By Caitlin Wang & Christina Gabrieli, Banner Staff

Each December, music listeners open their Spotify app in anticipation to see the words “Spotify Wrapped Is Here!” displayed across their screen. An entertaining annual tradition, Spotify Wrapped shows users data about the music they listened to that year and allows listeners to reflect on how their music taste has evolved.

But what does the Upper School community’s music taste look like? To answer this question, The Banner conducted a survey during a recent Upper School Meeting to collect responses from Upper School students and faculty about their music listening habits and is excited to share the data collected.

Our 84 respondents were asked to list their favorite artist and song, most listened to genre, and a popular song they thought was the most overrated. The results reveal a student body with a wildly eclectic taste in music, ranging from indie folk to classic rock, with some surprises in between. One clear trend? Tied in votes, Taylor Swift and SZA hold the spots as school-wide favorites, appearing multiple times across the four grade levels. Noah Kahan and Zach Bryan also reigned supreme across multiple grades, putting a noticeable indie-folk presence in the responses. Gracie Abrams and Lana Del Rey were consistently named favorite artists, too.

Class VIII leaned into nostalgia, dropping names like Fleetwood Mac, while Class V favored modern pop influences like Olivia Rodrigo. When it came to favorite songs, responses ranged from Lana Del Rey ballads to funk classics like “Get Up Offa That Thing.” Noah Kahan’s “The View Between Villages” was a repeat favorite, along with other indie and folk tracks. Gracie Abrams’ hits “Let It Happen” and “That’s So True” were also widespread favorites. The genre breakdown showed pop dominating at 44%, followed by hip-hop, R&B, and country making significant showings.

Of the responders, 19% stated that they thought “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter was the most overrated song. Closely following behind, 15.5% of responders answered this question with a Taylor Swift song or simply “anything by Taylor Swift.” Other popular responses included “TEXAS HOLD ’EM”  by Beyoncé and various Chappell Roan songs such as “HOT TO GO!” and “Pink Pony Club.”

Based upon the wide array of responses received, it is clear that the Upper School students’ and faculty’s music taste is an interesting mosaic that mirrors our community’s diversity. Thank you to everyone that responded to our survey!