Ed Sheeran performs at the Victoria’s Secret fashion show on Dec. 2 in London.Image: Samir Hussein/Getty Images Ed Sheeran has won the world over, claiming the throne as Spotify‘s most-streamed artist this year, with 860 million listens in the 58 global markets where the service is available. The English singer-songwriter held off stiff competition from Eminem, who is Spotify’s all-time most-popular musician, Coldplay, Calvin Harris and Katy Perry. Perry, next year’s Super Bowl halftime show performer, dethroned Rihanna to become the top female. On Perry’s tail were Ariana Grande, Lana Del Rey, Beyoncé and Lorde. Sheeran’s sophomore studio album, x, also earned the title of top-streamed album, with 430 million streams since debuting at no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 200 chart in June. He beat out Sam Smith, Iggy Azalea, Pharrell Williams and Grande. Meanwhile, over on rival Rhapsody, Sheeran was absent from the service’s top global artists, as Eminem, Drake, Katy Perry, Beyoncé and Rihanna came out on top in 2014. Musicians’ streaming stats have become more important than ever in terms of their success on Billboard charts. Billboard and Nielsen announced last month that they would alter the Billboard 200 albums chart to now include audio streaming data to rank the top albums, while also taking into account physical sales and paid downloads of albums and tracks. However, streaming services are also embroiled in controversy over artist royalties. Here’s a breakdown of the best of the best on Spotify: Top five global artists 1. Ed Sheeran 2. Eminem 3. Coldplay 4. Calvin Harris 5. Katy Perry Top Five Global Males 1. Ed Sheeran 2. Eminem 3. Calvin Harris 4. Avicii 5. David Guetta Top five global females 1. Katy Perry 2. Ariana Grande 3. Lana Del Rey 4. Beyoncé 5. Lorde Top five global groups 1. Coldplay 2. Imagine Dragons 3. Maroon 5 4. OneRepublic 5. One Direction Top five global tracks 1. “Happy” – Pharrell Williams 2. “Rather Be” (feat. Jess Glynne) – Clean Bandit 3. “Summer” – Calvin Harris 4. “Dark Horse” – Katy Perry 5. “All of Me” – John Legend Top five global albums 1. x – Ed Sheeran 2. In The Lonely Hour – Sam Smith 3. The New Classic – Iggy Azalea 4. Girl – Pharrell Williams 5. My Everything – Ariana Grande Top five global viral tracks 1. “Take Me To Church” – Hozier 2. “Gooey” – Glass Animals 3. “Ojos Color Sol” – Calle 13 4. “Coffee” – Sylvan Esso 5. “Hey Mami” – Sylvan Most streamed artists in the U.S. 1. Eminem 2. Drake 3. Kanye West 4. Lana del Rey 5. Ariana Grande Most streamed tracks in the U.S. 1. “Fancy” – Iggy Azalea 2. “Dark Horse” – Katy Perry 3. “Happy” – Pharrell Williams 4. “Problem” – Ariana Grande 5. “All of Me” – John Legend Most streamed albums in the U.S. 1. x – Ed Sheeran 2. The New Classic – Iggy Azalea 3. In The Lonely Hour – Sam Smith 4. Native – OneRepublic […]
Lead singer Sting (L), lead guitarist Andy Summers (R) and drummer Stewart Copeland (C) of the band The Police perform onstage to open their world tour at General Motors Place May 28, 2007 in Vancouver, Canada.Image: Jeff Vinnick Words — who needs ’em anyway? Let’s be honest, the most fun part of a good pop song is often when you get to belt out some “na na”s, “doo doo”s or “la la”s unabashedly. However, the nonsensical nature of these lyrics often makes it hard to remember which songs they came from in the first place. Fortunately for you, we assembled this Music Monday playlist full of the best nonsense syllable passages in popular music. So throw on these songs and enjoy being able to sing along with no fear of forgetting the words. Have something to add to our playlist? Share with us in the comments, below, or on Spotify, and we’ll add it. How to Share Your Song With Us 1. To follow Mashable on Spotify, click here. If a popup window asks you to launch an external application, accept. This just means the browser will open up Spotify. 2. Follow Mashable, or send us music by clicking “Send Music.” 3. To send music while browsing tracks within Spotify, follow the MashableHQ account. Then right-click (ctrl + click) on the song you want to send, and click the “Share” option. 4. By default, Spotify pulls up the “Post to Feed” option. Instead, select the “Send to Friend” tab, type in “MashableHQ” and hit the blue “Send” button. If “MashableHQ” doesn’t show up when you’re trying to send a track, make sure you’re following the account. If you’re still having problems sending a song after that, let us know in the comments, below, and we’ll help you fix the problem. Read more: http://mashable.com/2014/08/18/la-la-la-music-monday-who-even-needs-words/
