The Weeknd’s trajectory is nothing short of incredible. He comes onto the scene in 2011 as a masked man, shrouded in mystery with a dark R&B sound unlike any other artist at the time. Who is this artist from Toronto? They must know Drake (true). Is it a group? Nope, just one man by the name of Abel Tesfaye who had a knack for infectious melodies and a voice that many would, especially at the time, compare to the likes of Michael Jackson. Oh, he still has those things today in 2023, just now instead of being a mystery man, the veil has long been pulled off and he now sits at the mountaintop as the most popular artist in the world. If you don’t believe me, I’m sure the Guinness World Record books would be a notable source to cite.
Not only does the Weeknd tout the most monthly listeners in Spotify history, a whopping 111.4 million of them, but he is also the first and only artist to top the 100 million monthly listener mark. For context, currently in 2nd place is Miley Cyrus at 82.4 million monthly listeners. This is a statistic that fluctuates on a 28-day basis, as the term would suggest, so that number could even continue to increase.
From the shadows of snowy Toronto streets to multi-platinum albums, worldwide tours, a Superbowl halftime show performance, and now the title of most popular artist in the world. Not too shabby.
There's two new world records for @theweeknd as he has become the first artist to reach 100 million monthly listeners on @Spotify 👏https://t.co/Z2zCtVay8n
— Guinness World Records (@GWR) March 20, 2023
