Drake, Ariana Grande top Spotify’s 2018 Wrapped list for most streamed artists

As 2018 draws to a close, and music streaming services begin to release their yearly “Top Streamed” lists, the results usually confirm what was always relatively obvious. Ariana Grande is dominating the airwaves. Drake is breaking all-time sales sales records. Still, it’s always interesting to gauge how and where the data is trending.

Spotify is first to reveal its year-in-music streaming statistics via its annual “Wrapped” report, which calculates the musical artists that dominated on its platform. The global streaming giant aggregated 2018 lists for global trends as well as for each of the 79 countries the service is offered in.

Coming in on top, it’s no surprise that Drake takes the cake (globally and in the US) for Most Streamed Artist, Most Streamed Album, and Most Streamed Track for “God’s Plan.” Already having the best year ever, his Scorpion LP pushed him past charts records long held by The Beatles and Michael Jackson. With 8.2 billion streams this year alone, the Canadian rapper is also now the most-streamed artist of all time.

Ariana Grande claimed the top spot for Most Streamed Female Artist, with her most recent single, “thank u, next,” amassing over 220 million streams by itself. Rounding out the top five were Dua Lipa, Cardi B, Taylor Swift, and fresh newcomer Camilla Cabello.

Hip-hop was the most listened to genre of the year, with Drake, Post Malone, and XXXTENTACION dominating all three of the main categories. The three rappers also rounded out the entire top five in the Most Streamed Tracks category.

Latin music experienced a jolt in popularity, with J Balvin sitting as the fourth Most Streamed Artist, as well as Ozuna and Bad Bunny sitting in the top ten. Latina pop star Camilla Cabello appearance in Most Streamed Female Artists further proves that there is widespread demand for Latin artists, both in the US and globally.

View the two lists below for top streamed artist, female artist, tracks, albums, podcasts, and podcast genres. Spotify listeners/subscribers can also visit Wrapped to see who made their own personal top-streamed lists in 2018.

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Spotify Wrapped 2018 (Global)

Most Streamed Artists
Drake
Post Malone
XXXTENTACION
J Balvin
Ed Sheeran

Most Streamed Female Artists
Ariana Grande
Dua Lipa
Cardi B
Taylor Swift
Camila Cabello

Most Streamed Tracks
God’s Plan – Drake
SAD! – XXXTENTACION
rockstar (feat. 21 Savage) – Post Malone
Psycho (feat. Ty Dolla $ign) – Post Malone
In My Feelings – Drake

Most Streamed Albums
Scorpion – Drake
beerbongs & bentleys – Post Malone
? – XXXTENTACION
Dua Lipa – Dua Lipa
÷ – Ed Sheeran*

Most Streamed Exclusive Spotify Podcasts
Fest & Flauschig
The Joe Budden Podcast with Rory & Mal
Dissect
Amy Schumer Presents: 3 Girls, 1 Keith
TALK-O-MAT

Most Streamed Podcast Genres
Crime and Mystery
Comedy
News & Politics
Health
Arts

Spotify Wrapped 2018 (US)

US Top Artists
Drake
Post Malone
XXXTENTACION
Travis Scott
Khalid

US Top Female Artists
Cardi B
Ariana Grande
Taylor Swift
Nicki Minaj
Halsey

US Top Songs
God’s Plan – Drake
SAD! – XXXTENTACION
Psycho (feat. Ty Dolla $ign) – Post Malone
Lucid Dreams – Juice WRLD
Nice For What – Drake

US Top Albums
Scorpion – Drake
beerbongs & bentleys – Post Malone
? – XXXTENTACION
Invasion of Privacy – Cardi B
Stoney – Post Malone