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Drake Named Spotify’s Top Artist Of 2016; Rihanna Ranks As Top Female Artist

Drake may be closely associated with Apple Music, but he is also a major force on Spotify.

In its “2016 Wrapped” report, Spotify confirms that Drake was the service’s most-streamed artist (and, obviously, most-streamed male artist) this year.

Drake’s tracks generated a whopping 4.7 billion streams in 2016, more than doubling the (then-record) 1.8 billion he recorded last year.

Not simply the leading overall artist, Drake is also behind the year’s most-streamed track (“One Dance”) and most-streamed album (“Views”).

Justin Bieber follows Drake as the #2 overall artist, while Rihanna, the year’s leader among female artists (with 2.5 billion streams), takes #3 on the overall list. Twenty One Pilots (#4) and Kanye West (#5) complete the overall Top 5.

Highlights from Spotify’s 2016 report follow:

Most-Streamed Artists
1) Drake
2) Justin Bieber
3) Rihanna
4) Twenty One Pilots
5) Kanye West

Most-Streamed Male Artists
1) Drake
2) Justin Bieber
3) Twenty One Pilots
4) Kanye West
5) Coldplay

Most-Streamed Female Artists
1) Rihanna
2) Ariana Grande
3) Sia
4) Adele
5) Fifth Harmony

Top Songs
1) One Dance (feat. WizKid and Kyla) – Drake
2) I Took A Pill in Ibiza – Seeb Remix – Mike Posner
3) Don’t Let Me Down (ft. Daya) – The Chainsmokers
4) Work (ft. Drake) – Rihanna
5) Cheap Thrills – Sia

Top Albums
1) Views – Drake
2) Purpose – Justin Bieber
3) ANTI – Rihanna
4) Blurryface – Twenty One Pilots
5) Beauty Behind The Madness – The Weeknd

Brian Cantor

Brian Cantor is the editor-in-chief for Headline Planet. He has been a leading reporter in the music, movie, television and sporting spaces since 2002. Brian's reporting has been cited by major websites like BuzzFeed, Billboard, the New Yorker and The Fader -- and shared by celebrities like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj. Contact Brian at brian.cantor[at]headlineplanet.com.

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Brian Cantor