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Associated Press

For a second year in a row, Taylor Swift has been named Spotify’s most played artist.
On December 4, the streaming giant unveiled Spotify Wrapped, its annual overview of individual listening trends as well as trends from around the world. Users can now access their top artists, songs, genres, albums and podcasts, as well as uncover which artists had the biggest year on the platform.
Swift was 2024’s most streamed artist globally, with more than 26.6 billion streams. She was followed by The Weeknd, Bad Bunny, Drake and Billie Eilish, in that order.
In the United States, the list looks similar: it is Swift in the top spot, followed by Drake, Zach Bryan, Morgan Wallen and Kanye West.


Last year, Swift dethroned Puerto Rican reggaeton star Bad Bunny for the global top spot. He held the coveted title for three years in a row beginning in 2020.
Swift also had the most streamed album in 2024, with The Tortured Poets Department. This was followed by Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft, Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet, Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito and Ariana Grande’s eternal sunshine.
All of those titles are new to 2024 with the exception of Karol G’s album, which was released early last year.
Carpenter leads for the most-streamed songs both in the US and globally this year, with her summertime smash “Espresso”. It earned over 1.6 billion streams.
Globally, she is followed by Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things”, Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather”, FloyyMenor and Cris MJ’s “Gata Only” and Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control”.


This year, there are a few new features on Spotify Wrapped. Those include a new data story called “Your Music Evolution”, documenting three distinct musical phases for each user and a personalised playlist.
The individualised “Your Top Artist” feature has changed slightly, too, and now includes “Longest Listening Streak” as well as the familiar “Top Listeners”.
On social media, some Spotify users complained that Wrapped, which undergoes design changes every year, was minimalist this year, missing previous features like “Top Cities”, “Audio Auras” and “Top Genres”. The new “Your Music Evolution” feature, however, provides users with individual, created micro-genres for some months of listening.
A representative for Spotify did not provide a statement.

That the biggest artists, globally, earned top spots on Spotify Wrapped should come as no surprise – they are featured prominently across the streaming service, including on its highly influential playlists, in addition to boasting loyal, dedicated fan bases.
For independent artists who may appear on an individual listener’s Wrapped, accessing a top spot on the global list would require billions of streams.
Streaming now accounts for most of the money generated by the music industry – a whopping 84 per cent in the United States, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, and 67.3 per cent worldwide, according to a 2024 report by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, which tracks global sales.
Spotify is the largest platform of all – with total market share of roughly 31 per cent, a reported 626 million users and 246 million subscribers in over 180 markets.


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Music

Taylor Swift tops Spotify Wrapped 2024 on global charts. Who else is ranked?

Taylor Swift performs during “The Eras Tour” in Los Angeles. Photo: AP 

On December 4, Spotify unveiled its annual overview of individual listening trends as well as trends from around the world. Photo: AP

Taylor Swift performs during the Eras tour in Los Angeles in 2023. Photo: AP

Beyoncé crowned greatest pop star of the 21st century, surpassing Taylor Swift, Rihanna

Beyoncé at a campaign event for 2024 US presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Music industry magazine Billboard has crowned her the greatest pop star of the 21st century. Photo: AP

The cover of Beyoncé’s 2023 album Cowboy Carter.

Destiny’s Child perform during the half-time show of the NFL Super Bowl XLVII football game in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 2013. Photo: Reuters

Taylor Swift performs during her The Eras Tour stop in Singapore in 2024. Billboard named her the second best pop star of the 21st century. Photo: Ashok Kumar/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management

Rihanna performs onstage during the 2023 Oscars ceremony. Billboard ranks her third on its list of the Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century. Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

At Clockenflap 2024 Hong Kong festival, music but also misogyny, misbehaviour, misnaming

Porter Robinson performs on day one of Clockenflap 2024, at Central Harbourfront Event Space. Photo: SCMP

DJ Sim0ne (above) performs at Clockenflap 2024. She later complained on social media about the behaviour of a group of teenage boys at the front of the crowd. There were other complaints about crowd behaviour too. Photo: Instagram/@sim0ne

Scottish model turned musician Simone Murphy, better known as Sim0ne, complained of sexual harassment by some members of the audience during her performance at Clockenflap. Photo: SCMPost

