Based on Spotify data, The Weeknd has been declared the world’s most popular artist by Guinness World Records. With a staggering 111.4 million monthly listeners, the ‘Blinding Lights’ hitmaker has emerged as the leader among the most prominent stars globally, as compiled by the Guinness World Records based on streaming data.
The Weeknd has surpassed Miley Cyrus, who comes in second with 82.4 million monthly listeners, followed by Shakira, Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, and Ed Sheeran with 81.6 million, 80.6 million, 80.2 million, 78.5 million, and 77.5 million monthly listeners, respectively.
This achievement follows the success of The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights,’ which surpassed Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape of You’ to become the platform’s most-streamed song of all time. The report also follows the settlement of the Canadian artist’s copyright infringement case over his song ‘Call Out My Name.’
Just over a week ago, The Weeknd won four awards at the 2023 Juno Awards in his home country of Canada. He received both artists of the year and songwriter of the year awards for a record fourth time. He also won single of the year for the third time with ‘Sacrifice’ from 2022 and pop album of the year with ‘Dawn FM.’
The Weeknd settles ‘Call Out My Name’ copyright case
Two musicians named Suniel Fox and Henry Strange sued the Canadian pop star in 2021, alleging that his 2018 hit ‘Call Out My Name’ had infringed on one of their songs. It has now been reported that The Weeknd has settled with the two musicians.
Epikker, the duo consisting of Fox and Strange, alleged that The Weeknd’s ‘Call Out My Name’ had similarities to their song ‘Vibeking,’ specifically regarding the “lead guitar and vocal hooks.”
‘Call Out My Name’ remains one of Tesfaye’s most successful tracks, reaching No. 7 on the UK singles chart and No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song has earned platinum certification in the UK and triple platinum certification in the US.
