If 2020 was the year that flipped the world on its head, 2021 was the year that we got used to seeing things upside down. With “normal” thrown out the window, the world embraced the unknown and championed all the things that make everyone unique.

Spotify’s 2021 Wrapped is a celebration of this, the millions of weird and wonderful ways to listen and live in a world that continues to keep everyone on their toes. 

Today, Spotify is unveiling its annual 2021 Wrapped results and personalised user experience inspired by just that.

At the same time, Spotify is revealing the top artists, albums, and songs from the creators that helped soundtrack the year for more than 381 million users worldwide. 

So, how did South Africans listen this year?  (A breakdown of most streamed lists included below).

• International rappers led the list of the most streamed artists in South Africa. Certified Lover Boy, Drake remained a firm favourite locally as he took the top spot on the list. Drake’s popularity extends further into Africa as he also claimed the top spot in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. Juice WRLD followed in second place with Justin Bieber,  Kanye West and The Weeknd making up the top five.

• A feat for the local music industry is the entry of DJ Maphorisa at number eight on the most streamed artists list for South Africa, the only local amongst the international acts.

• AmaPiano creators dominated as the most streamed local artists in South Africa, claiming the first five spots on the list. Unsurprisingly,  DJ Maphorisa led the pack followed by fellow Scorpion King Kabza De Small, with newcomers to the list Busta 929, De Mthuda and Mr JazziQ rounding off the top list. 

• Makhadzi has had a phenomenal year and it’s no wonder she is included in South Africa’s most streamed local artist list as well as being the most streamed female South African artist in 2021. Her star continues to rise as she received over 9 641 683 streams globally on Spotify in 2021.

• When it comes to the most streamed songs in South Africa over the past year – ‘’STAY (with Justin Bieber)’’ by The Kid LAROI is at number one followed by Tiësto’s ‘’The Business’’ and ’’Bad Habits’’ by Ed Sheeran. Sicela nithi hooray for ‘’Umsebenzi Wethu’’ by Busta 929 as it claimed its spot on the top five list at number four followed byOlivia Rodrigo’s ‘’drivers license’’.

• AmaPiano continues its domination of streaming lists – AmaPiano Grooves was the most streamed playlist in South Africa. The  genre also owned the most streamed local songs list.  The top five most streamed songs were ‘’Umsebenzi Wethu’’ by Busta 929 (#1), ‘’John Wick’’ by De Mthuda (#2), ‘’Izolo’’ by DJ Maphorisa (#3), ‘’Abalele’’ by Kabza De Small (#4) and ‘’Banyana’’ by DJ Maphorisa (#5).

• Drake claimed another top spot with Certified Lover Boy as the most streamed album in South Africa in 2021. This comes as no surprise given the social media popularity and meme virality it garnered in the country since its September release. SOUR by Olivia Rodrigo followed in second, with Ed Sheeren’s ‘’=’’ , Justice by Justin Bieber and the late Pop Smoke’s Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon making up the top five.

• Afrikaans vocalist Riaan Benadé’s Spontaan led the most streamed South African albums list with Blxckie – the new kid on the hip hop block – in second place with his debut albumB4Now. Blxckie has also garnered popularity outside of local borders amassing 6 980 769 streams globally on Spotify in 2021. Today’s Tragedy, Tomorrow’s Memory: the mixtape by A-Reece (#3), Undisputed Vol 2 by Busta 929 (#4) andKokovha by Makhadzi (#5) completed the list.

For even more on how the world listened in 2021, check out Spotify’s For the Record blog

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Spotify Unveils Its Latest Wrapped User Experience

Starting today, eligible users can also access their personalised Wrapped experience exclusively in the Spotify mobile app (iOS and Android).

This year’s Wrapped experience is full of familiar favourites, mixed with surprising new ones that connect fans with each other and creators.

One of the best parts of Wrapped is sharing personalised Wrapped cards on social channels like Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. This year Spotify is excited to announce that users can also now share their Wrapped cards directly to TikTok.

This year’s Wrapped experience includes new data stories to express your year in audio. 

