As another year draws to a close, so too arrives Spotify Wrapped season, with the streaming giant having just released the data on users’ listening habits for 2021.
Though there’s a lot of the names you’d expect (Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Drake were in the top five most listened artists both here in Australia and globally), this year’s Wrapped also serves as a reminder of the newer artists that truly broke through this year.
Olivia Rodrigo‘s debut single ‘drivers license’, for instance, was the most-streamed song around the world, and the second-most streamed song here in Australia – defeated only by Glass Animals‘ Hottest 100-winning hit ‘Heat Waves’. Globally, it was followed by Lil Nas X‘s huge ‘MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)’.
This goes without saying, but it was also a huge year for The Kid LAROI. In Australia, he was the most streamed Aussie artist, and the fifth most-streamed overall. Bieber collab ‘STAY’ was the third most-streamed song globally, and ‘WITHOUT YOU’ and ‘SO DONE also had great innings here in Australia.
And both in Australia and globally, the albums that were streamed the most this year included Rodrigo’s debut album SOUR, Ed Sheeran‘s latest =, Bieber’s Justice and Dua Lipa‘s Future Nostalgia.
Incidentally, this was also the year musicians around the world protested outside Spotify’s offices demanding fairer payment and greater transparency, and the company acquired a speech monitoring patent. But, without further ado:
Spotify Wrapped 2021
Most Streamed Artists Globally
- Bad Bunny
- Taylor Swift
- BTS
- Drake
- Justin Bieber
Most Streamed Songs Globally
- Olivia Rodrigo – ‘drivers license’
- Lil Nas X – ‘MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)
- The Kid LAROI – ‘STAY’ (with Justin Bieber)
- Olivia Rodrigo – ‘good 4 u’
- Dua Lipa – ‘Levitating’ (feat. DaBaby)
Most Streamed Albums Globally
- Olivia Rodrigo, SOUR
- Dua Lipa, Future Nostalgia
- Justin Bieber, Justice
- Ed Sheeran, =
- Doja Cat, Planet Her
Most Popular Podcasts Globally
- The Joe Rogan Experience
- Call Her Daddy
- Crime Junkie
- TED Talks Daily
- The Daily
Most Streamed Artists (Australia)
- Taylor Swift
- Justin Bieber
- Drake
- Ed Sheeran
- The Kid LAROI
Most Streamed Australian Artists (Australia)
- The Kid LAROI
- The Wiggles
- Hillhop Hoods
- AC/DC
- Flume
Most Streamed Songs (Australia)
- Glass Animals – ‘Heat Waves’
- Olivia Rodrigo – ‘drivers license’
- The Kid LAROI – ‘STAY’ (with Justin Bieber)
- Olivia Rodrigo – ‘good 4 u’
- The Kid LAROI – ‘WITHOUT YOU’
Most Streamed Songs by Australian Artists (Australia)
- The Kid LAROI – ‘STAY’ (with Justin Bieber)
- The Kid LAROI – ‘WITHOUT YOU’
- Masked Wolf – ‘Astronaut in the Ocean’
- The Kid LAROI – ‘SO DONE’
- Tones and I – ‘Fly Away’
Most Streamed Albums (Australia)
- Olivia Rodrigo, SOUR
- Ed Sheeran, =
- The Kid LAROI, F*CK LOVE (SAVAGE)
- Justin Bieber, Justice
- Dua Lipa, Future Nostalgia
Most Streamed Podcasts (Australia)
1. The Joe Rogan Experience
2. ABC News Briefing
3. Casefile True Crime
4. Hamish & Andy
5. The Update