The Most Skip-pable Songs from the UK's Favourite Artists

Each year, the UK’s listening habits are analysed to reveal the most popular musicians, albums, and songs. The reports confirm which artists have dominated that year and celebrate their successes. However, it’s easy to forget that these singers and bands weren’t always at the top of their game.

In this blog post, we’ll reveal which songs from the top artists’ back catalogue have the lowest streams. Continue reading to find out which of the UK’s five favourite musicians has the most ‘skip-pable’ song!

Taylor Swift - SuperStar (13,602,295 streams)

It’s hard to imagine a world where Taylor Swift isn’t at the forefront of the music industry. The skilful songwriter has built a long-lasting legacy and even boosted the economy with The Eras Tour.

In 2023, Taylor Swift was the most-streamed artist in the world, as her albums Lover and Midnights were among the most-listened-to of the year. With the hotly-anticipated release of The Tortured Poets Department, her reign as the current Queen of pop is far from over.

Most of Taylor’s songs are ingenious and instant hits, but they can’t all be works of art (sorry Swifties). Her 2008 track ‘SuperStar’ from the Fearless era was the most skip-pable, with 13,602,295 streams. While this is still impressive, it’s a small percentage of the two billion listens to her most loved song, ‘Cruel Summer’. From her recent album Midnights, the least popular song, ‘Labyrinth’, still has a whopping 253,817,207 streams.

The Weeknd - Take Me Back (11,084,344 streams)

The world’s first introduction to The Weeknd was with songs anonymously uploaded to YouTube in 2011. The captivating music and the mystery behind its creator quickly generated a buzz, and when Abel Tesfaye unveiled his identity, he gained a devoted fanbase.

The Weeknd entered the mainstream after collaborating with A-listers like Ariana Grande and Ed Sheeran, featuring in the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack and walking the Met Gala red carpet with Selena Gomez. The artist has also impressed critics and fans with his evolution of music style and performances.

Cut to the modern day, and The Weeknd is a global megastar, becoming the first artist in Spotify’s history to reach 100 million listeners. The 2020 release ‘Blinding Lights’ also became the most streamed song on Spotify, with over four billion listens!

Yet, not all music can have the same success. We found the least popular song from The Weeknd was ‘Take Me Back’, a single released for his controversial TV show, The Idol. The HBO series was critically panned and widely mocked, which might have contributed to the lower number of 11,084,344 streams.

Drake - Wick Man (10,335,968 streams)

While Drake got his start as a TV actor, he has since become one of the biggest stars in the world. Since debuting his first studio album, Thank Me Later, in 2010, Drake’s developed a huge cannon of music, with many songs tapping into the zeitgeist.

As well as pure musical talent, many elements have contributed to Drake’s soaring success, including the backing of rap legend Lil Wayne at the beginning of his career. Drake has also collaborated with many high-profile stars and up-and-coming talent, triggering press coverage and keeping his music fresh. Of course, his alleged feuds and romances have added to his media attention.

There’s no doubting Drake’s superstar status, with hits like ‘Hotline Bling’, ‘Nice For What’ and ‘In My Feelings’ making him the most-streamed male artist in Spotify’s history. However, it’s only natural (and fair) that he would also have some flops in his archive.

We discovered that ‘Wick Man’ is his most skip-pable song from the 2023 release For All the Dogs Scar Hours Edition. The song covers a lot of (maybe too much) ground in just three minutes, including loss and heritage, while referencing the film John Wick and making jabs against another rapper.

Ed Sheeran - Head > Heels (4,268,984 streams)

Since releasing his debut single, ‘The A Team’ in 2011, Ed Sheeran’s music career has hit meteoric levels of success. The British singer-songwriter has won big at several elite award ceremonies, including at the BRITs and Grammys. He’s also collaborated with A-listers such as Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, and Elton John!

In 2021, Spotify announced that ‘Shape of You’ was the most streamed song in the platform’s history! The song has since dropped to second place, but with nearly four billion listens, he’s certainly earned recognition as a top artist. Last year, Ed Sheeran also became the first British act to win the Gold Brit Billion Award — celebrating his music receiving 10 billion UK streams.

However, his latest album, Autumn Variations, the first he didn’t name after a mathematical equation, didn’t quite reach the same levels. The song ‘Head > Heels’ from this album became his least popular song ever, with its streams hitting 4,268,984. There is still time for the album to garner more attention, but compared to his previous releases, it’s certainly gone under the radar.

Arctic Monkeys - Sketchead (4,103,883 streams)

After years of telling tales of living in Sheffield, Arctic Monkeys have cemented themselves into UK pop culture. The front-man Alex Turner has since swapped the Steel City for the likes of New York, LA, and Paris, but they still remain the biggest modern-day British rock band.

However, it wasn’t the latest Arctic Monkeys album, The Car, that fans kept on repeat last year, but an indie-rock classic. AM was one of the UK’s top five most-streamed albums of 2023 despite being released ten years prior. The album’s opening song, ‘Do I Wanna Know’, had the most plays, with just over two billion, while ‘Mad Sounds’ was the least popular, having 122,962,745 streams.

‘Sketchead’ takes the title of the most skip-pable song from Arctic Monkeys and the top five artists, with just over four million streams. The song from the Cornerstone EP had a marmite effect on listeners due to the intense head-banging drum rhythm. But for the fans who love Brianstorm, this song might be one for you.

After finding out the least popular songs from the most-loved artists, were you surprised? Are these songs slept on and deserve more love, or do they firmly belong in the bin? Perhaps, instead, they could be recycled into more chart-topping tracks.