Kabza De Small and Drake are Deezer SA’s most streamed artists

Kabza De Small leads Drake to claim the top spot on the list of most streamed artists overall. He is followed by the US rapper and DJ Maphorisa who ranks at No 3. Globally, Colombian singer J Balvin was the most streamed international artist for the third consecutive year and is closely followed by The Weeknd. Dua Lipa and Bad Bunny came in at third and fourth respectively.

At Spotify, the largest subscription music streaming service, Puerto Rican musician Bad Bunny is 2020’s most-streamed artist globally with 8.3 billion streams. The Latin Grammy winner and hitmaker, who released a new album last week, leads a top-five list that also includes Drake, J Balvin, Juice WRLD and The Weeknd.

In terms of songs, ‘Dance Monkey’ by Tones and I was Deezer’s most streamed track in South Africa and globally this year, with ‘Blinding Lights’ by The Weeknd and ‘Roses (Imanbek Remix)’ by SAINt JHN claiming the second and third spots.

In the overall most streamed albums category, South African R&B songstress Elaine reigned supreme with her debut EP Elements. Amapiano king Kabza De Small was also a local favourite with three of his albums ranking among South Africa’s top 10 most streamed albums. Globally, The Weeknd took the No 1 spot, with After Hours being the most played international album of 2020.

Deezer this year introduced a new category called ‘artists with the most superfans’, which ranks musicians with the most supporters. Eminem topped the list, closely followed by K-pop superstars BTS and Beyoncé who claimed second and third position. Other musicians on the list included Justin Bierber, The Beatles and AC/DC.

“This is the year of home confinement and social distancing,” Deezer vice-president of content and productions Frédéric Antelme said. “Streaming helped many people cope and it may be telling that the top 10 tracks this year are all international, dancey and positive. We also saw some interesting trends, with 40% of our top 20 international albums made by black artists, compared to a quarter the year before. And our top 10 streamed international acts were equally split between genders this year. Music has always reflected the underlying dynamics of our society and 2020 is no different. I can’t wait to see what 2021 brings.”

Deezer has also created a special Best of 2020 channel to assist fans to find the top music on the platform. On the channel, listeners will also find personal playlists from the company’s editors that define what 2020 meant for each of them.

The full list is available below:

Top 10 artists (overall) in South Africa

• Kabza De Small
• Drake
• DJ Maphorisa
• Billie Eilish
• The Weeknd
• Ed Sheeran
• Eminem
• Beyoncé
• Joyous Celebration
• Chris Brown

Top 10 local artists in South Africa

• Kabza De Small
• DJ Maphorisa
• Joyous Celebration
• Spoegwolf
• Elaine
• Nasty C
• Appel
• Ami Faku
• Snotkop
• Elandre

Top 10 tracks (overall) in South Africa

• Dance Monkey – Tones and I
• Blinding Lights – The Weeknd
• You’re the One – Elaine
• Memories – Maroon 5
• Roses (Imanbek Remix) – SAINt JHN
• Don’t Start Now – Dua Lipa
• Someone You Loved – Lewis Capaldi
• everything i wanted – Billie Eilish
• The Box – Roddy Ricch
• Circles – Post Malone

Top 10 local tracks in South Africa

• You’re the One – Elaine
• Jerusalema – Master KG
• eMcimbini – DJ Maphorisa, Kabza De Small
• Lorch – Kabza De Small, DJ Maphorisa
• Risky – Elaine
• Umlilo – DJ Zinhle
• Into Ingawe – Ami Faku, Sun-El Musician
• Xola Moya Wam – Nomcebo Zikode
• Tender Love – Sha Sha
• Love You Tonight – MFR Souls

Top 10 albums (overall) in South Africa

• Elements – Elaine
• After Hours – The Weeknd
• When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? – Billie Eilish
• I Am The King Of Amapiano: Sweet & Dust – Kabza De Small
• Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial – Roddy Ricch
• Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon – Pop Smoke
• The Return Of The Scorpion Kings – DJ Maphorisa, Kabza De Small
• Music To Be Murdered By – Eminem
• Scorpion Kings Live – DJ Maphorisa, Kabza De Small
• Hollywood's Bleeding – Post Malone

Top 10 local albums in South Africa

• Elements – Elaine
• I Am The King of Amapiano: Sweet & Dust – Kabza De Small
• The Return of the Scorpion Kings – DJ Maphorisa, Kabza De Small
• Scorpion Kings Live – DJ Maphorisa, Kabza De Small
• Country – Demi Lee Moore
• Umuthi – Blaq Diamond
• Spiritual Encounter – Bucy Radebe
• Koma – Spoegwolf
• See – Spoegwolf
• Isphithiphithi – Samthing Soweto

Top five most streamed playlists in South Africa

• Amapiano
• SA's Hottest Tracks
• Soul of Mzansi
• Hits of the Moment SA
• Best Of SA House

Top 10 global artists

• J Balvin
• The Weeknd
• Bad Bunny
• Dua Lipa
• Billie Eilish
• Lady Gaga
• Anitta
• Eminem
• Ed Sheeran
• Ariana Grande

Top 10 global tracks

• Dance Monkey – Tones and I
• Blinding Lights – The Weeknd
• Roses (Imanbek Remix) – SAINt JHN
• Don’t Start Now – Dua Lipa
• Tusa – Karol G, Nicki Minaj
• Ride It – Regard
• The Box – Roddy Ricch
• Bad Guy – Billie Eilish
• RITMO (Bad Boys For Life) – Black Eyed Peas, J Balvin
• Say So - Doja Cat

Top 10 global albums

• After Hours – The Weeknd
• When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? – Billie Eilish
• The Kids Are Coming – Tones and I
• Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon – Pop Smoke
• Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial – Roddy Ricch
• Hot Pink – Doja Cat
• Fine Line – Harry Styles
• Future Nostalgia – Dua Lipa
• Chromatica – Lady Gaga
• Music To Be Murdered By – Eminem

Artists with the most superfans

• Eminem
• BTS
• Beyoncé
• Queen
• The Beatles
• David Guetta
• Maroon 5
• AC/DC
• Shakira
• Justin Bieber