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Interesting how the range for songs from the 90s, 80s, and 70s is 500M-1.1B plays (with the exception of Bohemian Rhapsody being a bit higher), but for the 60s decade the range is just 300-600M. Quite a huge drop off. I wonder if 60s rock will come back in fashion again and give these songs a boost.
I've always divided Another... in three separate parts in my figures, but I see your point.
Obviously part II is the big radio hit, the one on compilation and live albums. But you could see I & III as part of the equation. Then again with concept albums you could see the whole album as part of the equation, LOL!
Also how about Shine On You Crazy Diamond? I actually divided that one too. Part 1-5 & part 6-9, like on the studio album. But I supposed it would make sense to combine those, as all parts "feel" like the same song...
Bottom 5 looking like this now:
16 (18) BEE GEES – Stayin’ Alive – 498.5M (as of 3/1/2021)
17 (-) ELO – Mr. Blue Sky – 485.6M (as of 4/1/2021)
18 (17) PINK FLOYD – Wish You Were Here – 482.7M
19 (-) FLEETWOOD MAC – Go Your Own Way – 480.7M
20 (-) ABBA – Dancing Queen – 478.4M (as of 4/1/2021)
A certain Mr. Blue and a "Dancing" Queen pushing the "Champion" Queen and the Chain out of the top 20 then.
Yes, I noticed that too.
The 50s would be even lower. I don't have a list as such, but I believe Brenda Lee's Xmas classic "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" is #1 with 459.1M followed by another Xmas classic, Bobby Helms' "Jingle Bell Rock" at 398.9M. After those two it's probably Sinatra, Elvis, Dean Martin, The Ronettes and so on in the 200-300M range.
What year should we file Nat "King" Cole's "The Christmas Song" (243.6M) under? I believe it was first recorded in 1946?
Not sure if you've seen an article I created a while back on best sellers of the 1950s, should you wish to create one, to go along with the other decades, it would make it a good starting point.
https://chartmasters.org/2018/12/spotifys-most-streamed-tracks-of-the-1950s/
Unfortunately there seems to be no definitive rule. It's clear while somethings get lumped together others do not.
Quite a few took exception to me integrating the two versions of Seven Seas Of Rhye, from Queen and Queen II and giving the full total to the track on Queen and nothing to Queen II, when I originally created their Streaming Masters article.
The naysayers felt they were two separate songs and as such, should not be combined, with each album receiving the streams for their respective version. I attested that they are quite clearly and obviously, just two versions of the same song, akin to a Full Version and say a Reprise or Instrumental version.
Pink Floyd actually have quite a few instances of songs in parts, the aforementioned ABITW and SOYCD, but also Pigs On The Wing, Sysphus and The Narrow Way to name a few more.
As you say, I too feel they are an extension of the same song, just in various parts but then so is say Echoes, the last track on Meddle. The only difference being that, Echoes is not split into parts, in title or in placement, yet has very differing passages of music, throughout it's 23 or so minutes.
If we were to tally up streams, sales etc of the track Professional Widow by Tori Amos, we would obviously add in streams and sales from the Armand Van Helden remix, yet in truth, they are pretty much two completely different tracks, sounding completely different to each other, so much so, that I'd bet many wouldn't even guess or recognise that the Amos version was the source of the remix.
In my opinion, the various parts of ABITW all sound more like the same song, than various remixes do (of the songs they are remixing), yet they are integrated, while ABITW and the like, are not.
Then again, imagine if SOYCD was a 9-track song on the album iso of just 2 tracks. The 5-track album could easily have been a 12-track album. For every time the album was played, the song would get 9 plays. Whereas for every time Meddle was played, Echoes would get just 1 play. Every time 2112 by Rush is played the title track gets 1 play - it could have been 7 etc.
Another issue is reprises. Songs often get reprises during concerts. Take Bo Rhap on A Night at the Odeon fx. They didn't actually play the song twice. Still the one-minute reprise add another 2.5M to the grand total.
Indeed it would, thanks! Great stuff.
I believe Frank Sinatra's Let it Snow shold be included in 1957.
Thankfully, your first conundrum is just hypothetical and not, yet another issue to throw into the mix lol
The reprise issue appears on quite a few studio albums, such as The Beatles, Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band/(Reprise) or Queens Sheer Heart Attack, In The Lap Of The Gods/(Revisited).
