Spotify has revealed the most-streamed songs in the U.S. and worldwide, and the charts are full of familiar faces and some surprises.
Mexican singer Peso Pluma's breakout hit "Ella Baila Sola" with Eslabon Armado has been officially declared Spotify's global Song of the Summer with 367 million streams during the season. Pluma also has two other entries in the top 20: "La Bebe (Remix)" with Yng Lvcas, and "Peso Pluma: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 55" with Bizarrap.
“Watching the rise of ‘Ella Baila Sola’ to become the global song of the summer has been truly exhilarating,” said Antonio Vazquez, head of U.S. Latin Editorial at Spotify. “It’s a testament to how música Mexicana is not only capturing hearts but also dominating the international music scene and becoming one of the top growth-driving genres globally. This feels like an important milestone, and it’s only getting started.”
There's a lot of variety on Spotify's top 20 Songs of Summer, ranging from reggaeton darling Bad Bunny, to K-pop sensation Jung Kook from BTS with Latto, along with several of the usual chart darlings like Taylor Swift, SZA, Harry Styles, Olivia Rodrigo, and Dua Lipa.
But the global chart's only rap entry in the top 20 is the viral hit "Sprinter" by British MCs Dave and Central Cee.
The platform's U.S. chart paints a slightly different picture. More rappers make appearances, including Gunna, Tyler, the Creator, Lil Durk with J. Cole, and Nicki Minaj with Ice Spice. The top spot is occupied by "Last Night" by Morgan Wallen, making it the first time a country song is Spotify's most-streamed track in the U.S. for the summer.
Both charts echo comments made last week by Ebro Darden about major record labels having "deprioritized" signing rappers in favor of Afrobeat and Latin artists.
This data from Spotify provides interesting insight on evolving music trends and listening patterns in the United States. Complex previously reported in June that no hip-hop album or song had hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 or the Hot 100 in 2023, making it the longest stretch of time that the genre had been absent from the top of the chart. Since that initial reporting, Lil Uzi Vert and Travis Scott broke the dry spell by having their albums Pink Tape and Utopia, respectively, debut at No. 1.
Nicki Minaj's "Super Freaky Girl" was the last rap song to top the Billboard charts when it debuted at No. 1 last August. The single was infamously disqualified from the rap category by the Recording Academy in consideration for the 2023 Grammy Awards.
