There is no not a single right answer to “who is the most beloved singer in the world”: it all depends on what you're measuring.
- In the Spotify Wrapped 2025 ranking, it's Bad Bunny who finished world no. 1.
- If we look at the highest number of monthly listeners ever recorded on Spotify, it is Bruno Mars, peaking at more than 151 million monthly listeners on February 12, 2025.
- And on total sales (vinyl + CD + digital), that's Taylor Swift.
We explain each criterion and the corresponding winner just below.
How do you measure the most beloved singer?
“Loved” means different things to different people. Here are the 5 ways to measure a singer's popularity, and why they don't all pick the same winner.
- Spotify monthly listeners = instant popularity.
- Cumulative listens over the year (Wrapped) = dominant popularity.
- Sales total physical + digital (IFPI) = most engaged fans.
- Tours / tickets = popularity on stage.
- Affection surveys = “the favorite” in the strict sense
Top 5 by criteria
Here are the the world's most beloved singers on the three most measurable criteria worldwide (streaming, monthly listeners, sales). In terms of touring and affection surveys, the rankings vary too much by country for a single global chart.
- Bad Bunny Spotify: No. 1 worldwide in Spotify Wrapped 2025 with 19.8 billion listens over the year, driven by the album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS. He dethrones Taylor Swift, who was No.1 in the two previous years (2023 and 2024).
- Bruno Mars Spotify: Holds the all-time record for monthly listeners on Spotify, all artists combined: 151,079,821 on February 12, 2025 (Guinness World Records). A performance driven by his duets Die With a Smile with Lady Gaga and APT. with Rosé.
- Taylor Swift : World's best-selling artist according to the IFPI: crowned Global Recording Artist of the Year for the 6ᵉ time and the 4ᵉ year running in February 2026, on a ranking that combines streaming, downloads and physical formats.
- The Weeknd First artist in history to reach 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify (February 2023), Guinness title of “world's most popular artist” in March 2023 with 111.4 million listeners at the time.
- Billie Eilish : Third artist and youngest (22 years) to reach 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify, in June 2024.
Bad Bunny, the world's most streamed artist in 2025
Bad Bunny was crowned Global Top Artist with 19.8 billion listens in 2025, when Spotify published its Wrapped of the Year. He thus dethroned Taylor Swift, who held the top spot in 2023 and 2024.
This track is nothing new for the Puerto Rican artist. Indeed, he was once the world's most listened-to artist in 2020, 2021 and 2022. So he took over the title for the 4ᵉ time in 2025.
In celebration, Spotify has launched a global campaign in his name through a short film entitled Leap Year. Activations in several countries were on the program.
Bad Bunny, real name Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, has turned reggaeton and Latin music into an international phenomenon. His songs are in Spanish, and he rejects Anglo-Saxon linguistic compromises. Despite this, he has managed to dominate Spotify with his tracks.
His career is a testament to the way in which modern music is consumed, i.e., without borders and with an ever-increasing penchant for the "new". non-English-speaking markets.
Bruno Mars, the absolute record for monthly listeners
If we use the peak monthly listeners on Spotify to answer the question “Who is the world's most beloved singer?”, the winner is Bruno Mars.
In February 2025, it reached over 151 million monthly listeners on the platform, an all-time high attested by Guinness World Records.
In fact, it is the highest highest figure ever recorded for an artist on the streaming platform. A few weeks before this victory, he was already the only Spotify artist to have reached 150 million monthly listeners.
What's fascinating about his success is that he hasn't no solo studio album since 24K Magic in 2016. His return to the top relies almost entirely on collaboration with other stars, whose clips have been a hit on YouTube:
- Die With a Smile with Lady Gaga (August 2024) became the fastest song in Spotify's history to pass the billion stream mark.
- APT. with Rosé (October 2024) smashed all the records in just a few months.
- In January 2025, he followed up with Fat Juicy & Wet (with Sexy Red).
Real name Peter Hernandez, Bruno Mars is no newcomer to the music scene. His best-known and best-loved songs have dominated the charts for more than 15 years:
- Uptown Funk (with Mark Ronson) ;
- Just the Way You Are; ;
- Grenada; ;
- Locked out of Heaven; ;
- That's What I Like.
With 17 songs with over a billion streams on Spotify, he has built up a rare catalog that continues to spin relentlessly.
Taylor Swift, the undisputed queen of global sales
If we're talking about worldwide sales when we ask the question “who is the world's most beloved singer?”, Taylor Swift is the absolute champion.
In February 2026, she was crowned Global Recording Artist of the Year for the 6ᵉ time and the 4ᵉ consecutive year by the IFPI (the international federation of the phonographic industry).
The ranking combines streaming, downloads and physical music sales on the past year: nothing could be more complete for measuring a sales career.
