The most popular artists and songs of 2025

It’s that time of year again—Spotify wraps your musical tastes in a colorful bow and gives it to you to share with your friends. Spotify Wrapped has become a long-awaited annual ritual that can feel both validating (“Wow, I’m really an ‘old soul’ for listening to music for 73 years”) and mildly humiliating, depending on your level of self-awareness.

Spotify, one of Japan’s most widely used music streaming apps, also offers some insights into the songs and artists that have defined the country’s music scene this year. This year’s charts confirm a major moment in Japanese pop music: Not only is one band absolutely dominating the charts, but Japanese music has reached incredible new heights around the world.

Read on to learn about the most popular music in Japan this year, but also keep in mind that Spotify’s data doesn’t fully reflect the country’s tastes; many people use other apps, or stick to analog forms of listening.

Mrs. Green Apple dominates Japan’s domestic rankings

popular rock band, green apple lady The most popular artist in Japan for the third consecutive year. They have maintained a jaw-dropping record of staying on Spotify’s Japan Top Artist Daily Chart for over 1,503 consecutive days.

The band’s single “Lilac” jumped from second place last year to the top single of 2025. The band not only had a hit song; They scored an astonishing seven songs, including “Que Sera Sera” and “Soranji”, in the top ten in the country.

Just below Lady Green Apple and the Rock Power Trio Return numbersinger-songwriter Kenshi Yonezu He reached No. 3 on the artist chart with his hit single “Iris Out,” which set multiple new records for the highest daily domestic streams in Spotify Japan’s history.

Meanwhile, boy bands No._i “God_i” reached No. 5 on the Hot Songs chart, demonstrating their huge influence in the Japanese music industry.

Rosé and Bruno Mars in “The Apartment.” music video

Viral Japanese Global Artists and Songs of 2025

While domestic artists dominate the Spotify charts year after year, there are some global artists and songs that rank quite high on the top artist and track lists.

For example, BTS member Jin“Don’t Say You Love Me” ranked 19th, Korean rapper Chanmina‘s “Sad Song” ranked No. 44, K-Pop group Espa‘s “Whiplash” ranked No. 54.

Interestingly, no songs by Western artists or groups were found in the top 100; apart from domestic songs, only Korean music was present. “Easy.” is a notable exception because it features an American singer Bruno Mars With Blackpink members Rose (ranked 24th).

Japan’s top artists in 2025 feature a similarly domestically focused lineup. Chanmina reappears on the list at No. 11, along with other K-pop groups Twice (No. 17), BTS (No. 18), Stray Kids (No. 26), TXT (No. 33), aespa (No. 35), Seventeen (No. 37), Le Sserafim (No. 38) and Enhypen (No. 50).

Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars are the first Western artists to enter the list, ranking 41st with their song “Die With A Smile”. Following closely behind is Taylor Swift at No. 43.

Yoasobi, courtesy of Grammy Awards | Photography: Junpei Kato

The Global Takeover of J-Pop

Global charts confirm the strong performance of Japanese music overseas this year. Japanese duo creepy nutsThe song “Otonoke” was named the most played Japanese song overseas, marking the second consecutive year they have won this title.

The click-through rate is as Fujii Kaze“Shinunoga E-Wa” (I’d rather die) and Asobi“Yoru ni Kakeru” (Racing into the Night) also made the list, ranking second and tenth respectively.

As for the Japanese artist with the most live broadcasts overseas, the vocal giant Addo With her massive world tour, she overtook the popular Yoasobi, who held the title for four consecutive years as the world’s most-watched Japanese artist, with nearly 80% of her live streams coming from outside Japan.

Not surprisingly, the love for Japanese music is often driven by anime. this demon slayer The playlist is a dominant force, even ranking No. 1 on Spotify’s global daily active user charts for five days in a row.

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