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, people around the world started to embrace the unknown—and in doing so, championed all of the things that make each of us unique.

Spotify’s 2021 Wrapped celebrates this idea—the millions of weird and wonderful ways to listen and live in a world that continues to keep us on our toes. Today, we unveil the top artists, albums, songs, podcasts, and more that defined how more than 381 million people around the world listened and discovered audio during a year that turned “unprecedented” into, well, precedented.

As usual, Wrapped helps us reflect on the large role audio played in the lives of our listeners—and how our favorite creators soundtracked the world around us.

The top artists, songs, and albums globally
For the second year in a row, Puerto Rican Reggaeton star Bad Bunny takes the title of most-streamed artist in the world on Spotify. And what’s more: He’s received over 9.1 billion streams without releasing a new album this year. He is swiftly followed by singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, whose Red (Taylor’s Version) gave old and new fans alike a reason to relive the artist’s early groundbreaking work. Rounding up 2021’s top three is BTS. The globally beloved k-pop group had a standout year thanks to their single “Butter.” Canadian hip-hop artists Drake—who released Certified Lover Boy in September—and Justin Bieber—whose 2021 album Justice featured collaborations with artists from across the globe—take spots four and five, respectively.

The top song of 2021 globally is Olivia Rodrigo’s runaway “drivers license,” which garnered over 1.1 billion streams. Lil Nas X’s viral “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” dances its way to second place and heralded the artist’s first studio album. The Kid LAROI enters the ranks for the first time, with his Justin Bieber collaboration “STAY” taking third. The fourth spot sees Olivia Rodrigo once again, this time with “good 4 u,” which also earned the title of 2021 Spotify Song of the Summer. The fifth most streamed song to rise in the ranks is Dua Lipa’s “Levitating (feat. DaBaby).”

When it comes to top albums of 2021 globally, Olivia Rodrigo once again claims the crown—her debut album SOUR clearly held a bit of sweetness. Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia ranks second, with Justin Bieber’s Justice, Ed Sheeran’s =, and Doja Cat’s Planet Her coming in third, fourth, and fifth.

Notable trends of 2021
When we looked at trends on Spotify in 2021, the top songs, artists, albums, and podcasts weren’t the only things we found. We learned about the moments that united listeners—and the ones that were notable for their uniqueness.

Nostalgia played a role in people’s listening in 2021 as fans rediscovered old favorites—and new generations adopted them as well. Let’s face it: There are certain songs and albums that just sound like home (in a good way).

The top podcasts globally
Coming out of its first full year as a Spotify exclusive, The Joe Rogan Experience remains the number-one podcast on Spotify globally. It is followed by the fearless Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy, which also became exclusive to Spotify in 2021. True crime and news continue to be popular genres within the medium, with Crime Junkie, TED Talks Daily, and The Daily rounding out the list.

Notable trends of 2021
When we looked at trends on Spotify in 2021, the top songs, artists, albums, and podcasts weren’t the only things we found. We learned about the moments that united listeners—and the ones that were notable for their uniqueness.

Nostalgia played a role in people’s listening in 2021 as fans rediscovered old favorites—and new generations adopted them as well. Let’s face it: There are certain songs and albums that just sound like home (in a good way).

Speaking of home, 2021 saw people take plant parenthood to new heights. And they took the theory that music helps plants grow to heart.

Certain social media trends from throughout the year were also reflected on Spotify. These included musical genres that hadn’t been celebrated for . . . decades, to say the least, as well as celebrations of rest (and cuteness) that inspired playlists to match.

Earlier this year as vaccines started rolling out globally, fans celebrated the best way they knew how: by creating topical, themed playlists for rolling up their sleeves.

In addition to the world’s top-streamed music and podcasts, don’t forget to check out your own 2021 Wrapped personal experience in the Spotify app to see the story of your year in audio. Learn more about what you’ll find on your personal Wrapped hub in the Spotify app.

The wait is over: Here are the full lists of the top songs, artists, albums, and podcasts that defined 2021. 

Most Streamed Artists Globally

1. Bad Bunny
2. Taylor Swift
3. BTS
4. Drake
5. Justin Bieber

Most Streamed Artists in the U.S. 

