The Weeknd sets Guinness World Record for most popular artist

The Weeknd, who recently became the first artist to reach 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify, is statistically the world’s most popular musician, Guinness World Records said Monday. 

No one else even comes close to the singer’s streaming success, according to Guinness World Records, which said the 33-year-old singer has set two world records for music streaming: He has the most monthly listeners on Spotify and he is the first artist to reach 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify.

Spotify itself also noted the milestone last month, tweeting, “It’s official: On February 27, The Weeknd became the first artist in Spotify History to reach 100 Million monthly listeners.”

The recent surge in streams has been driven in part by the success of his “Die For You” remix featuring Ariana Grande, which went viral on TikTok. 

The remixed track, the original version of which was released in 2016, also clinched the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 list earlier in March. It’s the seventh number-one hit for both Grande and The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye. It was the second time The Weeknd and Grande have teamed up for a remix that went to number one, after 2021’s “Save Your Tears” remix also shot up to the top of the chart, according to Billboard.

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The Weeknd’s 2020 track “Blinding Lights” is the most streamed track on Spotify of all time, with more than 3.47 billion listens as of Monday, according to the music streaming platform. His song “Starboy” is also one of the most listened to songs of all time on Spotify.

The Weeknd is no stranger to Guinness World Records awards. He was awarded two certificates back in 2016: One for Spotify’s most streamed album in 2015 and the other for the most consecutive weeks in the Top 10 of Billboard’s Hot 100 by a solo male artist.