Tag: BTS

Blend With Lizzo, Post Malone, and The Chainsmokers—And Buy Their Merch

July 20, 2022

Lizzo, Post Malone, and the Chainsmokers on a green background

Listen to this story read aloud in 2 minutes and 20 seconds.

Music fandom is about more than just listening to music and going to shows: It’s connecting with an artist, their songs, and their fellow followers. And what better way to signal your love, and maybe strike up a conversation with another fan, than by repping your favorites with a t-shirt or other merch?

At Spotify, we’re always looking for new ways to grow the bond between artists and fans. Our latest feature, Blend, combines the best of our personalization capabilities and collaborative playlist functionality to help you create a playlist that syncs your music taste with that of your friend’s or artists’ like BTS, Charli XCX, Kacey Musgraves, and Megan Thee Stallion.

Now we’re expanding the popular feature to even more artists including Lizzo, The Chainsmokers, and Post Malone. And we’re also adding a new element: the opportunity to shop artist merch from the Blend experience so you can literally wear your love on your sleeve.

Here’s how you can Blend with one of these artists and then purchase their merch:

Click on an artist’s name in this story to be directed to Blend. Or, check out the artist’s link from their social channels. You can now choose from Lizzo, The Chainsmokers, and Post Malone.
Let Spotify make a playlist tailored to your shared tastes.
Check out your social sharecard. It contains your Taste Match score, which shows the percentage of music taste you two have in common. Then, share it directly to Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, or Twitter.
After you get your Taste Match score, you’ll have the opportunity to purchase the artist’s featured merch via our integration with Shopify. All the pieces of merch have been selected by the artists themselves and include items such as t-shirts, vinyl albums, and more.

It’s our mission to build new opportunities for creators to live off their work, and our larger partnership with Shopify makes it easier than ever for artists to sell their merch on Spotify. By putting merch alongside the music experience, we’re increasing purchase opportunities and generating incremental sales for creators.

Blend with Lizzo, The Chainsmokers, and Post Malone by clicking on their names. And find a full list of all available artist Blends here.

‘K-Pop ON! Track’ Is Spotify’s Newest Site Dedicated to All Things K-Pop

June 20, 2022

K-Pop has long dominated the charts on Spotify, thanks in part to its passionate fans and their streams of our K-Pop ON! (온) playlist. The genre has no plans of slowing down, and neither do its listeners. That’s why Spotify launched K-Pop ON! Track, a website dedicated to all things K-Pop that brings casual listeners and veteran superfans alike closer to the artists and music they love. With news, exclusive artist interviews, industry updates, trends, and more on the site, there’s no shortage of ways fans can keep their fingers on the pulse of this global phenomenon.

Explore while you stream

Got BLACKPINK or Billlie blasting in the background? K-Pop ON! Track complements your streaming experience with handy tools and how-tos, including a glossary dedicated to K-Pop terminology, a step-by-step guide on creating a Spotify Blend playlist with BTS, and a series dedicated to the artists and groups we love, called We Stan. Created for K-Pop fans by the people who love K-Pop most at Spotify, the site has three main sections where you can discover all the in-depth content:

Recent News: As ON! Track’s home base, this is where our most recently published stories will greet visitors when they first open the website. This includes artist content, genre stories, trends, data, milestones, and interviews with both artists and industry players.
K-Pop ON!: This section is dedicated to our flagship playlist, K-Pop ON! (온), where you can find updates about what’s new, like artist takeovers and spotlights on the hottest new talents.
Spotlight ON!: Here we take a closer look at the musicians and playlists that are making waves on Spotify, from featured artists to classic K-Pop tracks and new releases of the month.

📢 Welcome to our home base for all things K-Pop 🥳 #KPopONTrack is now live!

Head to https://t.co/A4r4yDKwzk for the latest trends, and get closer to the artists and the music you love. 🎶

Psst: Stay tuned for an exclusive interview you don't wanna miss. 👀💜#SpotifyKPop pic.twitter.com/OZBW4y1wUo

— Spotify ❤️ K-Pop (@SpotifyKpop) June 21, 2022

Making records, breaking records

K-Pop fans have long been streaming in droves, helping break records for artists and bringing much-deserved exposure to the genre. Each month, K-Pop receives over 8 billion monthly streams on Spotify, and our newly renamed K-Pop ON! (온) playlist has racked up over 3.9 million followers.*

The greatest number of K-Pop ON! listeners are streaming from the U.S., Indonesia, and the Philippines—evidence of the genre’s worldwide appeal. And as the popularity of K-Pop continues to grow, we want K-Pop ON! Track to be a destination that fans from all corners of the globe can visit to stay in the know.