DJ Sim0ne was disturbed by the behaviour of a group of teenage boys at the front of her Clockenflap set on Saturday, November 30. Photo: Instagram/@sim0ne

Clockenflap attendees on day one. Despite the misogynistic “frat-boy” behaviour of some teenage boys, and people cutting in to get to the front of the stage, most festivalgoers enjoyed themselves. Photo: SCMP

Audience members on day one of Clockenflap 2024, at Central Harbourfront Event Space. Photo: Nora Tam

Revellers on day two of Clockenflap 2024. Photo: Eugene Lee

St Vincent called Hong Kong the best city in the world, then used Mandarin Chinese to say “thank you”. The most commonly-used Chinese language in Hong Kong is Cantonese. Photo: Clockenflap

Japanese band Turtle Island displayed an anti-war message on the backdrop of its set on Saturday afternoon. Photo: Instagram/@clockenflap

St Vincent at Clockenflap. The US musician called Hong Kong the best city in the world over New York City but then mistakenly spoke Mandarin Chinese to the local audience. The most commonly-used Chinese language in Hong Kong is Cantonese. Photo: Clockenflap

Lead vocalist Ryan Guldemond of Canadian indie rock band Mother Mother “joked” to the Hong Kong crowd at the Central Harbourfront about mixing up Hong Kong and Japan. Photo: Clockenflap

After Kanye West and Mariah Carey, 5 global pop stars you can still see in China in 2024

James Blunt performing  in Spain. He is about to tour China. Photo: Facebook @jamesblunt

British singer Jessie J will perform in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Chengdu and Beijing on her latest China tour. Photo: Instagram @jessiej

British singer Jessie J’s 2018 tour in China took her to a dozen major cities. Photo: Facebook @jessiej

Alan Walker performing at the Picnic Festival in San José, Costa Rica, in February 2024. Photo: Facebook @alanwalkermusic

Ayumi Hamasaki performing in 2023 on Japanese TV show NHK Music Special, celebrating 25 years since her debut. Photo: Facebook @ayu.official

James Blunt performing at the Botanical Nights Festival in Madrid, Spain, in July2024. Photo: Facebook @jamesblunt

Vitas performing with Chinese opera singer Li Yugang on Chinese TV show Beauty and Harmony in 2023. Photo: Weibo @Vitas

How Gillian Chung of Cantopop duo Twins survived the Edison Chen photo scandal to keep thriving as a singer and actress

Gillian Chung at an interview with the Post in 2009. Photo: SCMP

Gillian Chung at an interview with the Post in 2010. Chung, one half of Hong Kong’s Cantopop duo Twins, is now thriving as a singer and actress but the road to success – marred by a scandal involving intimate photos – has not been an easy one. Photo: SCMP

Charlene Choi (left), then 18, and Chung, 20, at an interview with the Post in 2001. Photo: SCMP

Choi and Chung perform on stage at HarbourFest in October, 2003. Photo: SCMP

Chung (left) in a still from “The Twins Effect” (2003).

Chung speaks at a press conference attended by more than 300 artists, legislators and supporters in Tseung Kwan O in 2006. Photo: SCMP

Chung (left) and Choi at the Asian Film Awards presentation ceremony in Wan Chai in 2007. Photo: SCMP

Chung was interviewed in March 2009 about the photos of her and Edison Chen. Photo: TVB

Chung at an interview with the Post in 2009. Photo: SCMP

Chung (left) and Choi of Twins meet their fans in March 2010 ahead of their reunion concert, titled “Bouncing Back”, at the Hong Kong Coliseum. Photo: SCMP

Chung and Michael Lai on their wedding day, with (back row from left) bridesmaids Yumiko Cheng, Joey Yung and Choi, in 2018. Photo: Instagram/@yungchoyee

Gillian Chung in a still from the film “Prison Flowers” (2023).

Gillian Chung (left) and Charlene Choi during preparations for their 2024 concert series. Photo: Instagram/@q_gill

Lifestyle

Entertainment

Culture

According to the streaming giant’s annual overview, Taylor Swift was 2024’s most-streamed artist globally with more than 26.6 billion streams


According to the streaming giant’s annual overview, Taylor Swift was 2024’s most-streamed artist globally with more than 26.6 billion streams.
