Canadian rapper Drake has been crowned as the king of Spotify for the third time, earning 8.2 billion streams in 2018.

He was also the popular music streaming platform’s most-streamed artist in 2015 and 2016.

Not surprisingly, the 32-year-old had the year’s most-streamed album and song with Scorpion and God’s Plan, the latter attracted more than one billion listens.

His hit In My Feelings was also fifth in the year’s top song.

Post Malone was the second most-streamed artist in 2018. Photo: Getty

Post Malone, XXXTentacion, J Balvin and 2017 winner Ed Sheeran rounded out the top five most-streamed artists.

Post Malone’s rockstar (feat. 21 Savage) and Psycho (feat. Ty Dolla $ign) helped him join Drake (God’s Plan, In My Feelings) with two songs in the top five list. SAD! by XXXTentacion was No.2 among the most streamed songs.

Drake’s album Scorpion was racking up 10 million streams an hour shortly after it was released on June 29. Post Malone’s beerbongs & bentleys, XXXTentacion’s ?, Dua Lipa’s self-titled debut album all had a stellar year, while Ed Sheeran’s 2017 album ÷ also made the top five.

Ariana Grande ranked first among female artists, with more than 48 million monthly listeners.

Her latest single Thank u, next has already attracted more than 220 million streams, further boosting her fourth album Sweetener.

The 25-year-old Grande was followed by Dua Lipa, Cardi B, Taylor Swift and Camila Cabello.

The Swedish platform, which features more than 40 million tracks, has more than 87 million subscribers and 191 million active users each month.

EMO Rap, Lo-Fi Beats, Deep Talent Show, Ringtone and Brega Funk were genres that grew most in 2018, but Latin music continued to make headway into hip-hop’s dominance.

Latin artists J Balvin, Ozuna and Bad Bunny featured in the top 10 most-streamed artists list, building on the work of Daddy Yankee, who was the only Spanish-speaking artist to reach the top 10 12 months earlier.

J Balvin, who made his top-five debut at No.4, had hits with X (with Nicky Jam) and I Like It (with Cardi B).

Dominican-American singer Cardi B, the third-most-streamed female artist of 2018, and Cuban-American singer Camila Cabello (fifth), are also representing their Latin heritage through music.

Imagine Dragons became the most-streamed group, but K-pop sensation BTS also enjoyed plenty of global listening. Maroon 5 and Migos were third and fourth, and Coldplay took fifth.

Today’s Top Hits was the most popular playlist, with about 22 million followers agreeing that it’s the best place to go to find out what’s trending in popular music.

RapCaviar, ¡Viva Latino!, Baila Reggaeton filled the minor places. Songs to Sing in the Car rounded out the top five, with Beyoncé’s Halo, and Camila Cabello’s Havana the top songs people are belting on their road trips.

Podcasts also proved increasingly popular over 2018, with the total episodes available to listeners almost reaching seven million.

Crime and mystery was the most popular genre, led by the likes of My Favorite Murder, Crime Junkie and Crimetown. Comedy, News & Politics, Health and Arts were also well patronised.

Fest & Flauschig was the No.1 podcast. Listeners also enjoyed The Joe Budden Podcast, Amy Schumer Presents: 3 Girls, 1 Keith, Spotify’s analysis of popular albums Dissect, and TALK-O-MAT.