Music streaming services are a big business, and they’re only getting bigger. The biggest of them all, Spotify, recently announced that it has over 100 million paying subscribers—that’s more than half the population of the U.S., in case you were wondering. So it should come as no surprise that we use these services to discover artists and new music. But what are people listening to? Which artists are most popular on Spotify? Let’s take a look:
The Weeknd
The Weeknd is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer. He was born Abel Tesfaye in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. In 2010 he released three mixtapes: House of Balloons (2010), Thursday (2011) and Echoes of Silence (2011). In 2012 he released his debut album Kiss Land which reached number two on the US Billboard 200 chart. His second studio album Beauty Behind The Madness was released in 2015 and peaked at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart as well as reaching number one in Canada and Australia. The Weeknd also won an American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist at this ceremony held on November 23rd 2016 – it was his first AMA win!
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift is the fourth most popular artist on Spotify, and has been in the top 10 since 2016. Her most popular album is 1989, which has over 1 billion streams on Spotify. Taylor Swift’s success comes from her ability to appeal to a wide audience with songs that are catchy but still meaningful–and sometimes even political. She’s also one of only three women who have ever had three albums go platinum (or more).
Drake
Drake is a Canadian rapper and actor. He is known for his music, acting, and philanthropy. Drake has been nominated for 22 Grammy Awards and won one of them in 2016. He also won an Emmy Award in 2017 for his songwriting on the TV show “Atlanta.”
Rihanna
Rihanna is a Barbadian singer and songwriter. She has released nine studio albums, two extended plays, two remix albums, sixty-one singles and thirty-four music videos. Her work has earned her numerous awards including six Grammy Awards (including one for Best Music Video), five American Music Awards and eighteen Billboard Music Awards. In 2012 she was presented with the “Icon Award” at the World Music Awards for becoming the best-selling female artist of all time in both album sales and singles sales worldwide.[1] With over 150 million records sold worldwide,[2] Rihanna is one of the best-selling artists ever.[3]
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran is the most popular artist on Spotify. He has 74.9 million monthly listeners, and his most popular song is “Shape of You,” with over 1.3 billion streams. The British singer/songwriter was born in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire in 1991. He began writing songs as a teenager and released his debut album + (plus) in 2011 at just 22 years old; it was followed by Multiply (2014), X (multiply) (2017), Divide (2018), No Plan B EP (2019) and Gingerbread Man EP(2020).
Doja Cat
Doja Cat is a rapper from Los Angeles. She has collaborated with artists like Ariana Grande, Ty Dolla $ign and ASAP Rocky. Her song “Mooo” reached number one on Spotify’s Global Viral 50 chart in 2018. Doja Cat’s real name is Amala Zandile Dlamini and she was born in Johannesburg, South Africa on December 16th 1994 but moved to California when she was three years old.
Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber is a Canadian singer and songwriter. He was born on March 1, 1994 in London, Ontario. Bieber began his career through YouTube, posting videos of himself covering songs from famous artists like Usher, Chris Brown and Ne-Yo. In 2008 he signed with Island Records before releasing his debut EP ‘My World’ later that year. The EP reached number one in Canada and the US where it sold over 2 million copies worldwide. His first album ‘My World 2.0’ was released in 2010; it reached number one in over 15 countries around the world including Australia and New Zealand as well as reaching number two in both America and Europe
Dua Lipa
Dua Lipa is a singer and songwriter born in London, England. She has released two albums, ‘Dua Lipa’ (2017) and ‘Dua Lipa: New Rules’ (2018). The latter album includes the hit singles “IDGAF,” “One Kiss” with Calvin Harris, and her collaboration with Charli XCX on “1999.” Lipa won numerous awards including the Brit Award for British Female Solo Artist in 2018.
Bad Bunny
Bad Bunny is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter. He is also known as El Marielito, because he was born in Mariel, Cuba. Bad Bunny has released two studio albums: X 100pre and La Isla Bonita. His first album reached number one on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart in 2019, making him the first artist from Puerto Rico to do so since Daddy Yankee’s Barrio Fino (2004).
These are the most popular artists on Spotify, according to our data. If you want to see what else is trending in music, check out our blog for more insights into the world of streaming!
