Bruno Mars Becomes First Artist to Surpass 150 Million Monthly Spotify Listeners
Bruno Mars continues to break streaming records, as he becomes the first artist to cross the 150 million monthly listeners threshold on Spotify.
Mars, who has not put out a solo album since 2016's '24K Magic,' made history on the platform on the back of his hot streak of collaborative singles. 'Die With a Smile,' his mid-tempo duet with Lady Gaga, has amassed nearly 1.7 billion Spotify streams since its release in Aug. 2024, becoming his ninth number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 and opening the year in the top spot months after it dropped.
More from Variety
Joe Rogan and 'Crime Junkie' Both Top 500 Million All-Time Streams on Spotify, Leading Inaugural Podcaster Milestone Awards (EXCLUSIVE)
Spotify and Universal Unveil Far-Reaching Deal That Improves 'Bundling' Payment Structure
Bjork Slams Spotify and Streaming as 'Probably the Worst Thing That Has Happened to Musicians'
In October, he continued his hot streak with his Rosé collab 'Apt.' in October, already surging past the billion streams mark and peaking at No. 5 on the Hot 100. His 150 million milestone coincides with Friday's release of 'Fat Juicy & Wet,' his R-rated track with Sexyy Red. In the video for the song, Mars corrals his recent collaborators — including Gaga and Rosé — to throw a celebratory party.
Mars, who is currently the number one artist on Spotify, is teeing up for the Grammy Awards this Sunday, where he's nominated alongside Gaga for song of the year and best pop duo/group performance. Elsewhere, Mars and Rosé just earned the title of best-selling song in the United States last week and hitting 12 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's Global Excl. U.S. chart, making it the first K-pop song to do so.
Though Mars has waited nearly a decade to put out his next solo album, he dropped the joint album 'An Evening With Silk Sonic' alongside Anderson .Paak as Silk Sonic in 2021. Their single 'Leave the Door Open' won four Grammys, including record and song of the year.
Best of Variety
New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
What's Coming to Disney+ in February 2025
What's Coming to Netflix in January 2025
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
43 minutes ago
- USA Today
'Fallout' joins Universal Halloween Horror Nights 2025 details: See HHN prices and dates
'Fallout' joins Universal Halloween Horror Nights 2025 details: See HHN prices and dates Show Caption Hide Caption Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights tips for scaredy cats You don't have to like haunted houses to have fun at Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights. Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights 2025 is shaping up to be one for the gamers. Just days after revealing that "Five Nights at Freddy's" is coming to this year's after-hours event on both coasts, Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort announced, 'For the first time ever, horror fans will step into the post-apocalyptic wasteland of Prime Video's 'Fallout,'." Like "Five Nights at Freddy's," and 2023's The Last of Us house, "Fallout" began as a popular video game franchise. Thursday's house announcement comes on the same day as HHN tickets going on sale for both Orlando and Hollywood. Here's everything we know so far about this year's Halloween Horror Nights. Universal's first 'Fallout' house This new house, like its namesake show and Bethesda Game Studios video game franchise before it, is set centuries after a devastating nuclear war ravages the landscape, mutates creatures and forces humans to live in underground vaults. 'The journey begins beneath the surface in Vault 33, where guests follow vault-dweller Lucy MacLean as she escapes a bloody massacre, only to discover an evil hidden secret,' according to Universal. 'From there, visitors venture to the surface, where they must dodge attacks from Scavengers and Raiders, desperate survivors who will do anything to remain alive, as well as mutated cockroaches known as RAD Roaches.' As fans travel through a three-dimensional Wasteland, 'Fallout,' they will meet familiar settings like Super Duper Mart, 'The Ghoul, an ageless bounty hunter who has endured radiation exposure for centuries,' and a squire named Maximus equipped with T-60 armor. 'Five Nights at Freddies' surprises It's not yet clear what Universal has planned for 'Five Nights at Freddies," only sharing that it's "coming in a whole new way' with 'more details coming soon.' First a video game and book series, then a 2023 Blumhouse and Universal Pictures film with a sequel due to premiere this December, "Five Nights at Freddy's" follows animatronics from an abandoned children's pizza restaurant that come to life and kill. Universal has featured several Blumhouse films in Halloween Horror Nights experiences in recent years. Start date of Halloween Horror Nights This year's Halloween Horror Nights will start a day earlier than last year, on both coasts. Orlando's event will be held on 48 nights: Aug. 29-31 Sept. 3-7, 10-14, 16, 17, 19-21, 24-28 Oct. 1-5, 8-12, 15-19, 22-26, 29-31 Nov. 1, 2 Hollywood's Halloween Horror Nights will begin Sept. 4: Sept. 4-7, 11-14, 18-21, 25-28 Oct. 2-5, 8-12, 15-19, 22-26, 29-31 Nov. 1, 2 How much does it cost to go to Halloween Horror Nights? In a break from recent years, neither event is raising its starting ticket price this year. Single-night HHN tickets start at $82.99 for Orlando and $77 for Hollywood, the same as last year. Multi-night passes are also available. Halloween Horror Nights is a separately ticketed event that is not included with standard park admission. What does Halloween Horror Nights consist of? Halloween Horror Nights is best known for its immersive themed houses and open-air scare zones. Each year, a few themes span both coasts, though they may be executed differently. Last year's shared themes were A Quiet Place, Insidious: The Further, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire and Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines. Remaining house and scare-zone themes are location-specific. Orlando usually has more houses – 10 this year – and leans into more original content, while Hollywood tends to embrace more intellectual property. Hollywood is also the only place guests can experience the Terror Tram, an HHN-specific twist on the World-Famous Studio Tour. Both events offer live entertainment, themed food, and access to select park attractions with generally shorter wait times than during the day How scary is Universal Halloween Horror Nights? Scary is subjective. Some guests aren't phased at all. Others can barely stand to open their eyes. Most guests are somewhere in between, enjoying a good scare in a safe space. Don't you dare look scared: How to survive Universal's Halloween Horror Nights Can the actors touch you at Halloween Horror Nights? They're not supposed to touch you. They may accidentally brush against you in a crowded scare zone, but they won't reach out and touch you on purpose. By the same token, guests should never touch scareactors, which is what Universal calls HHN actors. What can you not wear to Halloween Horror Nights? Guests are not allowed to wear costumes or costume masks at Universal Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights. Universal Studios Hollywood has its own costume policy but also bans costume masks. Does HHN have an age limit? No, but the event's webpage says it 'may be too intense for young children and is not recommended for children under the age of 13.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Rick Astley Celebrates 'Never Gonna Give You Up' Reaching 1 Billion Spotify Streams: 'Who Would've Believed?'
