Indian playback sensation Arijit Singh has become the most followed musician globally on Spotify, overtaking international music giants Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran. According to data from analytics platforms Chartmasters and Volt.fm, Singh currently leads with 151 million followers on the streaming service.

Taylor Swift follows in second place with 139.6 million followers, while Ed Sheeran, who recently collaborated with Singh on the track ‘Sapphire’, sits in third with 121 million followers. American pop star Billie Eilish ranks fourth with 114 million followers, and The Weeknd, also known as Abel Tesfaye, rounds off the top five with 107.3 million.

Although Spotify does not officially publish artists’ follower counts, platforms like Volt.fm and Chartmasters track and compile such data. These numbers represent an artist’s sustained fan engagement, distinct from monthly listener counts, which tend to reflect current trends and streaming activity.

In that category, Singh stands at 47.4 million monthly listeners, significantly lower than his Western counterparts. The Weeknd leads with 112.2 million, followed by Sheeran at 98.4 million, Eilish at 95.1 million and Swift at 82.3 million. Despite this, Singh’s sheer follower count reflects a devoted global fanbase built over years of consistent success in the Indian music industry.

Meteoric rise in Indian music

Singh, 38, first gained national attention in 2005 as a contestant on the reality show ‘Fame Gurukul’. His breakthrough came in 2013 with the romantic ballad ‘Tum Hi Ho’ from ‘Aashiqui 2’, catapulting him to fame. The track quickly became a cultural phenomenon, cementing his status as the voice of modern Bollywood romance.

Since then, Singh has delivered numerous hits, including ‘Channa Mereya’, ‘Phir Le Aaya Dil’, ‘Raabta’, ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ and ‘Kesariya’. His recent contributions can be heard in Anurag Basu’s ‘Metro… In Dino’, where he sings ‘Zamaana Lage’, ‘Aur Mohabbat Kitni Karoon’ and ‘Mausam’.

This isn’t the first time Singh has topped Spotify-related charts. In 2024, he was the third most streamed artist globally, trailing only Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift. He also holds the distinction of being the first Indian artist to cross 100 million followers on the platform.

11 other Indian artists in Spotify’s top 100

The list of Spotify’s most followed artists includes 99 global names, with 12 of them hailing from India. AR Rahman ranks 14th with 65.6 million followers, followed by ‘Metro… In Dino’ composer Pritam at 21st with 53.4 million. Neha Kakkar (25th, 48.5 million), the late Sidhu Moose Wala (31st, 43 million), Anirudh Ravichander (37th, 40.3 million) and Diljit Dosanjh (56th, 33.2 million) are also featured prominently.

Other Indian musicians in the top 100 include Yo Yo Honey Singh (58th, 31.3 million), Shreya Ghoshal (61st, 30.9 million), Badshah (67th, 29.7 million), Darshan Raval (76th, 25.9 million) and Armaan Malik (88th, 23.3 million). Meanwhile, late legends Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar continue to be remembered, ranking 100th and 144th with 22 million and 16 million followers, respectively.

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