BTS are the most streamed artists in the UAE for the second year in a row, according to Spotify Wrapped. EPA
BTS are the most streamed artists in the UAE for the second year in a row, according to Spotify Wrapped. EPA
BTS are the most streamed artists in the UAE for the second year in a row, according to Spotify Wrapped. EPA
BTS are the most streamed artists in the UAE for the second year in a row, according to Spotify Wrapped. EPA

Arts & Culture

BTS and Drake among Spotify's 2021 most-streamed artists in the UAE

Lil Nas X’s controversial 'Montero (Call Me By Your Name)' was the most streamed song in the country

Selina Denman
Selina Denman

December 05, 2021

  • English
  • Arabic

Spotify’s 2021 Wrapped results reiterate the UAE’s diverse musical tastes.

For the second year in a row, K-Pop group BTS has emerged as the most-streamed artists on Spotify in the UAE, as well as the third most-streamed worldwide. Canadian powerhouses Drake, who released Certified Lover Boy in September, Justin Bieber and The Weeknd were respectively the second, third and fourth most streamed artists in the UAE.

Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift came in at number five, and was also the second-most streamed artist globally.

The most-streamed song in the UAE in 2021 was Lil Nas X’s controversial Montero (Call Me By Your Name), with Masked Wolf’s Astronaut in the The Ocean taking second place. Australian singer The Kid Laroi made his debut in the rankings at third place, both in the UAE and globally, thanks to Stay, his collaboration with Bieber. Dua Lipa’s Levitating came in at fourth place, followed by Olivia Rodrigo’s Good 4 U.

The Grammy-nominated Rodrigo nabbed the top spot in the album rankings, with her debut effort, Sour, while Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia came in at second place in the list of the UAE’s most streamed albums. Justice by Bieber was third, Doja Cat’s Planet Her and Ed Sheeran’s = rounded off the top five.

In terms of the top Mena artists, Moroccan rapper ElGrandeToto is the most-streamed Arab artist of 2021 in the region, followed by Wegz from Egypt, Inkonnu, Amr Diab and Tagne. Meanwhile, ElGrandeToto’s Mghayer was the most-streamed song from the Mena region in 2021, with Tagne’s Nadi Canadi in the second spot and Hadal Ahbek by Jordan’s Issam Alnajjar taking third place.

This year’s Wrapped ranking also reveals growing interest in wellness in the UAE, with three of the top five most popular podcasts focusing on well-being. This is in line with Spotify’s Global and Cultural Trends report, which revealed that audio was perceived as a stress reliever by UAE audiences.

The top five most popular podcasts in the UAE are The Joe Rogan Experience, Audice Wellness Services, TED Talks Daily, The Mindset Mentor and Let’s Find Out ASMR.

  • Members of BTS walk near the United Nations headquarters during the 76th United Nations General Assembly in Manhattan, New York. Reuters
    Members of BTS walk near the United Nations headquarters during the 76th United Nations General Assembly in Manhattan, New York. Reuters
  • BTS members speak at the Sustainable Development Goals event as part of the UN General Assemby. Reuters
    BTS members speak at the Sustainable Development Goals event as part of the UN General Assemby. Reuters
  • RM speaks at the Sustainable Development Goals meeting during the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly. AP Photo
    RM speaks at the Sustainable Development Goals meeting during the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly. AP Photo
  • Members of BTS speak during the 76th United Nations General Assembly. AP Photo
    Members of BTS speak during the 76th United Nations General Assembly. AP Photo
  • The group's speech lasted for roughly seven minutes and covered environmental issues as well as shared words of encouragement for the younger generation. AP Photo
    The group's speech lasted for roughly seven minutes and covered environmental issues as well as shared words of encouragement for the younger generation. AP Photo
  • The group also confirmed that all seven members have been fully vaccinated. AP Photo
    The group also confirmed that all seven members have been fully vaccinated. AP Photo
  • Members of BTS descend an elevator at United Nations headquarters. EPA
    Members of BTS descend an elevator at United Nations headquarters. EPA
  • BTS arrive at security check-in at the United Nations headquarters during the 76th UN General Assembly, in New York. Reuters
    BTS arrive at security check-in at the United Nations headquarters during the 76th UN General Assembly, in New York. Reuters
  • The group also shared a special music video filmed for 'Permission to Dance' around the General Assembly Hall and UN Headquarters. AP Photo
    The group also shared a special music video filmed for 'Permission to Dance' around the General Assembly Hall and UN Headquarters. AP Photo

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

On Women's Day
FIRST TEST SCORES

England 458
South Africa 361 & 119 (36.4 overs)

England won by 211 runs and lead series 1-0

Player of the match: Moeen Ali (England)

 

Company profile

Name: Dukkantek 

Started: January 2021 

Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani 

Based: UAE 

Number of employees: 140 

Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service) 

Investment: $5.2 million 

Funding stage: Seed round 

Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office  

The%20specs%3A%20Taycan%20Turbo%20GT
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDual%20synchronous%20electric%20motors%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2C108hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2C340Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle-speed%20automatic%20(front%20axle)%3B%20two-speed%20transmission%20(rear%20axle)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETouring%20range%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E488-560km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh928%2C400%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EOrders%20open%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Saudi National Day
CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
%3Cp%3E%0DElena%20Rybakina%20(Kazakhstan)%20%20%0D%3Cbr%3EOns%20Jabeur%20(Tunisia)%20%20%0D%3Cbr%3EMaria%20Sakkari%20(Greece)%20%20%0D%3Cbr%3EBarbora%20Krej%C4%8D%C3%ADkov%C3%A1%20(Czech%20Republic)%20%20%0D%3Cbr%3EBeatriz%20Haddad%20Maia%20(Brazil)%20%20%0D%3Cbr%3EJe%C4%BCena%20Ostapenko%20(Latvia)%20%20%0D%3Cbr%3ELiudmila%20Samsonova%20%20%0D%3Cbr%3EDaria%20Kasatkina%E2%80%AF%20%0D%3Cbr%3EVeronika%20Kudermetova%E2%80%AF%20%0D%3Cbr%3ECaroline%20Garcia%20(France)%E2%80%AF%20%0D%3Cbr%3EMagda%20Linette%20(Poland)%E2%80%AF%20%0D%3Cbr%3ESorana%20C%C3%AErstea%20(Romania)%E2%80%AF%20%0D%3Cbr%3EAnastasia%20Potapova%E2%80%AF%20%0D%3Cbr%3EAnhelina%20Kalinina%20(Ukraine)%E2%80%AF%E2%80%AF%20%0D%3Cbr%3EJasmine%20Paolini%20(Italy)%E2%80%AF%20%0D%3Cbr%3EEmma%20Navarro%20(USA)%E2%80%AF%20%0D%3Cbr%3ELesia%20Tsurenko%20(Ukraine)%3Cbr%3ENaomi%20Osaka%20(Japan)%20-%20wildcard%3Cbr%3EEmma%20Raducanu%20(Great%20Britain)%20-%20wildcard%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
More on women's right
Biog:

Age: 34

Favourite superhero: Batman

Favourite sport: anything extreme

Favourite person: Muhammad Ali 

Dubai Bling season three

Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

Rating: 1/5

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

The specs

Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors

Transmission: two-speed

Power: 671hp

Torque: 849Nm

Range: 456km

Price: from Dh437,900 

On sale: now

While you're here
A MINECRAFT MOVIE

Director: Jared Hess

Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa

Rating: 3/5

What is a robo-adviser?

Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.

These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.

Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.

Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.

Updated: December 13, 2021, 11:46 AM
MusicK-popSouth Korea