Move over Justin Bieber, The Weeknd has claimed a new Spotify record thanks to many fans enjoying his music on stream.
The Weeknd just released his newest album, Dawn FM, several weeks ago. He’s now taken over as the king of Spotify streams, according to data on the music platform.
However, Bieber fans shouldn’t despair as Justin still has a few records that The Weeknd may not be able to take over.
The Weeknd claims new Spotify record, dethrones Bieber
Years ago, an artist’s popularity tended to be measured simply by record sales and radio play. However, as technology advanced, streaming became an easier way for people to enjoy their music.
That’s led to new ways to measure music’s popularity. It’s also led to new music records for categories like most streams, which shows the popularity of artists, including Drake, Justin Bieber, and The Weeknd.
The Weeknd recently surpassed Biebs in a major streaming record, as he now has the most monthly listeners on the Spotify streaming platform with 85.6 million.
Bieber claimed the record last year when he hit 83.3 million monthly listeners and held onto that record for 190 consecutive days, according to TMZ.
The Weeknd released fifth album Dawn FM this year
Just over two weeks ago, The Weeknd released one of the year’s first major albums with his fifth studio project, Dawn FM.
It’s full of dance-pop and synth-pop music and includes guest vocals from hip-hop artists Lil Wayne and Tyler, the Creator.
There’s also Jim Carrey on Dawn FM, serving as a narrator for several tracks. Carrey recites a poem to close out the album on the song Phantom Regret by Jim.
The album currently sits at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 album charts, with hip-hop artist Gunna currently holding the top spot. Justin Bieber’s Justice is in the No. 28 spot for the chart.
According to Billboard, two songs from The Weeknd’s Dawn FM are currently in the top 30, with Take My Breath at No. 22 and Gasoline at No. 29, as of this report.
The music video for Take My Breath (below) currently has 92 million views on YouTube and includes an epilepsy warning for viewers.
Justin Bieber still holds another record
There’s still another record that Justin Bieber has which The Weeknd or another artist can aim for when it comes to streaming.
According to a tweet from @Jdbsdata, Bieber holds the Spotify record for “highest monthly listeners peak in history” with 94.68M listeners.
Of course, Bieber has a few other distinctions away from streaming that The Weeknd doesn’t.
That includes Bieber hitting No. 1 with each of his six studio albums released from 2010 through 2021. The Weeknd missed that mark as his first album, 2013’s Kiss Land, fell short of reaching No. 1 in the United States. His latest album, Dawn FM, has charted as high as No. 2 in the states and could take the top spot soon.
Justin also set a Guinness World Record for the youngest male solo artist to debut at No.1 on Billboard Hot 100. That one’s going to be especially hard for The Weeknd to take over, based on how he’s rapidly aging on his album covers.