Rick Astley's 1987 hit "Never Gonna Give You Up" reached one billion streams on Spotify The song gained newfound popularity in the 2000s thanks to the rickrolling bait-and-switch meme Less than 1,000 songs have garnered one billion streams on SpotifyRick Astley is never gonna give you up — and neither will his fans. On Monday, June 2, the Grammy-nominated artist shared his thoughts on the 1987 song "Never Gonna Give You Up" reaching one billion streams on Spotify. "So who would've believed after all these years 'Never Gonna Give You Up' has had a billion streams on Spotify. That's a billion streams. How amazing," Astley, 59, said in an Instagram video. "Thank you for listening and lots of love, and I'll see you all soon." "Never Gonna Give You Up" was part of Astley's debut solo album, Whenever You Need Somebody released in his early 20s. The song reached no. 1 on over 20 international charts upon release, per The Hollywood Reporter. As of publishing, the music video has over 1.6 billion views on YouTube. is now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more! It experienced a new popularity in the 2000s, when getting "Rick-Rolled," a bait-and-switch online move, was born from the song. The meme included tricking people online into expecting one thing from a URL and then being brought to the song or the video for "Never Gonna Give You Up," hence the term Rick-Rolled. Astley, who has been vocal about the song's viral popularity, commented on the meme craze in 2016 and told PEOPLE about the first time he was Rick-Rolled. "A friend of mine Rick-Rolled me a couple of times, and I didn't really know what he was doing. I just thought he was being an idiot," the singer said at the time. "I just kept thinking, 'What is this idiot doing? This is just not amusing. I don't really know what's going on.' So we eventually got on the phone and he explained it to me." Added Astley: "To be honest, I still didn't really get it. It took a few weeks for me to grasp." However, he only sees the meme as a "positive thing." "I don't think you can really have any bad thoughts about an Internet prank that turned your song into a global moment," said Astley. The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now! He also consulted his daughter, who was a teen at the time, on navigating the new trend. 'She was saying, 'Don't sweat it. It has nothing to do with you,'' he told PEOPLE in January 2025. "And I'm like, 'How can it have nothing to do with me?' And she said, 'Just leave it where it is. Don't try to embrace it and try funny things with it,'" continued Astley. Less than 1,000 songs have reached the Billion Streams club on Spotify. Astley's hit joins "Love Story" by Taylor Swift, "Mr. Brightside" by the Killers, "Uptown Girl" by Billy Joel and "September" by Earth, Wind & Fire, among other tracks. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Young Thug Recalls Getting ‘Stood Up' By Mariah The Scientist on Their First Date
Young Thug and Mariah The Scientist have been going strong for four years — even remaining together through Thugger's two-plus-year incarceration — but their relationship may have never gotten off the ground if the YSL rapper didn't remain persistent. Thug and Mariah sat down for a couple's quiz with GQ on Wednesday (June 4), and Thugger accused the 'Burning Blue' singer of standing him up on their first date. More from Billboard BE:FIRST's 'GRIT' Debuts at No. 1, CANDY TUNE's 'BAIBAI FIGHT!' Breaks Into Top 20 on Japan Hot 100 Vic Mensa Shares Emotional Video Explaining the Toll of the Streaming Era on Artists SZA's 'SOS' Breaks Michael Jackson's Record for Most Weeks at No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 'I don't know what you wore on the first date because you stood me up,' Thug said. 'How about that? I don't know what you had on.' Mariah was taken aback and denied skipping out on the date. 'This is crazy,' she replied. 'No I did not.' When they settled on their real first date, there was still a debate over what Mariah had on, as Thug suggested she had on black attire at an all-white affair. 'I had on white and some jeans,' she said. 'Zero points. Ain't had no black on. My pants was kinda dark.' Young Thug was released from jail on Halloween (Oct. 31) after being arrested as part of the YSL RICO case in May 2022. Mariah made appointment visits to support her man and hold him down during his incarceration. Last month, Mariah earned her highest-charting hit on the Billboard Hot 100 when 'Burning Blue' debuted at No. 25. As for Thug, fans are anticipating his UY SCUTI album, which he joked with GQ that the project would be released on June 37. Watch the full Couples Quiz below. Talk about Thug and Mariah's first date takes place around 4:20. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
