Every December, Spotify unveils its annual Wrapped, highlighting the year's most streamed tracks. In 2020—a year marked by uncertainty—the platform's music offerings provided a reliable highlight. Standout releases included Eminem's Music to Be Murdered By, Tame Impala's The Slow Rush, Damso's explosive QALF, and Mac Miller's posthumous Circles.
Amid countless hits that defined this chaotic year, one song surged to the top of Spotify's global chart, surpassing Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello's Señorita, which garnered over a billion plays in 2019. Which track claimed the crown?
The victor is The Weeknd's Blinding Lights from his album After Hours, racking up nearly 1.6 billion streams worldwide. The album itself ranked as the second most streamed of the year, while Bad Bunny's YHLQMDLG took first place with almost 3.3 billion streams. These figures, drawn from Spotify's premium subscribers and stream duration metrics, underscore the platform's robust growth—no one seems eager to cancel their Premium subscription.
In France, Organized Gang by 13 Organized, Elams, Houari, Jul, Kofs, Naps, SCH, Solda, and Soso Maness led the singles chart, with The Weeknd's Blinding Lights in second. Rap continued to reign, filling the rest of the top spots with Hatik's Angela, Gradur and Heuss l'Enfant Terrible's Don't Come Back, and Ninho's Letter to a Woman.
The most streamed album in France was Maes' The Last Bastards, released in January. Among female artists, Aya Nakamura topped the list, followed by Billie Eilish, Angèle, Dua Lipa, and Vitaa.
Ultimately, music offered solace during this challenging year.
