It has been confirmed that Ed Sheeran has reached 100 million followers via the popular streaming platform Spotify; the mega pop star has become the first musician to claim the title of the platform’s most followed artist. Before reaching the record-breaking figure, Sheeran acquired over 50 million followers in the spring of 2020. In celebration of the milestone, Sheeran took to social media to post a video of himself wearing a t-shirt stating, “Ask Me About My 100 Million Spotify Followers”.
Absolutely mental. What an achievement Ed. Congrats! @spotify pic.twitter.com/Sber0327ap
— Ed Sheeran HQ (@edsheeran) July 26, 2022
Within the announcement, Spotify also confirmed other artists who have acquired a significant following within the platform. With 91.64 million followers, Ariana Grande has been named the second most followed act. Coming in at third place is “Bad Guy” singer Billie Eilish who has a confirmed 66.18 million Spotify followers. In fourth place is Drake, with.40 million followers; in fifth place is Justin Bieber, with 63.49 followers on Spotify.
This recent announcement is just one of many career highs which Sheeran has obtained since his career took flight. Last month, it was reported by Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) that the singer was the UK’s most played act of 2021; the singer was named the most-streamed artist after obtaining 81.20 million monthly listeners. Sheeran has also acquired the title of Most-played single with his commercially successful single “Bad Habits”, the track marked his first single release in over four years and spent multiple weeks as the UK’s number one single. In 2017, Sheeran also won the same double award; the singer obtained the esteemed title of Most-played single for his megahit “Shape Of You”.
The win means that the singer has been awarded two different awards within two different years, an impressive feat achieved by only a few. Fellow British artist Adele is another artist to win multiple titles; in 2011, the singer was named the most played artist and the most played song within the same year. The global popstar acquired the most-played single title for her megahit “Rolling In The Deep”.
Within the compiled data, The PPL also confirmed other artists who have obtained a significant amount of attention. The British music industry organisation proved David Guetta to be 2021’s second most played artist and also confirmed that Dua Lipa had come third, following from second and third are artists Little Mix, Coldplay, The Weeknd, Justin Bieber, Calvin Harris, Taylor Swift and Pink.
The recently released data also confirmed the UK’s most played singles of 2021. Within the findings, it was confirmed that English singer Tom Grennan held two spots within the list; the artist positioned in second place for his collaboration with Calvin Harris entitled “By Your Side” and also came third for “Little Bit Of Love”. Also included within the top ten are The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights”, Little Mix, Galantis and David Guetta’s single “Heartbreak Anthem”, and Coldplay’s “Higher Power”
