Dutch artists will be listened to better than ever in 2022

Dutch pop music has been doing well for years, but in 2022 artists from their own country were listened to better than ever. This is evident from the annual figures of the largest streaming service, Spotify. The Hoornse singer Antoon is this year the most streamed artist in the Netherlands. For comparison: last year Justin Bieber was still the most popular in the Netherlands. Globally, as in 2021, Puerto Rican reggaeton star Bad Bunny was the most played.

Antoon can celebrate twice because the number released last year Emergency lane by the band Kriss Kross Amsterdam, with guest roles by Antoon and singer Sigourney K, became the most popular track in the Netherlands. With that, the Dutch combination beats the number As it Was by British singer Harry Styles.

Listening behaviour

Many Spotify users look forward to their personal listening overview every year Spotify Wrapped, which gives streamers insight into their own listening behavior. The Swedish streaming service also links a global data analysis to all personal figures. Spotify’s charts, with 456 million users each year, give a good picture of the popularity of the biggest artists and genres, globally and domestically, even though the listening behavior of users of other streaming services such as Apple Music and Deezer is not included.

It is remarkable that the Dutch top lists are dominated this year by artists who have just come to watch. In addition to Antoon, the top ten of most streamed songs includes young Dutch talents such as Flemming, Christian D and Meau. According to Wilbert Mutsaers, the boss of Spotify Netherlands, these artists have an unerring sense of what is going on in their generation, but they have recently been able to make the transition to a wider and sometimes more mature audience. ‘And it often concerns women with a strong story, such as singer S10, who also appears frequently in Dutch listening lists.’

Compared to previous years, Dutch hip-hop seems to be somewhat on the decline. Where last year seven Dutch rappers were in the top ten of most streamed artists, we see significantly fewer rappers there this year. But according to Mutsaers, this does not necessarily mean that Dutch hip-hop is becoming less popular. ‘Because there is still more streaming every year, you see that more broadly oriented pop music, by Suzan & Freek, for example, manages to place itself higher in the top lists. The more people stream, the more styles work their way up.’

Dance

Genres such as dance, singer-songwriter, pop and hip-hop are the best, according to Spotify. The Dutch DJ and producer Tiësto scored huge world hits: his song The Business for example, there were almost a billion streams on Spotify alone.

Spotify also sees the influence of, for example, TV series in the annual lists this year. The number Running up that Hill by Kate Bush, released in 1985, is in the top ten most streamed songs worldwide this year. The song became immensely popular thanks to the series Stranger Thingswhere it was incorporated into the soundtrack.

Burna Boy

Pop music from non-western regions is also doing well this year, also in the Netherlands. Music from African, Asian and South American countries is moving up the rankings. For example, the Nigerian Burna Boy ranks 36th in the list of most streamed artists in the Netherlands. According to Mutsaers, these figures show that the Dutch streaming audience is also becoming more open-minded in that respect. It is striking, he says, that the popularity of the undisputed streaming champion Bad Bunny in the Netherlands is still lagging behind a bit.