The Weeknd Leaps Past Justin Bieber and Breaks Record for Most Spotify Listeners

The 'Dawn FM' singer had been trailing Bieber at No. 2 spot for some time now.

The Weeknd has really earned it. The Dawn FM singer has overtaken Justin Bieber as the artist with the most listeners on Spotify.

The Weeknd, who also goes by Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, broke the record Saturday after amassing 85.66 million monthly listeners. Bieber previously held the record, with close to 84 million monthly listeners. The Weeknd dropped his fifth studio album earlier this month and held a unique "sonic experience," via a 103.5 Dawn FM livestream event, to mark the occasion. 

Spotify
Spotify

Anticipation had been building for The Weeknd's new album since last August, when the "Blinding Lights" singer shared the first taste of the album, with the release of "Take My Breath." He kept the hype going earlier this month when he took to Instagram and shared a cryptic post that hinted at the new album's release. The anticipation culminated when The Weeknd announced the new album's release date, with a dystopian-themed music video teaser.

In that video, The Weeknd transformed himself into an older version of himself. That snippet also revealed the likes of Jim Carrey, Quincey Jones, Tyler the Creator, Lil Wayne and Oneohtrix Point Never served as collaborators. 

On top of grabbing headlines for his incredible makeover, Abel also made headlines with one of his new songs, "Here We Go...Again." In that track, featuring Tyler the Creator, the 31-year-old artist sings, "And my new girl, she a movie star/My new girl, she a movie star/I loved her right, make her scream like Neve Campbell. But when I make her laugh, swear it cures my depressin' thoughts."

Fans were quick to speculate the lyric was in reference to his rumored romance with Angelina Jolie. While The Weeknd never mentions her name in the track and he's never confirmed that he is or was in a relationship with her, that didn't stop fans from drawing the connection between the GRAMMY-winning singer and the 46-year-old actress. They were spotted spending time together on several occasions last year, which is what fueled the speculation in the first place. 

Dawn FM followed The Weeknd's 2020 release of his hugely successful fourth studio album, After Hours.

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