Taylor Swift has also already been crowned world no. 1 in the Wrapped 2023 and 2024. It passed 2ᵉ after Bad Bunny in 2025.
This singer is also officially the champion artist of the vinyl.
- Following its reissue, his album 1989 sold over a million copies in the United States.
- THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT (2024) also broke new sales records.
Taylor Swift began her career in country music in the mid-2000s. In 2006, her first country album reached No. 1 in the US country album charts.
Between 2010 and 2014, it markets a new album every two years Speak Now (2010, approx. 6 million albums sold), Red (2012, approx. 7 million), 1989 (2014, approx. 11 million). She has established herself as one of the biggest stars of her generation.
The Weeknd, the first to top 100 million monthly listeners
If we look at the records, the singer The Weeknd has made Spotify history. In February 2023, he became the first artist to pass the 100 million monthly listener mark on the platform.
In March 2023, the Guinness World Records officially named The Weeknd the world's most popular artist, with 111.4 million listeners at the time.
Real name Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, The Toronto-born Canadian singer began his career by posting his first songs anonymously on YouTube. He has since established himself as a major figure in pop and R&B.
The Weeknd's biggest hit remains Blinding Lights. Released as a single in late 2019, then included on the album After Hours (March 2020), this track holds the record for the most weeks spent on the Billboard Hot 100.
He was also crowned BEST SONG of all time on this chart by Billboard in November 2021. On 1ᵉʳ January 2023, Blinding Lights also became Spotify's most listened-to track ever.
And in France? Who is France's favourite singer?
If you ask the question“who is the most beloved singer”By staying in France, the answer changes completely.
Indeed, it's not just the streaming figures that speak for themselves, but also the surveys and they always refer to the same French-speaking artists.
According to the RIFFX by Crédit Mutuel 2025 (conducted by YouGov among 1,045 French people), the top 3 favorite French-speaking artists are :
- Jean Jacques Goldman 37% of the vote, No.1 for the 8thᵉ year running.
- Francis Cabrel : 30%.
- Florent Pagny : 29%.
The IFOP-TF1/LCI 2025 barometer of the French people's favorite personalities (all categories included) confirms the trend: Jean-Jacques Goldman is in the lead for the first time. 9ᵉ consecutive year.
In the 18-24 years old, the ranking changes radically:
- Gims (31%) dominates; ;
- Stromae (28%) ;
- Damso (24%) ;
- David Guetta (24%) ;
- DJ Snake (23%).
The electro pop and the francophone rap take up all the space.
📌 To remember Jean-Jacques Goldman: “the most loved” in France ≠ “the most listened to in the world”. Jean-Jacques Goldman hasn't released an album since 2001 and is barely present on Spotify, but remains the emotional reference for a loyal adult audience.
Bad Bunny is the opposite: huge on the world listening charts, almost non-existent in French affection polls.
In the end, who is the world's most beloved singer ? The honest answer is: it all depends on what you're measuring. Here are the 5 true champions, each in their own field:
- 🎧 World Streaming 2025 → Bad Bunny (19.8 billion listens at Spotify Wrapped).
- 📊 Peak Spotify monthly listeners → Bruno Mars (151,079,821 on February 12, 2025).
- 💿 Total worldwide sales → Taylor Swift (IFPI Global Recording Artist of the Year, 6ᵉ times in February 2026).
- 🏆 All-time record on Spotify → The Weeknd (1ᵉʳ artist to break 100 million monthly listeners, March 2023).
- 🇫🇷 In France → Jean-Jacques Goldman (RIFFX 2025 barometer, 37%).
And you, which one do you prefer ? A song that comes immediately to mind?
FAQs
Who is the world's most listened-to artist on Spotify in 2025?
Bad Bunny, crowned Global Top Artist at Spotify Wrapped 2025 with 19.8 billion listens over the year. This is his 4ᵉ coronation, after 2020, 2021 and 2022. He dethrones Taylor Swift, who was #1 in 2023 and 2024.
What is the most listened-to song of all time on Spotify?
Blinding Lights by The Weeknd. Released as a single in late 2019, it became the most streamed track in Spotify history on January 1ᵉʳ, 2023, and passed the 5 billion listens mark in 2025, a first in the platform's history.
Who has sold the most albums in the history of music?
In terms of cumulative sales over an entire career, the historical leaders remain Beatles, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson, each of whom is credited with selling several hundred million records, according to various sources.
This year, however, Taylor Swift tops the IFPI charts.
Who will be France's favourite singer in 2025?
Jean Jacques Goldman, and by a long way. He is No. 1 in the RIFFX by Crédit Mutuel barometer for the 8ᵉ year running (37% of votes), ahead of Francis Cabrel (30%) and Florent Pagny (29%). Among 18-24 year-olds, it was Gims who took first place (31%).
Speaking of music, discover also who is the world's greatest artist (singer) and who sold a billion records in other guides on our website.
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