As It Was, an introspective yet gossipy pop hit by Harry Styles has been awarded the most streamed song in the United Kingdom for 2022.
Spotify, Apple Music, and Deezer all said that the song was their most popular of the year, surpassing Ed Sheeran, Drake, and Taylor Swift.
It was also the most popular song worldwide on Spotify and Deezer, with Stay by Justin Bieber topping Apple’s chart.
Styles has stated that the song is about “transformation” as he contemplates loneliness, maturing, and moving on.
This year, As It Was has been streamed a total of 1.5 billion times, according to Spotify.
This would have netted the star and his co-authors almost £1.5 million in royalties.
While Styles single was universally adored across all three streaming services, there was a significant disparity farther down the ranking.
Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush, which received a fresh lease of life this year after being included in Stranger Things, was the UK’s fourth most-streamed music on Spotify, although it was absent from Apple’s Top 10.
The releases of Dave, Aitch, and D-Block Europe all performed well among Spotify users, demonstrating a voracious desire for UK rap.
Apple’s audience was more inclined toward pop, as seen by the fact that songs like Adele and Elton John did not appear on Spotify’s list.
Deezer, which has a significantly lesser market share, has confined its rankings to 2022 releases.
This made room for Nigerian rapper Rema, whose laid-back smash Calm Down was his second most-streamed song of the year, as well as Camila Cabello, whose collaboration with Ed Sheeran, Bam Bam, landed in third.
Bad Bunny was the most popular musician on Spotify for the third consecutive year, partly due to his Grammy-nominated double album Un Verano Sin Ti (A Summer Without You).
However, he was unable to reproduce this success in the United Kingdom, where audiences continue to reject music performed in languages other than English.
Taylor Swift was the most popular artist among these listeners, followed by Drake and Ed Sheeran.
Afraid To Feel by LF System, which samples Chaka Khan, was the most Shazammed song of the year.
“Yaaasss! It is a privilege that people wish to find and listen to our music “stated the two Scots. Thank you to all that supported us in 2022 – Much Love.
Other streaming services, such as YouTube and Amazon Music, have not yet released their numbers.
In January, the Official Charts will unveil the top songs of the year based on streams, downloads, and physical purchases.
The figures are released in conjunction with the streaming services’ end-of-year summaries, which provide consumers with a customized deep dive into their listening statistics.
Wrapped on Spotify has been broadened, allowing the service’s 456 million users to discover not only their most-played songs and podcasts but also the tracks they prefer at various times of the day.
Fans will also receive a “listening personality” that analyses their listening preferences in categories such as “exploration against familiarity” and “diversity vs loyalty.”
And for the first time, they will see how frequently they played their favorite music.
However, some of the app’s developers are unwilling to make their findings public.
It’s always interesting to see who wants to share and who doesn’t,” said Tom Connaughton, the UK managing director of Spotify.
“If you approach our music team, they are the least likely to want to share you [their results] because they fear what it says about them.”
Apple has also overhauled its Replay feature, which now informs users of the number of songs and artists they have played over the past year and compiles a playlist of their most-played music.
It also generates a list of your top 10 musicians, along with the amount of time you spend listening to, dancing to, studying, or falling asleep to their music.
Oliver Schusser, vice president of Apple Music, remarked, “The music we appreciate during the year forms a soundtrack.” It’s a lot of joy to be able to revisit and relive those significant and memorable experiences.