1. Drake
2. Taylor Swift
3. Juice WRLD
4. Kanye West
5. Bad Bunny

Most Streamed Albums Globally

1. SOUR by Olivia Rodrigo
2. Future Nostalgia by Dua Lipa
3. Justice by Justin Bieber
4. = by Ed Sheeran
5. Planet Her by Doja Cat

Most Streamed Songs Globally

1. “drivers license” by Olivia Rodrigo
2. “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) by Lil Nas X
3. “STAY (with Justin Bieber)” by The Kid LAROI
4. “good 4 u” by Olivia Rodrigo
5. “Levitating (feat. DaBaby)” by Dua Lipa

Most Streamed Songs in the U.S.

1. “drivers license” by Olivia Rodrigo
2. “good 4 u” by Olivia Rodrigo
3. “Kiss Me More” (feat SZA) by Doja Cat
4. “Heat Waves” by Glass Animals
5. “Levitating (feat. DaBaby)” by Dua Lipa

Most Popular Podcasts Globally

1. The Joe Rogan Experience
2. Call Her Daddy
3. Crime Junkie
4. TED Talks Daily
5. The Daily

Most Popular Podcasts in the U.S.

1. The Joe Rogan Experience
2. Crime Junkie
3. Call Her Daddy
4. The Daily
5. NPR News Now

I was planning to move to Italy, but the pandemic has left me unable to think about the future

It feels as if I am looking down a dark corridor. It’s not that I don’t see a future, it’s that I have no idea what that future looks like.

By the end of the third lockdown I was so starved for my pre-Covid life, that when things started opening up, I optimistically thought we might return to normality by the end of the summer.

But normality, as I’m discovering, isn’t just about being able to do things we were able to do before. While on the surface, things seem to be moving forward – from making travel arrangements to New Year’s Eve plans – we are only just beginning to realise how deeply the pandemic has affected the core of who we are.

Realising this change might not be temporary, and that our loved ones might not be the same people they were before Covid, has been an unsettling adjustment. It comes out in different ways, from life choices they make to the views they may have on current affairs, which may be radically different to how they were before.

A friend said that she felt in some ways, 2021 was a harder year than 2020 because the daunting mental load caused by the pandemic was finally being expressed. While this may not be the case for those who lost loved ones or suffered financially, for those of us who haven’t faced deep loss, I think she may have a point.

There was a lot of change within people I socialised with that initially I chalked down to the growing pains of emerging from lockdown. I don’t exempt myself from that either. Most social interactions even with old friends felt a bit more awkward, as if we were struggling for things to say. I found myself incapable of making plans – not just social plans, but thinking about things such as budget planning or where I saw myself living in the next two to five years. I also knew that months of sustained overuse of social media and generally being online a lot more hadn’t been great for my own anxiety levels.

Over the last few months, I’ve made a committed effort to be more spontaneous and gregarious than I was before the pandemic. I’ve tried to not over-think things and live in the moment. A big part of that is due to the fact that I had long Covid for 10 months, and now that I’m recovered, want to make up for lost time.

But with summer over, and seven months into lockdown lifting, I still feel as if I am only at the beginning of assessing the damage of the pandemic. It’s one thing to take a YOLO approach for a short period of time, but it’s another when you realise that you feel completely frozen around making long term plans. I have always been able to think about what I want my future to look like – barring a period when I was deeply grieving and depressed – and it occurs to me that there is a correlation between the two. The grief of everything lost to the pandemic is still something I’m experiencing despite being sociable, and I’m sure I’m not alone in this.

Before the pandemic, I was so sure that I wanted to move to Italy and I had a whole vision sketched out of what that would look like. I’d had a rough idea of how long it would take me to save up money, and which region I’d like to move to in the next two or three years. Now, I’m not entirely sure what my priorities are beyond feeling fulfilled, free and happy. It’s not that I’ve decided Italy isn’t happening, but more that I’ve made no plans to work towards it, and any money I should be saving is being spent on going out and buying clothes. I know it’s self-sabotage but I find myself unable to stop.

It feels as if I am looking down a dark corridor. It’s not that I don’t see a future, it’s that I have no idea what that future looks like. All of that, met with a sense that I’ve “lost” time during the pandemic, creates an incredibly high level of cognitive dissonance. I want my life to move forward, but also, I have no idea what direction it should go in, and I can’t imagine I’m alone in thinking like this.

A friend suggested making a list of all the things I want to do and achieve in order to create some focus. I wrote down the places I’d like to travel to, the type of work I wanted to do. But it didn’t work because I was focusing on the wrong thing. I was easily able to think about things that were solid and quantifiable – like a travel bucketlist – but found it much harder to think about where I wanted to live or if I wanted to be in a relationship.