March to the beat of K-Pop by visiting Spotify’s newest site, K-Pop ON! Track.

https://kpopontrack.byspotify.com/

*As of May 2022

Celebrate BTS’s Upcoming Album Release With Our Exclusive Countdown Destination, #SpotifyPurpleU

June 2, 2022

Spotify’s been counting the days until K-Pop band BTS releases their new music, and now we’re inviting fans all over the world to join the fun. In anticipation of the group’s newest anthology album, Proof, coming out June 10, Spotify launched #SpotifyPurpleU, an immersive microsite experience, to build excitement among new and longtime listeners.

BTS fans have long proven their love for band members Jungkook, V, Jimin, Suga, Jin, RM, and J-Hope. The group has racked up over 25.8 billion streams on Spotify in addition to 35 million monthly listeners and 50 million followers worldwide.* The BTS ARMY has also helped the band break records: BTS was the first artist from Asia and the first K-Pop artist to join the Spotify Billions Club with their song “Dynamite,” Spotify’s This Is BTS playlist has 6.5 million followers—more than any other This Is playlist on the platform, and BTS was the third-most-streamed artist of 2021, according to Spotify Wrapped.

For years, BTS has transcended regional boundaries, languages, and cultures to touch the hearts of people everywhere. In celebration of the band’s decade-long history and their fans’ unyielding dedication, #SpotifyPurpleU features exclusive band content, messages from the members, and a countdown to the highly anticipated album release. The site also gives fans the chance to create personalized #MyBTSProof share cards based on their favorite songs, which they can then post to social media to celebrate with ARMY members around the world. The site will be available in eight languages: Korean, Thai, Bahasa, Japanese, English, Spanish, Portuguese, and, on June 10, Arabic.

In addition to the microsite, Spotify is featuring exclusive video clips on our This Is BTS playlist . On social media, Spotify’s social accounts have turned purple in celebration of BTS’s milestone, and BTS and Spotify will release a short film that looks back at all of the band’s eras, starting from their inception in 2013.

Starting June 3, the BTS ARMY can also spot #SpotifyPurpleU billboards around the world, including in South Korea, the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Help celebrate BTS’s comeback by heading to #SpotifyPurpleU. And head back to Spotify June 10 to listen to Proof.

*As of May 25, 2022

K-Pop Fans Can Now Blend With Some of Their Favorite Groups on Spotify

May 20, 2022

K-Pop fans, Spotify has a listening experience that will let you connect with your favorite bands in a new way. Through Spotify’s Blend feature, you can sing and dance along to an all-new set of playlists that merge your personal music taste with that of some of the biggest names in K-Pop.

Blend was introduced last year as a new way for two Spotify users to combine their musical preferences into one shared playlist made just for them. Earlier this year, we announced updates that included the chance to Blend with some of your favorite artists.

Now Spotify is expanding the collection of Blend artists to include K-Pop superstars BTS, Stray Kids, ENHYPEN, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, NMIXX, and AB6IX. When you Blend with these artists, you’ll get a curated playlist that combines your favorite tracks with theirs. You’ll also receive a share card showing your taste-match scores and the songs that bring you two together. The cards can be shared directly to Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, or Twitter so you can show off your matches with other members of the ARMY, Stay, ENGENE, MOA, NSWER, and ABNEW fan bases.

Ready to see what these bands have been listening to lately? Grab your headphones and Blend by following the link for your favorite K-Pop artist below.

Blend with BTS

Blend with NMIXX

Blend with Stray Kids

Blend with TOMORROW X TOGETHER

Blend with ENHYPEN

Blend with AB6IX

Update as of October 19, 2022: BLINKs rejoice: You can now also Blend with BLACKPINK on Spotify. Find a full list of all available Blends here.

Spotify Celebrates K-Pop With a Relaunch of Its Flagship Playlist, Now Called ‘K-Pop ON! (온)’

March 2, 2022

It’s been one year since Spotify debuted in South Korea and almost eight years since the launch of our flagship playlist, K-Pop Daebak. Since its unveiling in 2014, the playlist has racked up billions of streams for Korean artists and has expanded their reach around the world. As K-Pop continues to dominate the charts, Spotify is building on this momentum with a complete relaunch of its K-Pop Daebak playlist, now called K-Pop ON! (온).