Again, I'd attest, that ABITWs parts sound more like the same song, than those two reprised/revisted examples do, of their original versions.
TOP SPOTIFY TRACKS OF 50s:
(As of 9/1/2021)
1 BRENDA LEE – Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree – 459.9M
2 BOBBY HELMS – Jingle Bell Rock – 399.7M
3 FRANK SINATRA – Let It Snow – 305.8M
4 ELVIS PRESLEY – Jailhouse Rock – 226.4M
5 DEAN MARTIN – Let It Snow – 222.9M
6 ELVIS PRESLEY – Blue Christmas – 221.5M
7 CHUCK BERRY – Johnny B. Goode – 211.1M
8 JOHNNY CASH – I Walk the Line – 206.4M
9 JOHNNY CASH – Folsom Prison Blues – 190.7M
10 PAUL ANKA – Put Your Head On My Shoulder – 180.0M
Here are the top ten songs from the 50s on Spotify. Brenda Lee and Bobby Helms' Xmas classics are in a league of their own. Both would've made the 60s top 20.
There are 5 Xmas entries in the top 6 songs, with Elvis' "Jailhouse Rock" the biggest non-Xmas song on the list.
Another Xmas song, Perry Como's "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas", is just outside the top ten (175.0M)
You could actually say the biggest song of the 50s is "Let It Snow", as Rat Packers Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin both have very popular versions with a combined 528.7M plays.
Hats off to these two Xmas classics from the 40s! They would've ranked #4 and #5 in the 50s.
1 BING CROSBY – White Christmas – 263.4M
2 NAT KING COLE – The Christmas Song – 244.0M
Hi! Why is Zayn's sophomore album streams not included in his overall streams? Icarus Falls streams are not included - If included, his overall streams have crossed 6Billion count.
Zayn's Icarus Falls has over 2Billion streams. This entire album is not included in his discography.
i just searched for him and icarus is back it has 2.2 billion streams, zayn has 6.6 overall (inc. feature)
Ok..Thanks..
But in the most streamed artists list his name features with 4.7 billion streams..probably it will get corrected by tomorrow
Thank You. It's fixed under spotify streams ... But in the Most streamed artists overall, his streams continue to reflect 4billion streams. Pls check
Hi Vidya! Just noticed now you are mentioning this under a stand-alone article. This one was posted at the end of 2019 and done manually, it isn't aimed to be updated. Since then we did add a list which gets updated itself, the link is here. It's a top 20 for free users and a top 1,000 for Gold and Platinum members.
There Zayn shows:
Rank Artist Lead Streams Featured streams
87 ZAYN 6,235,723,351 370,989,570 (as of 02/23/21 included)
I've updated the list of top pre-2000 songs on Spotify.
Two years ago 53 songs had topped 400M plays.
One year ago 65 songs had topped 500M plays.
Now 61 songs have topped 650M plays.
(#) indicates ranking as of Jan 2nd 2021.
As of Jan 1st 2022:
1 (1) QUEEN – Bohemian Rhapsody – 1793M
2 (3) QUEEN – Don’t Stop Me Now – 1310M
3 (2) OASIS – Wonderwall – 1305M
4 (4) MARIAH CAREY – All I Want for Christmas – 1228M
5 (5) JOURNEY – Don’t Stop Believin’ – 1209M
6 (6) QUEEN – Another One Bites the Dust – 1198M
7 (9) NIRVANA – Smells Like Teen Spirit – 1178M
8 (8) AHA – Take On Me – 1159M
9 (7) TOTO – Africa – 1127M
10 (11) THE EAGLES – Hotel California – 1094M
11 (10) GUNS N ROSES – Sweet Child O Mine – 1094M
12 (15) THE POLICE – Every Breath You Take – 1066M
13 (12) EARTH, WIND & FIRE – September – 1065M
14 (13) QUEEN/BOWIE – Under Pressure – 1055M
15 (14) MICHAEL JACKSON – Billie Jean – 1032M
16 (17) AC/DC – Back In Black – 952M
17 (18) AC/DC – Highway To Hell – 915M
18 (36) FLEETWOOD MAC – Dreams – 905M
19 (19) WHAM – Last Christmas – 889M
20 (21) BACKSTREET BOYS – I Want It That Way – 879M
21 (24) BON JOVI – Livin’ On A Prayer – 879M
22 (26) AC/DC – Thunderstruck – 874M
23 (16) RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS – Under the Bridge – 871M
