Spotify, an online streaming platform, says John Legend, D’Banj, and Banky W have emerged as artistes with the most playlisted songs during the 2023 Valentine’s season.

Phiona Okumu, Spotify’s head of music, sub-Saharan Africa, in a statement on Tuesday, said from its findings that Nigerians were adding these musicians’ songs to their playlists to celebrate their loved ones.

Okumu noted that the 10 top love songs listed by Nigerians were ‘All of Me’ by John Legend, ‘Make you Feel My Love’ by Adele, ‘Just The Way You Are’ by Bruno Mars and ‘Fall in Love’ by D’Banj. Others were ‘Like I’m Gonna Lose You’ (feat John Legend) by Meghan Trainor, ‘Say You Won’t Let Go’ by James Arthur, ‘Yes or No’ by Banky W, ‘Stay With Me’ by Sam Smith, ‘Perfect’ by Ed Sheeran and ‘Thinking Out Loud’ by Ed Sheeran.

“The 10 top love songs playlisted globally are ‘All of Me’ by John Legend, ‘Thinking Out Loud’ by Ed Sheeran, ‘Just The Way You Are’ by Bruno Mars, ‘My Girl’ by The Temptations and ‘I Will Always Love You’ by Whitney Houston,” said Okumu.

“Also, we have ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ by Elvis Presley, ‘Perfect’ by Ed Sheeran, ‘Make You Feel My Love’ by Adele, ‘A Thousand Years’ by Christina Perri and ‘At Last’ by Etta. Classic love jams from the past decade by icons like John Legend, Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith are quick and easy favourites that feature among Nigerians’ most playlisted love songs, a trend that is consistent on the global scale,” she added.

According to her, they sit side-by-side with familiar classics by Nigerian icons D’Banj and Banky W, which also feature prominently on the list. She added that John Legend’s ‘All of Me’ was the favourite love song in Nigeria, a position it also took globally.

Okumu noted that according to Spotify data, Nigerians strongly appreciated John Legend’s soulful lyrics, as this was not his only appearance on the list.

(NAN)