In a year in which Drake released two albums, won one almighty rap beef and had memes made out of his every move, the Canadian artist has been named as the most streamed artist in the world on Spotify in 2015.
Drake was listed as having 46 million listeners and over 1.8bn streams this year. He beats the likes of Ed Sheeran, the Weeknd, Maroon 5 and Kanye West, who occupy the rest of the all-male, global artists’ top 5.
According to the service’s annual Year in Music lists, Spotify has over 75 million listeners streaming over 20bn hours of music.
Despite no new material, Ed Sheeran was the most streamed artist in the UK with over 59 million listeners in 2015. More impressively, the singer-songwriter is now also the most streamed artist on Spotify of all time. With more than 3bn streams to date, he overtook the previous most-streamed artist, Eminem.
Rihanna, meanwhile, had over 1bn streams and 57 million listeners this year, and is the most streamed female artist of 2015.
Given the huge success of his singles this year, it comes as no surprise to find that Justin Bieber set a record for the most streams in a single day with 36 million streams on 13 November. Despite his No 1 tracks What Do You Mean and Where Are You Now, he does not hold the record for the most streamed song of the year, however. That credit goes to Lean On, featuring MØ and DJ Snake, by Major Lazer.
The most streamed album was The Weeknd’s follow up to Kiss Land, Beauty Behind the Madness, which was streamed by 60 million listeners.
“It’s been an insane year working with some really talented people,” said the Weeknd’s Abel Tesfaye. “Thank you to the fans on Spotify for making Beauty Behind the Madness the most streamed album of 2015.”
For no specified reason 19 June was the biggest day for streams on Spotify in 2015.
Global Results
Top Five Global Artists (also Top Five Global Male Artists)
1. Drake
2. Ed Sheeran
3. The Weeknd
4. Maroon 5
5. Kanye West
Top Five Global Female Artists
1. Rihanna
2. Ariana Grande
3. Nicki Minaj
4. Beyoncé
5. Ellie Goulding
Top Five Global Tracks
1. Lean On (feat. MØ & DJ Snake) – Major Lazer
2. Cheerleader – Felix Jaehn Remix Radio Edit – OMI
3. Uptown Funk – Mark Ronson
4. See You Again (feat. Charlie Puth) – Wiz Khalifa
5. Love Me Like You Do – From Fifty Shades Of Grey – Ellie Goulding
Top Five Global Albums
1. Beauty Behind the Madness – The Weeknd
2. If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late – Drake
3. Peace Is the Mission – Major Lazer
4. Stories – Avicii
5. Title – Meghan Trainor
Top Five Global Viral Tracks
1. Sugar (feat. Francesco Yates) – Robin Schulz
2. Hotline Bling – Drake
3. Ain’t Nobody (Loves Me Better) – Felix Jaehn
4. Can’t Feel My Face – The Weeknd
5. Here – Alessia Cara
Top Five Global Playlists
1. Today’s Top Hits
2. Afternoon Acoustic
3. Baila Reggaeton
4. Hot Country
5. RapCaviar
UK Results
Top Five Artists in the UK
1. Ed Sheeran
2. The Weeknd
3. Drake
4. Sam Smith
5. Kanye West
Top Five Females in the UK
1. Rihanna
2. Beyoncé
3. Ellie Goulding
4. Nicki Minaj
5. Sia
Top Five Tracks in the UK
1. Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix) – OMI
2. Uptown Funk – Mark Ronson
3. Lean On (feat. MØ & DJ Snake) – Major Lazer
4. Take Me to Church - Hozier
5. See You Again (feat. Charlie Puth) – Wiz Khalifa
Top Five Albums in the UK
1. Beauty Behind the Madness – The Weeknd
2. Chaos and the Calm – James Bay
3. Communion – Years & Years
4. Peace Is the Mission – Major Lazer
5. Me 4 U – OMI
Top Five Playlists in the UK
1. Hot Hits UK
2. Topsify UK Top 40
3. Today’s Top Hits
4. Afternoon Acoustic
5. Feelin’ Good