K-Pop is more than a music genre—it’s a cultural hub for fandoms, superstars, fashion moments, and more. With K-Pop ON! (온), Spotify is creating a destination that gives fans and artists even stronger ways to connect with each other. That’s the reason for the new playlist name and the addition of the Korean word “온,” which means “100” or “whole.” When combined with the English word “on,” the playlist’s name embodies the idea that K-Pop is always on 100 for the whole world. And that couldn’t be more true; every day, K-Pop brings new songs, styles, and trends to the world. With K-Pop On! (온), fans aren’t just tuning in to a playlist, they’re immersing themselves in a worldwide phenomenon.

Since 2018, K-Pop streams on Spotify have increased by 107% in the United States and 230% globally, resulting in almost 8 billion streams per month around the world. The love of the genre is truly global, with the U.S., Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, Malaysia, Canada, Singapore, and the U.K. rounding out the list of the top countries that stream K-Pop. The music has taken over the Spotify platform. In fact, in the last 90 days, there have been over 4.7 million searches for the term “K-Pop” on Spotify.

These searches include a wide array of artists and songs, ranging from big hits by top stars to deep cuts from emerging artists. Since the playlist’s original launch in 2014, BLACKPINK and BTS have been the most-streamed artists, while the most-streamed songs have been “DDU-DU DDU-DU” by BLACKPINK, “FANCY” by TWICE, “DALLA DALLA” by ITZY, “Kill This Love” by BLACKPINK, and “SOLO” by JENNIE (from BLACKPINK).

Spotify couldn’t launch K-Pop ON! (온) without help from a few fan-favorite artists, so it’s rolling out star-studded billboards around the world to celebrate. Fans will find larger-than-life images of NMIXX in LA; BTS, aespa, and NMIXX in NYC; ATEEZ, Red Velvet, NCT DREAM, and more in South Korea; aespa, SEVENTEEN, BLACKPINK, and more in Indonesia; BTS, NMIXX, and IVE in Japan; and BTS, TWICE, and ENHYPEN in Toronto—with more exciting content to come, across the platform and on Spotify’s own channels.

Want to join the millions of fans around the world singing and dancing along to K-Pop? Stream our newly minted K-Pop On! (온) playlist here.

What the World Streamed Most in 2021

December 1, 2021

If 2020 was the year that flipped the world on its head, 2021 was the year that we got used to seeing things upside down. With “normal” thrown out the window, people around the world started to embrace the unknown—and in doing so, championed all of the things that make each of us unique.

Spotify’s 2021 Wrapped celebrates this idea—the millions of weird and wonderful ways to listen and live in a world that continues to keep us on our toes. Today, we unveil the top artists, albums, songs, podcasts, and more that defined how more than 381 million people around the world listened and discovered audio during a year that turned “unprecedented” into, well, precedented.

As usual, Wrapped helps us reflect on the large role audio played in the lives of our listeners—and how our favorite creators soundtracked the world around us.

The top artists, songs, and albums globally

For the second year in a row, Puerto Rican Reggaeton star Bad Bunny takes the title of most-streamed artist in the world on Spotify. And what’s more: He’s received over 9.1 billion streams without releasing a new album this year. He is swiftly followed by singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, whose Red (Taylor’s Version) gave old and new fans alike a reason to relive the artist’s early groundbreaking work. Rounding up 2021’s top three is BTS. The globally beloved k-pop group had a standout year thanks to their single “Butter.” Canadian hip-hop artists Drake—who released Certified Lover Boy in September—and Justin Bieber—whose 2021 album Justice featured collaborations with artists from across the globe—take spots four and five, respectively.

Another year at the top for #BadBunny! Congratulations to 2021’s most-streamed artist 🥂 #SpotifyWrapped pic.twitter.com/mCl8fFxoXM

— Spotify (@Spotify) December 1, 2021

The top song of 2021 globally is Olivia Rodrigo’s runaway “drivers license,” which garnered over 1.1 billion streams. Lil Nas X’s viral “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” dances its way to second place and heralded the artist’s first studio album. The Kid LAROI enters the ranks for the first time, with his Justin Bieber collaboration “STAY” taking third. The fourth spot sees Olivia Rodrigo once again, this time with “good 4 u,” which also earned the title of 2021 Spotify Song of the Summer. The fifth most streamed song to rise in the ranks is Dua Lipa’s “Levitating (feat. DaBaby).”

