You might know your partner’s coffee order, your sibling’s comfort food or the one thing guaranteed to put a friend in a good mood. But knowing someone’s music taste is another ball game. Can the people closest to you name the artist you always return to, the song you play on repeat or the unexpected track that has quietly become part of your daily routine?
This is the idea behind Spotify’s Your Spotify Knows You Best campaign, which explores how listening habits offer a window into who we are, from our everyday routines and changing moods to the artists and songs we keep coming back to. While friends and family know us through shared experiences, Spotify gets to know another side of us through what we listen to.
To bring this to life, Spotify brought four creators and their loved ones together for a challenge: how well could the people closest to them predict their music taste? From favourite artists and songs on repeat to the soundtracks behind their daily routines, the results revealed where their knowledge was spot on, where assumptions fell short and what their listening habits had to say about them.
Knowing someone is one thing. Knowing their music is another
For Demilade, known online as Demi AK, her fiancé, Jeremy, was confident he knew her inside out, giving himself a 10 out of 10 before the challenge began. Beyond her fun, girly online persona, he described someone organised, curious and well-read. He also had a fair idea of her musical preferences, predicting a mix of feel-good pop and Afrobeats, with Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter among her favourites.
Her actual listening habits, however, told a slightly different story. Alongside Taylor Swift, her top artists included Davido, Timbaland, Pitbull and Bad Bunny. Hotel Room Service by Pitbull also featured in her morning routine, offering a clue to the soundtrack that gets her day going. Jeremy’s final score was 5 out of 10, while Spotify had the fuller picture.
The difference between familiarity and musical knowledge also emerged in Tobe Szn’s challenge with his sister. She could speak to his determination, his instinct to stand up for others and the ambitions he had carried since childhood. She also recognised his interest in Afrobeats, Jazz and Gospel.
His listening history revealed another dimension. Tracks such as Oceans by Jay-Z pointed to the memories and emotions that can give a song meaning beyond its sound. His sister also correctly identified Ayra Starr as his favourite Nigerian non-gospel artist, showing that some musical preferences were easier to predict than others.
The soundtrack to who we are
For Amy and her sister, the challenge was as much about how people change as it was about music. Her sister remembered Amy as a determined, outspoken child who had grown into a calmer adult, increasingly focused on her work and content creation.
She expected Amy’s listening habits to reflect a mix of Afrobeats, R&B and Gospel. But putting those assumptions to the test prompted a rethink, with her final score settling at 6 out of 10. The experience highlighted how even years of shared memories do not necessarily keep us up to date with the music someone is discovering or returning to.
Salem’s challenge with his wife offered a different perspective. She knew the details that make up his everyday life, from his early morning walk and preference for fried yam with egg sauce to his reading habits and evening music. She could even name Nobody Gets Me as a song he listens to on repeat.
She also knew that Gospel and older R&B were his go-to genres on difficult days, when music could offer a familiar source of comfort. But identifying his repeat songs and estimating how many hours he spent listening proved more difficult. Salem ultimately added points out of love.
The details that make a music taste personal
Together, the four challenges show how music can offer a different perspective on the people we think we know best. Shared experiences and everyday routines help us understand one another, but listening habits can reveal preferences, moods and interests that are less immediately visible.
A favourite artist might reflect a long-standing attachment, while a song on repeat could be tied to a particular memory, a daily ritual or simply a mood that is hard to explain. Sometimes, the most revealing details are the ones we do not think to share.
Spotify brings these listening patterns together, offering a window into the songs, artists and genres that become part of our lives. Your partner might know your routines and your closest friends might remember your earliest musical obsessions, but your listening history can tell a more detailed story of what you actually play.
So, how well do the people closest to you know your music taste? And what might your Spotify listening history reveal that they have yet to discover?
