Spotify’s 2021 Wrapped Results & Experience is Here 01 Dec 2021
If 2020 was the year that flipped the world on its head, 2021 was the year that we got used to seeing things upside down. With "normal" thrown out the window, we embraced the unknown and championed all of the things that make each of us unique. Spotify's 2021 Wrapped is a celebration of this — the millions of weird and wonderful ways to listen and live in a world that continues to keep us on our toes.
Spotify is today unveiling its annual 2021 Wrapped campaign and personalised user experience inspired by just that. At the same time, we're unveiling the top artists, albums, songs, playlists and podcasts from the creators that helped soundtrack the year for more than 381 million users worldwide.
So, how did the world listen this year? Here's what we found:
MUSIC (GLOBAL)
- Top Global Artists: With more than 9.1 billion streams this year, Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny is our most-streamed artist of 2021. Check out Bad Bunny's reaction when he first learned the news HERE. The second most-streamed artist - and most streamed female artist of the year - is Taylor Swift (#2), followed by BTS (#3), Drake (#4) and Justin Bieber (#5).
- Top Global Songs: The most-streamed song of 2021 is Olivia Rodrigo's "drivers license" with more than 1.1 billion streamsthis year. In the second and third spots respectively, are Lil Nas X's "MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)" (#2) and "STAY (with Justin Bieber)" by The Kid LAROI (#3). The fourth most-streamed song of the year is another one from Olivia Rodrigo with "good 4 u" (#4), followed by "Levitating (feat. DaBaby)" by Dua Lipa (#5).
- Top Global Albums: The most-streamed album globally of 2021 is Olivia Rodrigo's SOUR, followed by Dua Lipa's Future Nostalgia (#2) and Justin Bieber's Justice (#3). Rounding out the list of top albums are Ed Sheeran's "=" (#4) and Doja Cat'sPlanet Her (#5).
PODCASTS (GLOBAL)
- Most Popular Podcast Shows: The Joe Rogan Experience takes the number one slot for most popular podcast of the year globally. Coming in second and third are Call Her Daddy (#2) and Crime Junkie (#3). The fourth most popular podcast is TED Talks Daily (#4), followed by The Daily (#5).
MUSIC (UK)
- Top Artists in the UK: Certified Lover Boy Drake is the most-streamed UK artist of 2021. The second most-streamed artist in the UK - and most streamed female artist of the year - is Taylor Swift (#2), followed by Ed Sheeran (#3), Justin Bieber (#4), and Juice WRLD (#5).
- Top Songs in the UK: The UK's most-streamed song of 2021 is also Olivia Rodrigo, but "good 4 u" tops the UK chart with"drivers license" in second place. Third place goes to Ed Sheeran with "Bad Habits", followed by Lil Nas X's "MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)" (#4) and Glass Animals "Heat Waves" (#5)
- Top Albums in the UK: Olivia Rodrigo caps a stellar year in the UK as her album SOUR is the most streamed of the year, followed by Ed Sheeran's "=" (#2), Dua Lipa's Future Nostalgia (#3), Doja Cat's Planet Her (#4) and Justin Bieber's Justice(#5).
- Top UK Artists Globally: A new Queen reigns as Dua Lipa (#1) tops the list of most streamed UK Artists globally, followed byEd Sheeran (#2), Coldplay (#3), One Direction (#4) and (the original) Queen (#5).
PODCASTS (UK)
- Most Popular Podcast Shows in the UK: The Joe Rogan Experience also takes the number one slot in the UK ahead of Times news briefing (#2) and a trio of comedy podcasts in Off Menu with Ed Gamble and James Acaster (#3), Spotify exclusive JaackMaate's Happy Hour (#4), and Sh**ged Married Annoyed (#5).
For even more on how the world listened in 2021, check out Spotify's For the Record blog.
Starting today, eligible users can also access their personalised Wrapped experience exclusively in the Spotify mobile app (iOS and Android).