When it comes to top albums of 2021 globally, Olivia Rodrigo once again claims the crown—her debut album SOUR clearly held a bit of sweetness. Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia ranks second, with Justin Bieber’s Justice, Ed Sheeran’s =, and Doja Cat’s Planet Her coming in third, fourth, and fifth.

The top podcasts globally

Coming out of its first full year as a Spotify exclusive, The Joe Rogan Experience remains the number-one podcast on Spotify globally. It is followed by the fearless Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy, which also became exclusive to Spotify in 2021. True crime and news continue to be popular genres within the medium, with Crime Junkie, TED Talks Daily, and The Daily rounding out the list.

Notable trends of 2021

When we looked at trends on Spotify in 2021, the top songs, artists, albums, and podcasts weren’t the only things we found. We learned about the moments that united listeners—and the ones that were notable for their uniqueness.

Nostalgia played a role in people’s listening in 2021 as fans rediscovered old favorites—and new generations adopted them as well. Let’s face it: There are certain songs and albums that just sound like home (in a good way).

This Week on the ‘Spotify: For the Record’ Podcast, Meet BTS

September 17, 2020

There’s no stopping BTS. The K-Pop band recently released their first all-English single, “Dynamite,” which set a new record on Spotify: 12.6 million streams in the first 24 hours. But long before this upbeat track was released, the group was racking up billions of streams from listeners all around the world.

In this week’s episode of our Spotify: For the Record podcast, the seven-member band joined us to talk about their creative process, how they’re staying positive during these challenging times, and—of course—their new hit. To fully understand the extent of BTS’s global impact on music and culture, Kat Moon, TIME Magazine journalist and K-Pop aficionado, detailed the band’s rise to fame and their deep connection with fans. Speaking of fans, the episode wouldn’t be complete without talking to members of BTS’s dedicated fan base, known simply as ARMY.

Go behind the scenes with BTS on Spotify: For the Record: “BTS: The Band, The Brand & The ARMY.”

3 Major Streaming Trends from Spotify’s First Year in India

February 27, 2020

It’s been exactly 12 months since Spotify launched in India, and my, how we’ve grown. There are now more than 6,400 Indian creators using Spotify for Artists, our platform that lets artists and their teams see who’s listening to their music and take control of their artist profile. Listeners from over 2,300 cities are tuning into more than 350 curated playlists in India—like New Music Hindi and Punjabi 101—and that’s up from 120 at launch. In honor of this anniversary, we dove into some of the trends and themes around a year’s worth of Spotify streaming in India. Here’s what we saw:

1. A lot of love for local artists

Spotify listeners in India have streamed over 130 artists each in the past year. Overall, we found that the top five most-streamed in the country are from India. Topping the list are three beloved Bollywood singers: Arijit Singh, Tanishk Bagchi, and Neha Kakkar. The age group of 35 to 44-year-olds stream Indian artists at a higher rate than any other.

Globally streamed hits are also very popular in India. The most-streamed international artist in India is Post Malone, who was also Spotify’s most-streamed global artist in 2019; BTS and Taylor Swift are popular with Indian listeners as well. The most-streamed track in India over the past year is the global smash “Señorita” by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello, followed by Arijit Singh and Mithoon’s “Tujhe Kitna Chahne Lage” and Sachet Tandon and Parampara Thakur’s “Bekhayali” (both from the soundtrack to the popular Indian film “Kabir Singh”).

2. Music sets the mood

Love songs are a major part of Indian culture, which is why Spotify’s Bollywood Mush playlist is one of the top-streamed playlists among users. Interestingly, listeners in the eastern part of the country—West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Assam, Bihar, and Sikkim—have streamed the playlist the most (it seems love rises in the east!).

What’s more, during Diwali, India’s biggest religious celebration, the holiday’s themed playlists—which lean heavily on songs about love and partying—got major traction on the festival’s peak day on October 27, 2019, with plays increasing by almost 4,400%.

