On Wednesday (Dec. 4), Spotify Wrapped unveiled its highly coveted list of the most streamed artists, albums, and singles for 2024.
For the second year in a row, Taylor Swift continued her reign at No. 1 on the index for Most-Streamed Artists Globally, followed by The Weeknd, Bad Bunny, and Drake. Travis Scott and Kanye West also secured spots in the Top 10, with the Chicago lyricist dropping two joint albums alongside Ty Dolla Sign.
The Weeknd, who has been smashing Spotify records over the past few months, dropped a string of singles ahead of his upcoming studio album, Hurry Up Tomorrow. September saw the release of “Dancing In The Flames,” followed by “Timeless” with Playboi Carti. For Halloween, he teamed up with Brazilian artist Anitta on “São Paulo.”
Drake, meanwhile, dropped a series of diss tracks targeting Kendrick Lamar, Metro Boomin, Rick Ross, and others. He also released two three-packs, first on Instagram and later on DSPs, featuring tracks like “Housekeeping Knows” with Latto, “No Face,” “Circadian Rhythm,” and “It’s Up.”
Surprisingly, Lamar wasn’t among Spotify’s most-streamed artists around the world, but his “Not Like Us” did fare well in two other categories: U.S. Most-Streamed Songs at No. 2 and Most-Viral Songs Globally at No. 10. The first-mentioned list also saw the inclusion of Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” and Tommy Richman’s “MILLION DOLLAR BABY.”
When it came to the most-listened-to albums, Hip Hop was completely absent from the Top 10. However, SZA’s SOS, despite being released roughly two years ago, came in strong at No. 7, while The Weekend’s 2016 effort, Starboy, claimed the 10th position.
Speaking on the most surprising music trends of the year, John Stein, Spotify’s head of North American editorial, explained, “Country seemed to further extend its dominance and reach in 2024. We had superstars like Beyoncé and Post Malone release incredibly successful albums in the genre, and we saw breakout moments from Dasha with ‘Austin (Boots Stop Workin’)’ and Shaboozey with ‘A Bar Song (Tipsy)’ — the latter on pace to crack a billion streams in less than eight months.”