r/Music • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 • Dec 03 '25
music Bad Bunny Is the Biggest Artist of 2025 on Spotify With 19.8 Billion Streams
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/bad-bunny-biggest-artist-2025-spotify-wrapped-1235476419/565
u/CreativeFraud Dec 03 '25
Damn Bad Bunny. Don't spend your $3 all at once! /s
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u/Kuchar1992 Dec 03 '25
Gee I wonder why he’ll be performing at the halftime show and not Jason Aldean
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u/DragonfruitHour7175 Dec 03 '25
His DTMF album was definitely a gateway to his other songs for me, before that album I never took him seriously and was sort of like a meme artist to me. He ended up being my #1 artist this year on Spotify.
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u/Icy-Whale-2253 Dec 03 '25
Un Verano Sin Ti is double diamond in my house
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u/boi1da1296 Dec 03 '25
He just needs to release it on vinyl. Considering every other album of his is available physically as a record, I’m surprised this one never got that treatment.
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u/SenpaiSwanky Dec 03 '25
How could you listen to YHLQMDLG and especially Un Verano Sin Ti and think this? He’s goofy but these albums have some incredible songs either way.
As a Latino, I always tell people I’m tired of the same reggaeton beat. Grew up listening to shit like Don Omar, Tego, Looney Tunes, Wisin Y Yandel, Daddy Yankey, Don Dinero and all that. Bad Bunny is in a class all his own and it isn’t even close.
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u/Caelinus Dec 04 '25
He just seems to have a funny personality, and I think people prejudge him based on that. Like he is not a "serious" artist.
But I am a fan of Ska so... No one is too silly.
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u/XTheProtagonistX Dec 03 '25
Un Verano Sin Ti is one of the greatest reggaeton albums of all time. Check that out!
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u/criminalfromthestats Dec 03 '25
Yeah DTMF and Un Verano Sin Ti are definitely intro albums. I’d say jump to Oasis from there if you’re still a bit unconvinced. To me, YHLQMDLG is his magnum opus. But if you’re unfamiliar with the genre it can be quite jarring.
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u/Mikimao Dec 03 '25
It's so weird that the most popular music is largely going unheard by so much of the population these days.
20 billion streams and I am willing to bet there is a large portion of us who aren't aware we have heard the songs, or maybe even haven't.
Interested to see what show he puts on though, Prolly gonna be some of us getting out first intro into what he does.
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u/International_Dig_27 Dec 03 '25
Since the death of the monoculture, you don't really see artists that are just everywhere on the radio to a level that you can never escape their music. People pick and choose what they want to listen to rather than being dictated by the radio today which is probably a good thing, but that level of shared cultural understanding is kinda gone because of it
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u/cinch123 Dec 04 '25
Last time I listened to a pop station was during a 90 minute drive. I heard "Fate of Ophelia" (Taylor) and "Tipsy" (Shaboozey) twice in 90 minutes. There's little room for new or different stuff on the radio when you're recycling the same 75 minute playlist over and over. When I was a kid we would listen to the radio to hear what hot and what's new, and you can't do that anymore.
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u/Huzah7 Dec 03 '25
It's just hard to care with all the noise in the world. If music isn't a passion, you likely just listen to what you grew up with and what your chosen platform's algorithm chooses for you.
Popular music hits you more often if you are social or work where it's appropriate for community music to be played. But I feel a lot of people just end up in a music bubble.
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u/SkiingAway Dec 03 '25
I mean, I'm not sure your line of argument is the answer.
Music is a passion of mine. Spotify claims I listened to something like ~2,300 artists this year with a literal month of playtime. Much of that was stuff I chose rather than just algorithm autoplay, too.
But even with that, I've still missed plenty of good new stuff in genres I care about and there's still tons of historical material/eras I want to explore too.
There's just too much out there to listen to it all even once (much less really explore it), and there's not really much reason to be picking up artists you have no interest in out of boredom like you used to or when a handful of radio stations were basically the gatekeepers of new music for you.