Russian fans celebrate during a women’s ice hockey game at the Shayba Arena in Sochi on Feb. 9 at the 2014 Winter Olympics.Image: Petr David Josek/Associated Press The first weekend of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, is in the books, with the first two days of competition delivering impressive performances and viral moments aplenty. If you haven’t managed to catch any of the thrilling action out of Sochi yet, it’s definitely not too late to get excited about the Winter Olympics. And if you live far from Russia and are trying to catch these events in real time, you may need an adrenaline rush on par with a run through the slopestyle course just to stay awake. That’s why we put together this Music Monday playlist of pump-up songs that are sure to get your feet moving and your heart racing. So whether you’re an Olympian preparing to launch yourself off a ramp at 60 mph or a superfan trying to stay awake through that 2 a.m. curling match, this playlist will get you in the mindset to go wild for the Sochi Games. Have something to add to our playlist? Share with us in the comments, below, or on Spotify, and we’ll add it. How to Share Your Song With Us 1. To follow Mashable on Spotify, click here. If a popup window asks you to launch an external application, accept. This just means the browser will open up Spotify. 2. Follow Mashable, or send us music by clicking “Send Music.” 3. To send music while browsing tracks within Spotify, follow the MashableHQ account. Then right-click (ctrl + click) on the song you want to send, and click the “Share” option. 4. By default, Spotify pulls up the “Post to Feed” option. Instead, select the “Send to Friend” tab, type in “MashableHQ” and hit the blue “Send” button. If “MashableHQ” doesn’t show up when you’re trying to send a track, make sure you’re following the account. If you’re still having problems sending a song after that, let us know in the comments, below, and we’ll help you fix the problem. BONUS: Fans Celebrating at the Winter Olympics Fans Celebrating at the Winter Olympics Under and Out! Fans limbo under a U.S. flag to celebrate Jamie Anderson’s gold medal in the women’s snowboard slopestyle final at the 2014 Winter Olympics on Feb. 9 in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. Image: Sergei Grits/Associated Press Get Pumped A fan awaits the start of the women’s freestyle skiing moguls final at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park on Feb. 8. Image: FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images Watchful Eye Judges look on during the ladies’ normal hill individual ski jumping training at the Ruski Gorki Jumping Center on Feb. 9. Image: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images Go, Fight, Win! Norwegian fans enjoy the atmosphere during the alpine skiing men’s downhill at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center on Feb. 9 in Sochi. Image: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images Russian Pride A Russian supporter smiles on his way from the Laura Cross Country […]
