In celebration of International Women’s Day today, Spotify dug through the music streaming service’s data to break down who are “the most popular female artists on the planet.” After all the streams were tabulated, Spotify revealed on their Insights blog that Beyoncé was the most popular singer among female listeners, while Rihanna was the “favorite” female artists among all Spotify users. Katy Perry, Lana Del Rey, Ariana Grande and, surprisingly, Taylor Swift also ranked high on Spotify’s lists.
Spotify’s Favorite Female Artists (female listeners)
1. Beyoncé
2. Katy Perry
3. Lana Del Rey
4. Rihanna
5. Ariana Grande
6. Lorde
7. Miley Cyrus
8. Taylor Swift*
9. Ellie Goulding
10. Nicki Minaj
Spotify dots Swift’s ranking with an asterisk that notes, “Hey, all you had to do was stay,” a nod to the 1989 song with a similar title. The streaming service suggests that Swift would have landed much higher on their female artist chart had she not pulled her music off Spotify back in November.
“I’m not willing to contribute my life’s work to an experiment that I don’t feel fairly compensates the writers, producers, artists, and creators of this music,” Swift said at the time. “And I just don’t agree with perpetuating the perception that music has no value and should be free.” Spotify founder Daniel Ek responded in a statement, “Our interests are totally aligned with yours. The more we grow, the more we’ll pay you.”
Spotify’s “favorite” female artist for all listeners features almost the same top ten as the female listeners list, albeit in a different order. Rihanna jumps from Number Four to Number One on the all listeners list, while Beyoncé falls to Number Three. Perry ranks Number Two on both lists.
The one major difference between the two female artist lists: While Miley Cyrus finished seventh on the female listeners list, the “Wrecking Ball” singer didn’t make the “All Listeners” cut. Cyrus is replaced by Lady Gaga, who polled fifth on the all listeners list but didn’t make the female listeners list.
Spotify’s Favorite Female Artists (all listeners)
1. Rihanna
2. Katy Perry
3. Beyoncé
4. Lana Del Rey
5. Lady Gaga
6. Ariana Grande
7. Nicki Minaj
8. Ellie Goulding
9. Taylor Swift*
10. Lorde