24 (22) LYNYRD SKYNYRD – Sweet Home Alabama – 868M
25 (20) RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS – Californication – 858M
26 (23) QUEEN – We Will Rock You – 853M
27 (25) GOO GOO DOLLS – Iris – 850M
28 (28) RADIOHEAD – Creep – 826M
29 (27) EURYTHMICS – Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) – 825M
30 (49) COOLIO – Gangsta’s Paradise – 819M
31 (31) METALLICA – Enter Sandman – 809M
32 (29) DR. DRE – Still DRE – 799M
33 (34) NIRVANA – Come As You Are – 793M
34 (32) SURVIVOR – Eye of the Tiger – 788M
35 (39) THE BEATLES – Here Comes the Sun – 761M
36 (38) R.E.M. – Losing My Religion – 758M
37 (35) MARVIN GAYE – Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – 754M
38 (30) SMASH MOUTH – All Star – 749M
39 (37) METALLICA – Nothing Else Matters – 747M
40 (41) CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL – Have You Ever Seen the Rain – 740M
41 (44) WHITNEY HOUSTON – I Wanna Dance With Somebody – 738M
42 (40) QUEEN – I Want to Break Free – 737M
43 (46) BRYAN ADAMS – Summer of ’69 – 737M
44 (42) DIRE STRAITS – Sultans of Swing – 734M
45 (33) BOB MARLEY – Is This Love – 733M
46 (47) THE CRANBERRIES – Zombie – 733M
47 (48) CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL – Fortunate Son – 719M
48 (43) GUNS N ROSES – Welcome To the Jungle – 716M
49 (45) FOO FIGHTERS – Everlong – 700M
50 (-) TEARS FOR FEARS – Everybody Wants to Rule the World – 684M
51 (53) GUNS N ROSES – Paradise City – 676M
52 (51) SPICE GIRLS – Wannabe – 676M
53 (-) BEE GEES – Stayin' Alive – 673M
54 (57) ROLLING STONES – Paint It Black – 671M
55 (50) AEROSMITH – I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing – 669M
56 (64) ELTON JOHN – Rocket Man – 664M
57 (55) LED ZEPPELIN – Stairway to Heaven – 664M
58 (54) THE VERVE – Bitterswet Symphony – 663M
59 (58) U2 – With Or Without You – 659M
60 (-) AC/DC – You Shook Me All Night Long – 652M
61 (56) QUEEN – Somebody To Love – 650M
_______________________________________________
– ABBA – Dancing Queen – 649M
– THE CLASH – Should I Stay or Should I Go – 648M
– (52) TLC – No Scrubs – 647M
– FLEETWOOD MAC – The Chain – 639M
– MICHAEL JACKSON – Beat It – 638M
One year ago only 4 tracks topped 1B - now 15 songs have done it! Obviously Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" is still in the lead. In 2022 it'll be the first pre-2000 song to pass 2B! Queen also moves to 2nd place with "Don't Stop Me Now", but many of their tracks actually drop a couple of placings.
The big jumper is once again Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams". New to the list last year, this year it jumps from 36-18!!! Still the Tik-Tok effect?!
Another huge jumper is Coolio with "Gangsta's Paradise" moving from 49-30! Any idea why?
The biggest new entry is Tears For Fears with "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" at #50.
Biggest drops are by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smash Mouth and Bob Marley. TLC's "No Scrubs" drops out of the list from #52.
Top 20 gains since jan 2nd 2021:
1 Queen – Bo Rhap – 325M
2 Fleetwood Mac - Dreams - 302M
3 Nirvana – Smells Like – 293M
4 Police – Breath – 280M
5 Aha – Take On Me – 269M
6 Queen – Another One – 269M
7 Coolio - Gangsta's Paradise - 265M
8 Queen – Don’t Stop 257M
9 Oasis – Wonderwall – 251M
10 Eagles – Hotel Cali – 247M
11 AC/DC – BIB – 238M
12 Michael Jackson - Billie Jean 237M
13 Journey – Don’t Stop – 232M
14 Earth, Wind – September – 225M
15 Queen/Bowie – Under Pressure – 219M
16 Mariah – Xmas – 219M
17 GnR – Sweet Child – 218M
18 AC/DC – Highway to Hell – 214M
19 AC/DC – Thunderstruck – 210M
20 Toto – Africa – 209M
Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer" is just outside the top 20 with 202M. And Tears for Fears' "Everybody" is next with an impressive 194M!!!