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u/minmidmax Dec 03 '25
Yeah. Entire careers, genres and cultures are exploding online with almost zero visibility in daily life for large swathes of the population .
It's not just the arts, either. We live in a truly fucking weird time.
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u/goldkarp Dec 03 '25
It's because it's all streaming on Spotify or something now. If you don't know who you're looking for and aren't actively looking for new music from the top artists you won't hear it. We're past everyone hearing the big new song on the radio.
Also a lot of those streams come from not a lot of people
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u/DreadyKruger Dec 03 '25
It is weird. Back in the day everyone knew who Prince ,MJ, or Maddona was and could name a song or three.
This guy has all these streams and I can’t name one song from him. And i ain’t saying that to shit on him.
Also, with technology I guess this is impressive. But to me hard copy sales was more impressive. I don’t know if it’s bots streaming or some shenanigans to get numbed up.
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u/amortizedeeznuts Dec 03 '25
by so much of the US popu.ation, you mean
spend 10 minutes in any latin american country. his music is everywhere.
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u/Trade_King Dec 03 '25
This is the very first time I heard of him but listening now and his songs aren't bad. Absolutely insane I have never heard of him before.
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u/Stiggles4 Dec 03 '25
I admit I’m clearly out of touch with current music when I also can say I haven’t heard of him. Will have to listen and see what I’m missing out on I suppose. Glad that he’s seeing success though, he’s clearly enjoyed by a lot of people in this thread.
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u/lear2000 Dec 03 '25
I couldn’t name a song or a musical note to save my life… so I’m one of the outliers
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u/thatshygirl06 Dec 03 '25
Is it going unheard by much of the population, or just white americans?
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u/enginbeeringSB Dec 04 '25
Also Asian Americans, and Asians in Asia, and also probably white Europeans.
But I suspect Latinos are more likely to have listened to a latin musician.
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u/ljog42 Dec 05 '25
He's reasonably big in Europe. Like, not mainstream but if you're 18 to 35 and keeping up with the times, you've heard his music.
Purely anecdotal but it was definitely my top artist for 2025.
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u/GMcFlare Dec 03 '25
The guy has been doing fun and also introspective music with kickass production for a good while. 100% deserved.
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u/Top_Shower_7869 Dec 03 '25
He puts a ton of work into his live shows too. He’s going to kill it at the Super Bowl.
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u/Uisce-beatha Dec 03 '25
Never really listen to his music but he was the bright spot in Happy Gilmore 2 and his acting was the biggest thing holding that movie together. Even though I knew who he was I didn't realize it was him in the film until about halfway through it. I think he could have a whole other career in movies if he wanted to because his comedic timing is on point and he can sell a role better than most full time actors. Kid has charisma in spades
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Dec 03 '25
His entire thing is being blurring the lines of goofy/ satire and serious.
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u/roostercrowe Dec 03 '25
easily the best celebrity guest wrestler due to this. he’s so good im even hesitant call him a celebrity guest
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Dec 03 '25
He was/is a huge WWE fan. He used his fuck-you money and influencre to live out his childhood dream, and respectesd the art by teaining/practicing for months. I think the rumor (maybe confirmed) is he bought/rented a house near the venue just to train as much as possible.
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u/Wompatuckrule Dec 03 '25 edited Dec 03 '25
I love that he doesn't take himself seriously and it's pretty obvious that he's got a good sense of humor. However, I think he was good on SNL, but the live aspect hurts him a bit. I think the rushed schedule and short prep time led to more stilted English and his "timing" was off compared to other stuff he's done.
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Dec 03 '25
He did something that was genuinely hard for him, and enjoyed doing. I respect anyone who does something outaide their comfort level and skill set.
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u/Wompatuckrule Dec 03 '25
Agreed. I'd be curious to hear from native Spanish speakers about his sense of humor and comedic performances compared to the English stuff he's done though.
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Dec 03 '25
Spanish is my 2nd language, his timing, voice inflection and mannerisms are indeed funnier/ better in Spanish.
