Behind the Lyrics was an older Spotify feature that showed facts about a song and its artist on the Now Playing screen. Spotify’s current help pages no longer include Behind the Lyrics or a setting for it. The lyric feature Spotify documents today is Lyrics preview, and you can hide it: play a song, open the Now Playing view, tap the more-options button, and tap Lyrics.
These steps follow Spotify’s View lyrics and Now Playing view help articles.
In this article:
- Hide Lyrics preview on iPhone
- View, expand or share lyrics
- Lyrics on the desktop app
- If you still see Behind the Lyrics
- FAQs
How to Hide Lyrics Preview in the Spotify iPhone App
Spotify says Lyrics preview shows lyrics in real time under the album art, or over Canvas, while a song plays. It is on by default. To turn it off:
- Open the Spotify app and play a song.
- Tap the Now Playing bar at the bottom of the screen to open the full Now Playing view.
- Tap the more-options button.
- Tap Lyrics to switch the preview off. Tap it again to turn it back on.
Spotify notes that this setting applies to every track with available lyrics, so you only need to change it once. Lyrics preview isn’t available on music videos.
Result: Songs play without lyrics scrolling under the artwork. You can still open the full lyrics whenever you want them.
Hiding the preview doesn’t remove lyrics from Spotify. To see them on your iPhone:
- Tap the Now Playing bar.
- Scroll down to Lyrics.
- Tap the lyrics for a full-screen view.
To share a few lines, open the lyrics in full screen, tap the share button at the bottom, tap the lines you want to highlight, then tap Share and choose an app.
Spotify says lyrics are available on both the free and Premium plans, but not every song or device has them. New lyrics are added every day.
How to Show or Hide Lyrics in the Spotify Desktop App
On a computer, play a song and click the lyrics button at the bottom of the window. Click it again to go back. Spotify’s Now Playing view on desktop also shows panels such as About the Artist, On Tour and Next in queue.
If you play your own music files on your computer, see how to show local files in the Spotify desktop app.
What to Do If You Still See Behind the Lyrics
Spotify no longer documents Behind the Lyrics. In the older app versions this article first covered (back in 2017), the switch was in Settings under Playback. If you still see Behind the Lyrics cards, update Spotify from the App Store so you have the current Now Playing view and Lyrics preview controls.
If the app is acting strangely after an update, clearing its cache can help. See how to delete the cache in Spotify on iPhone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does hiding Lyrics preview affect other devices?
Spotify describes the switch in the Now Playing view of the mobile app and says it applies to all tracks with lyrics. If you also use Spotify on a tablet or computer, check the lyrics view there too.
Why don’t I see lyrics for a song?
Spotify says lyrics may not be available on all songs and devices, and they aren’t shown on music videos.
Can I stop songs from shuffling?
Yes. See how to turn off shuffle in Spotify on iPhone.
More Spotify Guides
- How to view the album for a song on a Spotify playlist
- How to block explicit content in the iPhone Spotify app
- How to increase streaming quality in the iPhone Spotify app
Matthew Burleigh has been writing tech tutorials since 2008. His writing has appeared on dozens of different websites and been read hundreds of millions of times.
After receiving his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science he spent several years working in IT management for small businesses. However, he now works full time writing content online and creating websites.
His main writing topics include iPhones, Microsoft Office, Google Apps, Android, and Photoshop, but he has also written about many other tech topics as well.