Music moves fast. One day you're humming a song in the shower, and the next, it's got a billion streams and the artist is buying a private island. If you've looked at the charts lately, you know the "biggest" name depends entirely on how you measure it. Are we talking about who has the most people listening this second, or who has the most streams in history?
Honestly, it's a bit of a moving target.
Right now, in early 2026, the battle for the crown is basically a game of musical chairs between the same five or six titans. But there are some massive surprises. While the usual suspects like Taylor Swift and Drake are still haunting the top spots, the "Monthly Listeners" metric—which is how Spotify ranks popularity on their app—shows a slightly different story.
💡 You might also like: The Patu Patu Song Craze: Why This Ugandan Rhythm is Taking Over Your Feed
The Current Heavyweights: Top Artists on Spotify Right Now
If you open the app today, you'll see The Weeknd sitting at the top of the mountain. He’s currently pulling in over 123 million monthly listeners. It’s kind of wild to think about. That's more than the entire population of Mexico tuning into Abel Tesfaye every single month. He’s held a firm grip on the #1 spot for a while, mostly because his back catalog like "Blinding Lights" simply refuses to die.
But he's not alone up there. Bruno Mars is breathing down his neck with around 122 million. Bruno had a massive 2025 thanks to collaborations like "Die With A Smile" with Lady Gaga and "APT." with ROSÉ. He’s seen a huge resurgence that most people didn't see coming three years ago.
Here is the rough breakdown of the elite club as of mid-January 2026:
- The Weeknd: 123.0M monthly listeners
- Bruno Mars: 122.6M monthly listeners
- Justin Bieber: 118.3M monthly listeners
- Ariana Grande: 117.1M monthly listeners
- Taylor Swift: 113.7M monthly listeners
You’ll notice Taylor is #5 on this specific list. Don’t let that fool you. While she might have fewer "unique" monthly listeners than The Weeknd right now, she is the most-streamed artist of all time on the platform, recently crossing the 117 billion lead stream mark. Her fans don't just listen once a month; they listen to every album, every day, forever.
Why the Rankings Feel Like a Rollercoaster
You ever wonder why an artist like Mariah Carey suddenly teleports into the top 10 every December and then vanishes by February?
📖 Related: How Did JayDaYoungan Die? What Really Happened in Bogalusa
It’s the "Monthly Listeners" trap. Spotify counts anyone who plays at least one song in a 28-day window. So, when "All I Want for Christmas Is You" starts playing in every grocery store in the world, Mariah’s numbers explode. As of early January, she’s still hanging around the top 15 with about 84 million listeners, but that number is currently dropping faster than a lead balloon as the holiday spirit wears off.
Then you have the regional powerhouses. Arijit Singh is a name some Western listeners might not know, but he is currently the most-followed artist on the entire platform with over 170 million followers. He has more followers than Taylor Swift. Think about that for a second. His dominance in India and Southeast Asia is so absolute that he’s basically a permanent fixture in the global top 10, regardless of what’s trending in Los Angeles or London.
The Breakdown by Genre
It isn't just a pop world.
- Hip-Hop: Drake is still the king here. He’s currently at #12 globally with 86 million monthly listeners. Even without a massive new album drop in the last few weeks, his "old" stuff gets more play than most people's new releases.
- Latin: Bad Bunny remains the undisputed heavyweight. He ended 2025 as the global top artist for the fourth time, and he’s still pulling over 83 million listeners month-over-month.
- Rock: Coldplay is surprisingly high up at #7 globally. They’ve managed to stay relevant with over 99 million listeners, proving that stadium rock still has a massive home on streaming.
Breakout Stars and 2026 Predictions
If you’re bored of the same five names, Spotify just released their Artists to Watch 2026 list. These are the people the data says are about to blow up.
One name you should probably know is EsDeeKid. He’s a UK-based rapper who just crossed 19 million monthly listeners. He’s got co-signs from everyone from Jack Harlow to Timothée Chalamet (weird, I know). Another one is MOLIY, who is leading the new Afrobeats wave.
We’re also seeing a huge shift in how country music performs. Morgan Wallen and Zach Bryan are consistently in the US Top 10, even if they don't always crack the Global Top 10. The "Spotify-fication" of country is real, and it's making the charts look a lot more diverse than they did five years ago.
✨ Don't miss: Chayanne Yo Te Amo Letra: Why This 2000s Anthem Still Hits So Hard
Getting the Most Out of Your Listening
Look, the "top" artists are great, but the real value of Spotify in 2026 is finding the stuff that isn't on this list.
The algorithm is getting scarily good at predicting what you’ll like before you even know it. If you want to stay ahead of the curve, stop checking the Global Top 50 and start digging into the "Discovery Weekly" or the "Artists to Watch 2026" official playlist.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Check the "Monthly Listeners" on your favorite artist's profile. If they have under 1 million, you're officially a "tastemaker" (or just a hipster, depends who you ask).
- Follow Arijit Singh. Even if you don't speak the language, the production quality is insane and explains why he's outranking the biggest Western pop stars.
- Look at the "Discovered On" section. If you want to find new music, look at which smaller playlists are driving streams for your favorite mid-tier artists.
The charts will change by next week. Someone will drop a surprise single, a TikTok trend will revive a song from 1974, and the whole list will shuffle again. That's the fun of it.
The top artists on spotify right now represent what the world is feeling at this exact moment, but the next big thing is probably currently sitting at 100 streams in a bedroom somewhere in London or Lagos. Go find them.