Spotify today revealed the list of the 25 most influential artists under the age of 25
who are dominating the music industry in Singapore.
Eighteen-year-old Canadian singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes tops the list, boasting 25 million Spotify listeners
each month and over 500 million streams of his smash, Stitches. Following Mendes are: Ariana Grande, Martin Garrix, Justin Bieber and Alessia Cara. Also included are mainstays Gentle Bones and Fifth Harmony.
To determine the 25 under 25 list, music experts at Spotify looked at a variety of factors such as the
number of people listening to an artist each month on Spotify, artists with songs featured in Spotify’s top
playlists and top-performing artists by genre.
The top 25 list also includes newcomers such as Linying. This indie
singer-songwriter has a spot on Spotify’s Global Viral 50 chart. “These young artists have broken boundaries and are certainly leading global culture regardless of age,
making an impact across the world with their creativity and music. We are excited to see music from all
over the world – international, regional and local – resonate amongst our Spotify users in Singapore. With
so many young listeners on Spotify, it's always fascinating to hone in on the peer artists they're listening
to and looking up to," said Chee Meng Tan, Director of Label Relations, Spotify, APAC.
Spotify's 25 Under 25 (Singapore Edition):
1. Shawn Mendes: Mendes started out posting six-second Vine clips of himself singing covers, and
now, at 18, the singer-songwriter from Toronto fills major venues and attracts 25 million
Spotify listeners each month. Multiple tracks from Mendes' sophomore album, Illuminate, which arrived in September, are popular on Spotify, with notable standout, Treat You Better on track to give Mendes' smash Stitches (500 million plus streams) a run for its money.
2. Ariana Grande: Multiple tracks from the 23-year-old singer’s latest album became instant hits; Dangerous Woman and Into You have clocked more than 200 million streams each, and Side to Side (with Nicki
Minaj), is a top 10 song on Spotify’s global chart. Grande has 27 million monthly
listeners.
3. Martin Garrix: Having reached electronic dance music (EDM) stardom at 17 thanks to several remixes,
Dutch artist Garrix, now 20, continues to be at the top with banger (Editor's note: very good song) In The Name of Love, which is
in Spotify’s Today’s Top Hits playlist. With 21 million monthly listeners, Garrix is
in Spotify’s top twenty most popular artists of all time.
4. Justin Bieber: Bieber has been on a hot streak since his comeback Diplo/Skrillex collaboration Where Are Ü Now dropped in early 2015. With follow-up monster solo hits that just keep coming at us,
like Love Yourself, What Do You Mean? and Sorry - which have all passed the 700 million streams
mark - there’s just no stopping the Biebs. Bieber’s collaboration with Major Lazer and MØ, Cold Water, is currently streaming more than 2.5 million times a day.
5. Alessia Cara: This 20-year-old from Ontario, Canada might have made a name for herself with a song about her disdain for teen
parties, but has risen further since the
success of Here, Spotify’s most viral song in the US last year (and No. 5 globally), the rhythm & blues (R&B) singer has
attracted more than 13 million monthly listeners. Cara’s track, Scars to Your Beautiful, is a favourite in
Spotify's Today’s Top Hits playlist at the moment.
6. Charlie Puth: With 20 million monthly listeners on Spotify, singer-songwriter Puth
is one of the top players in pop music today. He gained worldwide recognition for the Wiz Khalifa song
See You Again which Puth wrote, produced and sang on. His duets with leading ladies like Meghan
Trainor (Marvin Gaye) and Selena Gomez (We Don’t Talk Anymore) turned to pop gold, with the latter seemingly living permanently on Spotify's global charts.
7. Fifth Harmony: This all-girl R&B group has more than 16 million Spotify listeners each month. The jam Work From Home has racked
up more than half a billion listens and was a playlist staple over the summer in the US and UK (much like their Worth It from the year before). The current favourite is All In My Head (Flex) (featuring Fetty Wap).
8. Hailee Steinfeld: Steinfeld’s latest track, Starving, already has more than 160 million
streams and a flight up Spotify’s global chart. The 19-year-old Oscar-nominated actress had a breakout single, Love
Myself (210 million streams), last year. Steinfeld, who also starred as one of the Bardon Bellas in the accapella-celebrating movie Pitch Perfect 2, has 17 million monthly listeners.
9. Flume: Australian deejay/producer Flume just picked up 11 nominations for Australia’s Grammy-
equivalent awards show, the ARIAs. Spotify listeners can’t get enough of Flume’s Say It (featuring Tove Lo) and Never Be Like You (featuring Kai). With 13 million monthly listeners, Flume (real name Harley
Edward Streten), is one of the top EDM artists on the scene.
10. Zara Larsson: After winning a TV talent show in her native Sweden at 10, Larsson
disappeared, grew up a bit, honed her singing chops, then made it her mission to tear up the
world stage of pop music. Never Forget You (385 million streams)
and Lush Life (485 million streams) feature Larsson, now 18, as a genre-bending artist, blending pop,
EDM and even hiphop. Larsson attracts 18 million monthly listeners and her current
track, Aint My Fault, is killing it on Spotify's Today’s Top Hits playlist.
11: Joel Adams: Singer-songwriter Adams is 19, hails from Brisbane, Australia, and has only ever
released one song on Spotify. His sole ballad, Please Don’t Go, has received around 210 million streams. Now with 10 million monthly listeners, a contract with independent record label Will Walker records
and a spot on Charlie Puth’s North America tour, Adams is the man of the moment.
