EQUAL Global Ambassador Sara James Celebrates Her First Artist Wrapped After a Breakthrough Year

Spotify listeners all over the world are taking part in Wrapped and learning about their listening habits. And just as Wrapped is an exciting time for fans, creators are feeling the anticipation too.

Now in its sixth year, Artist Wrapped delivers a personalized experience through a microsite presented by Spotify for Artists. It’s a moment just for the creators, who can get in on the global Wrapped experience by discovering how their music connected with fans across the world. This includes a breakdown of the total hours their music has been streamed, follower and listener stats, playlist adds, total numbers of shares, and more.

New to Wrapped this year is Songwriter Wrapped: Spotify’s celebration dedicated to the storytellers behind some of the most beloved lyrics that soundtracked 2022. Songwriter Wrapped recognizes a wide range of songwriters who have official Songwriter Pages on Spotify, including the likes of Max Martin [the Swedish mastermind who worked on Lizzo’s Special and The Weeknd’s Dawn FM], Tainy [the Puerto Rican producer who had a major hand in Bad Bunny’s blockbuster album, Un Verano Sin Ti], Louis Bell, Kid Harpoon, and, of course, NSAI Songwriter-Artist of the Decade, Taylor Swift.

One rising star who has been waiting for their Artist Wrapped to drop is Polish singer Sara James, who made history this past June after she became the youngest-ever EQUAL Global Ambassador at age thirteen. 

Since then, Sara’s celebrated her fourteenth birthday, reached the finals on the most recent season of America’s Got Talent, made an appearance on the Spotify: Mic Check podcast, and become the first Polish artist to take part in the Spotify Singles program, with “My Wave” and her cover of Billie Eilish’s “lovely.” Throw in the continued success of her hit single “Somebody,” and Sara will finish the year as the Most Streamed Artist on Spotify’s global EQUAL Playlist in 2022.

For the Record caught up with Sara to talk about her breakout year, her music, and what she’s excited to discover on her 2022 Artist Wrapped.

For the Record caught up with Sara to talk about her breakout year, her music, and what she’s excited to discover on her 2022 Artist Wrapped.

What were some of your personal 2022 highlights? 

I think my favorite highlight was reaching the finals of America’s Got Talent and getting the golden buzzer from Simon Cowell. That was a huge deal to me because I wasn’t just in Poland, but in America. And obviously, being a part of EQUAL was wonderful.

June 2022 saw you named the youngest EQUAL Global Ambassador, and now Wrapped has revealed that you’re the #1 Most Streamed Artist on Spotify’s global EQUAL Playlist in 2022. How are you feeling about your accomplishments this year? 

That’s crazy. Like, actually crazy. And I’m just so happy and so honored to serve as an example for women and younger people, and show that you can do it and nothing’s going to stop you. You just have to follow your dreams.

Which women artists have you been listening to most this year?

There were a lot, but I would definitely say ROSALÍA, that’s for sure. I would also say Billie Eilish, Tems, and Beyoncé’s album RENAISSANCE. 

What are you excited for most in your 2022 Artist Wrapped? How do you think you’ll use the learnings going forward?

This is going to be my first year experiencing my Artist Wrapped. I’m really excited and just want to see what I’m going to find out. I’m super excited and I’ll probably learn a lot of stuff. For example, I’m interested to see where people listen to me. For example, if I discover people in Spain listen to me a lot, then maybe I will release a song in Spanish.

What does Sara James have in store for the world in 2023?

Music, music, music, that’s for sure. I want to go on tour for my new album. I also want to show the world the more mature Sara James.

Want to learn more about one of 2022’s hottest songwriters? Listen to our Wrapped episode of Spotify: Discover This with Tainy.