SINGAPORE — Thousands of BTS fans may already be prepping for what is expected to be the biggest K-pop concert in town on Jan 19, but despite the Hallyu (Korean wave) fever here, the Korean boyband found itself second best where Spotify streams are concerned.

It was Mandopop singer Jay Chou who emerged as Spotify’s most-streamed artiste in Singapore for 2018, the music streaming platform said on Tuesday (Dec 4), while BTS had to settle for second place.

Singaporean singer JJ Lin was third while British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, who took top spot last year, finished fourth.

R&B star Khalid took the fifth spot.

Spotify also revealed which artiste got the most airtime from their listeners, as well as the top five earworms that Singaporeans sang and danced to this year.

WHAT WAS TOP ON SINGAPOREANS’ PLAYLISTS?

Rewrite The Stars, the romantic duet sung by Zac Efron and Zendaya during their gravity-defying circus act in last year’s The Greatest Showman movie, was the most-streamed track.

Russian-German record producer Zedd, American country music singer Maren Morris and American musical duo Grey were a close second with their collaboration, The Middle.

Young Thug’s Havana, Maroon 5’s Girls Like You (feat Cardi B) and Sheeran’s ballad Perfect came in third, fourth and fifth respectively.

On the local front, Mandopop crooner JJ Lin led the pack, followed by the evergreen Stefanie Sun, pop quartet The Sam Willows, singer-songwriter Joel Tan — who is better known by his stage name Gentle Bones — and Taiwan-based Tanya Chua.

BTS topped the most-streamed group category, followed by Maroon 5, K-pop girl group BlackPink, Imagine Dragons and Coldplay.

Chou, Lin and Sheeran claimed the top three spots for most-streamed male artistes in Singapore, while the female category had Ariana Grande, English singer Dua Lipa and Taylor Swift.

TOP OF THE WORLD

The world of music, according to Spotify, was dominated by rapper Drake. Not only was the Canadian the most-streamed artiste globally, his music track God’s Plan and album, Scorpion, also topped their respective categories.

Pint-sized pop icon Ariana Grande, who boasts more than 48 million monthly listeners, was the most-listened-to female singer around the world, while Imagine Dragons was the most popular group.

Hip-hop was the dominant force on Spotify’s charts this year, with Latin music growing in popularity among global listeners. Emo rap and Lo-fi beats were also two music genres that grew the most during the year.