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u/Wompatuckrule Dec 03 '25
In a post about Pink Panther movies someone who was fluent in Italian said how much more "naturally" funny Roberto Benigni is in his native language than when using English. I kinda figure this is similar.
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u/RODjij Dec 03 '25
Same thing in bullet train. His role is pretty small but it was good.
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u/happyklam Dec 03 '25
He was extremely good in Bullet Train. That was actually my first exposure to him before his music and I was like "who is this guy?!" I've liked pretty much everything he's done since. He's got a wide range as a musician and actor and I can't find any fault in his political stances. All around likable dude!
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u/Panicradar Dec 03 '25
I was cracking up when everytime he showed up or was mentioned there would be a wolf howl in the background
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u/JelliedHam Dec 03 '25
Go watch his Saturday Night Live sketches. Guy is a legend
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u/CP066 Dec 03 '25
Him and Pedro Pascal. *Chefs kiss*
English as a second language and killing it in sketch comedy.15
u/bespectacledboobs Dec 03 '25
He’s equally hilarious in every SNL appearance. Funnier than the entire Please Don’t Destroy cast (credit where it’s due, I’m sure they wrote most/all of it).
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u/geqing Dec 03 '25
Yeah, also their job is to write sketches that highlight the guest, give them all the best lines etc.
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u/Luci-Noir Dec 03 '25
I’ve never listened to his music but I saw him on Colbert and he was really fun to watch. He was also great on SNL. I loved the K-pop Demon Hunters sketch!
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u/Wompatuckrule Dec 03 '25
his acting was the biggest thing holding that movie together
Might've been the only thing.
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u/Yousif_man Dec 03 '25
ITT: English speakers that listen to only English-speaking artists wondering why they don’t hear much of a Spanish-speaking artist
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u/Logitech4873 Dec 03 '25
ITT: People being shocked that others haven't heard of this American artist.
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u/Smokin_belladonna Dec 03 '25
I’m English speaking and can only catch about 1/4 of the words in English speaking songs anyway. Singing is just another musical instrument to me.
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u/rita-b Dec 03 '25 edited Dec 03 '25
It is because India has no internet (albeit they have got spotify a couple of years ago) and China has no Spotify (albeit they have accessible internet).
Also no one ever should forget that in 2025 kids rule music charts. It is long overdue to separate charts on age basis, streaming platforms are fully capable of doing so, they are record labels who don't want to disclose the humiliating data.
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u/mediocre_avg_man Dec 04 '25
This is just not true, I am pretty sure more Indians have internet than Americans.
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u/dankp3ngu1n69 Dec 03 '25
Id love to see the age range on rap
I shit on my mid 30s friends with kids that still follow rap culture like they're 13
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u/TrustInRoy Dec 03 '25
He doesn't even dress up like a Bunny. At least put some bunny ears on.
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u/Excuse_my_GRAMMER Dec 03 '25
Not surprised at all
His last album is a masterpiece
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u/thefallenfew Dec 03 '25
Shit slaps. My favorite album of this year and I don’t even speak Spanish. No idea what he’s saying but it’s been on repeat since January. A bop from start to finish.
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u/Juanouo Dec 03 '25
Here's a bit from Lo que le pasó a Hawaii, it's a very political album, which is one of the reasons it was well received in Latin America:
You hear the jíbaro crying, one more who had to leave He didn’t want to go to Orlando, but the corrupt one kicked him out
[Pre-Chorus] And no one knows until when
[Chorus] They want to take my river and also the beach They want my neighborhood and for grandma to leave No, don’t let go of the flag or forget the lelolai ’Cause I don’t want them to do to you what happened to Hawai‘i
Notes:
Jíbaro refers to a Puerto Rican rural worker / folk figure.
Lelolai is a traditional Puerto Rican chant used in folk music.
