No matter how you spin it, when looking at what music lovers all around the world pressed play on throughout the past year, Ed Sheeran’s name just keeps rising to the top. The Brit scored the most-streamed album and song of the year, proving that he truly is the biggest name on the planet right now. According to Spotify, his third album ÷ (Divide), which was released in March, racked up 3.1 billion streams, and lead single “Shape Of You” pulled more than it’s own weight, bringing in 1.4 billion of those plays. That makes “Shape” the most-streamed song of all time on the platform, which is incredible considering it required less than a full year to beat out all other tunes.
Incredibly, “Despacito” fills slots Nos. 2 and 3 on the list of the most popular songs in the world, as two versions of the track rose to prominence at different times. The Justin Bieber version was the slightly more successful of the two, while the original, which only features Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee singing entirely in Spanish, is not far behind in third.
When looking solely at the U.S., Sheeran’s works move down a few rungs to make room for hip-hop, which has recently become the biggest genre in the country. Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. was the most-streamed album, and the rapper’s first No. 1 smash on his own, “HUMBLE.,” leads the way in America when it comes to songs.
Here are the most popular songs and albums on Spotify in 2017.
Most-Streamed Songs - Global
1. Ed Sheeran - “Shape Of You”
2. Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee - “Despacito (ft. Justin Bieber)”
3. Luis Fonsi - “Despacito (ft. Daddy Yankee)”
4. The Chainsmokers - “Something Just Like This (ft. Coldplay)”
5. DJ Khaled - “I’m The One (ft. Justin Bieber, Quavo, Lil Wayne and Chance The Rapper)”
6. Kendrick Lamar - “Humble.”
7. Kygo - “It Ain’t Me (ft. Selena Gomez)”
8. French Montana - “Unforgettable (ft. Swae Lee)”
9. Bruno Mars - “That’s What I Like”
10. ZAYN & Taylor Swift - “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever”
Most-Streamed Albums - Global
1. Ed Sheeran - ÷ (Divide)
2. Drake - More Life
3. Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.
4. The Weeknd - Starboy
5. Post Malone - Stoney
6. Shawn Mendes - Illuminate
7. Bruno Mars - 24k Magic
8. Drake - Views
9. Khalid - American Teen
10. Ed Sheeran - X
Most-Streamed Songs - U.S.
1. Kendrick Lamar - “Humble.”
2. Lil Uzi Vert - “XO TOUR Lif3”
3. Ed Sheeran - “Shape Of You”
4. Post Malone - “Congratulations (ft. Swae Lee)”
5. Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee - “Despacito (ft. Justin Bieber)”
Most-Streamed Albums - U.S.
1. Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.
2. Drake - More Life
3. Post Malone - Stoney
4. The Weeknd - Starboy
5. Ed Sheeran - ÷ (Divide)
