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The most played songs ever on Spotify
Spotify is one of the world's leading music streaming platforms and its charts can often give us an indication of the success of a song or album.
The list of the most listened to songs, in particular, is often subject to change, and in the first months of 2023, there was a major overtaking at the top of the chart.
At the top of the most streamed songs, in fact, there is no longer Ed Sheeran's 'Shape of You', which for a long time seemed unapproachable, but this is not the only song to have changed position in the Top 20. Here is the ranking of the most played songs on Spotify.
The latest updates on the most played songs ever on Spotify
Spotify is one of the world's leading music streaming platforms and its charts can often give us an indication of the success of a song or album. The list of the most listened to songs, in particular, is often subject to change and in the first six months of 2023, there was a major overtaking at the top of the chart. At the top of the most streamed songs, in fact, there is no longer Ed Sheeran's 'Shape of You', which for a long time seemed unapproachable, but this is not the only song to have changed position in the Top 20. Here is the ranking of the most played songs on Spotify.
20. Don't Start Now - Dua Lipa (approx. 2 billion, 265 million listens)
Released in November 2019, this song was praised by most music critics, especially as it symbolises Dua Lipa's artistic growth. In total, 'Don't Start Now' achieved 41 platinum and 5 diamond records (including 3 in Brazil).
19. Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles (approx. 2 billion 269 million listens).
The second track taken from the album 'Fine Line', 'Watermelon Sugar' won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance, as well as being voted 'British Song of the Year' in 2021. The track has won six diamond records, half of them in Brazil.
18. Bad Guy - Billie Eilish (approx. 2 billion 287 million listens).
'Bad Guy' is the single that made Billie Eilish known to audiences around the world. The song won two Grammy Awards for 'Recording of the Year' and 'Song of the Year'. A curiosity: in an interview with Rolling Stone, Billie and her brother Finneas stated that they had incorporated the sound of a traffic light in Sydney into the base of the song, a sound recorded by the singer herself with her phone.
17. Lovely - Billie Eilish and Khalid (approx. 2 billion 302 million listens)
Back on the charts Billie Eilish, this time with the song 'Lovely', recorded in 2018 in collaboration with Khalid and featured on the soundtrack of the Netflix TV Series '13 Reasons Why'. To date, the song has achieved 41 platinum records and one diamond record.
16. Say You Won't Let Go - James Arthur (approximately 2 billion 379 million listens).
'Say You Won't Let Go' is one of the most famous songs by James Arthur, a singer who became famous after winning the ninth edition of The X Factor UK. The song has achieved a total of 53 platinum records (including 16 in Australia and 7 in Sweden), but also 4 diamond records (2 in Brazil, one in Canada and one in France).
15. As It Was - Harry Styles (approx. 2 billion 384 million listens)
The first single from the multi-award winning album 'Harry's House', this track received unanimous acclaim and just over a year after its release it entered the Top 20 most listened to songs of all time. 'As It Was' also earned the record for the most played track globally in a day on Spotify for a male artist, with over 16.1 million streams.
14. Señorita - Camilla Cabello & Shawn Mendes (approx. 2 billion 452 million listens)
Camilla Cabello and Shawn Mendes on their second collaboration scored an incredible worldwide success with 'Señorita'. The song's video clip won four nominations at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, in the 'Best Collaboration', 'Best Set Design', 'Best Cinematography' and 'Best Choreography' categories, winning in the 'Best Collaboration' and 'Best Cinematography' categories.
13. Starboy - The Weeknd feat. Daft Punk (approx. 2 billion 487 million listens)
'Starboy' was released in September 2016 as the first single taken from The Weeknd's self-titled album. The song's video clip won an MTV Europe Music Award in the 'Best Video' category.
12. Heat Waves - Glass Animals (approx. 2 billion 488 million listens)
'Heat Waves' is the most successful song by the British indie rock band Glass Animals. The song became very popular thanks to TikTok and went 47 platinum and 3 diamond records.
