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The Weeknd declared the most popular artist in the world.
Canadian singer, and songwriter Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, known professionally as The Weeknd, has been officially named the most popular artist in the world by the record-keeping organization The Guinness Book of Records.
After reviewing the Spotify statistics of some of the top names in the music industry, the organization extended the honour to the singer-songwriter on March 20, 2023.
The Weeknd holds the record as the first, and for the moment, the only artist in Spotify history to reach 100 million monthly listeners. The Weeknd took the top spot by a long margin.
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Since setting that milestone, the “Starboy” singer has only racked up more streaming fans, reaching 111.4 million as per the Guinness report.
The artist that takes the next spot on the list is Miley Cyrus, who registered 82.4 million monthly. Other artists who trail The Weeknd include Shakira (81.6 million), Ariana Grande (80.6 million), Taylor Swift (80. 2 million), Rihanna (78.5 million) and Ed Sheeran (77.5 million).
The Weeknd took up four awards at the 2023 Juno Awards in his native Canada, including pop album of the year, artist of the year, and songwriter of the year for a record-breaking fourth time (for Dawn FM).
The Weeknd also claims to have the most played song on Spotify, with his smash hit “Blinding Lights” setting the record with 3.4 billion listens since its debut in November 2019.
The popular song “Die For You,” which the 33-year-old popstar co-wrote with Ariana Grande and went viral on Tik Tok, has been a major digital triumph for him all over the world.
The Grammy-boycotting singer dubbed the “King of streams” by the Guinness World Records, headlined Super Bowl 55 in 2021 after his album “After Hours” was not nominated.