May 27, 2026 10:00pm IST
Not BTS! These are the Only Two International Acts That Have Never Left Spotify’s Top Artists Chart for India
Only two international acts have stayed on Spotify’s Top Artists chart for India for each of the 240 weeks for which it has been published so far: The Weeknd and Taylor Swift. That’s because India is now among the few countries where the majority of listenership on Spotify — as much as 90% — is for music in local languages. In fact, only four foreign acts that appeared on that list when the platform launched it in mid-October 2021 are still on it today.
The other two are BTS and Justin Bieber. Both have fallen out of the chart for a few weeks now and then. In BTS’s case, the reason they dropped off was that the group didn’t release any new music between June 2022 and March 2026, a period during which each of its seven members completed their mandatory South Korean military service.
However, they’re currently the top-ranked international act and the foreign group generating the most streams in the country. BTS is riding high on the success of their comeback album “Arirang,” which peaked at No.2 on the India Top Albums chart (ARMY can blame the “Dhurandhar: The Revenge” soundtrack for preventing it from reaching No.1). Similarly, Justin Bieber has reappeared on the chart following his internet-breaking sets at Coachella in April.
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What’s particularly impressive about The Weeknd’s streak is that it’s been almost a year and a half since the Canadian singer-songwriter put out his last album, “Hurry Up Tomorrow,” which means his Indian fans are extensively streaming his back catalog. He’s so popular here that India is his No. 2 market even on YouTube, behind only the US.
Notably, not a single international act appears on YouTube’s Top Artists chart for India, so it can’t be used to rank them in terms of overall popularity. That said, India is No. 4 for Taylor Swift and No. 5 for BTS and for Justin Bieber on the video-streaming platform.
Each of these acts has long been rumored to perform in India, though nothing has materialized yet. Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber aren’t touring right now, and sadly, India didn’t figure among the upcoming Asia dates announced for The Weeknd’s and BTS’s world tours. That said, India is very much on BTS’s radar, and especially after Hybe started operating in the country, fans have pinned their hopes on the K-Pop kings visiting in 2027 if not 2026.
The absence of India from The Weeknd’s tour was more of a shock, given that in February, screenshots showing that he would be playing Mumbai and Delhi in October were leaked online. Given that there’s a two-and-a-half-week gap between his concerts in Bangkok (October 11) and Hong Kong (October 30-31), there’s a distinct possibility that he might still make it to our shores.
It could very well be that, owing to the recent spate of concert cancellations, the promoters are waiting to make sure that they have everything in place in terms of permissions and logistics before making the eagerly awaited announcement.
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