In addition to your top artists, genres, songs, podcasts and minutes listened, the personalised Wrapped experience includes several all-new features, including:

• 2021: The Movie – your top songs paired with classic scenes from a movie that’s all about you!
• Your Audio Aura – your audio aura based on your top two music moods – Spotify partnered with an aura expert to bring this feature to you.
• Playing Cards – an interactive data-based game where Spotify will display several statements about your listening this year, and you’ll have to guess which are true. Once you’ve played you can then share with your friends.
• 2021 Wrapped: Blend -tapping into the new Blend feature, launched earlier in the year, that gives Spotify fans the ability to see how their 2021 music taste matches up with friends. They can then stream their blended playlist and share their results on social media platforms.

Exclusive experiences for top fans – Plus, we’re adding a special surprise: Videos from more than 170 artists and creators thanking fans for having them in their Wrapped. These thank you videos will appear if fans have a song by one of the participating artists in their “Your Top Songs 2021” or “Your Artists Revealed” playlists.

Spotify has also rolled out its Wrapped creator experience for artists. With access to their own individualised Wrapped microsite experience, creators can dive into all the ways in which their fans listened this year. Check out Spotify for Artists  to learn more.

Follow Spotify’s For the Record blog for all the details on Wrapped 2021.

Spotify Wrapped 2021 Top Streamed Lists in South Africa

Top 10 Most Streamed Artists

1. Drake
2. Juice WRLD
3. Justin Bieber
4. Kanye West
5. The Weeknd
6. J. Cole
7. Ed Sheeran
8. DJ Maphorisa
9. Taylor Swift
10. Doja Cat

Top 10 Most Streamed South African Artists

1. DJ Maphorisa
2. Kabza De Small
3. Busta 929
4. De Mthuda
5. Mr JazziQ
6. Joyous Celebration
7. Nasty C
8. Makhadzi
9. Appel
10. A-Reece

Top 10 Most Streamed Tracks 

1. STAY (with Justin Bieber) – The Kid LAROI
2. The Business – Tiësto
3. Bad Habits – Ed Sheeran
4. Umsebenzi Wethu – Busta 929
5. drivers license – Olivia Rodrigo
6. Heat Waves – Glass Animals
7. Blinding Lights – The Weeknd
8. John Wick – De Mthuda
9. Peaches (feat. Daniel Caesar & Giveon) – Justin Bieber
10. MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) – Lil Nas X

Top 10 Most Streamed South African Tracks

1. Umsebenzi Wethu – Busta 929
2. John Wick – De Mthuda
3. Izolo – DJ Maphorisa
4. Abalele – Kabza De Small
5. Banyana – DJ Maphorisa
6. LiYoshona Main Mix – Kwiish SA
7. Vula Mlomo – Musa Keys
8. Woza – Mr JazziQ
9. Mmapula – Busta 929
10. Siyathandana – Cassper Nyovest

Top 10 Most Streamed Albums

1. Certified Lover Boy – Drake
2. SOUR – Olivia Rodrigo
3. “ = ” – Ed Sheeran
4. Justice – Justin Bieber
5. Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon – Pop Smoke
6. Planet Her – Doja Cat
7. Donda – Kanye West
8. Legends Never Die – Juice WRLD
9. Future Nostalgia – Dua Lipa
10. After Hours – The Weeknd

Top 10 Most Streamed South African Albums

1. Spontaan – Riaan Benadé
2. B4Now – Blxckie
3. Today’s Tragedy, Tomorrow’s Memory: the mixtape – A-Reece
4. Undisputed Vol 2 – Busta 929
5. Kokovha – Makhadzi
6. African Queen – Makhadzi
7. Subconsciously – Black Coffee
8. Party With The English – Mr JazziQ
9. Hardwerkende Man – Appel
10. To the World & Beyond – Sun-El Musician

Top 10 Most Streamed Playlists

1. AmaPiano Grooves
2. Today’s Top Hits
3. Soft Pop Hits
4. Mood Booster
5. Deep Sleep
6. Songs to Sing in the Shower
7. Sleep
8. Made in South Africa
9. All Out 80’s
10. Slow Jamz