Spotify has just released its annual list of the most popular artists, albums, and tracks for 2016, and Drake is the clear winner. Just like last year, the Canadian rapper and unofficial meme king took home the title of Spotify’s most-streamed artist with a whopping 4.7 billion streams.
Drake was streamed 4.7 billion times on Spotify
Music-wise, 2016 has been a pretty good year for the singer / songwriter / record producer / actor, whose streaming domination extends beyond Spotify. His most recent album, Views, hit 1 billion streams on Apple Music, which earned him a Tim Cook-signed celebratory plaque. He was also the most listened to artist on Pandora in most US states. Drake is currently working on a collaboration with Kanye West, so keep an eye out for their version of Watch the Throne.
Drake also topped Spotify’s most-streamed album of the year with Views, and the most-streamed track with “One Dance (feat. WizKid and Kyla)” — strangely also the most popular breakup song of 2016. For the second year in a row, Rihanna dominated the most-streamed female artist category, ahead of Ariana Grande, Sia, Adele, and Fifth Harmony. Former One Directioner Zayn Malik, referred to by his stage name Zayn, was named Spotify’s breakout artist for 2016.