Spotify Has a Very Different Artist of Year Than Grammys

Ed Sheeran, largely shut out of awards nominations, is most streamed artist of the year
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Dec 5, 2017 10:55 AM CST
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The Grammys may have dissed Ed Sheeran, but Spotify says he's the most streamed artist of the year. The streaming service announced Tuesday that Sheeran tops its 2017 list with 6.3 billion streams.   (Photo by John Salangsang/Invision/AP, File)

The Grammys may have dissed Ed Sheeran, but Spotify says he's the most streamed artist of the year. The streaming service announced Tuesday that Sheeran tops its 2017 list with 6.3 billion streams. He also has Spotify's biggest album of the year with Divide, streamed 3.1 billion times, and the top song with "Shape of You," logging 1.4 billion streams. Sheeran received two Grammy nominations last week, reports the AP, but he was shut out of the major categories, including album, song, and record of the year. No female acts were in the top five most-streamed acts of the year: Sheeran is followed by Drake, The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar, and The Chainsmokers. Rihanna is the most streamed female performer of the year, followed by Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez.

Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's "Despacito" remix, co-starring Justin Bieber, was the second-most streamed song of the year; the original version of the song was ranked third. Drake's More Life, which he didn't submit for consideration at the upcoming Grammy Awards, is the second-most streamed album of the year. Lamar's DAMN., The Weeknd's Starboy, and Post Malone's Stoney round out the top five. Spotify says hip-hop streams increased by 74% in the last year, while Latin music streams jumped 110%.

(More Ed Sheeran stories.)

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