Oh, what a year it’s been for music. We had Silk Sonic’s mind blowing performance at the 64th Grammy Awards, hit film “Elvis” taking Hollywood by storm, and let’s not forget that Superbowl halftime show, bringing us a collaboration of some of HipHop’s greatest artists of all time. And while the end of the year at Startle usually revolves around a fancy Christmas getaway and a variety of questionable Secret Santa gifts, we’ve been bursting to share our brand-spanking-new, end of year music report, That’s A Wrap.

Taking a look back at 2022, we revisit the songs and albums that topped the charts, keeping us entertained drive after drive, commute after commute, gym sesh after gym sesh. Crucially, we dive headfirst into what made these songs connect with people so well, using our team’s musical expertise and behavioural science know-how to understand what made them tick. 

After all, music curation is both an art and a science, and there are reasons why certain songs rack up millions of plays, whether cultural, musical, marketing-led or simply as a result of a cringey TikTok dance trend.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy us leading you through the standout moments in music from the last 12 months.