By Janine Dumaguin
Singer-songwriter Abel Tesfaye, popularly known as The Weeknd, was hailed as “statistically the most popular musician on the planet,” according to the Guinness World Records.
The Canadian singer reached this success after he set two world records for having the most monthly listeners on Spotify and first artist to reach 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
The award giving body said the 33-year-old performer, likewise Michael Jackson, is the “only other solo male musician to have ever achieved this feat.”
It also noted that currently, Tesfaye has 111.4 million listeners on Spotify, almost 30 million more than Miley Cyrus in second place.
He is also ahead of Shakira with 81.6 million, Ariana Grande with 80.6 million, Taylor Swift with 80.2 million, Rihanna with 78.5 million, and his closest male challenger, Ed Sheeran with 77.5 million.
Guinness World Records said Tesfaye’s release of the “Die For You” remix featuring Ariana Grande was the reason for the surge in streaming figures.
The track became the seventh number one hit for both singers as it peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 2016, The Weeknd also held titles as most streamed album on Spotify in 2015 and most number of consecutive weeks in the Top 10 of Billboard’s Hot 100 by a solo male artist. -ag
