The fastest song to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify is "Die With a Smile" by Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars, achieving the milestone in just 96 days after its release in August 2024, breaking previous records held by songs like Jung Kook's "Seven" and Miley Cyrus' "Flowers". Other songs quickly reaching this mark include "APT." by ROSÉ & Bruno Mars (100 days) and Jimin's "Who" (118 days).
The Tortured Poets Department — 6 days 2. The Life of a Showgirl — just over 8 days 3. Midnights — 10 days 4.
The first track to reach one billion streams on Spotify is "One Dance" by Drake (Canada), as of 16 December 2016. The track also features musicians Wizkid and Kyla.
“Gangnam Style” by South Korean musician PSY became the first YouTube video to reach 1 billion views. By the end of 2012, the song had topped music charts in more than 30 countries around the world. #song4theweekend #PSY #GangnamStyle #musichistory #music.
As of early January 2026, Ariana Grande is the #1 artist on Spotify by monthly listeners, but Bad Bunny was Spotify's Global Top Artist for 2025, while Taylor Swift was #1 globally in 2024, showing different metrics (real-time vs. annual) can yield different artists at the top, with Bruno Mars also holding historical monthly listener records.
Garth Brooks is the only artist with nine Diamond-certified albums, a unique achievement for album sales, though other artists like Drake and Post Malone have more total Diamond certifications (singles + albums). Brooks' Diamond albums include No Fences, Ropin' the Wind, The Hits, The Chase, In Pieces, Fresh Horses, Double Live, The Ultimate Hits, and Man Against Machine.
Who is the most successful artist of all time?
Taylor Swift's "The Fate of Ophelia" officially becomes the fastest song to surpass 100 million streams in Spotify history, the first to hit the milestone in under 5 days.
“All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault)” by Taylor Swift becomes the longest song in history to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify.
BTS – Butter (2021)
Over the course of Elvis' life, he achieved some of the highest accolades in music and film. It is estimated that more than one billion Elvis records have been sold worldwide, more than anyone in record industry history.
Taylor Swift had 26.6 billion streams on Spotify in 2024, making her the platform's top global artist for the second year in a row, driven by her Eras Tour and album releases like The Tortured Poets Department.
Spotify holds a 32% global market share in music streaming with 713 million monthly users. Institutional investors own 67.8% of Spotify; founders Ek and Lorentzon control major voting power. Shares of Spotify can be bought through a brokerage account using market or limit orders.
There's no single "number 1 artist of all time" as it's subjective, but Leonardo da Vinci often tops lists for visual art due to masterpieces like the Mona Lisa, while The Beatles are frequently cited as the best-selling music group ever, and Michael Jackson or Elvis Presley are often named as top solo music artists by sales and influence. Modern metrics like Spotify streams point to artists like Bad Bunny or Taylor Swift for recent dominance.
Taylor Swift is the highest-grossing live music artist of all time, collecting $3 billion according to Pollstar. U2, Coldplay, Bruce Springsteen, and Elton John also passed two-billion mark in concert revenue.
Michael Jackson's Thriller, estimated to have sold 70 million copies worldwide, is the best-selling album ever.
George Strait holds the record for the most platinum albums, with 33 certified by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) for selling over one million copies each in the USA, a feat that cements his status as the "King of Country" and leads all artists across genres. He is followed by Elvis Presley and The Beatles in overall platinum awards, but Strait leads the pack specifically for platinum albums.
Garth Brooks has received seven Diamond awards for seven individual albums from the RIAA for selling over ten million units each, a feat only he can claim, and is the No. 1 selling solo artist in U.S. history certified by the RIAA with over 138 million album sales.
The best-selling album of all time worldwide is Michael Jackson's Thriller, with estimated sales exceeding 66-70 million copies, making it a global phenomenon since its 1982 release. The second best-selling album, often cited for the US market, is the Eagles' *Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975)*, while AC/DC's Back in Black and various soundtracks also rank highly.
The answer is that when people are in the top 0.005% of all the listeners globally, they have listened to that song or artist more than 99.995% of all other Spotify users. Additionally, many users also ranked under the top 0.001% of all the listeners globally when they shared their top artists and songs.
The "number one artist" depends on the metric, but currently, Taylor Swift is often cited as the top global artist, leading in Spotify streams and Billboard rankings for overall artist performance, while The Weeknd often holds the top spot for most monthly listeners on Spotify. Bad Bunny remains dominant in global streams for previous years and holds top album status, with Drake and Billie Eilish also consistently high.