Drake loses most-streamed artist spot to J Balvin on Spotify; Will he bounce back with 'Scorpion'?
Just a few days prior to the launch of Drake's newest album 'Scorpion', the 'I'm Upset' rapper lost his position as the most-streamed artist worldwide on Spotify, it was revealed on Monday. Latin star, J Balvin, has secured the title with as many as 48 million monthly listeners. Drake, on the other hand, is few thousands short of the title. It is yet to be seen if Drizzy's 'Scorpion' can reclaim the crown but, for now, the Columbian artist's recent single 'X' with Nicky Jam has already been streamed more than 327 million times.
Drake and his production label have been successfully dropping hits with 'God's Plan' and 'I'm Upset' in the last few months amidst massive controversies surrounding the Toronto-based rapper's personal life.
But nothing is quite an overthrow as this one. However, it would be naive to say that this is surprising, because, the dawn of Latin reggaeton was already established by 'Despacito,' obviously one of the biggest hits of all times with over three billion views on YouTube.
Even the Latin music takeover should not come as a shock since American rappers have long collaborated with the Latin counterparts. The reigning Spotify star's single "Mi Gente" became the first fully-Spanish song to top the platform's Global Top 50 Chart last year. The song was initially released on 30 June 2017 through Scorpio Music and Universal Music Latin. Now, a year later, Drake's 'Scorpion' is releasing so we will be witnessing the 'Scorpio' showdown. (Okay, bad pun).
According to Spotify, Latin music listening increased by 110% in 2017. But, at a time when Drake is losing battles with Pusha T and is greeting his fans with silence, losing the reign on Spotify just days before the launch of his album may have a much deeper impact on his career. On the other hand, the 33-year-old Balvin's Spotify domination was hastened by the success of 'Vibras.'
In a statement released following Spotify's announcement, the Latin rapper wrote; "I’m so grateful and proud to be the most heard artist in the world on Spotify. It’s bigger than J Balvin, it’s the movement and it’s in Spanish. We are proving that Latinos have the power to connect with an audience on a global level without having to leave our identity behind. This is an achievement for the entire Latino community. I’m so grateful to Spotify for the enormous support to the reggaeton movement."
As for Drake, he is as silent as he was before, only taking to Instagram to announce the launch of his album on June 29, which fans expect to be a double album.Balvin was quick to take to Instagram and celebrate his success. A year after its release, the other reason why 'Mi Gente' is catching up like wildfire now is because of Beyonce's remix to the song that stays authentic in Spanish. Besides 'Mi Gente,' the other trending songs of Balvin include 'Ambiente,' 'Karma' and 'X'.
We are not sure of Drake's tracklist for 'Scorpion' but, since the release of 'More Life' last year, Drake has released a handful of singles with his 'Scary Hours' EP including the chart-topping hits 'God's Plan,' 'Diplomatic Immunity' and 'Nice for What', so it's possible these could appear on the new record.
If Drake's much-anticipated album comes with chart-topping songs like his 'God's Plan', he might just claim his title back from Balvin. And, given the fact that Drake has spent a lot of time in the studio, fans are eagerly anticipating new chart toppers.
This year has been monumental for the 'Nice for What' rapper, whose song topped sixth nonconsecutive week in Billboards Hot 100 and 'God's Plan' just refused to budge, proving that Drake may have lost a position in Spotify, but he still reigns over other platforms. Balvin is also not completely out of sight as he features with Cardi B in 'I Like It', besides his own 'Vibras.'
We will have to wait and watch if winning the title back is as swift as acing the chart for Drizzy. Oh 'Scorpion' come already! We also can't wait to get get our hands on the cool merchandise that Millie Bobby Brown and DJ Khaled have been rocking on Instagram.