Why My 2020 Spotify Wrapped was Entirely French

Before I even begin I want to say that I can’t even believe I have 20 subscribers on this blog… crazy! Whether you are following along because you are actually interested in the content, or if you subscribed just to support me, thank you!! I even have an actual French subscriber, so now there’s really no kidding around:)

About a month ago, Spotify released its annual “Wrapped” playlists, where your most listened to songs of the year are compiled into one playlist. In 2019, my Wrapped playlist was filled with Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Laundry Day, and more. While those people certainly are not completely off the list, nearly every song of 2020 was in French. Surprisingly, I didn’t really even start listening to French music until I returned from Paris to the U.S. back in March 2020. After settling back home, I reached out to my French friends Marie and Margaux for some music recommendations. While I definitely do not know every French artist, I would say I listen pretty frequently to this music. As my sister would tell you, once I find an artist I like, it becomes the only thing I play until you simply cannot hear it anymore… ex. Chained to the Rhythm in 2017, right Lauren? 

Regardless, today I thought I would share some of my favorite French songs. Since most of you following this blog live with me at some point in the year, maybe you will even know some (or all) of these! If you listen, let me know what you think.

1. Les Matins par (by) Angèle 

• This song was my most listened to song of 2020. It comes off Angèle’s album “Brol La Suite”. If you are trying to learn French I would highly suggest listening to this album, Angèle talks clearly and her lyrics are fairly easy to understand. If you are not trying to learn French, I’d still recommend this album for some “bops” as the kids say nowadays. 

2. Fever par Dua Lipa et (and) Angèle 

• This song was released on October 29th 2020, so how it became my second most listened to song of 2020… A great collaboration and very easy to have on repeat at all hours of the day. Plus, it has French and English paroles (lyrics) so everyone will love it! (Right Tori and Joe?)

3. Mr/Mme par Loïc Nottet

• This song is so good and has a lot of vocabulary to practice. Most of the songs on this list are more hype, so if you want a slower song this is definitely the one. Yet, the music does pick up and get faster, and if you don’t speak French you might not know just how sad and emotional the lyrics are. Overall very powerful and a great song to blare in the shower or car and sing at the top of your lungs (as my housemates would know!). 

4. Évidemment par Lomepal

• The first rap song of the list! One of these days I will be able to rap the whole song and actually understand what I am saying… maybe by 2022. I think this song is one of Lomepal’s best, and there is even an acoustic version which is also very good. French rap hits different, so I’d definitely recommend.

5. Ta Fête par Stromae

• This song has straight club vibes. During this time when you can’t go out to dance with friends, buy a disco ball and speaker, and play this song by Stromae. You will not regret it. Plus, fête means party in French anyways! 

6. Djadja par Aya Nakamura

• I didn’t hear about this song for a while, but apparently it was (and still is?) extremelyyyy popular in France. I first heard it while taking one of Kevin Csolak’s hip hop classes during the summer (Who knew Kevin liked French music too? lol). The chorus uses a lot of slang but I will link a video below that I used to help understand.

7. Angela par Hatik

• Not too much to say about this one, but great beat and very catchy. 

8. Un homme par Jérémy Frerot

• I loveee this song. The lyrics are easy to understand and it is yet another song that is great for singing in the car. 

9. Hit Sale par Therapie Taxi ft. Roméo Elvis

• I found this song after watching Emily in Paris, one of the better things that came from that show. I had never heard of Therapie Taxi before, but Roméo Elvis is very popular as an artist himself. 

10. Ramenez la coupe à la maison par Vegedream

• As you may know, France won the World Cup in 2018. This song came out 3 days after the win, and I think it has become a sort of sports anthem. The song mentions a bunch of the players from the team, including Kylian Mbappé, Antoine Griezmann, Kimpembe, Ousmane Dembele, Umtiti, etc. Ramenez la coupe à la maison basically means bring the cup home, so it’s a great uplifting song. This song is also great because soccer IS one of the best sports, and if anyone wants to disagree I’ll link the Hofstra roster! https://gohofstra.com/sports/mens-soccer/roster#:~:text=2020%20Men%27s%20Soccer%20Roster%20%20%20%20,%20%20145%20%2025%20more%20rows%20

These are probably my top ten French songs/albums, as they were all very high up in the Wrapped playlist. A fun fact to know: some of these artists are not actually French (turns out Angèle and Stromae are from Belgium! Who knew!). Yet, all of these songs are so catchy and easily repeatable. As I said before, let me know if you like any of the songs or if you know any others!

À bientôt:)

Julia