Guinness World Records Names The Weeknd as ‘World’s Most Popular Artist’

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The numbers don’t lie: The Weeknd is “officially amazing”!

Canadian singer-songwriter Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, popularly known as The Weeknd, has recently been dubbed as the “World’s Most Popular Artist,” according to the Guinness World Records (GWR).The title was announced on March 20, 2023.

The Weeknd has earned two GWR titles: He is the first artist to have 111.4 million monthly Spotify listeners as of March 20, 2023, and the first artist to ever reach the 100-million monthly listener mark on the platform.

This wasn’t the first time that the singer-songwriter was recognized by the GWR. He received two GWR titles in 2016, the “Most streamed album on Spotify in one year, current (unique listeners)” title between Dec. 1, 2014 and Dec. 1, 2015, and the “Most consecutive weeks in the Top 10 of Billboard’s Hot 100 by a solo male artist” title for his hit songs “Earned It,” “Can’t Feel My Face,” and “The Hills.”

‘Die for You (Remix)’ push The Weeknd to get new GWR titles

Among his hits, “Die for You (Remix),” which features singer-songwriter Ariana Grande, has helped catapult The Weeknd’s streaming numbers early this year. The viral re-released track came out on February 24, 2023, while the original version, “Die for You,” which was part of his third studio album, “Starboy,” was launched back in 2016.

The recently released version reached the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, his seventh song to get the milestone.

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Aside from these latest titles from the GWR, The Weeknd has received many accolades throughout his music career, including recognition from the Grammys, the Junos, MTV Music Awards, and the Billboard Music Awards.

Other popular musical acts on Spotify’s top monthly listenership list

As of April 8, 2023, The Weeknd still holds the record for having the most number of monthly Spotify listeners at 110.02 million. Following him on the list is Taylor Swift with 84.70 million monthly listeners, who is just a little ahead of Miley Cyrus, who currently has 84.14 million monthly listeners.

Meanwhile, Ed Sheeran (82.61 million), Shakira (79.97 million), Ariana Grande (78.55 million), Rihanna (76.66 million), Justin Bieber (74.89 million), David Guetta (70.12 million), and Drake (68.02 million) round up the top ten list.

Written by Angelica Cruz

Editing by Pauline Bolaños

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