Emma Wood knew her Spotify Wrapped, an annual tradition that synthesizes users' listening habits, would be full of Taylor Swift.
What the 13-year-old didn't expect, however, was to be named the top artist listened to on the platform—quite a feat considering Swift has over 100 million listeners on the platform. Spotify and was the second most popular artist of 2025 behind Bad Bunny.
She discovered her No. 1 status thanks to Spotify Wrapped's new Fan Leaderboard feature.
“Think you're one of your top artist's biggest fans? This year, you might see where you rank among his listeners around the world, based on the total number of minutes you've listened to.” announcement read on the Spotify website.
Based on screenshots and screen recordings of Wood's Spotify Wrapped, she's Swift's No. 1 listener. Spotify declined to comment for this story.
Wood personally listened to Swift for a total of 449,000 minutes, which Spotify equated to 312 days. She spends most of her time listening to her favorite song, “The Albatross,” from Swift's 2024 album The Tortured Poets Department, which she streamed 83,601 times in 2024. (Her TikTok username, @thealbatrosswife, indicates obsession).
Wood says she was shocked when she saw the numbers.
“I didn’t think the price would be that high,” Wood told TODAY.com. “I thought it would be about 12,000 or so.”
“At first I was like, 'Is my Spotify glitchy?' – she adds.
On December 4, Wood shared her Spotify listening skills on Tik Tok. The video, which has received more than 10 million views, showed screenshots confirming Wood's title as one of the most popular listeners as she reacted in shock, writing on the video: “Before you ask YES I have a therapist.”
Wood's video sparked backlash and skepticism. Wood followed another video about how she looked up Spotify Wrapped results on her mom's phone to prove a point.
Before you ask, yes, Wood does listen to Swift while she sleeps, which has helped her rack up her listening minutes throughout the day.
Wood says she listens to music when she falls asleep because “she can't sleep otherwise.” This habit goes back to pleasant childhood memories.
“When I was little and couldn’t sleep, my dad would just play his band’s song and I would fall asleep,” she says.
Instead of listening to her father play the song, she now falls asleep to Swift.
Wood says she never gets tired of “Albatross,” even after 83,601 listens. “Albatross” plays on the legend of the albatross, a seabird said to bring bad luck to sailors and now associated with burden. Swift compares the albatross to a man, or more precisely to “a woman who is here to destroy you.”
For her, this 2024 song is a background song that she can play while relaxing or browsing online, and also a song that she can focus her full attention on when she wants to write down lyrics.
“I don’t think there’s another song that I really want to listen to that makes me feel this way,” she says. “It’s really something of a comfort song.”
Wood explains how music, especially Swift, plays a big role in her mental health. Last year, Wood says she was “not in the best mental state” and, feeling depressed, remembers the first time she played the song.
“So just having the song, I just look back and think, 'This song has been with me through the hardest times and the easiest times in my life,'” she says.
Wood's mother, Monica, confirmed how much Swift truly influenced her daughter.
“I saw a complete change in Emma. She went from depressed to extremely happy,” Monica told TODAY.com. “I never realized how much Taylor Swift meant to Emma until this happened,” she adds.
“I never knew how much Taylor helps her through music. Taylor's music is therapy for Emma,” she adds.
“It’s just crazy to think that there was once an 11-year-old girl who was afraid to even go to school and was literally waiting for The Tortured Poets Department to come out, and now there’s a 13-year-old girl who can’t go a day without listening to it,” Wood says.
Despite all the viral videos and non-stop streaming, Wood says she still has a lot to tell Swift if she gets the chance.
“I would just say thank you so much for being the person you are and for being my comfort artist in so many ways,” she says. “You don’t even know I exist, but thank you for understanding me.”
“I would Love I would really like to meet her one day,” Wood adds.
