Drake's 'One Dance' breaks billion mark on Spotify

Drake’s “One Dance” on Friday notched
up another record — it is the first song
to be played a billion times on Spotify.
The Canadian rapper’s song — which
already in October became the most-
streamed song ever on Spotify — had
been played 1.002 billion times by early
Friday.
With a raw funk vibe but minimalist
beat, “One Dance” has been in heavy
rotation at clubs and parties this year.
The track, which appears on Drake’s
top-charting album “Views,” features
guest vocals by Wizkid, one of Nigeria’s
top singers, and British house artist
Kyla.
Drake’s totals on Spotify, the largest site
in the fast-growing format of streaming,
comes even though he has a business
tie-up with Apple.
The tech giant, whose upstart Apple
Music is trying to catch up with Spotify,
released “Views” exclusively for its first
week although individual tracks
appeared elsewhere.
Despite Drake’s success, he was
surpassed in November for most
monthly listeners on Spotify by The
Weeknd — a fellow Toronto artist and
protege of Drake.
And in a surprise to many music
watchers, “One Dance” was not
nominated for Record of the Year or
Song of the Year at the Grammy Awards
although Drake is up in other categories.