Valentine’s Day in Kenya is shifting from grand gestures to quiet reflection, according to a report from Spotify. What was once marked by flowers, restaurant reservations and carefully curated Instagram posts is now becoming a more introspective season. For many, the holiday is less a declaration of love than a moment to process relationships that have changed or ended. Music, the report shows, has become a primary space for Kenyans to revisit past feelings and work through heartbreak.
Spotify data highlights the change clearly. Between 2023 and 2025, streams of heartbreak-themed songs in Kenya rose 62 percent, while love-themed listening increased more than 80 percent. Playlist creation between January 1 and February 4, 2026, grew by 58 percent, suggesting listeners are preparing their emotional soundtracks in advance of the holiday.
Gen Z dominates the emotional landscape, curating playlists that blend rap, romance and reflective tracks sometimes within the same hour. The 0-29 age group accounted for 78 percent of “simp” playlists, 89 percent of “rizz” playlists and 92 percent of “yearn” playlists on Spotify, reflecting the group’s engagement with complicated relationships and “situationships with no official ending.” Popular artists include Billie Eilish, Lord Huron and Tate McRae, whose music tends to accompany sadness rather than resolve it.
Contrary to expectations, heartbreak listening in Kenya is not limited by gender. Spotify data shows an almost even split, with 51 percent of heartbreak streams coming from women and 47 percent from men, and love-themed streams following a similar pattern. The findings suggest emotional reflection is a shared experience. “Valentine’s has become the one time of year when everyone is allowed to feel something without having to explain it,” the report notes.
Older listeners tend to approach the season more calmly, gravitating toward Quiet Storm and Vocal Jazz, which were among the top-streamed genres ahead of Valentine’s Day 2026. Locally, Bien’s Chikwere leads love listening, while international favorites such as Céline Dion and Westlife remain popular, underscoring a preference for familiar, emotionally resonant music.
Globally, Spotify data shows playlist creation around Valentine’s has nearly quadrupled over the past three years, with Galentine’s-themed playlists growing 389 percent between 2022 and 2025. The trend suggests that for many, planning music in advance has become as much a part of the season as flowers or chocolates. Podcasts also play a role, offering context and emotional framing. On February 14, 2025, Julia Gaitho’s So This Is Love and Episode 86: SOuLMaTe from The97sPodcast were among the most-streamed, while The Weeknd’s Cry for Me was the most blended track.
Spotify is partnering with Kenyan creator Kevin Maina, known as MainaMind, to launch “The Blend Date,” a digital short-form series that transforms Spotify’s Blend feature into a lighthearted music compatibility test. The series explores how shared playlists can signal chemistry, spark connection and uncover personal stories through listening habits.
Spanning ten weekly episodes running between 60 and 90 seconds, the show follows Kevin as he goes on distinctive “dates” with a rotating lineup of musicians, creators and fans. Each encounter uses Spotify Blend to determine whether the pair are truly in sync or musically mismatched. Episodes will debut on Instagram Reels and will also be cross-posted on TikTok.
The launch arrives at a moment when shared listening is gaining renewed relevance. As Valentine’s Day nears, Spotify data indicates that listeners are increasingly turning to music to interpret romance, longing and the complexities of modern dating. In Kenya, playlists created between January 1 and February 4 containing the word “yearn” rose about 302 percent year on year, signaling a growing appetite for emotionally driven listening.
The pattern extends beyond Kenya. Globally, “yearn” playlists increased 170 percent over the same period, reflecting a broader shift toward music that captures vulnerability and desire. At the same time, Spotify Blend remains a popular tool for connection among friends and couples. On February 14, 2025, listeners logged a record number of hours using Blend worldwide, marking the platform’s highest single-day total for the year to that point and representing roughly a 21 percent increase from Valentine’s Day 2024.