American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and Indian musician Arijit Singh are battling it out in a neck-and-neck competition for the position of the most-followed artist on music-streaming platform Spotify.
While Arijit had secured the top rank on August 7, Swift claimed the position from him on August 8, according figures shared by the data-tracking portal ChartMasters.
Arijit Singh currently has 117.2 million followers on the music streaming app, while Swift has 117.3 million. With daily fluctuations in the number of followers, the tides can turn in favour of Arijit anytime.
British singer Ed Sheeran occupies the third spot with 115 million followers.
In August 2023, Arijit enjoyed a brief victory when he surpassed Swift to claim the third spot on the most followed artists list on Spotify. However, Swift quickly regained her position. Arijit became the first Indian music artist to cross 100 million followers on Spotify this January.
The other artists on the Spotify list includes Ariana Grande (98 million), Billie Eilish (96 million) and Drake (90 million). A.R. Rahman is the only other Indian musician in the top 20 with 49 million followers. He occupies the 20th position on the list.
Swift released her eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, in April this year. The music video Fortnight from the album earned her 10 nominations at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards.
Arijit, on the other hand, most recently sang Pritam’s compositions Satyanaas and Tu Hai Champion from Kartik Aaryan-starrer Chandu Champion, released in June.
