Streaming has become the most popular form of music consumption in the United States, accounting for three-quarters of industry revenue in the first half of 2018. About 1 million new subscribers sign up for streaming services every month, signaling that the format is not just the way of the future, it’s the way of today.
Yet not all songs receive the same amount of attention on streaming platforms, even when songs have become popular enough to climb the charts. Some hit songs barely get more than 1 million plays on Spotify – the world’s leading streaming service – throughout the entire year. In comparison, many other hit songs were streamed more than 100 million times in 2018.
24/7 Wall St. has identified the least streamed hit songs of 2018. These are the songs that at some point this year charted on the Billboard Hot 100 – which considers streaming, sales, and radio play – yet aggregated the fewest plays on Spotify in the U.S.
While the year’s most streamed songs are primarily from the R&B/hip hop genre, the least streamed are more musically diverse, including multiple country music performers such as Luke Bryan, Dierks Bentley, and Chris Stapleton. There are numerous reasons for this. For one, not only is R&B/hip hop the most popular music genre in the U.S., but fans of the genre are also more likely to listen to music via streaming. While 79% of R&B/hip hop is consumed music via streaming, only 55% of country fans did, according to Nielsen Music.
The least streamed hit songs also include a couple of older songs that returned to Billboard’s Hot 100 in 2018 years after their initial release. Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” racked up 2.7 million streams in the week ending Nov. 11 because of Halloween. It also re-entered the Hot 100, peaking at No. 31, around this period. Similarly, Nat King Cole’s “The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)” reached No. 37 thanks to a surge in popularity around the holidays last year, which carried into 2018.
Methodology
To determine the most streamed songs of 2018, 24/7 Wall St. identified the songs that were most streamed on Spotify within the United States in 2018. This was done by combining all of the weekly streams of a song when it was ranked among Spotify’s Top 200 most played weekly tracks. Any plays that occurred when a song was not ranked among the service’s top 200 tracks were not included. All songs had to appear on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart at least once in 2018 to be considered. In cases where a song re-entered the Hot 100 after a prolonged absence, such as with Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” we listed its peak position during the most recent inclusion.
Click here to see the least streamed hit songs of 2018.
25. Most People Are Good
> By: Luke Bryan
> Most streams in a week: 1,736,888
> Best week: April 19
> Peak Billboard position: 43
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24. Downtown’s Dead
> By: Sam Hunt
> Most streams in a week: 1,580,652
> Best week: May 24
> Peak Billboard position: 94
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23. Make It Back
> By: Juice WRLD
> Most streams in a week: 2,979,066
> Best week: Oct. 25
> Peak Billboard position: 92
22. Thriller
> By: Michael Jackson
> Most streams in a week: 2,744,901
> Best week: Nov. 1
> Peak Billboard position: 31
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21. Motorcycle Patches
> By: Huncho Jack
> Most streams in a week: 1,469,931
> Best week: Jan. 4
> Peak Billboard position: 90
20. Biggest Alley Oop
> By: Quavo
> Most streams in a week: 2,691,028
> Best week: Oct. 18
> Peak Billboard position: 86
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19. The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)
> By: Nat King Cole
> Most streams in a week: 2,678,780
> Best week: Nov. 29
> Peak Billboard position: 37
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18. Man Of The Woods
> By: Justin Timberlake
> Most streams in a week: 2,521,941
> Best week: Feb. 8
> Peak Billboard position: 73
17. 31 Days
> By: Future
> Most streams in a week: 2,412,122
> Best week: July 12
> Peak Billboard position: 65
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16. Infrared
> By: Pusha T
> Most streams in a week: 2,322,884
> Best week: May 31
> Peak Billboard position: 65
15. Change Lanes
> By: Kevin Gates
> Most streams in a week: 2,114,196
> Best week: May 24
> Peak Billboard position: 68
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14. Racks Blue
> By: Future
> Most streams in a week: 2,080,094
> Best week: July 12
> Peak Billboard position: 76
13. Huncho Dreams
> By: Quavo
> Most streams in a week: 2,030,712
> Best week: Oct.18
> Peak Billboard position: 93
12. Cuddle My Wrist
> By: Future
> Most streams in a week: 1,990,914
> Best week: July 12
> Peak Billboard position: 71
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11. Unica
> By: Ozuna
> Most streams in a week: 1,804,105
> Best week: Aug. 30
> Peak Billboard position: 72
10. DDU-DU DDU-DU
> By: BLACKPINK
> Most streams in a week: 1,744,962
> Best week: June 21
> Peak Billboard position: 55
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9. Consequences
> By: Camila Cabello
> Most streams in a week: 1,602,091
> Best week: Jan.18
> Peak Billboard position: 77
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8. Boss
> By: The Carters
> Most streams in a week: 1,599,788
> Best week: June 28
> Peak Billboard position: 77
7. Diamond Teeth Samurai
> By: YoungBoy Never Broke Again
> Most streams in a week: 1,584,439
> Best week: May 3
> Peak Billboard position: 59
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6. Blue Tacoma
> By: Russell Dickerson
> Most streams in a week: 1,533,397
> Best week: Aug. 23
> Peak Billboard position: 52
5. Mercy
> By: Brett Young
> Most streams in a week: 1,522,243
> Best week: Aug. 2
> Peak Billboard position: 29
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4. Lose It
> By: Kane Brown
> Most streams in a week: 1,483,565
> Best week: Nov. 22
> Peak Billboard position: 28
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3. Woman, Amen
> By: Dierks Bentley
> Most streams in a week: 1,386,169
> Best week: June 14
> Peak Billboard position: 53
2. Broken Halos
> By: Chris Stapleton
> Most streams in a week: 1,337,451
> Best week: March 29
> Peak Billboard position: 45
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1. Huncho Jack
> By: Huncho Jack
> Most streams in a week: 1,284,019
> Best week: Jan. 4
> Peak Billboard position: 87
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