[imagesource: Reuters]

Get ready for a bunch of artists and songs you’ve probably heard of, but never really paid much attention to.

Or maybe that’s just me, because these are clearly incredibly popular around the world.

Spotify has released its figures for the year thus far – the company calls the release ‘Wrapped‘ – but before we get to the artists, let’s hear some of the obligatory 2020 COVID-19 corporate-speak:

It goes without saying: 2020 was a year unlike any other. One that, despite its unique challenges, inspired creativity with so many people finding ways to come together with resiliency as a community.

2020 has also sounded differently—and throughout it all, audio has acted as a companion, strengthening our connections with the world around us and giving us hope.

You might say the year has been ‘unprecedented’.

First up, Most Streamed Artists Globally:

Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny claims the top spot with more than 8.3 billion streams this year from fans around the globe…

Following Bad Bunny is Drake and Latin star J Balvin. The fourth most-streamed artist is the late rapper Juice WRLD, followed by The Weeknd.

Bad Bunny, Drake, J Balvin, Juice WRLD – cool.

Should we enjoy Bad Bunny’s ‘Si Veo a Tu Mamá’, released earlier this year? The song starts around the 1:30 mark:

Billie Eilish remains the most-streamed female artist, with Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande in second and third.

Most Streamed Songs Globally:

The most-streamed song of the year is The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights,” which held out strong after being the second most-streamed song of the summer with almost 1.6 billion streams this year.

In the second and third spots, respectively, are Australian ex-busker Tones And I’s viral 2019 earworm “Dance Monkey” and Roddy Ricch’s “The Box.”

The fourth most-streamed song is the catchy “Roses – Imanbek Remix” by Imanbek and SAINt JHN, followed by “Don’t Start Now” by Dua Lipa.

For those who haven’t heard ‘Blinding Lights’, here you go:

Despite his successes this year, the guy didn’t even score a Grammy nomination.

Next, we have Most Streamed Albums Globally:

The most-streamed album of 2020 is Bad Bunny’s YHLQMDLG with over 3.3 billion streams, followed by The Weeknd’s After Hours and Post Malone’s Hollywood’s Bleeding. Rounding out the list of most-streamed albums you’ll find Harry Styles’ Fine Line and Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia.

There was also a look at the platform’s most popular podcasts, but I’m going to skip over those.

Just remember that you could spend hours and days putting together your own playlist, or you could take Seth’s advice and subscribe to Rob Cohen’s Spotify playlists.

All of a sudden, you’re that person at the jol being called upon to pick the beats.

With great power comes great responsibility.

[source:spotify]