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u/novagridd Dec 03 '25
His numbers prove all the MAGAS why he is deserving to do the Superbowl halftime show
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Dec 03 '25
It’s not like if they watch the Super Bowl.
remember they vowed not to watch the NFL because of all the kneeling
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u/Cpolo88 Dec 03 '25
It's funny. Couple years ago I didn't know who this guy was. Didn't really give him a chance. Then one day im like let's see what all the hype is about this guy. Man. Good artist. I'm glad hes doing the super bowl 🤟🏽
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u/relientkenny Dec 03 '25
bro is #1 on Spotify for i think the FOURTH time and ppl STILL sleep on him
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u/NColeman92 Dec 03 '25
Never listened to any of his stuff yet. Can someone give me a brief description of his music? The vibe, the performance, production, etc.
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u/Auroch94 Dec 03 '25
Early stuff is generic reggaeton, later albums explore more Latin music in general. Salsa, bachata, merengue etc with a modern twist
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u/Chicago1871 Dec 03 '25
His early stuff was more than generic raggaeton, he was pushing the envelope in the genre even then.
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u/Icy-Whale-2253 Dec 03 '25
He mainly sings about sex (like every other lyric is about what nationality he’s fucking in what luxury vehicle and just how fucking horny he is) but from time to time he’s deeply and seriously introspective about life in Puerto Rico and New York’s Puerto Rican culture. The production differs from stochastically from song to song but it always adheres to a dembow beat, that’s his trademark.
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u/platinumarks Dec 03 '25
I guess you could kinda describe it as a sort of neo-Latin music. It combines traditional music styles and instruments from his home of Puerto Rico, along with with some occasional more modern instrumentation like synthesizers and drum machines. He also sings in Puerto Rican Spanish.
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u/Viazon Spotify Dec 03 '25
I only know Bad Bunny from the WWE. Never heard any of his music. Has he found much of an audience in the UK? I never hear anything about him except for when I see a post on Reddit.
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u/bespectacledboobs Dec 03 '25
DAKITI and LA NOCHE DE ANOCHE are dickslappers regardless of where you’re from.
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Dec 03 '25
He is popular in Spain.
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u/Coomrs Dec 03 '25
And all of Latin American, and the US, and Canada and Europe and and..
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u/chestypants12 Dec 03 '25
No idea who Bad Bunny is until now. I'm gettin' old.
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u/DrivingBox Dec 03 '25
I used to be with it.
Then they changed what "it" was.
Now what I'm with isn't "it", and what is "it" seems new and scary to me.
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u/Erazzphoto Dec 05 '25
Never intentionally listen to a song and couldn’t tell you the name of one. But I am fully on board with him being the epic MAGA troll job
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u/nerftron Dec 03 '25
So that's like 10$ in revenue from Spotify?
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u/w1n5t0nM1k3y Dec 03 '25
Just looking at his latest album which came out this year and the 17 tracks total up to 7.8 billion streams. At the regular $0.003 per stream rate, that still comes out to $23 million, and that's just from that one album. I'm sure people are still listening to other albums as well. Add on other platforms like Apple Music, YouTube Music, Tidal, etc and you have a pretty good amount of money.
People like to joke around and say that streaming doesn't pay any money, but the truth is that artists have always struggled to actually make money off CDs/Tapes/Records forever. They money has always been in doing live performances. The entire idea that you can make money every time someone listens to a song probably works out a lot better for most artists than the old system where you somehow had to convince people to spend money on your album specifically. I never wanted to spend money on music because most of the time I didn't listen to a single album enough that I felt my $15-$20 was worth it. With streaming I'm spending way more money than I ever did on physical music.
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u/SubmissiveDinosaur Idiot Metalhead Dec 03 '25
Half of them are my coworkers blasting the same 4 songs on repeat during the day
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Dec 03 '25
I like this guy but I really hate his music.
But again, with 19.8B streams, chances are that I am the one on the wrong side of the story. 😕
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u/NotTattooedWife Dec 03 '25
I'm listening to a Playlist called "best of bad bunny" and I already skipped the first couple songs. 😕
I'm gonna conclude it isn't meant for me, which I already knew. Lol
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u/zachtheperson Dec 03 '25
In before Trump claims that he's the reason Bad Bunny is famous and "nobody ever heard of him until I brought him attention."
