music above average compared to peers to identify formative years. Marketing chief Marc Hazan states in a press release that it's a playful function: 'We see Gen Z getting results three times their age… and vice versa.' The aim is to spark conversations.
Celebrities like musician Grimes (92 years), Rachel Zegler (67), and Charli xcx (75) share their results on X. In the Spiegel newsroom, reactions vary widely. Editor Markus Böhm (real 38, musical 90) attributes it to Pixar movies for his son, featuring old tracks like 'Sh-Boom' from 1954. Volunteer Annika Schultz (28, musical 65) suspects an Abba evening. Christian Reiermann (63, musical 22) listens to much Taylor Swift during sports. Others like Marco Wedig (38, musical 89) blame children's songs such as 'Banana Boat' by Harry Belafonte.
Following last year's controversial 'Sound Town,' the feature generates fresh attention, though Spotify stresses it's not to be taken literally: 'You are only as old as you feel.'