Whatever the Grammys Say, "Montero" Is the Song of the Year

Sara Mekinc

Apr 4, 2022

We finally have the winners of the 2022 Grammy Awards, with the coveted Song of the Year title going to Silk Sonic’s “Leave the Door Open”. However, data tells a different story.

Independently of the voting results, we crunched the online popularity stats of the nominees to let the numbers have the final word. After all, it’s listeners across the globe who “vote” for their favorites on daily basis by streaming tracks, watching videos, featuring their songs in TikTok challenges and Shazaming the catchiest tunes.

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The verdict: “Montero” was the most popular song of 2021

Lil Nas X’s controversial hit track “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)” scored the highest among all the “Song of the Year” nominees according to its combined streaming, social media and radio airplay numbers. It was streamed over 1.3 billion times, used in more than 2.1 million TikTok videos, and got more than 450 million YouTube views with its official video.

Coming in second was the TikTok favorite “Kiss Me More” by Doja Cat feat. SZA (used in more than 2.3 million TikTok videos). Ed Sheeran’s “Bad Habits” placed third thanks to extensive radio airplay. Sheeran, whom Viberate recently identified as the top-played artist on radio stations in the world, racked up almost 40% of the nominated tracks’ combined radio plays.

Justin Bieber’s “Peaches” still boast the highest Spotify playlist reach (67 million), while Silk Sonic’s “Leave the Door Open” did sweep one data category – it got the most YouTube video views, more than 510 million.

The “Best New Artist” title rightfully went to Olivia Rodrigo

Olivia Rodrigo didn’t have the song of the year, but she did amass more than 14 million Spotify followers and more than 2 billion YouTube views during the eligibility period. The only musician among the “Best New Artist” nominees who comes close to her stats is the Australian Pop sensation The Kid LAROI, who currently has more Spotify listeners than Olivia – 45.8 million compared to 42.2 million. Both artists have made impressive climbs up the music industry ranks. Olivia Rodrigo (currently 37^th) jumped 8K+ spots and The Kid LAROI (currently 124^th) moved 3K+ places up the Viberate Chart, which ranks every artist in the world and includes all their social and streaming stats.

Cover image: Lil Nas X by Filip Custic