11. Perfect - Ed Sheeran (approx. 2 billion 506 million listens)
Ed Sheeran stated that in writing 'Perfect', his goal was to make the best love song of his career, surpassing even 'Thinking Out Loud'. Besides the original version, there are two other versions of this song: 'Perfect Duet', sung with Beyoncé, and 'Perfect Symphony', performed with tenor Andrea Bocelli.
10. Believer - Imagine Dragons (approx. 2 billion 543 million listens)
'Believer' is the first single from Imagine Dragons' third album, 'Evolve'. The track stayed at the top position of Billboard's Rock Songs for 29 weeks in a row, but that's not enough: together with two other Imagine Dragons singles, 'Thunder' and 'Whatever It Takes', 'Believer' occupied the top 3 positions of the Rock Songs for 16 weeks in a row in 2018. In the video clip of the song, singer Dan Reynolds challenges actor Dolph Lundgren, who played the famous Ivan Drago in the film 'Rocky IV', to a boxing match.
9. Closer - The Chainsmokers feat. Halsey (approx. 2 billion 560 million listens)
The writing of 'Closer' was inspired by the song 'I Miss You' by Blink-182, so much so that the group is also mentioned in the song's lyrics. The song stayed at the top of the Billboard 100 chart for 12 weeks, earning it the title of longest-running single at number one during the year 2016.
8. Stay - The Kid Laroi feat. Justin Bieber (approx. 2 billion 605 million listens)
This is the second collaboration between The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber, following the track 'Unstable', contained on Bieber's album 'Justice'. 'Stay' was much more successful, however, being the second best-selling single globally during 2021 with a total of 2.07 billion streams accumulated.
7. One Dance - Drake (approximately 2 billion 668 million listens).
'One Dance' features Nigerian singer Wizkid and British singer Kyla and is part of Drake's fourth studio album, 'Views'. The song went 56 platinum and 3 diamond records.
6. Rockstar - Post Malone feat. 21 Savage (approx. 2 billion 697 million listens)
In sixth position we find Post Malone with 'Rockstar', the first track taken from the singer's second studio album, called 'Beerbongs & Bentleys'. The song features British rapper 21 Savage.
5. Sunflower - Post Malone & Swae Lee (approx. 2 billion 713 million listens)
'Sunflower' is part of the soundtrack to the animated film 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'. The track debuted at number nine on the US Billboard 100, becoming the fifth Top Ten song for Post Malone and the second for Swae Lee.
4. Someone You Loved - Lewis Capaldi (approximately 2 billion 825 million listens).
'Someone You Loved' is the song that launched Lewis Capaldi's career: it was thanks to this song that the singer-songwriter became known to an international audience. The song was nominated at the 2020 Grammy Awards as 'Song of the Year', as well as at the BRIT Awards, where it triumphed in the same category.
3. Dance Monkey - Tones And I (approximately 2 billion 838 million listens).
'Dance Monkey' holds a special record: it is in fact the most searched song ever on Shazam, being searched about 41 million times. The song has achieved extraordinary success worldwide, being certified with 77 platinum and 8 diamond discs.
2. Shape of You - Ed Sheeran (approximately 3 billion, 516 million listens).
It no longer tops the chart of most listened to songs on Spotify, yet the success of 'Shape of You' remains universal. From 2017 until early 2023, the song was the most listened to song ever, and its success was certified with a Grammy Award in the category 'Best Pop Solo Performance'.
1. Blinding Lights - The Weeknd (approx. 3 billion 633 million listens).
In first place is 'Blinding Lights' by The Weeknd. Released more than two years after 'Shape of You', the song has become the most listened to song ever on Spotify, so much so that the Canadian singer-songwriter himself on Twitter wished his fans a happy 2023 by celebrating this achievement. Of course, this achievement does not mean that 'Blinding Lights' is the most listened to song ever in general. For example, on YouTube there is no history: the official video of 'Shape of You' has 5.9 billion views, that of 'Blinding Lights' about 1.4 billion.