Spotify reports growing surge of non-English pop music on global chart

Rosalía performs on stage during The BRIT Awards 2026 [https://www.nme.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/rosalia@2000x1270.jpg]

Spotify has reported a growing surge of non-English pop music that is making its way onto the global chart.

* READ MORE: Rosalía – ‘Lux’ review: an arresting album of astonishing scope and ambition

The streaming giant has shared that last year, there were songs in 16 different languages that made their way onto its Global Top 50 last year (as per The Times). This is double what that figure was in 2020, and languages included Korean, Spanish, Arabic, Indonesian, Turkish and Portuguese.

It also added that the Brazilian Funk genre was the fastest growing world wide, with its audience increasing by 36 per cent over the past five years. K-pop has also seen a noticeable increase since then, as has Trap Latino, which have gone up by 31 per cent and 29 per cent respectively.

Globally, 14 of last year’s Top 20 best selling albums were sung exclusively in English, as reported by IFPI, however, the list did see a growing number of artists who don’t sing in English, including K-pop Groups Enhypen ENHYPEN K-POP GROUP ENHYPEN is a seven-member boy group formed through I-LAND, known for powerful performances, storytelling concepts, and global popularity. , Stray Kids Stray Kids K-POP GROUP Stray Kids is an eight-member self-producing boy group known for intense performances, experimental sound, and powerful rap lines. , and Seventeen SEVENTEEN K-POP GROUP SEVENTEEN is a self-producing boy group with 13 members, divided into hip-hop, vocal, and performance units, known for intricate choreography and songwriting. .

Last week alone, the most-played chart on Spotify included multiple songs that weren’t predominantly in English either, with entries from Bad Bunny, Tyla, Tems, Peso Pluma, Jung Kook and Jin, BLACKPINK BLACKPINK K-POP GROUP BLACKPINK is a four-member global girl group known for their high-energy performances, luxury fashion influence, and record-breaking music videos. , Rauw Alejandro and more.

The UK chart, however, only featured two songs that were not exclusively in English for its Biggest Selling Songs of 2025 list – ‘APT.’ by Rosé & Bruno Mars, and ‘Golden’ from the K-pop Demon Hunters soundtrack, performed by Huntr/x HUNTR/X K-POP GROUP HUNTR/X is a fictional K-pop girl group featured in Netflix’s animated film “KPop Demon Hunters”. .

BBC News reports that the trend has been growing since 2017 – the same year when streaming overtook physical media to become the biggest source of income in the music industry.

The trend is looking likely to continue growing further into 2026 too, thanks in part to the new EP from BLACKPINK BLACKPINK K-POP GROUP BLACKPINK is a four-member global girl group known for their high-energy performances, luxury fashion influence, and record-breaking music videos. , the unforgettable Super Bowl halftime show from Bad Bunny, an upcoming stadium tour from the newly-reformed BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS is a seven–member South Korean boy group known for their powerful performances, self-produced music, and global impact across pop and hip-hop. , and Rosalía’s captivating performance at the BRITs.

The latter saw her bring out Bjork as a special guest, and perform songs from her hit album ‘LUX’, which saw her sing in 13 different languages.

‘Lux’ was given a glowing five-star review by NME, who lauded its “astonishing scope and ambition”. It was also named on the best albums of the year list by NME, while ‘Reliquia’ from the album landed at Number Seven on our 50 best songs of 2025 list.

The singer has a huge 2026 world tour on the way, which includes dates in the UK, Europe and North America in the coming months. See all of the dates here and find any remaining tickets here.

Rosalía previously discussed singing in different languages and going outside of her comfort zone by doing so, saying she is the “opposite” of Bad Bunny in that way. Since then, she has defended her stance, and said that the comments were taken “out of context” when implied that she was pitting herself against the Puerto Rican star.

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