This Is What the World Listened to the Most In 2021
The pandemic flipped the world on its head in 2020. We had to get used to living in an unfamiliar environment, which eventually became our new ‘normal’ in 2021. While I don’t want to skim over all of the terrible things that have happened this past year, one of the positives that have come out of the pandemic is that it opened up people’s minds to trying new experiences, such as listening to new artists and podcasts.
If you are one of our millions of Spotify subscribers, you just recently watched your Spotify Wrapped recap and got to see all your top artists, albums, songs, and more of the past year. In this blog, I wanted to share the most-streamed artists, albums, songs, and more according to the listening preferences of our global audience.
Top Artists Globally
Bad Bunny wasn’t only the most-streamed artist in the world this past year, he was also 2020’s top artist as well. He received over 9 billion streams without even releasing a new song or album. Following behind him is Taylor Swift, whose Red (Taylor’s Version) won the hearts of old and new fans alike. In the third spot is k-pop group BTS, who is followed by Drake and then Justin Beiber.
Top Songs Globally
Coming in at the top spot with over 1 billion streams is “drivers license” by Olivia Rodrigo. “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” by Lil Nas X takes the second spot, and then The Kid LAROI makes his first debut at the top with his collaboration “Stay” with Justin Beiber. Olivia Rodrigo actually makes two appearances in this category, as “good 4 u” earns the fourth spot, and then Dua Lipa’s “Levitating (feat. DaBaby)” takes the fifth spot.
Top Albums Globally
Once again, Olivia Rodrigo steals the top spot with her debut album, SOUR. In second and third place we have Future Nostalgia by Dua Lipa and Justice by Justin Beiber, and then in the fourth and fifth spots are = by Ed Sheeran and Planet Her by Doja Cat.
Top Podcasts Globally
The Joe Rogan Experience has nabbed the top spot in this category, after just one year as a Spotify exclusive. Also exclusive to Spotify this year is Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy, which came in second. True crime and news podcasts also showed their popularity this past year, with Crime Junkie coming in third, TED Talks Daily coming in fourth, and then The Daily coming in fifth.
Other Notable Trends
While it is always fun to see which artists are the most-streamed that year, it is also exciting to watch for any notable trends that pop up. These are usually different each year, but really give a behind-the-scenes look into what types of music and podcasts really caught people’s attention.
Nostalgia, for example, really fueled 2021’s listening. Albums like Rumours by Fleetwood Mac and Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park were readopted by fans — as were songs like Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”
Then, you have the hobbies that people took up this past year, in part due to the pandemic and all of this newfound time spent at home. A lot of the world got into gardening and plants, so it’s no surprise to see that Spotify’s Music for Plant’s playlist received an onslaught of new listeners. This also spurred people to add more plant-themed music to their own personal playlists. Songs like “Ivy” by Frank Ocean and “Garden (Say It Like Dat) by SZA were both frequently added tracks.
You can take a closer look at all of these music and podcasts trends here. Just as it was great seeing all the data that came out about 2021, I, for one, am excited to see what 2022 brings.