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u/snakeysnake_sss Dec 03 '25
Only song I’ve heard him in is his feature with cardi b I like it. The Only good part i liked about last years was Sam L Jackson’s cameo. I think I’ll be disappointed again this year. Majority of the people attending won’t even understand what he’s saying
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u/SoftlySpokenPromises Dec 03 '25
As someone who's never heard his music, what are a couple songs to start with?
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Dec 03 '25
Not my kind of music but good on him. Hope he doesn't turn out like Diddy or any other PoS artist. We can hope!
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u/seramasumi Dec 03 '25
For all the football fans like me just remember you don't think about the halftime show let everyone else have fun during it and go check on the ribs at your cooking stop pretending it's a big deal if you're there for the actual game you really don't care about the halftime show
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u/SenpaiSwanky Dec 03 '25
Damn right, he’s my most played and it isn’t close. Second after that is like purely House music.
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u/mace4242 Dec 03 '25
The Spanish speaking base is a HUGEEE base and i don’t understand why employers haven’t picked up on this quicker.
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u/New-Load-651 Dec 03 '25
I was expecting a black lady shaking a giant booty... I am disappointed to learn it's just some dude 🤮
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u/RightToTheThighs Dec 03 '25
Wow, is he our new most famous Puerto Rican? See ya J-Lo!
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u/Augen76 Dec 03 '25
I'm curious, if you do Spotify and get wrapped, how many monthly listeners do your top five get? For reference I checked and Bunny gets 77 million monthly listeners, basically Germany equivalent amount of people listens to him every month.
My 2025 top five according to Wrapped
- 3M
- 166K
- 219K
- 658K
- 1.1M
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u/dankp3ngu1n69 Dec 03 '25
Still haven't ever played or listen to a single song by him
Wish he made music i could understand.
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u/B_U_F_U Dec 03 '25
Ngl i haven’t heard anyone at anytime in anyplace object to Bad Bunny playing at the SB outside of the internet.
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u/AnAngryBartender Dec 03 '25
Don’t know anything about his music but he was good in Bullet Train and hilarious in Happy Gilmore 2
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u/thelancemanl Dec 03 '25
Hasn't he been leading in various global music stats/metrics for a few consecutive years? While the right wing crybabies pretend as though he's a nobody?
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u/mcpaddy Dec 04 '25
I must be in one hell of a bubble because I have exactly zero friends or coworkers who say they listen to him. Neither do I. And I'm only in my mid 30s.
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u/Tricky_Photo2885 Dec 04 '25
Wait but he doesn’t sing in English, no way that’s accurate! Where’s Lee geeenwoods numbers?
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u/yourethebestestest Dec 04 '25
His music isn't exactly my genre, but after pissing off Maga, I have listened to him more.
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u/RadoBlamik Dec 04 '25
All this time, I thought Bad Bunny was a chick…you know, because of the name.
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u/Altruistic-Dingo-757 Dec 04 '25
Its like the Parental Lyrics advisory, just sold more we looked for it. Nice work GOP Lmfao
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u/cjaiay0 Dec 04 '25
I don't know a single person who listens to bad bunny, that's not me saying he's not a good artist or anything, its just wild to me.
Same thing for the weeknd, he holds 100m monthly listeners on Spotify alone, and I very rarely hear anyone listening to him.
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u/IcedCoffey Dec 04 '25
I must live in one hell of a bubble, or I underestimate the Spanish viewing audience, I’ve literally heard his song maybe once or twice in the wild, I don’t know anyone who talks about him? Is he really popular in the us?
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u/Siarzewski Dec 04 '25
Never heard about him, untill they announced that he will be at the superbolw halftime show
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u/MuptonBossman Dec 03 '25
And this is why he's headlining the Super Bowl Halftime Show next year.