The Weeknd has set a new record for the most monthly listeners on Spotify, raking in more than 100 million per month. He’s well clear of his closest competitors: Miley Cyrus, who sits in second place on the monthly rankings, only brings in a paltry 82.5 million listeners.
The achievement comes barely two months after The Weeknd’s song ‘Blinding Lights’ became the most streamed song ever on Spotify – with a casual 3.334 billion streams at the time the record was broken in early January. Ed Sheeran previously held the record, with ‘Shape Of You’ sitting at around 3.332 billion streams when The Weeknd passed him by.
The Weeknd: ‘Die For You’
Earlier this week The Weeknd – Abel Tesfaye – dropped a new remix of his 2016 track ‘Die For You’, which has seen a bump in popularity recently due to TikTok. It features his previous collaborator Ariana Grande – the two last teamed up on a remix of The Weeknd’s After Hours single ‘Save Your Tears’. That remix roared up the Billboard charts to #1, so it’s understandable the Canadian artist wishes to repeat the formula.
Outside of Spotify records, it hasn’t exactly been a stellar week for The Weeknd, having come under fire for his role on HBO’s new series The Idol. Directed by Euphoria’s Sam Levinson, the production has been accused of being “torture porn” by sources in an extensive article in Rolling Stone. The Idol stars Tesfaye as a cult leader who starts a relationship with a young pop singer, played by Lily Rose-Depp.
The Weeknd responded to the article by tweeting a clip from the show, in which he called Rolling Stone “irrelevant”.
Further Reading
The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’ is Spotify’s Most Streamed Song Ever
Triple J Has Revealed Its Most Played Artists Of 2022
Here’s the Second Trailer for The Weeknd & HBO’s Upcoming Drama Series ‘The Idol’
