I’ve waited years for this Spotify lyrics feature, and it’s finally here

As an avid language learner, I’m always told that listening to music in that language is a good way to pick up new words. That’s a lot easier if you can actually understand what’s being said, so I’ve often wondered why I couldn’t get translated lyrics on Spotify — especially after meeting people who somehow already had access to them. I even put the feature on my wishlist back in 2024. It turns out there’s been a long-running test I wasn’t a part of, but it looks like my wait is finally over.

According to an announcement on the Spotify Newsroom, the company is rolling out three upgrades to its Lyrics feature, covering translations, offline access, and how lyrics are displayed while a song is playing. Spotify says lyrics are viewed hundreds of millions of times each day, and these changes are meant to make them easier to follow and more useful wherever you’re listening.

The biggest update, at least for me, is that lyrics translations are now rolling out worldwide. After previously being limited to testing in around 25 markets, translations are becoming available globally for tracks that support them. When a translation is available, you’ll see a translate icon on the lyrics card, letting you view the translated text beneath the original lyrics and switch back at any time. This feature is available to both free and Premium listeners.

Spotify is also making lyrics available offline, but this one is exclusive to Premium subscribers. If you download a song to listen to without a connection, the lyrics will now download automatically too. That means you can still follow along in the wilderness, on a plane, or anywhere else your signal drops out.

The final change moves lyrics into a more prominent spot in the player itself. Instead of needing to swipe into the lyrics card, lyric previews now appear in the Now Playing view directly beneath the album artwork or Canvas as a song plays, scrolling line by line in real time. You can turn this off if you prefer the old layout, but Spotify says early testing suggests the new placement makes it easier to engage with songs and revisit new discoveries. This particular change had already been spotted by users a few days ago, but today’s announcement makes it official and confirms the wider rollout.

All three features are rolling out globally now, with lyric previews available on mobile and tablet across iOS and Android. As always with Spotify updates, availability may vary a bit depending on your account and device, but this one already seems to be landing for many people, including me.

And with Bad Bunny headlining the Super Bowl halftime show this Sunday, this rollout feels particularly well-timed. It gives you a few days not only to get acquainted with his music but also to understand what he’ll be singing about.