Global audio streaming service, Deezer looked into the top sounds of 2020 around the world. Deezer also listed the 2020’s most streamed artists, tracks, albums, podcasts in Saudi Arabia plus a few new categories including Superfans and Trendsetters.
Top Track: The top three songs in Saudi Arabia were ‘Nostalgia stranger (Hann El Ghareeb)’ by Abdul Majeed Abdullah; ‘Shake your longing (Yhizak Al Shooq)’ by Majid Al Mohandis; and ‘Love’ by Faisal Abdulkareem.
Internationally, it seems like tracks released in 2019 were still going strong this year. The now iconic ‘Dance Monkey’ by Tones and I was released in 2019 and held onto the position as Deezer's most streamed song for 2020.
Top Album: Taking the first spot as the most played album in the Kingdom was ‘La Testaslem’ by Assala followed by ‘Sahbit Raey’ by Elissa, and ‘Fouad Abdulwahed 2020’ by Fouad Abdulwahed.
The Weeknd took the no.1 spot for most played international album of 2020 with ‘After Hours.’ This year also saw a flurry of brilliant new top 10 streamed album entries from Pop Smoke (‘Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon’), Dua Lipa (‘Future Nostalgia’) and Lady Gaga (‘Chromatica’).
Top Artist: Abdul Majeed Abdullah was the most streamed local artist in Saudi Arabia while Assala and Majid Al Mohandis have taken #2 and #3 respectively.
J Balvin can rest easy. For the third year in a row, the Colombian superstar held his spot as the #1 most streamed international artist. The Weeknd was not far behind as #2, followed by Dua Lipa at #3 and Bad Bunny at #4.
Biggest Superfans: To all the superfans out there - the top users who streamed their favorite artist the most. When Deezer looked at artists ranked by the number of superfans Eminem topped the list. He was closely followed by K-pop superstars BTS. Classic 60s and 70s bands The Beatles and Queen made up the top 10, while Shakira and Beyoncé also had the most loyal streamers. Fun fact - the average age of a superfan is 31 years old!
Top Podcast: In Saudi Arabia, the most played podcast was the ‘1001 Nights’, a collection of stories collected and translated throughout history. Launched only in October this year, the second most listened podcast was ‘Saudi Today’, Deezer’s first ever original podcast for the Middle East and one of the most streamed podcasts featuring Saudi writer, actor and artist Amy Roko. Since we were mostly at home this year, the third podcast most people in Saudi tuned into was ‘Skills’, which discusses how to develop the skills to achieve success.
Globally, the most played podcasts show what a rollercoaster of a year this has been. The lockdown meant we regularly turned to updates with ‘Global News Podcast’ and inspiration with ‘TED Talks Daily.’
In order to help you find all the sounds of 2020 in one place, Deezer editors have created a special ‘Best of 2020’ channel. Here you’ll find all the top streamed tunes, and artists of the year. You’ll also find personal playlists from Deezer editors that define what 2020 meant for each of them.
The ‘Best of 2020’ channel will be live on the morning of December 2nd, along with what you’ve been waiting for all year long - #MyDeezerYear. You’ll be able to see your personal top charts and rediscover what you listened to the most. You can head to the mobile app, log into your account and find all the tunes, artists and podcasts that you’ve had on repeat in 2020. Send to your friends in shareable cards.
Top 10 Artist in Saudi Arabia
1. Abdul Majeed Abdullah
2. Assala
3. Majid Al Mohandis
4. Elissa
5. BTS
6. Rashed Al Majed
7. Mohamed Hamaki
8. Angham
9. Rabeh Saqer
10. Sherine
Top 10 Album in Saudi Arabia
1. La Testaslem
2. Sahbit Raey
3. Mazh
4. Shahd El Horouf - Part One
5. Fouad Abdulwahed 2020
6. Kebir El Fan 2020
7. Rare
8. Music to be Murdered By
9. MAP OF THE SOUL : PERSONA
10. Al Haneen
Top 10 Song in Saudi Arabia
1. Hann El Ghareeb
2. Yhizak Al Shooq
3. Love - Single
4. Bel Bont El3areedh
5. Walhan
6. Dance Monkey
7. Hattan
8. Warqa
9. Enta Al Saadah
10. Alahh Esahilak
Top 3 Podcast in Saudi Arabia
1. 1001 Nights
2. Saudi Today
3. Skills
Top 10 International Artists
J Balvin
The Weeknd
Bad Bunny
Dua Lipa
Billie Eilish
Lady Gaga
Anitta
Eminem
Ed Sheeran
Ariana Grande
Mark Abou Jaoude, regional Head of Content, Artist marketing and Label Relations, Deezer MENAT, said; 2020 has been the year of home confinement and social distancing. Streaming helped us all cope with lockdowns. It is no surprise the top tracks in Saudi Arabia this year are upbeat, yet filled with yearning. We also saw listeners pivot to podcasts for inspiration, self-improvement and entertainment