Spotify on Tuesday named Ed Sheeran its most-streamed artist of 2017, as the British singer racked up 47 million listeners every month.
Sheeran’s album “÷” (Divide) was the most-streamed album of 2017 globally, with 3.1 billion listens, and his song ‘Shape of You’ has become the most-streamed track of all time on Spotify, with over 1.4 billion plays. The 26-year-old released the album in March 2017 after a long hiatus and rebrand. Two singles from “÷” broke Spotify records, with more than 13 million streams in 24 hours between the two tracks, according to Billboard.
“Ed Sheeran absolutely dominated this year with the release of his record-breaking album, Divide,” says Spotify Chief Content Officer Stefan Blom. “There is no doubt that 2017 was The Year of Ed Sheeran, and we are thrilled that so many millions of music fans have discovered, listened to, and shared his music on Spotify. Congratulations to Ed on an amazing achievement.”
Sheeran takes the No. 1 spot from Drake, who was the most-streamed artist in 2015 and 2016. Drake landed at No. 2 this year and contributed to a larger trend of listeners flocking to hip hop. According to Spotify, hip hop listening increased 74% throughout the year. It was also a strong year for Latin music, which grew 110%.
Female artists were notably absent from Spotify’s most-streamed Top 5. The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar, The Chainsmokers rounded out the list, coming in at third, fourth, and fifth place, respectively.
