'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
On November 29, 2023, Spotify users worldwide were in for a surprise. For this year's #SpotifyWrapped, a new feature unveiled an unexpected connection among K-pop enthusiasts. Regardless of their favorite performers or songs, each K-pop fan was greeted with the same result—a connection to Davis, USA.
For the 2023 #SpotifyWrapped, Spotify introduced a unique feature, assigning users a "Sound Town" that reflects their music preferences. As listeners received their year-end Spotify Wrapped results, many K-pop fans discovered that their musical kinship was linked to Davis, USA, proclaimed by Spotify as the K-pop fandom's headquarters in 2023.
For the unversed, Spotify Wrapped is an annual promotion that displays users' listening habits from the previous year. It features a slideshow of the user's favorite artists, songs, albums, podcasts, and new music discoveries. It also displays how long the user spent listening to each music genre and who their favorite musicians are.
"How cows get down to Kpop in Davis": Spotify K-pop listeners went to town on social media with Spotify's new feature
The new "Sound Town" feature takes the concept further by recommending cities based on users' listening behavior. This indicates where individuals with similar music preferences to one another may be found.
Cities such as Berkeley, California, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Bozeman, Montana, Provo, Utah, and New York emerged as popular choices. For K-pop enthusiasts, Davis, USA, stood out prominently, drawing attention from listeners across the globe.
Furthermore, Spotify's artificial intelligence allocates a "Sound Town" depending on the user's most played artists of the year, how those musicians are played in other cities across the world, and the demographic information that matches the user's listening preferences.
Users enjoying Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Future, Charli XCX, Taylor Swift, Playboi Carti, and Kendrick Lamar may be assigned to Tempe. While, Spotify listeners of BTS, Agust D, Jungkook, ENHYPEN, P1harmony, Somi, BLACKPINK, and Lee Young Ji, among other K-pop music were assigned to Davis, USA.
Music listeners from every corner of the world were intrigued as to who or what "Davis from USA" meant and they wondered why is every Spotify user getting it, especially K-pop enthusiasts. However, Davis, it turns out, does not live in the United States and is a college town in California with a sizable Asian population.
A college town is defined as a community predominated by its university populace. College towns can be distinct towns or cities, or they can be neighborhoods or districts inside a larger town or metropolis.
Spotify Wrap assigns users a "sound town" based on their data. According to Spotify, Davis, California has a large number of K-pop fans. Those who have never visited Davis wonder if we're all relocating or if this is the official spot for the Korean music (Hallyu) celebration.
Meanwhile, the music streaming app users took Twitter (now X) by storm as they wrote funny tweets on the social media platform and looked up Davis, USA on Google. An X user wrote, "how cows get down to kpop in davis, ca according to spotify" while another wrote, "spotify sending kpop stans to davis away from society bc all there is out there are cows."
On top of that, several other K-pop fans wondered if Spotify had officially announced Davis, USA as the headquarters of the K-pop fans. As a result, several fans tweeted, "Soooo are we as kpop stans moving to Davis cuz spotify said that’s where it’s attttt."
While the "Sound Town" feature sparked global curiosity, Spotify Wrapped has remained a fan favorite since 2016. Spotify users eagerly await the detailed year-end report that the popular service sends to each of its listeners. The most appealing aspect of the entire function is that each of these reports is separately analyzed by the app's algorithm, thus no two Spotify users' reports can be the same, apart from their "Sound Town."
