The Kid Laroi’s ‘Stay’ was streamed more than 2 billion times in 2021: IFPI
The Kid Laroi grew up in front of our eyes in 2021, and, based on official new data, landed one of the biggest hits on the planet.
The Gadigal-born singer and rapper with Kamilaroi roots drops in at No. 2 on the IFPI’s Global Digital Single list for the year with ‘Stay,’ his all-conquering hit with Justin Bieber.
‘Stay’ blasted away with 2.07 billion “streaming equivalent” units, according to the international labels body, a sum that was bettered by just one other track, The Weeknd’s ‘Save Your Tears’ (2.17 billion streams).
With his latest conquest, The Weeknd becomes the first artist to win the IFPI Global Digital Single Award in consecutive years, having scooped the accolade in 2020 for Blinding Lights, an “incredible achievement,” enthuses IFPI CEO Frances Moore in a statement issued late Monday.
On both occasions, Abel Tesfaye has had Australians on his heels. Tones And I was No. 2 in 2020 with her global smash ‘Dance Monkey,’ meaning an Aussie act has reached the IFPI’s digital-songs podium in successive years.
The IFPI Global Digital Single Award is the most accurate gauge we have for the world’s most popular digital single of the year, tracked across all digital formats, from paid subscription streaming to ad-supported platforms, and single-track downloads and streams.
The Kid (real name Charlton Howard) had it all going on in 2021. Over the course of the year, ‘Stay’ logged time at the summits of the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Global 200 charts, and its parent mixtape F*ck Love led the charts in the United States and Australia.
Laroi also cleaned up at the ARIAs, APRA Awards and National Indigenous Music Awards, and he’s shortlisted for Best New Artist and Best Album at the 2022 Grammy Awards.
Top 10 Global Digital Single Chart 2021:
| Rank | Artist | Track Name | Global Subscription Streams Equivalents (billions) |
| 1. | The Weeknd | Save Your Tears | 2.15 |
| 2. | The Kid LAROI, Justin Bieber | STAY | 2.07 |
| 3. | Dua Lipa | Levitating | 1.88 |
| 4. | BTS | Butter | 1.76 |
| 5. | Olivia Rodrigo | drivers license | 1.73 |
| 6. | Justin Bieber (ft. Daniel Caesar, Giveon) | Peaches | 1.72 |
| 7. | The Weeknd | Blinding Lights | 1.61 |
| 8. | Olivia Rodrigo | good 4 u | 1.61 |
| 9. | Lil Nas X | MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) | 1.60 |
| 10. | Ed Sheeran | Bad Habits | 1.57 |
Previous Top 10 – Global Digital Single Chart 2020:
| Rank | Artist | Track Name | Global Subscription Streams Equivalents (billions) |
| 1. | The Weeknd | Blinding Lights | 2.72 |
| 2. | Tones And I | Dance Monkey | 2.34 |
| 3. | Roddy Ricch | The Box | 1.67 |
| 4. | SAINt JHN | Roses | 1.64 |
| 5. | Dua Lipa | Don’t Start Now | 1.62 |
| 6. | Future (feat. Drake) | Life is Good | 1.57 |
| 7. | Xiao Zhan | Made To Love | 1.48 |
| 8. | DaBaby (feat. Roddy Ricch) | ROCKSTAR | 1.45 |
| 9. | Billie Eilish | bad guy | 1.36 |
| 10. | BTS | Dynamite | 1.28 |