12: Desiigner: When Panda took off earlier this year, hiphop artist Desiigner established
himself as the breakout star of 2016. That song is now approaching half a billion streams. Signed to Kanye
West’s record label G.O.O.D. Music, the 19-year-old from Brooklyn in New York, the US, is now scaling Spotify's charts with Timmy Turner. Desiigner (real name is Sidney Royel Selby III), attracts more
than 13 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
13: Selena Gomez: Selena Gomez shed the last remnants of her children’s TV star past with the release of
her sultry, coming-of-age album Revival. With multiple songs surpassing 200 million streams like Hands
to Myself, Same Old Love and Good For You (currently at about 330 million streams), Gomez, 24, is
now one of the leading ladies of pop music. She averages 2.5 million streams a day and listeners are
besotted with her current collaboration with Puth, We Don’t Talk Anymore.
14. Halsey: Many Spotify listeners have followed pop singer Halsey’s career with great interest over the
last couple of years, streaming New Americana, some 130 million times. But it’s her
guest spot on the world’s biggest hit of the moment, The Chainsmokers’ Closer that brought Halsey’s
stunning voice to the masses. Her solo music now averages 1.5 million streams a day, yet it feels like the
22-year-old from New Jersey is only just getting started.
15. Demi Lovato: Lovato commanded everyone’s attention with her assertive, no holds-barred
album, Confident, which produced the mega title track as well as last year’s summer standout, Cool for
The Summer (180 million streams). Listeners are also embracing Lovato’s Body Say, in a big way.
The 24-year-old singer-songwriter attracts 10 million monthly listeners.
16. Cheat Codes: When Los Angeles, California electronic trio Cheat Codes released the song Sex earlier this year,
it resonated in a big way with listeners in Spotify’s New Music Friday playlist. The track borrows from
Salt N Peppa’s 1990 hit Let’s Talk About Sex and has amassed more than 320 million streams. Cheat
Codes averages 15 million monthly users and right now listeners like Let Me Hold You (Turn
Me On) featuring Dante Klein.
17. Daya: Singer-songwriter Daya can be heard all over The Chainsmokers’ summer 2016 hit, Don’t
Let Me Down, but in the summer of the year before, her own Hide Away (215 million streams) was already
setting her stage for superstardom. The 18-year-old talent from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, whose real name is Martine
Tandon, just dropped her full-length debut album Sit Still, Look Pretty and the title track has had an
impressive run in Spotify’s Today’s Top Hits playlist.
18. BTS: This seven-member South Korean boy band are not only known for their musical talent but also
for their large social media presence. Their lead hit single Blood Sweat
& Tears from their second studio album Wings is fast becoming a fan favourite. It has received over 8
million streams since it was launched on Spotify.
19. EXO: EXO, short for Exoplanet, is a boyband known for a unique mix of rap, hiphop, rock, R&B and most importantly choreography. The
band has been one of the most popular subjects on the Internet ever since they debuted in 2012. Their
latest single Dancing King has been bringing in the stream numbers since launch, as it is now shy from
3 million streams.
20. BLACKPINK: BLACKPINK released their debut single album Square One followed by their second single
album Square Two. Although a recent newcomer, BLACKPINK's debut hit singles - Whistle and Boombayah -
secured the top positions on the Billboard World Digital Songs chart. They were fastest act to hold such spots, and
the third Korean artist to do so.
21. Linying: Linying first gained recognition from her collaborations with European House giants, Felix
Jaehn and Lost Frequencies, leading to a No. 1 peak on Hype Machine and over 10 million plays on Spotify.
She released her first single Sticky Leaves late last year, landing on Spotify’s viral
charts globally. Her current popular hit single on Spotify is Alpine.
22. 周興哲 (Eric Chou): Chou’s mother insisted that he take up classical piano. From there,
this artist found his passion in composing his own songs, whilst capturing the raw
emotions of life. His second album What Love Has Taught Us... (愛情教會我們的事) carries one of his proudest works Let’s Not
Be Friends in The Future (以後別做朋友); from being picked as the original soundtrack (OST) for a prominent Taiwanese drama to being one
of his most streamed songs on Spotify.
23. DEAN: Having written chart toppers for K-Pop boy bands such as EXO, Block B and VIXX, DEAN has proven to be a hit song maker. Earlier this year, he dropped his EP, 130 Mood:
TRBL, with notable standout hits such as Pour Up and D (Half Moon). He performed during SXSW 2016 in the US this year, a first for an Asian artist, and followed it by performing at K-CON.
24. Gentle Bones: At 22, Joel Tan aka Gentle Bones saw his recent extended play (EP) Geniuses & Thieves hit No. 1 upon its release
on June 2016 with the hits Run Tell Daddy and Geniuses & Thieves. Two back-to-back sold-out concerts
were staged in Singapore in June.
25. MYRNE: MYRNE released his debut four-track EP Softsins on Mad Decent in November 2015, inaugurating
himself as one of the only Asian artists on the roster. No stranger to the festival/club circuit, his Feels Right (Radio Edit) has
garnered over 2 million streams in a short period.
Spotify is now available in 60 markets globally with more than 100 million active users*, and over 40 million paying subscribers**.
Interested?
Listen to Spotify’s 25 Under 25 playlist for Singapore
*As at June 2016
**As at September 2016
