Bad Bunny was Spotify’s most-streamed global artist in 2025 with 19.8 billion streams. His newest album was the most-streamed album of the year, too. Bad Bunny was also the most-streamed artist of 2020, 2021, and 2022 on Spotify. Taylor Swift held the honor in 2023 and 2024, but Bad Bunny now holds the record for the most wins in this category.
Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio in Bayamón, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, and songwriter who has emerged into worldwide prominence in less than a decade, reshaping reggaeton and Latin trap while using his platform to explore identity and politics in Puerto Rico.
Bad Bunny grew up in Vega Baja. As a teenager he began writing his own songs and later studied audiovisual communication at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo. His breakout moment came in 2016 with songs like “Diles” and especially “Soy Peor,” which led to a contract with the label Hear This Music and quickly made him a central figure in Latin rap.
He stood out for his unusual decision not to record in English. While many other Spanish-language recordings have been popular in the states over the years, most Puerto Rican stars, from Jose Feliciano to Ricky Martin to Jennifer Lopez, have performed in both Spanish and English.
Success
Bad Bunny’s debut studio album, X 100PRE, won a Latin Grammy for Best Urban Music Album. The next album, YHLQMDLG, became the highest‑charting all‑Spanish album on the Billboard 200, reaching number two. His third album, El Último Tour del Mundo, made history as the first all‑Spanish‑language album to reach number one on the Billboard 200.
Bad Bunny continues to rack up awards and records for his music. He has also been featured in films like Bullet Train, Caught Stealing, and Happy Gilmore 2, as well as TV shows including Saturday Night Live and The Daily Show.
Influence
As his popularity grew, Bad Bunny increasingly used his platform to make cultural statements, including gender nonconforming fashion, LGTBQ advocacy, and positions on Puerto Rico’s crises, from hurricanes to gentrification. He has said that he doesn’t want Puerto Rico to end up like Hawaii, which became a U.S. state in 1959. Bad Bunny’s narrative about Hawaii struck a deep emotional chord for many Puerto Rican fans, especially those living in the states. It sparked important conversations about colonialism around the world. While few colonies still exist, the consequences of colonialism remain. Though statehood solved the issue of colonialism for Hawaii, Puerto Rico is arguably a colony of the United States to this day.
