Bad Bunny Crowned Global Streaming King, Set to Headline Super Bowl Halftime Show Amidst 2025 Wrapped Revelations

Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny has been named the world’s most-played artist of 2025, amassing an astounding 19.8 billion streams, Millenium TV can confirm. His highly praised album, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” which celebrates his island’s rich musical heritage, also secured the top spot globally. This immense popularity is paving the way for him to take the stage at next year’s highly anticipated Super Bowl half time show.

Despite his international dominance, the acclaimed artist did not feature in the United Kingdom’s Top 10, where American pop sensation Taylor Swift emerged as the most popular artist of the year. The annual personalized listening summaries, known as Spotify Wrapped, began rolling out to users at 13:00 GMT on Wednesday.

Globally, the throwback duet “Die With A Smile” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars was crowned the world’s biggest song. Meanwhile, UK music enthusiasts gravitated towards Alex Warren’s “Ordinary,” which spent an impressive 13 weeks at number one on the charts, becoming the nation’s top track. Interestingly, “Ordinary” was one of the few new songs to break into the UK’s Spotify Top 10, as established hits from artists like Lola Young, Billie Eilish, and Gigi Perez maintained their presence throughout the year. Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club,” originally released in 2020, even claimed the fourth most-streamed song of 2025.

In album news, Sabrina Carpenter’s 2024 release “Short ‘n’ Sweet” became the UK’s most-listened-to album, driven by successful tracks such as “Taste,” “Espresso,” and “Please Please Please.” However, her newer album, “Man’s Best Friend,” did not achieve a similar impact on the top 10. Billie Eilish secured the fifth spot among the most-streamed global artists, with her tracks “Birds of a Feather” and “Lunch” resonating with listeners. Drake also featured prominently, taking fourth place globally following the release of his latest album, “$ome $exy $ongs 4 U.”

Across other major streaming platforms, a similar trend emerged. Rosé and Bruno Mars’ pop anthem “APT,” initially released in October 2024, topped the charts on both YouTube and Apple Music. YouTube users, in particular, showed a significant preference for content from “K-Pop Demon Hunters,” with four songs from the Netflix animated series making it into the site’s Top 10, led by Huntr/x’s “Golden” at number three. The soundtrack for “K-Pop Demon Hunters” also ranked as the second biggest album globally on Spotify, followed closely by Billie Eilish’s “Hit Me Hard and Soft.”

British singer Lola Young experienced a breakout year, with popular tracks like “Messy” and “Not Like That Any More.” Millenium TV has learned that Young accumulated 1 billion streams in 2025. Another British artist, Central Cee, saw his debut album, “Can’t Rush Greatness,” achieve 785 million streams. Spotify Wrapped, which first launched in 2016, compiles users’ listening habits to generate personalized summaries, including their most-played songs, favorite artists, and top podcasts, encouraging social media sharing.

Professor Richard Whittle, an expert in artificial intelligence and public policy, explained to Millenium TV that this “gamification” of data can influence listening habits. Professor Whittle stated, “Wrapped is an incredibly effective viral marketing tool that turns millions of users into enthusiastic promoters. Many users even adjust their habits throughout the year to engineer a ‘cooler’ Wrapped next time, which shows how powerful the feature has become.”