My inability to think clearly about the future isn’t because I lack the imagination. It’s because somewhere deep down is the damage wrought by the pandemic that things beyond my control may change at any minute. A mental paralysis has endured around the fear of things going wrong, when in reality, pandemic or not, not being able to control everything is actually a fact of life, and fear shouldn’t be a way of life.

I’ve seen it expressed by different loved ones: the sense of clinging on to whatever seems safe, provides some element of control, or anything that distracts from thinking about the effects of the pandemic. I’ve certainly done it for the last few months. But however uncomfortable and painful, it may be worth thinking about how the pandemic has really affected us.

It won’t all be bad – I, for one, am delighted to be more sociable and less introverted. But the bad can weigh us down in ways we don’t fully realise. I have wasted far too much emotional and mental energy on this pandemic for it to drag me down further.

BALLON D’OR 2021 – CRISTIANO RONALDO APPEARS TO AGREE WITH INSTAGRAM POST CRITICISE DECISION TO GIVE LIONEL MESSI AWARD

Messi has now won the prestigious individual prize on seven occassions, twice more than Ronaldo, who finished sixth in this year’s voting. Messi’s closest challenger was Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich, who won the award for Best Striker but finished 33 points behind the Argentine, who joined Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona in the summer. custom CSS to this text in the module Advanced settings.

Cristiano Ronaldo has appeared to criticise the decision to award Lionel Messi the 2021 Ballon d’Or.
The Argentine was voted the recipient of the prestigious individual award for a seventh time after a year that saw him lead Argentina to victory at the Copa America.
His record tally is two more than Ronaldo has secured, though the Manchester United forward only finished sixth in this year’s voting.

Yet the Portuguese’s official Instagram account commented beneath a fan-made post outlining Ronaldo’s annual achievements and suggesting that the organisers «find a way» to give the prize to Messi.
Toni Kroos claims Cristiano Ronaldo should have finished ahead of Lionel Messi in Ballon d’Or
Robert Lewandowski named Striker of the Year
Alexia Putella wins Ballon d’Or Feminin
Ronaldo’s account replied to the post: «Facts», adding a thumbs up and «eyes» emojis.
«For Cristiano to win this prize he has to be 300% unquestionable,» the account posted.
«It’s no use scoring the most beautiful bike of the year, being champion of everything by club, top scorer of everything and scoring a hat-trick in the World Cup, they still provide a way to take his prize.

«With Messi, it’s the other way around. He can do a low-key season, way below, they’ll always find a way to favour him and give him the prize.»
Messi’s closest challenger this year was Robert Lewandowski, who many felt had been denied the gong after France Football made the decision not to give out the prize last year due to the coronavirus.

Lewandowski finished 33 points behind Messi in this year’s voting but was awarded the new prize of «Striker of the Year».
The editor of France Football, Pascal Ferre, had this week been criticised by Ronaldo for claiming that the five-time award winner had told him that retiring with more Ballon d’Or awards than Messi was Ronaldo’s «only ambition».
Ronaldo accused Ferre of lying and said he does not «win against anyone».

Money Heist, otherwise known as La Casa De Papel, is coming to an end but Netflix is expanding the heist universe.

The streamer has ordered a spinoff of the hit Spanish drama series, centered around popular character Berlin, otherwise known as Andrés de Fonollosa, played by Pedro Alonso.

The show is set to launch in 2023.

The digital platform didn’t give out many details of the spinoff, but the Berlin character is the second-in-command of the Royal Mint of Spain heist and also planned the Bank of Spain heist, which he shared with The Professor and Palermo.

It comes as Money Heist is ending with its last five episodes dropping on December 3.

The series was created by Alex Pina and tells the story of the heists through the perspective of one of the robbers, Tokyo, played by Ursula Corbero. It also stars Álvaro Morte, Itziar Ituño, Miguel Herrán, Jaime Lorente, Esther Acebo, Enrique Arce, Rodrigo de la Serna, Darko Peric, Najwa Nimri, Hovik Keuchkerian, Luka Peros, Belén Cuesta, Fernando Cayo, Fernando Soto, Jose Manuel Poga and Mario de la Rosa.

Pina, who has an overall deal with Netflix, exec produces the series, which was originally commissioned by Spain’s Antena 3, alongside Sonia Martínez, Jesús Colmenar, Esther Martínez Lobato and Nacho Manubens.