Christmas is over, were you listening to the same ol' Xmas Classics? If so, you are not alone. Here are the top pre-2000 Xmas songs on Spotify and how they performed in 2021 in (brackets):
1 Mariah Carey - All I Want - 1228M (219M)
2 Wham - Last Xmas - 889M (193M)
3 Brenda Lee - Rockin' Around the Xmas - 612M (153M)
4 Bobby Helms - Jingle Bell Rock - 542M (143M)
5 Andy Williams - It's the Most Wonderful - 516M (117M)
6 Band Aid - Do They Know - 401M (70M)
7 Jose Feliciano - Feliz Navidad - 390M (100M)
8 Frank Sinatra - Let It Snow - 389M (83M)
9 John Lennon - Happy Xmas - 366M (82M)
10 Chris Rea - Driving Home - 350M (82M)
11 Bing Crosby - White Xmas - 330M (67M)
12 Paul McCartney - Wonderful Xmastime - 327M (75M)
13 Nat King Cole - The Xmas Song - 319M (76M)
14 Dean Martin - Let It Snow - 304M (81M)
Did I forget any?!
Obviously the top 2 are pulling further and further away from the competition. Although they both performed better in 2020 with 261M and 211M respectively.
#6-14 all performed similarly between 67-83M, except for Feliz Navidad with a healthy 100M!
Nirvana's Nevermind will soon become the first pre-2000 album with two 800M+ tracks!
Here are the top catalog albums based on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th biggest song.
Ranking based on 2nd biggest song:
1. Nevermind (Come as You Are – 793.4M)
2. Metallica (Nothing Else Matters – 746.7M)
3. Appetite for Destruction (Welcome to the Jungle – 715.7M)
4. Back in Black (You Shook Me All Night Long – 652.2M)
5. Rumours (The Chain – 638.8M)
MJ's Thriller is narrowly outside the top 5 with "Beat It" (638.2M)
Bon Jovi's Slippery drops from #4-7 since last update with "You Give Love a Bad Name" (636.9M).
Ranking based on 3rd biggest song:
1. Appetite for Destruction (Paradise City – 676.2M)
2. Rumours (Go Your Own Way – 611.2M)
3. Californication (Scar Tissue – 477.9M)
4. Thriller (Thriller – 469.0M)
5. Dr. Dre 2001 (Forgot About Dre – 461.7M)
Still Guns with the big lead here. Dr. Dre drops to #5 since last update. Should be safe for now as Nevermind's "Lithium" at #6 is back at 380.4M...
Ranking based on 4th biggest song:
1 – Thriller (P.Y.T. – 263.2M)
2 – Back in Black (Shoot to Thrill – 247.7M)
3 – Dr. Dre 2001 (What’s the Difference – 240.5M)
4 – Ten (Jeremy – 239.3M)
5 – Saturday Night Fever (Night Fever – 232.0M)
AC/DC's BIB moves up 4-2 and is soon the 2nd catalog album with four 250M+ tracks!
SNF is new to these lists, however that might be my mistake. I somehow missed it so far.
Ranking based on 5th biggest song:
1 – Rumours (Never Going Back Again – 162.3M)
2 – Dr. Dre 2001 (Xxplosive – 159.5M)
3 – Bad (Dirty Diana – 147.7M)
4 - Metallica (Wherever I May Roam - 145.4M)
5 – Thriller (Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ – 137.0M)
Metallica is new at #4 here as 2Pac's "All Eyez on Me" (2 of Americaz Most Wanted – 134.4M) moves out of the top 5 in this narrowly contested list. Fleetwood Mac is the champ!
Ranking based on 6th biggest song:
1 – Thriller (Human Nature – 126.9M)
2 – Dark Side of the Moon (Brain Damage – 125.9M)
3 – Nevermind – (Something in the Way – 125.8M)
4 – Bad (I Just Can’t Stop Loving You – 115.4M)
5 – All Eyez on Me (How Do You Want It – 114.2M)
Talk about narrowly contested! These are almost neck and neck as MJ's "Human Nature" hold on to #1!! Get your popcorn ready for this, eh, Thriller....
Thank you for this list, very interesting stuff. That said, I wouldn't include Bob Marley's Is This Love because a third of its streams consists of recent remixes which are very different from the original, and that probably explains the 33-45 drop you mentioned.
