Among the many programs that Spotify has launched over the years, its Singles have been one of the most popular — so much that Singles just passed the 5 billion streams mark. To date, there have been more than 630 recordings, from more than 300 artists, across all genres, and the complete list of Spotify Singles can be found HERE.
The series is one of many platforms and programs that Spotify has provided for music and artists since it launched 15 years ago. Artists ranging from Harry Styles and Arcade Fire to St. Vincent (pictured above) and Mac Miller have given unique performances on the series, often playing rare covers — Styles holds the record for the most-streamed song in the series with his version of Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush,” which has racked up nearly 150 million streams.
Other top covers include at least three Billie Eilish songs (Lewis Capaldi taking on “When the Party’s Over,” Chika hitting “My Future,” and even Alicia Keys singing “Ocean Eyes”; Yo La Tengo playing the Neil Young deep cut “Time Fades Away,” Alessia Cara covering fellow Canadian Nelly Furtado’s “Like a Bird,” Carly Rae Jepsen on No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak” and Mac Miller playing Billy Preston’s “Nothing From Nothing” — Head here for a 150-song playlist of them.
Senior Producer William Garrett says, “As a producer, it’s so exciting to work with these exceptional artists in the studio and be part of their most intimate creative process. From the first contact with the artist, we create an atmosphere that combines seasoned production and recording experience, professionalism and a mix of vintage gear and the newest tech. All of this plus a healthy dose of vibe sparks the space to create the unique tracks that have become a hallmark of Spotify Singles.”
Spotify recorded music lead Michele Santucci says, “We cast a wide net for this program and focus on diversity and impact. We want the program to appeal to multiple audiences and to be representative not just in demographics but size of the artist, genre, etc – if you look at the full list it really is so incredibly wide-spanning – huge popstars, up-and-comers, international artists, legacy acts and icons, and many more. This gives everyone an opportunity to create something new and special while also opening up the listenability of the program to tons of users.Our teams work closely throughout the process and collaborate as much or as little as the artist is comfortable with.”
Below are some statistics on the series:
Spotify Singles Superlatives & Timeline:
- Timeline:
- July 2016: First recording at Spotify Studios NYC: Aoife O’Donovan
- November 2016: First release: KALEO
- August 2017: First ex-US recording: Harry Styles – London
- March 2019: Last recording at Spotify Studios NYC: Lewis Capaldi
- May 2019: First recording at Electric Lady Studios: Vampire Weekend
- June 2020: First quarantine recording: PRIDE recordings with Rina Sawayama, Joesef & Orville Peck
- Most Streamed
- Most streamed Single: Harry Styles ‘Girl Crush’ – 145M Streams
- Spotify Singles added to the most editorial playlists:
- Creep (Rehab, Gattuso)
- All Night Long (Benjamin Ingrosso)
- when the party’s over (Lewis Capaldi)
- Spotify Singles added to the most user playlists:
- Girl Crush (Harry Styles)
- when the party’s over (Lewis Capaldi)
- Dive (Luke Combs)
- Countries That Listen To Spotify Singles The Most:
- US, Brasil, UK, Canada, Sweden, Germany
- Duets/Collaborations:
- Celine Dion & Chris Isaak
- Jazz at Lincoln Center & Jon Batiste
- Tony Bennett & Diana Krall
- FLETCHER & Niall Horan
- R3HAB & GATTUSO (1st mint Singles)
- Gryffin & Noah Kahan
- Maddie & Tae & Avenue Beat
- Lennon Stella & Kevin Garrett (their tour together got cancelled due to covid, so we put this collab together)
- SahBabii & Joji (1st Pollen Singles)
- Collaboration with Charlotte Lawrence, Nina Nesbitt, and Sasha Sloan = our 1st Original Song!
- Most Popular Artist To Cover
- Post Malone
- Dashboard Confessional: Circles
- Troye Sivan: Better Now
- FLETCHER: I Fall Apart
- 5 Seconds of Summer: Stay
- Hey Violet: Congratulations
- Bob Dylan
- Brother Ali: Ballad of a Thin Man
- Joshua Radin: Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright
- Margo Price: Most Likely You Go Your Own Way (And I’ll Go Mine)
- Whitney: Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You
- Grouplove: One More Cup of Coffee
- Singles that went on to be pressed to vinyl:
- Mac Miller
- Courtney Barnett
- Lewis Capaldi
- KALEO
- Kelsea Ballerini
- Jazz at Lincoln Center ft Jon Batiste
- Hamilton Leithausser & Rostam
- Kishi Bashi
- DRAM
- Local Natives
- Other Fun Facts
- Most people in a session: Arcade Fire
- Fastest Session: Wilco
- Phoebe Bridgers Twitter poll to decide her cover song
