Spotify most streamed music 2018: What were the year's favourite albums, artists and tracks
Drake, Ariana Grande, Post Malone and Dua Lipa were among the top artists on the streaming service
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Your support makes all the difference.Spotify has shared its annual end of year music figures, which reveal the top artists, tracks and albums on the streaming service.
Drake was named the most streamed artist in the UK and globally thanks to the release of his album Scorpion. His single "God's Plan" was the most listened-to track of the year, with over 1.1bn streams.
Ariana Grande achieved the highest number of streams for a female artist, following the release of her anticipated fourth album Sweetener in August, and the success of her new single "thank u, next" – the video for which broke several records on YouTube.
British singer Dua Lipa managed to break several Spotify records and was the second most streamed female artist of 2018 globally, and also the most streamed female singer in the UK. Her song "One Kiss" – a collaboration with producer and DJ Calvin Harris – was the second most streamed song in the UK.
Rounding off the most streamed female artists globally are Cardi B (3rd), Taylor Swift (4th) and Camila Cabello (5th). Drake was followed by Post Malone, the late rapper XXXTENTACION, J Balvin and Ed Sheeran.
In the groups category, pop rock band Imagine Dragons were the most streamed band of the year, followed by K Pop sensations BTS, who recently played a series of sold-out arena shows in the UK. Maroon 5, Migos and Coldplay rounded off the top five.
Post Malone had two of the most streamed global tracks of 2018, with "rockstar" ft 21 Savage and "Psycho" ft Ty Dolla $ign, at 3rd and 4th place, respectively. Along with "God's Plan" at number one, Drake's song "In My Feelings" was the 5th most streamed track of the year. XXXTENTACION's "SAD!" came in at number two.
Sheeran appeared on the list of most streamed male artists despite not releasing an album, following his record-breaking 2017 which placed him as the most listened to act of the year.
His third album Divide also placed fifth on the most streamed albums of 2018, after Dua Lipa's self-titled debut (number four), ? by XXXTENTACION (three), Beerbongs & Bentleys by Post Malone, and Scorpion by Drake.
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