3. Pressing play on podcasts and pop

India has fired up its podcast lineup, launching its first three Spotify original podcasts in December 2019. 22 Yarns With Gaurav Kapur, Bhaskar Bose, and Love Aaj Kal with Aastha & Ankit were each produced in India to cater to an Indian audience. These podcasts, which are all about pop culture, including cricket, fiction thriller storytelling, and relationship advice, respectively, also made it to the top five on the original podcast charts.

The top three music genres streamed across India are pop, filmi (music from popular Indian movies) and hip-hop. K-Pop also has a growing fan base: Spotify’s most-followed K-Pop playlist, K-Pop Daebak, is a popular choice for Indian listeners. And India is in the top 22% of K-Pop listening in all of Spotify’s markets globally, based on streaming from the past 90 days.

From the top-streamed artists to the most popular podcasts in India, see how listening stacks up since we launched in February 2019.

Download the infographic here.

For the uninitiated, be sure to stream Spotify’s Top Hits Hindi playlist.

From BTS to BLACKPINK, the Power of K-Pop Has No Bounds

February 24, 2020

K-Pop is beloved by fans around the world, so we took to the data to see just how popular the music is globally. The genre, which originated in South Korea, has since taken on a life of its own. Thanks to East-meets-West collaborations from BTS and U.S. singer-songwriter Halsey, whose “Boy With Luv” track has over 380 million streams, the reach continues to grow as more and more fans in countries like Egypt and Colombia connect with the music.

Since Spotify released its first K-Pop flagship playlist, K-Pop Daebak, in 2014 (and then a massive hub dedicated to the genre in 2015), there have been more than 41 billion K-Pop streams on Spotify. From rising artists to international collaborations, there’s something for both new and old K-Pop lovers on the platform.

Top-streamed K-Pop artists on Spotify include BTS, BLACKPINK, EXO, TWICE, and Red Velvet. In 2019, BTS was the first group from Asia to surpass 5 billion streams on Spotify. And, as of February 2020, the boy band reached a new milestone: more than 8 billion streams (8 billion streams!) on the platform.

No “FAKE LOVE” here, folks. See how much Spotify listeners love the genre.

Download the infographic here.

Check out the K-Pop Daebak playlist and stream BTS’ MAP OF THE SOUL : 7 The Enhanced Album, which is exclusively available on Spotify.

Spotify Refreshes Popular Playlist New Music Friday with Global Rebrand

February 21, 2020

Whether you’re a music fan or an artist, Fridays are about to get even better. Today, Spotify’s highly influential New Music Friday playlist—a curated selection of the most anticipated new tracks of the week—is debuting a global rebrand.

The revamped playlist, which has 43 versions worldwide, will continue to serve as the leading destination for listeners who want to discover new music from both established and emerging talent. With over 3.5 million followers in the U.S. and 8 million globally, it’s an achievement and milestone for artists to have their new tracks included on the list.

With today’s visual relaunch, Spotify is continuing to support its ongoing investment in the must-hear playlist brand, with a major social campaign, New York and Los Angeles billboards, and new cover art. Inspired by a trend of artists making their own celebratory New Music Friday social media assets, Spotify For Artists will now test a new feature where all artists added to the U.S. version—to start—of New Music Friday will be able to grab and share a branded and personalized social asset a la Wrapped.

Celebrate the Diverse Voices of the Asian Diaspora

May 29, 2019

May marks Asian Heritage Month—it’s a straightforward title that represents the incredible diversity and art that comes from the region’s creators. To celebrate the music of Asia’s multiple cultures, from the Philippines to Pakistan, we’re amplifying a wide range of voices through two playlist takeovers.

“Growing up with one foot in the West and one in the East, Asian Americans have had to navigate the hyphens of their identity,” says Himanshu Suri, Spotify’s Senior Editor, Indian Culture. “This month, with playlists like Beast Meets West and No Borders, we get to celebrate our culture and see artists who speak for us and our experiences. Visibility is important!”

The first playlist, Beast Meets West, brings together East Asian creators of all genres, from K-Pop idols like BTS and BLACKPINK to indie singer-songwriters like Mitski. No Borders, meanwhile, highlights the South Asian diaspora across genres and geographies. The playlist features talented South Asian Americans, Brits, Canadians, and more.

“It’s through celebrating our culture, our heritage, and our identity that we’re able to encourage people who look like us to dream big and pursue whatever they want—especially in arts and entertainment,” says Korean American singer-songwriter Eric Nam.