Pink Floyd performing on March 18.Image: The LIFE Picture Collection Far out, man. Over the weekend, we learned that Pink Floyd will release its first new album in the past 20 years in October. Critics and casual fans alike were thrilled by the news; after all, Pink Floyd helped popularize psychedelic rock alongside bands like The Beatles and Jefferson Airplane. To help get you ready for the band’s new tunes, we compiled this Music Monday playlist full of groovy psychedelic hits. So while we all wait patiently for October to roll around, turn up this playlist and “Breathe.” Have something to add to our playlist? Share with us in the comments, below, or on Spotify, and we’ll add it. How to Share Your Song With Us 1. To follow Mashable on Spotify, click here. If a popup window asks you to launch an external application, accept. This just means the browser will open up Spotify. 2. Follow Mashable, or send us music by clicking “Send Music.” 3. To send music while browsing tracks within Spotify, follow the MashableHQ account. Then right-click (ctrl + click) on the song you want to send, and click the “Share” option. 4. By default, Spotify pulls up the “Post to Feed” option. Instead, select the “Send to Friend” tab, type in “MashableHQ” and hit the blue “Send” button. If “MashableHQ” doesn’t show up when you’re trying to send a track, make sure you’re following the account. If you’re still having problems sending a song after that, let us know in the comments, below, and we’ll help you fix the problem. Read more: http://mashable.com/2014/07/07/psychedelic-rock-pink-floyd-music-monday/
Although Beyonce, Jay Z and Justin Timberlake may run the pop world, it’s the youth that are shaping tomorrow’s musical landscape. With this in mind, Spotify announced its inaugural list of the top 25 artists under 25. The music streaming service pored over number-one hits, volume and growth of streams and shares, as well as viral chart success from the past year to determine who made the cut. See which young artists are dominating this year’s charts, ranked in order by streams below. Spotify has also made a playlist embedded below for your listening pleasure. Spotify’s Top 25 Under 25 1. Avicii The 24-year-old DJ is Spotify’s first artist under 25 to cross the one billion streams threshold. His song “Wake Me Up” is the streaming service’s most-played tack, with more than 240 million streams globally. Video: YouTube, AviciiOfficialVEVO 2. Lorde Though Spotify listeners were streaming the 17-yea-old pop star’s single “Royals” long before it hit mainstream charts, her follow-up single “Team” is on a hot streak with more than 80 million streams and counting. Video: YouTube, LordeVEVO 3. Miley Cyrus Spotify listeners stream Miley’s music more than 1.5 million times a day. The service has seen a near 50/50 split between genders for the pop star’s top hit singles, “We Can’t Stop” and “Wrecking Ball.” Video: YouTube, MileyCyrusVEVO 4. One Direction These U.K. heartthrobs get more than one million streams globally each day. And if you incorrectly assumed that Harry, Liam, Louis, Niall and Zayne are only hits with the ladies, consider than nearly half the listeners of their single “Story of My Life” are men. Video: YouTube, OneDirectionVEVO 5. Taylor Swift Though the queen of country-pop crossovers is 24, her lyrics read like a post from your teenage LiveJournal blog. Though Swift’s last album “Red” was released in late 2012, her music still enjoys about 400,000 streams per day in the U.S., and twice that globally. Video: YouTube, TaylorSwiftVEVO 6. Jason Derulo If you’ve listened to top 40 radio in the last few months, then you’ve likely fallen under the spell of Derulo’s top charting single “Talk Dirty.” The horn-heavy track has been one of Spotify’s top performing tracks this year, coming in at more than 120 million streams. His latest single “Wiggle” featuring Snoop Dogg is gaining traction in the U.S. Video: YouTube, Jason Derulo 7. Ariana Grande The 20-year-old pop diva is well on her way to becoming the next Mariah Carey, with her high-reaching notes and dazzling live performances. Her latest single “Problem” featuring Iggy Azealia is a hit on Spotify. Video: YouTube, ArianaGrandeVevo 8. Hunter Hayes The 22 year-old country singer recently broke the Guinness World Record for the most concerts played in the most cities in 24 hours. His latest single “Invisible” reaches listeners with its anti-bullying stance and heartening delivery. Video: YouTube, hunterhayes 9. Rita Ora This British powerhouse’s latest single “I Will Never Let You Down” is produced by boyfriend Calvin Harris, and is steadily gaining traction with Spotify users. Video: […]
