Pop culture-wise, 2024 was undoubtedly the year of Taylor Swift, with mania over the pop star’s Eras Tour dominating headlines globally. Now, Spotify has revealed that the singer-songwriter broke a raft of records in its wrap of the year – including an extraordinary 26.6 billion streams for her music.
Among Australian artists, The Wiggles were the most streamed, followed by The Kid Laroi, AC/DC, Vance Joy and Rufus Du Sol. But it wasn’t great news for new Australian music: Joy’s Riptide was the most-streamed local song, despite being released in 2013. Almost 45 years after its release on the 1980 album Back in Black, AC/DC’s You Shook Me All Night Long came in fifth.
Taylor Swift performing in Toronto during the Eras Tour last month. Credit: AP
Topping Spotify Wrapped, the music streamer’s annual equivalent of the charts, was Swift’s album The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology.
Released on April 19, the surprise double album was the first in Spotify history to have more than 300 million streams in a single day, becoming the most-streamed album in a single day in 2024. It broke another record on release day as Fortnight – featuring Post Malone – became the most-streamed song in a single day in Spotify history. By April 22, The Tortured Poets Department became Spotify’s most-streamed album in a single week.
Women generally rated more strongly this year, with Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande making the top 10 albums list for Hit Me Hard and Soft and Eternal Sunshine respectively; women held eight of the top spots in the top half of the list. Sabrina Carpenter took out most-streamed song globally for Espresso.
Across the board, country as a genre is having a moment, thanks to artists such as Beyoncé, Shaboozey, Lana Del Rey and Post Malone. In Australia, country sensation Zach Bryan was the third most-streamed artist locally, though he didn’t crack the top 10 globally.
High-profile collaborations also rated this year, including Billie Eilish and Charli xcx, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, and Beyoncé and Miley Cyrus. Die With A Smile by Mars and Lady Gaga was the song most frequently shared from Spotify to social platforms.
Around the world, punters are sharing their most listened-to tracks of the year, as the Spotify charts reveal their individual favourites.
Swift’s Eras Tour ends this week, with the final show to be held on Sunday (Monday AEST) in Vancouver. The first concert tour in history to gross more than $US1 billion ($1.5 billion), Eras is predicted to wrap up with a haul close to $US2.2 billion from its North American dates alone.
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