Nam is just one of the artists we spoke to for Asian Heritage Month. We also asked several other East Asian and South Asian creators for a song—whether their own or another Asian artist’s—that represents both the culture and spirit of this month. Read on for some of their recommendations.

Far East Movement: “Our homegirl Tia Ray is one of the most incredible singers we’ve had a chance to work with. What’s beautiful … is that she’s singing in Mandarin and English—it’s really a cross between two cultures and represents what our future album is going to be.”

Yuna: “I chose my track ‘Forevermore’ because it’s very Malaysian, and very close to me. In the beginning of the song I start with an old Malay poetry melody that I used to listen to a lot growing up. Even the music video is a tribute to my hometown and my home country. Always be proud of who you are and where you come from.”

Epik High: “Growing up and living as Asians was a beautifully unique experience for us. But at the same time, we had to struggle through the pressures and expectations unique to our heritage. We hope our song ‘Eternal Sunshine’ can be a shoulder to rest on for those who feel the same way.”

Tiffany Young: “One of my favorite artists right now is Peggy Gou. I love how innovative and fresh she is and how effortlessly she blends all the cultures she grew up in, whether it’s through her lyrics, her choice of instruments, her production, or her amazing fashion taste.”

Jay Sean: “Fifteen years ago, I started writing songs that were fusions of bhangra, R&B, and hip-hop. Since then, I’ve always tried to blend different sounds from around the world. My new single, ‘With You,’ featuring Gucci Mane and Asian Doll, is probably the most unique R&B/trap/hip-hop fusion that I’ve ever done.”

Arjun: “My song ‘Closer to Home’ is all about being true to your roots and your culture. It’s in four languages: English, Hindi, Arabic, and Ghananian.”

Stream Beast Meets West and No Borders to celebrate Asian Heritage Month year-round.

Why the Boy Band Phenomenon Lives On

February 13, 2019

The Backstreet Boys just scored a number-one album—and no, you weren’t accidentally transported back to 1999. Even twenty years later, with the crooning quintet decades removed from actually being boys, their new album, DNA, has topped the charts. Backstreet isn’t just back, though. Boy bands in general never left.

Sure, it felt like the phenomenon exploded two decades ago, thanks to bands like Backstreet Boys (BSB), NSYNC, 98 Degrees, and O-Town. But groups of young men have been hitting high notes together since the earliest days of pop music. Then, as now, superstar boy bands inspire a new generation of devotion to near-perfect harmonies, lovelorn lyrics, and coordinated dance moves.

Think of it this way: Early twentieth-century barbershop quartets and doo-wop groups led to rock bands like The Beatles. Then, in the 1970s, kids went crazy for glitzy sibling boy bands like The Osmonds and The Jackson 5 (the latter of which launched the iconic career of Michael Jackson). The 1980s saw the rise of New Edition, New Kids on the Block, and Menudo, (whose hits went international well before the Latin Invasion) and the seeming rise of boy bands in the late ’90s.

The general story of boy-band immortality, however, can be told by BSB’s streaming data. In 2018, the band averaged almost forty-one million monthly streams; most of those listeners were under age forty-four, with more than a quarter of them under twenty-four. In other words, whether you were a toddler, starting your career, or somewhere in between when the Backstreet Boys first blew up, you’re still blasting the hits, and likely feeling nostalgic when you do.

Other boy bands, including superstar K-Pop groups like BTS and SEVENTEEN, clock monthly streams on Spotify in the millions, with the majority of those loyal listeners under age twenty-four. It’s the same for English-Irish group One Direction, British quartet The Vamps, and Australia’s 5 Seconds of Summer, whose hit “Youngblood” racked up a whopping sixty million average monthly streams in 2018. Nearly all these bands are quickly attracting listeners across continents, thanks to streaming, so you probably needn’t fast-forward a full two decades to see signs that all these groups’ fan bases will eventually resemble BSB’s today.

And, already, another new crop of boy bands is on the rise. In 2019, keep an eye on upstarts Prettymuch (U.S.-Canada), Why Don’t We (U.S.), In Real Life (U.S.), and CNCO (Latin America). No matter where they’re from, however, or which clothing or hairstyle trends they set, the speed at which new boy bands are building a global listenership suggests that the phenomenon will never age out.

Relive the music of the best boy bands of the ’90s with our All Out 90s playlist.