This year's personalised experience is full of familiar favourites, mixed with surprising new ones that connect fans with each other and creators. Here are a few new features to look out for:
- New data stories to express your year in audio - In addition to your top artists, genres, songs, podcasts and minutes listened, the personalised Wrapped experience includes several all new features, including: 2021: The Movie, Your Audio Aura, Playing Cards and 2021 Wrapped: Blend. Check out Spotify For the Record for all the details on these new features.
- Even more shareability - We know that Spotify fans love to share their Wrapped cards on social channels like Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. And new this year we're adding the ability to share Wrapped cards on TikTok.
- Exclusive experiences for top fans - Plus, we're adding a special surprise: Videos from more than 170 artists and creators thanking fans for having them in their Wrapped. These thank you videos will appear if fans have a song by one of the participating artists in their "Your Top Songs 2021" or "Your Artists Revealed" playlists. Additionally, for the very first time, we'll be rolling out Spotify Clips for Podcasts and fans will be able to view special thank you messages from some of their favorite podcast hosts by visiting a participating show's page on Spotify.
Spotify has also rolled out its Wrapped creator experience for podcasters and artists. With access to their own individualised Wrapped microsite experience, creators can dive into all the ways in which their fans listened this year. Check out Spotify for Artistsand Spotify for Podcasters to learn more. Artist Wrapped ASSETS are available HERE including sharecards from exciting artists like James Blake, Phoebe Bridgers and Tokischa.
Additionally, Spotify Greenroom will help celebrate the year in music with special Wrapped editions of our live playlist shows, "Most Necessary Live" and "LOREM Life." Hosts Brian "B.Dot Miller" and Max Motley and Dev Lemons will host live conversations open to anyone who wants to talk about the music they loved in 2021 and what they listened to the most on Spotify this year.
Spotify 2021 Wrapped Global Top Lists
Most Streamed Artists Globally
Most Streamed Songs Globally
- "drivers license" by Olivia Rodrigo
- "MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)" by Lil Nas X
- "Stay" by The Kid LAROI with Justin Bieber
- "good 4 u" by Olivia Rodrigo
- "Levitating" by Dua Lipa feat. DaBaby
Most Streamed Albums Globally
- SOUR, Olivia Rodrigo
- Future Nostalgia, Dua Lipa
- Justice, Justin Bieber
- =, Ed Sheeran
- Planet Her, Doja Cat
Most Popular Podcasts Globally
Spotify 2021 Wrapped UK Top Lists
Most Streamed Artists in the UK
Most Streamed Songs in the UK
- "good 4 u" by Olivia Rodrigo
- "drivers license" by Olivia Rodrigo
- "Bad Habits" by Ed Sheeran
- "MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)" by Lil Nas X
- "Heat Waves" by Glass Animals
Most Streamed Albums in the UK
- SOUR, Olivia Rodrigo
- =, Ed Sheeran
- Future Nostalgia, Dua Lipa
- Planet Her, Doja Cat
- Justice, Justin Bieber
Most Streamed UK Artists Globally
Most Popular Podcasts in the UK
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THE HEADLINES
Reservoir Media: A hidden gem? (see Features)
The music industry remains divided on generative AI. Where will that leave us? (see Comment)
How fan power is reshaping pop (see Features)
The “forever” stakes of generative AI ownership (see Comment)
Lyor Cohen: AI won’t replace artists — it will make them unstoppable (see Opinion)
Omdia tips music publishers’ revenues to hit $10bn this year (see Reports)
Unit1 Studio launches offering potential for immersive avatar concerts through lower production costs (see Digital)
Are we still in the music business? When your POV is worth more than your mp3s (see Opinion)
Is rock’n’roll dead? (see Features)
Book extract: Body Of Work: How The Album Outplayed The Algorithm And Survived Playlist Culture (see Comment)
With MTV channels switching off, is the music video under threat? (see Features)
Spotify partnering with multinational music companies to develop ‘responsible’ AI products (see Digital)
Sam Fender wins 2025 Mercury Prize (see News)
Spotify working on ‘SongDNA’ feature that showcases the people behind tracks (see Digital)
How far should cultural boycotts go? (see Features)
How Subvert is building a co-op owned Bandcamp alternative (see Digital)