Ariana Grande's Highest Streamed Songs: Ranked // Spotify's Billions Club
Ariana Grande has reached the incredible milestone of having 14 songs reach over a billion streams each on Spotify! Over the past 10 years, Ariana has amassed over 39 billion streams on the platform and has become a member of the coveted Spotify Billions Club more than any other female artist. This achievement comes as no surprise, as Ariana has been a streaming titan for over a decade and was one of the first to embrace the early streaming era of the early 2010's long before many of her peers in the industry did.
"It's a really absurd number – I can’t really wrap my head around the number," Ariana said in the Billions Club episode. "This really shook me a little."
She has always been one of my favorite artists and this felt like the perfect time to rank all of her record-breaking songs that are in the Spotify Billions Club, as of February 2024. All of these are staples in her long and ever-growing list of hits. Several more songs are already on the brink of reaching a billion Spotify streams, so I'm sure she will keep on extending her record in the coming years.
14. "Bang Bang" featuring Nicki Minaj & Jessie J // 2014
This was one of Ariana's first massive hits and is a cute anthem of female empowerment, but she has definitely made much better songs than this in the years to follow. When recording her second album, My Everything with Max Martin and Savan Kotecha, Ariana originally recorded "Bang Bang" solo, but was unhappy with the results so ended passing on the song at the time. Later, the demo was sent to Jessie J who liked it and recorded it for her album, but when Ariana heard her version, she decided she wanted to be back on the song again. Nicki Minaj's verse was apparently added later, which in my opinion is the best part of the song. This was the first collaboration between Ariana and Nicki, who have gone on to make several great songs together.
13. "One Last Time" // 2014
"One Last Time" is such a classic in Ariana's discography. It is a powerhouse vocal performance from her, her talents are fully showcased on this track. In general, My Everything isn't an album I have returned to as much over the years compared to her others, but this is definitely a highlight from it. I think it's so beautiful that this song symbolizes so much more in the wake of the tragic 2017 attack at her show in Manchester too. It is a true symbol of music being able to bring people together even in the worst of times. đ
12. "Stuck With U" featuring Justin Bieber // 2020
"Stuck With U" was released in the early days of the pandemic serves as such a time capsule of that weird time. Both Ari and Justin sound great in this sweet song about a romance during quarantine. I have been a huge fan of them both for as long as I can remember, so I loved the idea of two of my favorite artists collaborating together for the first time! I hope they work together again one day, as this isn't a song I have returned to much in the past couple of years mainly because of the time it reminds me of, but it's still cute!
11. "Side To Side" featuring Nicki Minaj // 2016
"Side To Side" is such a fun and empowering song! If you asked me a few years ago to rank my favorite songs by her I think it would have used to be a lot higher, but she just has so many better songs now. It is definitely her best collaboration with Nicki Minaj though, as well as a highlight of her career visually with the creative direction of the music video and her performances.
10. "Santa Tell Me" // 2014
"Santa Tell Me" is one of the best original Christmas songs we've gotten in the past decade! It is so rare for there to be new truly incredible instant holiday classics and this song is the perfect example of that! I honestly listen to it year-round, it's a great song and an essential for the top ten of this ranking! I hope she makes more holiday music in the future, her Christmas & Chill EP was one of my favorite projects she's made. If Mariah Carey is the queen, then Ariana is the princess of Christmas!
9. "Save Your Tears Remix" featuring the Weeknd // 2021
Any time Ariana and The Weeknd get together to collaborate, it is guaranteed to be magic! "Save Your Tears" was originally released as a solo track on The Weeknd's album After Hours in 2020 and the following year was reimagined as a duet with Ariana. Their chemistry is unmatched in the music they make together. There is so much emotion in this song and their incredible vocals pair so well together. Their performance at the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards will also always be an all-time favorite of mine by them!
8. "Dangerous Woman" // 2016
Ariana has lived so many lives and gone through so many different artistic chapters throughout the past decade of her career. To me, "Dangerous Woman" felt like one of the first major turning points she took in her music. It was a more mature and liberated direction compared to a lot of the other music she was making at the time. It showcases her femininity and strength so beautifully. "Dangerous Woman" is forever a classic in her discography.
7. "7 Rings" // 2019
"7 rings" is an absolute classic, the number of times I played this song in 2019 is insane. It was her first song to reach a billion streams and represented such an iconic time in pop culture. The opening chords are among some of the most iconic and recognizable in the history of pop music at this point. She samples Julie Andrews' "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music, but instead of "Brown paper packages tied up with strings", Ariana swaps out the original lyrics a little bit more opulence. "Breakfast at Tiffany's and bottles of bubbles, girls with tattoos who like getting in trouble, lashes and diamonds, ATM machines, buy myself all of my favorite things," she sings in the opening lines. With all of the glamour, champagne, pink, diamonds, and mile long hair extensions - what's not to love!
