The top 10 listened songs of 2021

The ultimate playlist of 2021 is up. Although it's been a year with hits for to all musical tastes, these 10 tracks were the ones that became the most-played songs on Spotify across the world.

Olivia Rodrigo is at the top of the podium for the most-played songs of 2021 with her track 'Drivers License'. It came out in January and immediately broke the record for the most reproductions per day in the history of Spotify.

Olivia Rodrigo takes a double gold medal because her album 'Soul' is also the most-played album on the platform throughout the year.

Lil Nas X is one of the most successful artists of the last two years. His song 'Montero (Call Me by Your Name)' occupies the second place of the most-played songs of the year on Spotify.

'Montero (Call Me by Your Name)' generated a lot of controversy because of its explicit music video. It referred to heaven, hell, and the sins that some people connect with the singer's lifestyle. He is very openly and unapologetically gay.

Lil Nas X, the new LGTBIQ + icon

The bronze for third place goes to The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber with 'STAY'. This is the artists' second collaboration after they both worked on Bieber's song 'Unstable.'

The song has been number one in countries such as Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Poland. It's reached the top ten of many others.

On the fourth spot there's another Olivia Rodrigo track: 'Good 4 u'. It was released in May 2021 and praised by critics for its melody inspired by the 1990s and early 2000s.

The young singer also became the third most listened-to female artist. Ahead of her are Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande.

Fifth place goes to Dua Lipa's remix of 'Levitating' with DaBaby. There was some controversy about their cooperation after the rapper made derogatory remarks about the LGTBI community. Dua Lipa's fans then asked her to remove him from all renditions of the songs on digital platforms.

Her album, 'Future Nostalgia', is also the world's second most listened to in 2021, according to Spotify. The number 1 position was for Olivia Rodrigo's 'Soul'.

We meet Justin Bieber for the second time on this list. Now, he's made it to number 6 together with Daniel Caesar and Giveon. In the music video of 'Peaches,' the three singers appear crossing the Las Vegas Strip.

Photo: VEVO

Both the song and the video clip were released on March 19, 2021. 'Peaches' is the fifth single from Justin Bieber's sixth studio album, entitled 'Justice'.

Photo: VEVO

The seventh position in the list of most-listened songs is occupied by American singer and rapper Doja Cat together with SZA. In the music video, they play two aliens trying to conquer an astronaut, a role by actor Alex Landi.

Photo: VEVO

This pop song with disco influences seems to have been on radios around the world non-stop. It was number one in New Zealand, Malaysia, Mexico and Singapore, and it entered the Spotify top 10 of 2021 with replays from many (disparate) countries.

Photo: VEVO

We've reached number 8 of the most-played songs on Spotify in 2021. Interestingly, it's a song from 2019! 'Blinding Lights' from The Weeknd continued to be a success in 2021, despite having been played millions of times already since its release in November 2019.

In the week of March 13, 2021, the track became the first in history to remain in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 for 52 consecutive weeks.

'Heat Waves', by the British band Glass Animals, managed to make a place among the favorite songs of 2021. It came in ninth.

The track was released as a single from Glass Animal's third studio album, 'Dreamland', on June 29, 2020. Slowly but surely, it became one of the most-played tracks on Spotify.

The Italian band Måneskin, winner of the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest with their own song 'Zitti e buoni', closes the Spotify top ten with a cover of the Four Seasons track 'Beggin'.'

The song was also covered in 2007 by the Norwegian duo Madcon. Then, too, it was a global hit.

Read more: What was the most popular song in the year you were born?