6."Rain On Me" featuring Lady Gaga // 2020
Her greatest collaboration yet! Ariana and Gaga coming together and creating a song is an incredible concept on it's own, but looking at in the context of which it was released, only adds to the profound impact this song has had on so many. The message behind "Rain On Me" resonates even deeper when viewing it through the lens of the point in history it was released under in the early days of the pandemic in May of 2020. A song like this really was so needed in the world at that time, which made it become a true anthem of resilience and a beacon of light in dark, uncertain, times. "Rain On Me" is such an empowering collaboration between two of the greatest artists ever.
5. "positions" // 2020
I loved the positions era, it is so underrated in comparison to the rest of her work. It's up there with Sweetener as my favorite records by her. "positions" in particular is one of my most-played songs by her ever. After so much of the heaviness and heartache that made up a lot of the creation of her previous two records, this felt like a fresh start and a really happy time for her, which really shines through in this music.
4. "thank u, next" // 2018
When "thank u, next" was surprise released in November of 2018, it truly changed pop music forever. It became an iconic anthem of self-love and new-found independence after facing hardships in life, thanking all of the people that made her into who she is today. The world stopped when I heard those opening lines for the first time, I don't think I have ever been so floored by a verse in a song ever! The bold and confessional lyricism of this song is one of the key reasons why it turned into the cultural phenomenon that it did. As the song goes on, she details what she learned from each of her exes, "One taught me love, one taught me patience and one taught me pain, now, I'm so amazing," and in the midst of her heartbreak she found herself. "thank u, next" became the mantra that would define so much of the next couple of years. It is such an important lesson to learn from the pain that others gave you, and not let it define you, but to let it fuel you and help you grow. For better or worse, all of the people mentioned in this song helped to make her into the person she is today and "thank u, next" is a celebration of that journey.
I'll always have a special place in my heart for all of the tracks from Sweetener, it is one of my favorite albums ever. "no tears left to cry" was the lead single for the album, which feels so representative of Ariana being able to find the light at the end of the tunnel in the context of the dark period of life she was in at the time. It still gives me chills every time I listen to it, her voice is so powerful and moving. Right now I'm in a state of mind, I wanna be in like all the time, ain't got no tears left to cry, so I'm picking it up ... loving, I'm living, I'm picking it up". After a long hiatus, this song served as such a powerful comeback for her.
3. "no tears left to cry" // 2018
I'll always have a special place in my heart for all of the tracks from Sweetener, it is one of my favorite albums ever. "no tears left to cry" was the lead single for the album, which feels so representative of Ariana being able to find the light at the end of the tunnel in the context of the dark period of life she was in at the time. It still gives me chills every time I listen to it, her voice is so powerful and moving. Right now I'm in a state of mind, I wanna be in like all the time, ain't got no tears left to cry, so I'm picking it up ... loving, I'm living, I'm picking it up". After a long hiatus, this song served as such a powerful comeback for her.
The top three tracks on this list are pretty much interchangeable in my eyes, they are all the definition of pop perfection and among the greatest songs she has ever made!
2. "God is a woman" // 2018
So much of Sweetener is truly career defining music for Ariana's career. "God is a woman" is one of the biggest highlights for me, it is such an empowering song that it is so incredible and perfect in every aspect. Her vocals are once again immaculate and the production is stellar. I love that it sounds like she has an entire gospel choir behind her, but it's just her voice layered and multiplied. The music video is also a masterpiece in itself, with her recreating famous artwork through history under a feminist lens. I knew it from the first time I heard it in 2018 that this was going to forever be one of the best songs she will ever make. Everything about it is so iconic.
1. "Into You" // 2016
While it was so difficult to choose my absolute favorite song by Ariana among all of these iconic tracks, it was a no brainer for me to have "Into You" in the top spot. It is an immaculate performance by Ariana, her incredible vocal talents shine so brightly on this track, paired with the infectious hook and layered production - it is truly one of the greatest pop songs ever made. It's also probably my most played song by her ever actually! Over the past eight years I have continuously returned to "Into You" and every time I hear it, it still feels like I'm hearing it all over again for the first time.
"Taking this walk down memory lane was so special today and really moving. I'm excited because I feel like I haven't even really started," Ariana said at the end of her Billions Club episode for Spotify. I really do feel like she is also just getting started and I am looking forward to hearing what the next decade in music brings for her!
I have written several in-depth reviews of Ariana's music over the past few months, which I would love for you to check out! Check out my ten-year anniversary review of her debut album Yours Truly, as well as my 5 year anniversary reviews of Sweetener and thank u, next. Many more are coming soon, including an in-depth review of her album Eternal Sunshine, which I hope you'll come back soon to check out! Many more are linked below!
Thanks for reading! I would love to hear your personal rankings in the comment section below!
Photo Credit: Ariana Grande, Spotify
Related Posts:
Comments
Post a Comment